blick

Q: upgrade from 10.6.8 to OSX 10.12 Sierra

I have a MacMini mid-2010 Core2Duo running 10.6.8. Only 2gb RAM, but I bought more (went wild and bought 2 4gb 'cards' to replace the two 1gb original things) and will install it after I do the upgrade (or am I missing something about the order of things....since I don't believe that new RAM is recognizable to OS 10.6.8....seems I read that somewhere, maybe at OWC in the chips' descriptions?)

 

I'm trying to follow the steps in discussion 6271, Upgrading to 10.7 and above. I'm finding it's a bit too thorough and covers way too much ground that may not be relevant to my situation. I need to do this because 10.6.8 browsers are supported by fewer and fewer of my online services (bank account, doctor, etc)....and of course, I need at minimum 10.10 to download, install and use Google Chrome if I want to access those accounts, for example.

 

I'm hung up at the point of installing 10.7 Lion---I paid for and downloaded the installer, so I'm ready to push the button to install. I have two independent complete backups on external drives, as recommended (disconnected).

 

1. What happens next? Is the installer going to erase my hard drive to install the new OS? (There seems to be an indication that may occur--in that article--but it's not clear to me.)

     a. If so, I guess I will have to use one of those backups to get all my data, files, everything back on the Mini?

 

2. After that, the discussion indicates I'll need to upgrade 10.7 to 10.7.5 before I can upgrade to Sierra; is that right? In the discussion 6271, there's this:

"Note, as of last writing of this tip, the only available upgrades to 10.6.6 are 10.6.7, 10.6.8, 10.7, and you can take 10.7 up to 10.7.5 Combo, Supplemental update, and 10.7.5 Security Update 2014-004 followed by 10.7.5 Bash update.  The only available upgrades to 10.6.8 are 10.7, 10.8."

 

3. Does the above quote mean I MUST have the "combo, Supplemental" AND ALL THE FOLLOWING before I can install Sierra? (In other words, 4 additional "installs" after installing 10.7, just to prep for taking the giant leap to Sierra?)

 

4. My understanding is that the only options available to me at this time are:

     Upgrade to 10.7

     Update that to 10.7.5

     Upgrade to 10.12 (no intermediate OS is available any more forever?)

          (Reason for asking is that the original discussion 6271 has several statements about being able to upgrade to 10.8 and higher from 10.7--see above #2, yet I thought Apple has stopped supporting 10.8, 10.9, 10.10, and 10.11 and won't allow anyone to install them that doesn't already have them.)

 

5. Another link/rabbit hole in article 6271 says I need to install a firmware update to 10.6.8 if I want to do "internet restore/command-R"* of 10.7 (should something go wrong, I guess, in all the steps above....). That document (article HT202313--"Computers that can be upgraded to use OSX Internet Recovery") provides links to the firmware update required. Do I need that, or will the installation of 10.7 and up to Sierra negate the need for such a step? (telling me I CAN do something without being clear if I REALLY NEED to do that step, confuses me.)

 

6. I have the original install discs for my MacMini, but I don't remember if it came with OSX 10.6.4 or already had 10.6.8 when I bought it. I can't find a 10.6.8 updater anywhere. Would lack of "internet restore" mean I'd be taken back to 10.6.x when I used the original discs; if so, would I be able to get back to 10.7 at all, or would that force me to buy a new computer?

 

In summary, it would be a great help to me if I had a simple list of the steps I really need to take to get my computer able to use the latest versions of Chrome, Safari, and Firefox, in the order that they must be performed, without all the non-applicable links and sidetrips that only apply to other versions of OSX or servers or people using Java for developing stuff.....

 

*(from question 5 above: this quote is from "Doc 2465#Eight"--

"

Q: I have an older than 2011 Mac, and command-R doesn't let me restore Mac OS X 10.7 or later from the internet.  Is there a way to allow it to do so?

 

A: Yes.   Upgrade the firmware as indicated by this article:Computers that can be upgraded to use OS X Internet Recovery - Apple Support

To ensure you have the right firmware first, see this tip:

What should I do if I find a used machine without the original CDs?

 

Really sorry to be so needy, but this is a big leap and I need to be able to use a current internet browser and a better-protected Mac OSX than 10.6.8....and I want to get it right.

 

Thanks for what help you can provide!

 

Blick

Mac mini, Mac OS X (10.6.8), core duo

Posted on Oct 1, 2016 6:23 PM

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Q: upgrade from 10.6.8 to OSX 10.12 Sierra

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Niel,Helpful

    Niel Niel Oct 2, 2016 1:17 PM in response to blick
    Level 10 (313,545 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 2, 2016 1:17 PM in response to blick

    1. It won't unless a problem occurs.

    2. Installing the Mac App Store version of Lion will upgrade the computer to 10.7.5.

    3. No.

    4. You can upgrade to Mountain Lion or El Capitan(but only from 10.6.8) if desired.

    5. That step only matters if you replace the hard drive or a problem occurs with the drive itself(not just the OS).

    6. Without the Internet Recovery system, you'd need to use a disk or external drive in the cases from #5.

     

    (145045)

  • by lllaass,

    lllaass lllaass Oct 2, 2016 1:25 AM in response to blick
    Level 10 (189,594 points)
    Desktops
    Oct 2, 2016 1:25 AM in response to blick

    Note that some app will not work when updating to Lion or above:

    Upgrading to 10.7 and above, don't forget Rosetta!

  • by blick,

    blick blick Oct 2, 2016 12:51 PM in response to Niel
    Level 1 (19 points)
    Desktops
    Oct 2, 2016 12:51 PM in response to Niel

    Thank you, Niel. It sounds like I messed up by following article 6271, which led me to believe the only route to a newer OS than 10.6.8 was through 10.7, so I bought 10.7. I had looked at the Sierra page and I thought I did a thorough read, but I missed the part about being able to install 10.11 El Capitan.

     

    Did I mess up? I believe I read somewhere that there was no path to El Cap once Sierra was out of beta on Sept 21, except through 10.7, which is REQUIRED (10.7.5) to move to Sierra--and then, I believed El Cap was no longer available to anyone--leaving ONLY Sierra available to me.

     

    I'm still a little confused about the "internet recovery" ability. If I do not choose to install the firmware update that gives 10.6.8 the "internet recovery" option, will I never have the "command-R" recovery available even after upgrading to higher OS versions? I mean, doesn't OS 10.11 and 10.12 confer that ability without having to install a firmware update 5 OS' 'earlier' in the hierarchy?

     

    In other words, it sounds like that firmware update to my MacMini running 10.6.8 IS necessary if I want to avoid having to drop back to OS 10.6.x should something 'bad' happen in the future (after 10.12 Sierra has been installed). Am I reading/interpreting that correctly?

     

    [Tiny violin time:] So now I have a non-transferrable, non-refundable OS that I didn't need in the first place. Count me flabbergasted and disappointed. All of this came up because I can't use my online banking service because they no longer support the versions of any browser that are usable with OS 10.6.8, and there are NO versions of any of the 3 major browsers (Chrome, Safari, or Firefox) that work or are supported below OS 10.11 El Capitan. I know.....I tried to download all three applications and got a message/screen that said they weren't compatible with my OS.

     

    Thanks again, anyway. I appreciate the straightforward question-by-question answer format!

  • by lllaass,Helpful

    lllaass lllaass Oct 2, 2016 1:14 PM in response to blick
    Level 10 (189,594 points)
    Desktops
    Oct 2, 2016 1:14 PM in response to blick

    Command+R is booting from the Recovery partition on the disk.

    If the Mac has internet Recovery and there is no Recovery partition then the Mac should boot to Internet Recovery if the Mac has it.

    Option+Command+R will boot to Internet recovery directly if the Mac has a Recovery partition and Internet Recovery

     

    About macOS Recovery - Apple Support

  • by blick,

    blick blick Oct 2, 2016 1:10 PM in response to lllaass
    Level 1 (19 points)
    Desktops
    Oct 2, 2016 1:10 PM in response to lllaass

    Thanks, IIIaass (I hope I spelled that correctly). I am aware I will lose MS Office 2004, so will try Open Office. I think there will be a version of Filemaker Pro (above v 8.5) I can use with El Capitan and/or Sierra, if not now, sometime in the future (Filemaker came out of Apple--via Claris, didn't it, a long time ago? And besides, it was an "unknown" in the compatibility document referenced in article 6271, the one you linked to. Perhaps it will actually still work in El Cap and above....I won't know until I try it.)

     

    It sounds like Rosetta is a lost cause in my situation, but that's okay....most of the PPC and "Classic" apps on this computer have been unused for years, and I have no expected need for them again--I can always fire up the old iMac if need be. The few I might find I "need" again, probably have some compatible equivalent these days, anyway. By the way, that article 6271 is part of the reason I asked this question in the first place.....I followed a bunch of 'rabbit holes' in that article, which only confused me more. I compared every application on this computer to the referenced compatibility check and determined very few of them would be an issue for me. (I guess keeping an old Tibook laptop and that iMac DVSE around might have been useful after all.)

  • by lllaass,

    lllaass lllaass Oct 2, 2016 1:21 PM in response to blick
    Level 10 (189,594 points)
    Desktops
    Oct 2, 2016 1:21 PM in response to blick

    I would use Libre Office

    https://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/install-howto/os-x/

    vice OpenOffice since OpenOffice maybe shutting down development

    In January 2015 the project reported a lack of active developers and code contributions and that they were "still struggling in involving new volunteers who can independently work on big developments".[9] After ongoing problems with unfixed security vulnerabilities through 2015 and 2016,[10][11] in September 2016 the project started discussions on retiring AOO.[12][13][14]

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_OpenOffice

  • by blick,

    blick blick Oct 2, 2016 2:21 PM in response to lllaass
    Level 1 (19 points)
    Desktops
    Oct 2, 2016 2:21 PM in response to lllaass

    I'm replying again because I just found another source of my confusion....at the bottom of article 6271 there are links to other 'related' documents in the User Support community database. One of them--"El Capitan System (10.11) requirements for upgrade"--aka "DOC 8811"-- is about updating/upgrading to El Capitan instead of Sierra. It lists the requirements to upgrade to El Capitan, and gives a timeline ("Some important dates") that is supposed to help direct one to the proper upgrade path from 10.6.8:

        "September 20, 2016, Apple released Mac OS 10.12, Sierra.  El Capitan is no longer available except to people who purchased machines with it, and purchased it for download before Sierra's release." (My underline).

     

    I wish I had not accepted this immediately as the final word......I might have checked Apple's Sierra download pages and accidentally found their "Upgrade to OS X El Capitan" pages, which clearly tell me I DO NOT NEED TO PURCHASE OS X 10.7 because I can upgrade to El Capitan directly from 10.6.8, without it.

     

    I am not blaming anyone but myself for my failure to figure this out on my own, and I sincerely want to thank all here who have offered their expertise and experience--for free, voluntarily-- to me to help me get where I need to be. Time for me to "man up" and cut my loss ($21 for OS X 10.7 Lion which was not actually needed), and just upgrade to El Cap like I wanted to in the first place. I guess I should also chalk it up to a lesson learned.

     

    Peace out, my friends!