How to upgrade Mac Pro Early 2008

Upgrading an Early 2008 Mac Pro3,1 to El Capitan

We have about $4,000 into this Mac Pro. It is an awesome piece of hardware. I just updated the memory because the last time I looked El Capitan required at least 2GB.

I understand that Apple wants this computer in the garbage dump (hazardous waste disposal). This is based on the feedback I’m getting from Apple Support and Apple web sites. I can’t even associate my Apple ID to the device. You can’t download El Capitan without an associated Apple ID.

Is the garbage dump really the only option?

Mac Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.6)

Posted on Aug 19, 2018 7:12 AM

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Eau Rouge

Level 8

42,656 points

Posted on Aug 20, 2018 8:47 PM

Right so my Mac Pro 2008 had its 10th birthday earlier this year and shows no signs of giving up yet.

You say you have a newer MBP, use that and log in to the App Store with the Apple ID you use for the Mac Pro and update your payment details. When you have done that try logging in to the App Store on your Mac Pro and see if you can download El Capitan. An alternative would be to download El Capitan on the MBP, when the download is complete and before starting the installation procedure open your Applications folder locate Install Mac OS X El Capitan.app copy it over to your Mac Pro, once you have done that double-click it to start the installation procedure. Likewise you could use the MBP to download Sierra or High Sierra and transfer their Install apps to the Mac Pro. The only thing with those newer OS's is your Mac Pro is not supported but there are ways of getting them installed as I alluded to in my earlier post.

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18 replies

Aug 21, 2018 7:02 AM in response to rewvanaken

Start with this article, then follow the "Get MacOS X El Capitan" link inside it. No other links will work properly.

How to download OS X El Capitan - Apple Support

It clearly states that your 2008 Mac Pro 42lb silver tower does support El Capitan.

If you have problems then, contact Apple and debug the narrow issue of not being able to download something Apple states you can, using the mechanism they provided.

Eau Rouge

Level 8

42,656 points

Aug 21, 2018 9:12 AM in response to rewvanaken

Click on this link, Apple - Support - Downloads and download any items you think maybe might be useful to you, as you scroll down there is also a Load More Items button. Once downloaded double-click to install. Then see if you can sign in to the App Store.

rewvanaken Author

Level 1

9 points

Aug 22, 2018 4:27 AM in response to Eau Rouge

Eau,

There might have been something that would help, but I didn't want to guess. Also there doesn't seem to be any update history available on a Mac to novice Mac users (like me), and no reference numbers on the updates on the download site you sent me to. I appreciate the lead though. Thank you!

Grant,

Thank you for encouraging me to go back to Apple Support like the error message suggests. I called them back, but this time approached it as an App Store issue. I very nice Support Rep spent about a half hour with me trying different things. We eventually gave up when we couldn't get our Mac to boot in Recovery mode. Her suggestion was to purchase a USB drive loaded with the El Capitan installer. I agreed to let her off the hook and pursue that approach. Thank you!

So this thread does not have a technical solution, but potentially a reasonable approach.

Thanks,

Ron

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How to upgrade Mac Pro Early 2008