Update mac operating system. Here's a guide aimed at all Mac users that will walk you through the upgrade paths for all the latest versions of OS X

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The final version of macOS today is macOS 10.13 High Sierra.

The latest version of macOS is called macOS 10.13 High Sierra and was released on September 25, 2017. Apple typically releases a new version of software once a year. These updates are free and available in the Mac App Store.

Latest version of macOS – 10.13 High Sierra

The newest version of the Mac software is macOS 10.13, aka macOS High Sierra. This is the fourteenth version of the operating system released by Apple for Mac.

macOS 10.13 High Sierra has the same hardware requirements as macOS 10.12 Sierra. You can install it on the following devices:

MacBook (Late 2009 or newer);
MacBook Pro (Mid 2010 or newer);
MacBook Air (Late 2010 or newer);
Mac mini (mid 2010 or later);
iMac (Late 2009 or newer);
Mac Pro (Mid 2010 or newer).

High Sierra contains several interesting improvements. The Safari browser has begun to block the automatic playback of videos and advertisements that haunt the user on the Internet. Spotlight search is now available in the Mail app. The Photos app offers a set of more advanced editing tools. Apple started using the new APFS file system by default, and also improved graphics support. Mac can now use external graphics cards. The Metal 2 graphics engine has improved playback, and Metal for VR has improved virtual reality support on the Mac.

How to check if you have the latest version

To find out which version of macOS your computer is running, click the menu icon “ Apple” in the upper left corner of the screen and select the option “About this Mac“.

A window will open where in the “Overview” tab you will see the name and version number of the operating system installed on this computer. Each version has several small updates, which are indicated by numbers (in this case “.4”). Such updates contain security patches and other fixes. They appear regularly in the Mac App Store.

How to update your operating system to the latest version

If you don't already have it installed on your MacmacOS High Sierra, you can easily update it on MacApp Store. Open it, search for “High Sierra” or follow the linkupdate operating system.

Click the “ Download” on the macOS High Sierra page so you can install it on your Mac. The file size is over 5 GB, so downloading will take some time. Once the file is completely downloaded to your Mac, it will automatically launch the installer. Follow its instructions to install the new version.

Apple has released the new OS X Yosemite, the company called the most important advantages a 100% updated interface, the operating system has become more transparent and “flat”. Here we must admit that not all Mac users will like such revolutionary changes in design, and many in the reviews are not happy with such a “primitive” appearance. In terms of stability and speed, some compare it to Vista in Windows. This is due to the fact that some programs do not work correctly in the new OS + there are problems with Wi-Fi, but I think that the next updates to the operating system will correct such shortcomings and the new OS X Yosemite will work no worse than previous versions of OS X. In addition to the interface global changes have occurred in interaction with iOS, namely: now you can receive/answer calls/SMS from iPhone directly from your Mac. Applications running on iPhone can be viewed on Mac or iPad (Handoff function). The Instant Hotspot feature allows you to use your iPhone as a modem to access the Internet. In general, in my opinion, it’s worth trying the new operating system, especially for those who have an iPhone running iOS 8 or higher, plus OS X Yosemite is free, so at most you’ll lose this time.

Before you start upgrading to OS X Yosemite, I advise you to follow a few recommendations:

1 Check your Mac device's compatibility with OS X Yosemite.

Unfortunately, not all Mac devices are suitable for OS X Yosemite; below is a list of devices that are compatible with the new OS X:
iMac (Mid 2007 model or newer)
MacBook (late 2008 aluminum model, early 2009 model or newer)
MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 model or newer)
MacBook Air (late 2008 model or newer)
Mac mini (Early 2009 model or newer)
Mac Pro (Early 2008 model or newer)
Xserve (early 2009 model)

To find out information about your Mac model, click the Apple icon in the upper left corner of the screen and select About This Mac.

In the window that opens, click the "Details" button.

A window will open in front of you, which will indicate the model and technical information of the Mac.

In addition, there are some other technical limitations:
You must have OS X 10.6.8 or later installed (this information can be found in “About this MAC”, see the print screens above).
The Mac must have at least 2 GB of RAM (this information can be found in "About This MAC", see the print screens above).
8 GB of free space on hard drive/SSD.

2 Make a system backup.

It is not known whether you will like the new OS X or not, everything will go smoothly during its installation, as is usually the case, or there will be failures, protect yourself and do system backup . If the new OS X Yosemite doesn't suit you, you can easily restore from a backup and work in a previous version of OS X.

3 Update all installed applications.

For all installed applications to work correctly, you must update all previously installed applications. To do this, connect your MAC to the Internet (via Wi-Fi or an Ethernet cable), click on the apple in the upper left corner and select "Software Update".

At the top there will be a banner asking you to upgrade to OS X Yosemite, and below all applications that require updating will be listed, click the "Update All" button and update them in one fell swoop.

Upgrading to OS X Yosemite

After this, you can start updating to OS X Yosemite, to do this, click on the Apple logo in the upper left corner and select “Software Update”, then click the “Free” button in the banner.

Minimum system requirements for Tiger:

PowerPC G3, G4 or G5 running at 300 MHz or higher
FireWire port
256 MB RAM
3 GB hard drive space
DVD drive

Leopard minimum system requirements:

Intel or PowerPC G4 or G5 processor at 867 MHz or higher
DVD drive
512 MB RAM
9 GB hard drive space

If you have an old PowerPC Mac that you want to completely upgrade, put the 10.5 Leopard DVD in your drive and follow the instructions. Leopard is the latest version of OS X to support PowerPC Macs, so it's a good idea to have the latest version. However, you won't be able to work on your Mac anymore until you get a newer Intel-based machine.

If you have an early Intel-based Mac, it's smarter to skip Leopard and go straight from Lion to Snow Leopard—if you can accommodate the memory and hard drive requirements.

Upgrade from 10.5 “Leopard” to 10.6 “Snow Leopard”

Snow Leopard system requirements:

Intel Mac
1 GB RAM
5 GB hard drive space
DVD drive

Snow Leopard is the latest version of OS X, available strictly on DVD. This DVD is also the only way for Macs running older versions of OS X to access the Mac App Store and update it with Snow Leopard. If you have an Intel Mac, simply place the Snow Leopard DVD in your drive and follow the update instructions.

As we said earlier, if you still have a Power PC Mac, you're stuck with 10.5 Leopard since it was the last version to officially support non-Intel compatible Macs.

Please note that 10.6 Snow Leopard is the minimum version to run our Mac optimization application, . Therefore, upgrading to Snow Leopard is wise!

Upgrade from 10.6 “Snow Leopard” to 10.7 “Lion”

Lion system requirements:

64-bit Intel Mac
2 GB RAM
OS X 10.6.6 or later
7 GB hard drive space

You cannot upgrade from the earliest version of Snow Leopard to Lion. You must patch Snow Leopard to 10.6.6 first on Apple's website (and Apple recommends going to 10.6.8). That's because 10.6.6 is the first version of OS X to introduce the Mac App Store, which allows online updates from a Mac in major versions. Before this, you could update the same version of OS X through Apple's support site on their website, but you couldn't upgrade to the next major version without a DVD.

And there are actually no DVDs for 10.7 Lion and later versions of OS X. You need to upgrade to the digital version or not at all, which means 10.6.6, the earliest version to support the Mac App Store, is also the earliest version that can upgrade digitally up to the latest version of OS X.

However, you will first need to upgrade to 10.6.6 or 10.6.8 through the Apple support website. Once you've done this and you have the Mac App Store installed, go there to update. In fact, you can no longer upgrade to Lion as it has been removed from the Mac App Store since July 2012. You should upgrade straight to Mountain Lion. If you already have Lion installed and need to reinstall it, hold Option and go to the " Purchased» in the Apple Mac Store to see the download link again.

Upgrade from 10.7 Lion (or 10.6.8 Snow Leopard) to 10.8 Mountain Lion

Mountain Lion System Requirements:

2 GB RAM
8 GB hard drive space
OS X 10.6.8 or later

The earliest Mac models supported were: Mid-2007 iMac, late 2008 or early 2009 MacBook, mid-2007 MacBook Pro, late 2008 MacBook Air, early 2009 Mac Mini, or early 2008 Mac Pro

If you have a system that meets the above specifications, you will be able to upgrade your Mac from Lion to Mountain Lion (or even the later Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion) through the Mac App Store. It will cost $19.99 US, with different prices for other regions.

One of the assumptions about the release date of the final version of OS X Mountain Lion turned out to be correct, and at yesterday's telephone conference, Tim Cook announced that the new system will be available for download on July 25, that is, today. While the United States sleeps, you and I will prepare our Macs for the transition to the new system. I hope everyone will update to 10.8?

Like last year's Lion, it is extremely easy to install and does not require any skills from the user. Apart from following the instructions on the computer screen, you will not be asked to do anything more. The first thing you need to know before upgrading to Mountain Lion is the system's compatibility with your computer. As Apple itself says, the new version of the system will work on the following computers:

MacBook (Aluminum Late 2008 or Early 2009 or later)
MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or later)
MacBook Air (Late 2008 or later)
iMac (Mid 2007 or later)
Mac mini (Early 2009 or later)
Mac Pro (Early 2008 or later)
Xserve (Early 2009)

Please note that despite system support, some functions, such as PowerNap or AirPlay, have more stringent restrictions and work not on all computers.

Apple says your computer must have 2 gigabytes of RAM to install OS X Mountain Lion, but we advise you to upgrade your Mac's RAM, since working with 4 gigabytes of memory in 10.8 is much more enjoyable.

Note that there is no need to install RAM in your computer from the same manufacturer that Apple itself installs. The main selection criterion is the operating frequency of the RAM. When you arrive at the store, we recommend that you provide the sales assistant with accurate data on all characteristics, for example, by saving a screenshot of the screen on your iPhone.

If you're having trouble identifying your Mac's system data, you can always use the free Mactracker app, which provides all the information about every device Apple has ever made. In the program you will definitely find your Mac and a detailed description of its technical characteristics and data.

The key software limitation when installing Mountain Lion is current system version no lower than OS X 10.6.8. The fact is that Mountain Lion, like Lion last year, is installed on your computer only through the Mac App Store, which is only available on OS X 10.6.8 and higher. In addition, Apple advises checking your computer for all available updates. You can check it in Finder from the Apple menu - Software Update.

If your Mac is running Mac OS X Leopard (10.5), then there is only one way to upgrade it to Mountain Lion. First, you will need to purchase Snow Leopard ($29) and from there upgrade to Mountain Lion, the release of which, let me remind you, we are already waiting for tonight.

While upgrading to OS X Lion last year, I purchased a wireless Magic Trackpad for my iMac. The reason for this decision was the new multi-touch gestures introduced by Apple in OS X Lion. Since then, I've been working on my Mac using a combination mouse and trackpad. With the advent of Mountain Lion, gestures will become even more common, and it will become more difficult to manage without a trackpad. If you haven’t purchased this wonderful thing yet, I strongly recommend it to you - working on a desktop Mac becomes even more enjoyable.

To do this, launch Disk Utility on your Mac, select your startup disk in the left column and click the “Check Disk” button. Checking the disk's functionality will take some time and may slow down the system somewhat, but this is not a big deal. At the end of the test you should see something like the following.

If, during the verification process, Disk Utility has detected any problems in the operation of your boot disk, then we advise you to boot from another partition and, running Disk Utility again, try to fix all the problems in the partition where they occur by clicking on the “Fix disk” button "

If you are upgrading from Lion and your Mac is using Lion Recovery, you have the option to boot into the appropriate mode by holding Command+R after turning on the computer and use Disk Utility from there.

Back up your Mac. We definitely recommend that you create a backup copy of your system using the Time Machine program built into OS X. To do this, you will need an external, capacious storage device that can accommodate all the information from your boot disk.

Mac users running Snow Leopard should deactivate FileVault. Mountain Lion, like Lion, has a slightly different encryption principle - FileVault 2. According to Apple, this principle is the best previously existing, and if FileVault is enabled on your Mac, then you can switch to a new system without loss by simply disabling FileVault before upgrading .

If you use third-party disk encryption, we recommend that you temporarily disable it when upgrading to a new version of OS X. Many of these products interact with the disk and operating system at a low level, and incompatibility with Mountain Lion may result in your Mac being unable to boot or unable to access all of your information. You can put encryption into action as soon as Mountain Lion is installed on your Mac and you have verified that the software encryption is compatible.

We definitely recommend that you check your computer for updates. For example, system 10.6.8 contains the fixes needed to upgrade to Mountain Lion. You can update the software on your Mac from the Apple menu.

In addition to basic system updates, we recommend monitoring all third-party software installed on your computer. The upcoming release of a new version of the operating system always encourages developers to work on updating their applications to support the new version of the system and a smooth transition to the new OS. To do this, you can either visit the website of the developers of each of the programs installed on your Mac, or use the Mac App Store and check for updates to the programs there.

If you are too lazy to browse developer sites, we recommend using a more convenient solution. The RoaringApps website maintains a list of programs that are already supported or planned to be supported in OS X Lion and OS X Mountain Lion.

Set up your iCloud account or start one if you haven't already. On June 31 of this year, the MobileMe service ceased to exist, and if you were its user, you probably know about its closure, since Apple notified all its users about this more than once.

You can set up a cloud account in the System Settings program. Just go to the program and in the “Internet and wireless network” section, select iCloud. If your account has not yet been set up, you will be prompted to create a new one. There are more and more app developers now supporting iCloud on both iOS and OS X, and using this service will definitely make your life easier in the Apple ecosystem.

The principle of software updates introduced by Apple a year ago is very convenient, and you and I do not need to leave our workplace to update our Mac. While Apple is preparing to launch a new system, we invite you to drink a cup of coffee or watch a good movie. And by the way, did you remember to check your credit card balance?..

Based on materials from macworld.com

Advanced computer users, as well as security experts, recommend using the latest versions of software, including operating systems. Next, we want to talk about the procedure for updating your iMac or MacBook to the latest version of macOS.

The latest at the time of writing this article is macOS Mojave 10.14.3, released in October 2018. Among the notable innovations, this release brought the long-awaited dark theme, deeper integration of the Siri assistant, a file organization tool called Stacks, as well as improved tools for removing screenshots The general system requirements to install this update are as follows:

OS X 10.8 or later;
2 GB RAM;
12.5 GB of free disk space;

Please note that not all Apple devices can install Mojave - make sure yours matches the list below.

MacBook released in 2015 or later;
MacBook Air released in 2012 or later;
MacBook Pro released in 2012 or later;
Mac mini released in 2012 or later;
iMac released in 2012 or later;
iMac Pro;
Mac Pro released in 2013, 2010 and 2012 with a video card that supports Metal technology.

Procedure to update to macOS Mojave

Before proceeding with the update, we recommend making a backup copy using Time Machine: firstly, this will help restore functionality to the computer in case of problems with the update; secondly, it will secure important data; thirdly, it will allow you to roll back if the update does not suit you.

Now you can start updating.

Open the Mac AppStore from the Dock.

Use the search and enter your query macos mojave.

Select a result from a category "Utilities".

Click on the button "Download" to start downloading the installation file.

Note! The installer is approximately 6 GB in size, so the download process may take a long time!
Once the download is complete, open Finder and go to the catalog "Programs".

A new item should appear in them called "Installing macOS Mojave". Launch this application.

Select an item "Continue".

You will also need to accept the license agreement.

Next, the installer will ask you to select a disk to install the new version of MacOS. Most often the main drive will be available, "macintosh HD", choose it.

The installation procedure for the newest version will begin. It may take some time, up to 30 minutes. During the process, the computer will restart several times - do not pay attention, this is normal, you just need to wait.
As a rule, the update picks up all user settings, so after installation you only need to enter the administrator password and select a light or dark system design.

Done – your Apple device is updated to the latest version of the operating system.

Possible problems and their solutions

Some users may experience difficulty downloading or installing updates. Below we describe the most common problems and methods for eliminating them.

Mojave installer takes too long to load
First of all, the problem is that the Internet connection is not fast enough. The download may also freeze if the connection is lost or there are problems with Apple servers. The latter can be checked at the following link.

There is also a reason to use a wired connection rather than Wi-Fi - just connect your computer to the router or plug the Internet cable into the appropriate connector.

The installer gives the error “macOS could not be installed on your computer”
If the installer for the latest macOS reports that it cannot install the update, do the following:

The installation was not completed correctly, the computer does not boot the system
If something went wrong at the last stage of installation and the computer cannot boot into the system, go into recovery mode and restore from a backup or reinstall the OS.

Conclusion

Installing the latest version of macOS is a simple task, provided that the hardware characteristics of the device meet the system requirements for the update.