Upgrade from Snow Leopard to El Capitan

Upgrade Snow Leopard to 10.6.8 in order to gain access to the App Store.

Upgrading to El Capitan

You can upgrade to El Capitan from Lion or directly from Snow Leopard. El Capitan can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for FREE.

To upgrade to El Capitan you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or Lion installed. Download El Capitan from the App Store. Sign in using your Apple ID. El Capitan is free. The file is quite large, over 5 GBs, so allow some time to download. It would be preferable to use Ethernet because it is nearly four times faster than wireless.

Macs that can be upgraded to OS X El Capitan

1. iMac (Mid 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 7,1 or later

2. MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 5,1 or later

3. MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later

4. MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 2,1 or later

5. Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later

6. Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later

7. Xserve (Early 2009) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later

To find the model identifier open System Profiler in the Utilities folder. It's displayed in the panel on the right.

El Capitan is not available if your computer can run Sierra:

The official list of Macs compatible with macOS Sierra:

Late 2009 or Later

• MacBook
• iMac

2010 or Later

• MacBook Air
• MacBook Pro
• Mac mini
• Mac Pro

Are my applications compatible?

See App Compatibility Table - RoaringApps.

The minimum preferred amount of system memory (chip RAM) is 4GB or higher.

Also there are some minimal limits in the hard drive should it be fuller than optimal

because this storage is where the OS X and applications live; and the system will

use any extra free space here automatically as 'virtual memory' in addition to the

chip RAM; as both are essential for the Mac to be in position to run El Capitan.

El Capitan System (10.11) requirements for upgrade

OS X El Capitan - Technical Specifications - Apple Support

OS X El Capitan System Requirements & Compatible Mac List

osxdaily.com/2015/06/09/os-x-el-capitan-system-requirements-compatible-mac/

The computer should be running on its power supply, and use an Ethernet connection.

Not sure why your MacBook isn't able to handle the download fully; but to look into

the system to see its status before an upgrade is always a good idea. Hardware issues

are a reason why the unit should be inspected & diagnosed before upgrade.

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

Try downloading it in the Safe Mode or another admin account.

Safe Mode