Is it possible to upgrade my Mac OS X 10.5.8 operating system? If so how?

[bananalegs]

this is my first mac and I was not expecting it to come to a point where certain things like 'skype' would no longer run on my operating system.
If anyone has any suggestions that won't cost me an arm and a leg, I would be most grateful !

 

[dtravis7]

What are the specs of your Mac?

 

[bananalegs]

Model Name: MacBook
Model Identifier: MacBook4,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.1 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 3 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 800 MHz


If I need more memory let me know and I can try to figure out how to do that too. thx!

 

[bananalegs]

Oh, and the operating system is 10.5.8

 

[dtravis7]

This seems to be your machine.

MacBook "Core 2 Duo" 2.1 13" (White-08) Specs (Early 2008, MB402LL/A*, MacBook4,1, A1181, 2242) @ EveryMac.com

10.7 Lion is the newest that will work with that macbook if I have the model right. You can easily upgrade RAM to 4GB and even 6GB with an kit from OWC.

Check that URL and see if all the other specs fit.

I own that exact Macbook and have 10.7 Lion on it and it works well with 4GB RAM but 6 would make it even nicer.


Pre-Installed MacOS: X 10.5.2 (9C2015) Maximum MacOS: X 10.7.5*

 

[bananalegs]

yes, that is the right specs. do I just buy the Lion on ebay then? and then do I need to save copies of all my applications, load in the new system and then re-load all my apps?

sorry to be so clueless about this stuff. I really appreciate the answers/help tho, thank-you.

 

[pigoo3]

do I just buy the Lion on ebay then?

Since you have OS 10.5.8 at the moment…you need to upgrade to 10.6 first. Specifically 10.6.6 (10.6.8) is the highest version of 10.6. The reason why you need 10.6 first is…you need 10.6.6 as a minimum to have access to the Mac App
Store…which is where you will eventually download Lion (10.7) from.

Here's the link for the 10.6 purchase (it comes on disk):

Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard - Apple Store (U.S.)

Here's the link to purchase Lion (10.7):

OS X Lion (10.7) - Apple Store (U.S.)

...and then do I need to save copies of all my applications, load in the new system and then re-load all my apps?

Here's the deal. Since you have 10.5.8 currently installed most or all of your apps are what are known as "PPC apps" (vs. Intel based Apps).

OS 10.6 includes an app called "Rosetta". Rosetta allows older PPC apps to run within OS 10.6. But…if you upgrade beyond OS 10.6.8 (to say OS 10.7)…then you lose all compatibility for those older PPC apps.

So you have two choices if you want to upgrade your OS.

1. If you NEED to keep your apps as they are…then you cannot upgrade beyond 10.6.8.
2. If these apps you have are not that important…or if you're willing to upgrade to newer versions of them (that are compatible with OS 10.7)…then you can upgrade to 10.7.

HTH,

- Nick

 

[johnodd4]

the mac app store no longer has lion on it.

I can give you a alternative as well max the ram at 4 gig's for that model and use SFOTT to install maverick it's designed to remove the system limitations set fourth by apple on the maverick operating system so it installs on unsupported MacBooks

just search google for sixty four on thirty two

also once you do this you will no longer be able to get support at a apple store so only choose this option as a last resort and if you really want to try something newer then 10.7

 

[bananalegs]

Thanks so much Nick !