Still running Snow Leopard

I am still running Snow Leopard on my iMac here at home. Some websites don't support the Safari browser that is being used. I have never updated the OS in my loved iMac except the recommended updates from Apple. Ok instead of spending a lot of money I don't have, what OS can I upgrade to and where do I get it. I looked in the app store and all that is there is Yosimite and the reviews are horrible. I don't want to mess up my computer. Can someone help me here, I am not up to date on all of it, my Mac has been a cornerstone, no problems whatsoever. Thanks

This is what happens when you "choose" to stay behind while everyone else is moving on. Although I don't necessarily recommend Yosemite on an older iMac, don't believe the reviews you're reading. Yosemite has been rock steady and works well.

Since you didn't tell us which 21.5" iMac (year) that you have, we can't really recommend anything definitively. Also, I believe you can still purchase Lion (10.7.X) by calling Apple customer service. I don't believe you can purchase Mountain Lion or Mavericks that way, but you should ask Apple anyway.

chscag said:

This is what happens when you "choose" to stay behind while everyone else is moving on. Although I don't necessarily recommend Yosemite on an older iMac, don't believe the reviews you're reading. Yosemite has been rock steady and works well.

Since you didn't tell us which 21.5" iMac (year) that you have, we can't really recommend anything definitively. Also, I believe you can still purchase Lion (10.7.X) by calling Apple customer service. I don't believe you can purchase Mountain Lion or Mavericks that way, but you should ask Apple anyway.

Click to expand...

Sorry that I left out the details, it's a 2011 year, 3.06 GHz Intel Core i3, 4GB memory, 133 MHz DDR3.
Version 10.6.8
It's been a long day at work, 13 hrs to be exact so please excuse the lack of information.

Your iMac will easily run Yosemite. However, before you decide on downloading it, I strongly suggest that you up the memory on your iMac to at least 8 GB. Your bank 0 consists of two modules right now 2 x 2 GB. All you need is to add 2 x 2 GB modules to Bank 1. You can purchase the modules at either Crucial or Other World Computing. Amazon also sells Crucial memory, so check there first. Your iMac will take up to 16 GB of memory.

And don't forget to make backups before downloading Yosemite. ;D

Thanks so much I will get the memory on order and download the new OS as soon as I get the extra memory installed.

chscag would you do me a favor an post me a link on exactly what I need?
I am so sorry to bother you guys I'm not sure of which one I need. There are all different ones, is it all on one board or two boards DDR3 4GB 2x2?

This is information from Mactracker: Note that Mactracker says your iMac can take up to 32 GB of memory.

Maximum Memory 32 GB (Actual) 16 GB (Apple)
Memory Slots 4 - 204-pin PC3-10600 (1333 MHz) DDR3 SO-DIMM

You can buy your memory from here.

Thanks for all the help!
Now I can rest easy tonight

There's a lot of life left in that 2011 for you, I'm sure. I think the upgrade to (at least) 8GB would be a great and inexpensive move, updating to Yosemite will be good as well -- you have to remember that WHATEVER the latest OS version is, a vocal minority (and I'm talking a very tiny percentage, each and every time) complain long and loud ... mostly about the fact that something has been changed/improved, or is just different, disrupting their comfort zone.

I'm not saying there aren't legit complaints ever (Lion in particular made some changes that were unpopular or not explained well, and mostly got changed back later -- and there's a current problem with iTunes 12.2.x that is pretty annoying), but the millions upon millions (scores of millions) of users that don't have any serious issues ... don't write to complain! So reading the Internet for information about how well something new is working is ALWAYS going to get you a lopsided and mostly-negative consensus, when in fact given a little time most of the complaints either dry up or end up being user error or both.

If you're having someone do the upgrades for you rather than doing them yourself, and especially if you don't use a great deal of hard drive space, you MIGHT consider spending a bit more to upgrade the hard drive to an SSD ... it makes a *tremendous* difference in how speedy the iMac feels, and brings its performance much closer to a brand new machine for typical use cases. It's not cheap, but its cheaper than buying a new machine and makes a big difference.

Greg55 said:

Ok instead of spending a lot of money I don't have, what OS can I upgrade to and where do I get it. I looked in the app store and all that is there is Yosimite and the reviews are horrible.

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If you would rather not install Yosemite…OS 10.7 "Lion"…and OS 10.8 "Mountain Lion" are still available:

OS X Lion (10.7) - Apple
OS X Mountain Lion - Apple

- Nick

No point in not upgrading to the latest ... the support on Lion will be dropped soon, and ML will be the next in line to have support and security updates dropped, so while just a big jump is never the smoothest route (it would have been better if he'd kept the OS up-to-date, particularly given its a free update!), might as well do it now rather than later.

@Greg55 Before you upgrade the OS there's one more thing to check. None of the operating systems beyond the one you have run older Power PC software. You need to check your software and see if any of it is Power PC only. If it is a piece of software you need it will have to be upgraded.

How to Identify Power PC Software. Any software in your list that is labeled as Classic or Power PC will no longer run without being updates. Software marked Intel or Universal may or may not need minor updates to work.

chscag said:

This is what happens when you "choose" to stay behind while everyone else is moving on. Although I don't necessarily recommend Yosemite on an older iMac, don't believe the reviews you're reading. Yosemite has been rock steady and works well.

Since you didn't tell us which 21.5" iMac (year) that you have, we can't really recommend anything definitively. Also, I believe you can still purchase Lion (10.7.X) by calling Apple customer service. I don't believe you can purchase Mountain Lion or Mavericks that way, but you should ask Apple anyway.

Click to expand...

Just for the record, a client was able to purchase Mountain Lion from Apple Canada just a few weeks ago.

It was supplied as a download with a code to use to access and install. $20.00cdn.

Did anybody say this already?
Greg55, please ensure you have a current FULL BACKUP before attempting any OSX upgrades.
A Time Machine backup at the very least is advised so that if it all goes "legs up" you can return to square one.
Instructions found here; https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201250

chas_m said:

No point in not upgrading to the latest ... the support on Lion will be dropped soon, and ML will be the next in line to have support and security updates dropped, so while just a big jump is never the smoothest route (it would have been better if he'd kept the OS up-to-date, particularly given its a free update!), might as well do it now rather than later.

Click to expand...

Chas, given the big jump from SL to Yosemite, would you not perhaps recommend a clean install of 10.10.x rather than an overwrite? (Obviously with TM BU at the very least; and the OP did, I think, indicate he was getting someone to do this upgrade with/for him).

Ian

Since we are discussing old software - and old hardware - an interesting observation I had yesterday. My old iMac is around 2008 (I think) and I can't remember whether it is running Mountain Lion or Lion. However, it works well and I don't think any of the non-animal names will run on that anyway, plus I still have a proper dock instead of an ugly flat strip at the bottom of the screen, so I am happy. Also I have a DVD player built in, so much better than on a new iMac

My mobile kit (iPhone, iPad Mini2, Watch, etc.) is all much more recent.

However, yesterday whilst looking for my iPod Touch (which I have not found yet) I found my old iPod Touch. This appears to be running iOS6 I think. I updated it but that was only a minor update. I tried to install or update a few of the Apps and was advised that the latest versions would not run on iOS6 - but I was offered the latest version that was compatible.

I was very impressed by that. Instead of just saying 'Tough, it won't work' it offered me an acceptable older version. Well done Apple

Unfortunately, when I tried the same on my iMac using the AppStore, I was just advised I could not complete the purchase as the App required OS X 10.10 or later. It did prevent me from buying an App I would not be able to use - which is good - but it didn't offer me an earlier version of the App which would work.

Still on the whole a positive experience. I wonder if Microsoft would have done the same - or just accepted my money and then not allowed the App to install?

IWT said:

Chas, given the big jump from SL to Yosemite, would you not perhaps recommend a clean install of 10.10.x rather than an overwrite? (Obviously with TM BU at the very least; and the OP did, I think, indicate he was getting someone to do this upgrade with/for him).

Click to expand...

Yes, that would be ideal.

Nighthawk4 said:

Unfortunately, when I tried the same on my iMac using the AppStore, I was just advised I could not complete the purchase as the App required OS X 10.10 or later. It did prevent me from buying an App I would not be able to use - which is good - but it didn't offer me an earlier version of the App which would work.

Still on the whole a positive experience. I wonder if Microsoft would have done the same - or just accepted my money and then not allowed the App to install?

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, about the only reliable solution for this is to go directly to the developer's website. They often have older versions of the app available. The AppStore listing often has a direct link to the developer's website.

IWT said:

Chas, given the big jump from SL to Yosemite, would you not perhaps recommend a clean install of 10.10.x rather than an overwrite? (Obviously with TM BU at the very least; and the OP did, I think, indicate he was getting someone to do this upgrade with/for him).

Ian

Click to expand...

The old OS X "clean install" has been going out of favour and is often overkill if one does some research and checking as a google search will show:
https://www.google.ca/search?client...&oe=UTF-8&gfe_rd=cr&ei=UtynVbqGG4Ht8weIr6ngBQ

And several articles explain why such as:
"But a new download-and-install procedure debuted with Lion (OS X 10.7) and has continued through Mavericks (OS X 10.9). Instead of using a bootable installation DVD, …"
Should you do a "clean install" of Mavericks? | Macworld

Greg55 said:

I am still running Snow Leopard on my iMac here at home. Some websites don't support the Safari browser that is being used. I have never updated the OS in my loved iMac except the recommended updates from Apple. Ok instead of spending a lot of money I don't have, what OS can I upgrade to and where do I get it. I looked in the app store and all that is there is Yosimite and the reviews are horrible. I don't want to mess up my computer. Can someone help me here, I am not up to date on all of it, my Mac has been a cornerstone, no problems whatsoever. Thanks

Click to expand...

You'll have to provide some info about your computer. Instead of upgrading the OS (I can only go to Lion) I switched browsers. Firefox still works pretty well with Snow Leopard, better if you install NoScript as well.