I am wondering how many OS X software updates I have to buy or can I just update to a newer one with 1 purchase? -Jess
MacBook, Mac OS X (10.6.8), MacBook A1880
Depending on your Mac model(A1880 doesn’t correspond to one), it either can’t be upgraded, or can be upgraded directly to 10.7.5 or 10.11.6.
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IF your MacBook will support it (you haven't given a correct model number) then you could upgrade to any of the free OS X versions direct from 10.6.8 - but only as far as your machine will allow. The free versions begin with Mavericks (OS X 10.9) but you should be aware that of the free OS's, only the latest is available for download, which currently means MacOS Sierra.
However, you can still buy Mountain Lion on DVD from Apple (I wouldn't bother with Lion - if 10.7 is as far as your machine will support, you'd be better off sticking with 10.6.8, but switch to Firefox for browsing, if you haven't already).
then you could upgrade to any of the free OS X versions direct from 10.6.8
It isn’t possible to upgrade from 10.6.8 directly to Sierra; El Capitan remains available for people running Snow Leopard.
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Check that your computer is compatible with Mountain Lion/Mavericks/Yosemite/El Capitan.
To check the model number hold down the option/alt key, go to the Apple menu and select System Information.
MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer) model number 5,1 or higher
MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer) model number 3,1 or higher
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Your Mac needs:
OS X v10.6.8 or OS X Lion already installed
2 GB or more of memory (More is better - 4 GB minimum seems to be the consensus)
8 GB or more of available space
Check to make sure your applications are compatible. PowerPC applications are no longer supported after 10.6.
Applications Compatibility (2)
El Capitan 10.11 Compatibility information
macOS Sierra 10.12: Compatible Apps
Also check to make sure there is a compatible driver for your printer.
Do a backup before installing, preferable 2 backups on 2 different drives.
To check the model number hold down the option/alt key, go to the Apple menu and select System Information.
macOS 10.12 (Sierra) requires one of the following Macs:
MacBook (Late 2009 or later) Model 6.1 and higher
MacBook Pro (Mid 2010 or later) Model 6.2 and higher
If you can run Sierra, you have to install El Capitan first.
It's a white 2005 MacBook with a new 2009 hard drive. All I'm finding for model is (MacBook2,1) not sure if that's correct though.
MacBook2,1
You have a 2006 or 2007 MacBook. It can’t be upgraded past 10.7.5.
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MacBook A1181
My previous answer stands.
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Jess52353 wrote:
It's a white 2005 MacBook with a new 2009 hard drive. All I'm finding for model is (MacBook2,1) not sure if that's correct though.
As Niel says, that can't be upgraded past Lion (10.7). Unless you need Lion's new features (Autosave, Full Screen, Versions, Mission Control, etc - many of which can be run in Snow Leopard via 3rd party apps - I'd advise you to stick at 10.6.8, but make sure you run Firefox as your browser, as that's the only one that's continued support for 10.6.
Mountain Lion ironed out most of the shortcomings present in Lion, so as your machine won't go above Lion I'd seriously suggest you stay with 10.6 - and fit as much RAM as you can (you can have 3GB in your machine).
How to upgrade from snow leopard
