Thank you, again. I hesitated to write back until I completed my visit (it turned into two visits) to the Mac Genius Bar. First, I checked to make sure that there are upgraded versions of my software or updated drivers, even before I got your message. I'm glad to say that there are. The hard drive has been backed up amply, too.
Here's the story that I got from two Geniuses – one in one Apple Store, and one in another (because I once got totally discouraging advice about getting an external optical drive in a store on one side of Manhattan, New York City, and very good advice from another in another part of the borough). One was rather tentative but encouraging; the other seemed not to know even as much as I know about the subject of upgrading to El Capitan for computer, let alone mine.
The first guy told me that I had enough RAM (8 GB) and far more than enough hard drive space to accommodate El Capitan (two ten, thereabouts, left), and though he said that things might freeze up at some point, he also told me that I could revert to Snow Leopard in such a situation. But the Mac App Store no longer offers El Capitan, and when R. (the sweet though rather hesitant Genius) tried to download it, somehow, it wouldn't even show up. He very kindly gave me the name of a place here in New York City that might be able to help me. He also suggested cleaning out the fan, but I neglected to ask how that was done. And we agreed that if I stay with my current MacBook, with or without El Capitan and updated software, in time I'll need a new battery. I don't know about getting a different hard drive. That and the rest may be more than I want to put into my old baby. Who knows how long the rest of it will last (though I've used it kindly and quite sparingly) and how long it will be before people at Apple, here and elsewhere will be as clueless about El Capitan as they now are about Snow Leopard and elderly MacBooks?
That brings me to the second Apple Genius. Though he wasn't as young as R., he seemed to know less, and he downright told me that he and some people he consulted with at the East Side Apple Store (R. was at the Upper West Side one) said that I shouldn't even try to install El Capitan because if it froze up my computer during installation, they hadn't the parts to restore it to health. I don't know what parts he meant, and I was so discouraged that I neglected to ask. If he meant that they didn't have Snow Leopard, that's a no-brainer, because I have a copy.
Then he said that anyway, if I upgraded to El Capitan, I wouldn't be able to use it, because everything would be incompatible. I told him that I knew that I could upgrade my other software, but then he seemed to start talking about my own files. I asked him whether that was what he meant, and he waffled, but at last, seemed to be saying that I'd be able to use my own files, apart from software.
I then asked him what would happen when I did get a new laptop, and he said that none of my stuff, including my letters, emails and such, would work on it, even with new versions of software, drivers for my printer and scanner and such. And if I understood him correctly, I'd have to have Apple transfer my files to the new computer, when I get one. He tried to explain why that would be, but the explanation sounded unreal, somehow. I've transferred my files to other computers, and my current computer is fully Intel, except that Snow Leopard can use Rosetta, I believe. I guess that any files that need that would have to go, but that is not a problem. I doubt there is anything of that kind that I can't spare or replace.
So, forgive me for this extremely long response to your kind message. I don't know whether you agree with either of the Geniuses, or with my phoning and/or visiting the shop that R. suggested (M.'s Tech). After my visit with R. yesterday, I thought that I could get El Capitan, and I considered possible hardware changes (though I'd like to avoid that), either now or at some point. But maybe it can't be done. R. was encouraging, but I can't help but wonder whether the second guy and the people he consulted with, at least, were unable to consider anything but getting me to buy a new computer. (That actually happened to my daughter, who was pushed into buying a MacBook Air, one time when some water from a drinking bottle leaked on it. Almost at once, the MacBook woke up and behaved like a champ. So much for experts, sometimes.)
I spoke also to two young ladies who told me about the various MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models, so I guess I'm prepared now, should my lovely old MacBook go belly-up. I've quarantined the Genieo files that ClamXav found, by the way, and the computer is running better. I won't be able to do anything if I get actually malicious software, of course. No anti-malware software that I know of can deal with Snow Leopard.
Thank you again for your solicitude, and now for your patience with this long, long message. I only hope it may help to guide anyone else who is in the same position as I am.
jenny
And by the way
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