#How to update os for macbook air software#

When your Mac finishes downloading all of the software necessary for installing El Capitan on your computer, itвЂ™ll place an installer icon somewhere on your desktop. Depending on how fast your internet connection is, downloaded the several gigabytes can take anywhere from just a few minutes to a few hours.Д¬lose all of your windows and look for вЂњInstall OS X El CapitanвЂќ on your desktop. Make sure youвЂ™re downloading the official OS, and not paying for some sketchy help book: the OS X update will always be free (so if you see a dollar amount, stay away).Д¬lick the download button to start the process, then go get something to drink. If you do have the App Store, open it and search for El Capitan in the search box.

#How to update os for macbook air install#

In that case, run your computerвЂ™s вЂSoftware Update.вЂ™ This will install the last version of Snow Leopard, which is OS X 10.6.8 вЂ“ importantly, it comes with App Store pre-installed (and then youвЂ™ll be able to follow these directions again).

#How to update os for macbook air mac os x#

If you donвЂ™t see вЂApp Store,вЂ™ it probably means that youвЂ™re running Mac OS X 10.6.7 or earlier.

Next, look for the Mac App Store on your computer.Д¬lick on the Apple icon in the upper left-hand corner of your screen, and select App Store from the list.

#How to update os for macbook air how to#

WeвЂ™ve got your back with a guide on how to use Time Machine to back up and restore your Mac. Never tried to back up your computer before? DonвЂ™t worry. You can launch it from Spotlight (hit вЊ + Space) by typing Time Machine into the search box and hitting enter. The point is that while these events are rare, itвЂ™s easy to avoid the heartaches and headaches they cause by virtue of being prepared.ДЇortunately, Apple builds a dead simple tool into OS X for backing up your Mac. Upgrading your computerвЂ™s operating system can leave it vulnerable: sometimes an important system file gets corrupted, or a pre-installed app interferes with something that the El Capitan installer needs to do. We say it three times because itвЂ™s an important step that way too many people skip. If you need even more room, take a peek at our guide on freeing up hard drive space on your Mac. If you find yourself running low on disk space, be sure to empty your Trash вЂ“ itвЂ™s easy to leave several gigabytes of files in there, never truly deleted. You can check to see what version of OS X youвЂ™re running, along with how much memory you have, by going to the Apple icon in the upper left-hand corner of your screen, clicking it, and selecting вЂAbout This Mac.вЂ™ YouвЂ™ll also want to make sure you have at least 2GB of RAM and a minimum of 8 вЂ“ 10GB of free space on your hard drive.

There are some reports of users modifying a system file that tells the OS whether itвЂ™s on supported hardware, and getting machines like the powerful 2008 Xserve servers up and running : but itвЂ™s not for the faint of heart, since you run the risk of losing the ability to boot any time your software gets updated.

MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer).

Luckily, Apple posts a handy list of the models you can expect to be compatible with the new OS: Some older Macs will also be upgradeable, but youвЂ™ll need to check in order to make sure.

That means that if your Mac runs OS X 10.10 вЂњYosemiteвЂќ, 10.9 вЂњMavericksвЂќ, or 10.8 вЂњMountain Lion,вЂќ itвЂ™ll run El Capitan. This is the window that pops up when you click on вЂAbout This Mac.вЂ™