Upgrade from 10.6.8 to High Sierra

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Upgrade from 10.6.8 to High Sierra

I have a 2009 10.1 iMac that can no longer run Chrome or Safari. I read that if I upgrade to High Sierra, the "maximum" OS for this model, I should be able to resume use of Chrome.

I downloaded the install app for High Sierra, but it wouldn't run. I then learned that you have to first upgrade to El Capitan, so then I downloaded El Capital, but the download never completes. It's just stuck a "0" time remaining but the install app isn't fully downloaded.

What do I need to do to upgrade to High Sierra? Is it worth it? Is it even possible?

iMac

Posted on Sep 8, 2022 07:36 PM

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Answer 1

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den.thed

Level 10

88,816 points

Sep 8, 2022 08:01 PM in response to billforeman

Using Safari, go to > How to get old versions of macOS - Apple Support

download and install OS X El Capitan

then download and install macOS High Sierra.

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Answer 2

Old Toad

Level 10

214,314 points

Sep 9, 2022 03:05 PM in response to billforeman

billforeman wrote:

Any opinion on whether I will regret it? Will upgrading to High Sierra doom my 4 GB iMac to intolerably slow speeds?

You may because with El Capitan 32 bit apps will not run. You can see which of your apps are 32 or 64 bit by running the free GO64 app.

Any of your must have apps that are 32 bit will have to be upgraded or replaced with an alternative. Let us know what you find.

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Answer 3

billforeman Author

Level 1

24 points

Sep 8, 2022 08:13 PM in response to den.thed

Yes, I was following those instructions. It turns out I just needed to wait longer for the El Capitan to fully download. I'll try the installs tomorrow.

Any opinion on whether I will regret it? Will upgrading to High Sierra doom my 4 GB iMac to intolerably slow speeds?

I mostly use a newer MacBook now, but I'd love to squeeze a bit more functionality out of the iMac before retiring it.

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Answer 4

billforeman Author

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Sep 9, 2022 02:54 PM in response to den.thed

Having trouble. I clicked on the link for El Capitan on the "how to get old versions of Mac OS" page and downloaded the installer which is vaguely titled InstallMacOSX.

I then run the installer which says it completed the install. Then I restarted the computer, but on restarting, it's still showing that I'm on 10.6.8. Any idea what's wrong?

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Answer 5

billforeman Author

Level 1

24 points

Sep 11, 2022 05:40 PM in response to Old Toad

I'm upgraded to High Sierra now with most things looking good so far. Hopefully I can squeeze a few more years out of this machine.

The biggest casualty I've noticed is the loss of compatibility with iMovie 6.0.3--an old version I'd purposely saved because of it's superiority to later versions.

I also have older versions of MS Word/Office that now claim to be "not optimized", but they seem to work fine.

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Answer 6

Old Toad

Level 10

214,314 points

Sep 12, 2022 09:54 AM in response to billforeman

billforeman wrote:

The biggest casualty I've noticed is the loss of compatibility with iMovie 6.0.3--an old version I'd purposely saved because of it's superiority to later versions.

I agree about the loss of iMovie 6.0.3. It was the best version every offered by Apple. I have found an alternative: PhotoStage Slideshow Producer. It takes both still photos and video clips and multiple audio tracks just like iMovie 6.0.3 did. It's working fine with Monterey and beyond.

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Answer 7

den.thed

Level 10

88,816 points

Sep 9, 2022 05:08 AM in response to billforeman

Yes High Sierra will run fine on that iMac. I would however use Safari, FireFox or Brave instead of memory hungry Chrome.

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Answer 8

billforeman Author

Level 1

24 points

Sep 9, 2022 03:06 PM in response to billforeman

Never mind... figured it out. The install program installs a new install program for El Capitan which I had to find by searching for "El Capitan" in the finder.

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Upgrade from 10.6.8 to High Sierra

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