macos 14 Boot up old hard drives?

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macos 14 Boot up old hard drives?

Can I boot up my old Mac Snow Leopard back up drive on my new MBA macOS 14 like I used to be able to do on my old MBP running macOS 10.13 using Disk Utility?

MacBook Air (M1, 2020)

Posted on Apr 8, 2023 8:06 AM

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Answer 1

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Barney-15E

Level 10

115,954 points

May 7, 2023 7:24 PM in response to John Barro

John Barro wrote:

My old MBP running High Sierra (MAC OS 10.13) can boot-up a saved hard disk of Snow Leopard (10.6), but apparently, an M1 MacBook Air cannot?? It was a simple question, or so I thought.

The simple answer is an M1 MacBook Air cannot boot Snow Leopard for two reasons,

1) It cannot boot an OS older than the one that shipped on it.

2) It cannot boot from an Intel OS. It needs an OS based on Apple Silicon.

A 2010 MacBook Pro shipped with Snow Leopard and can run High Sierra.

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Answer 2

Apr 8, 2023 9:02 AM in response to John Barro

The model of your mac determines which versions of the OS it can use.

What is your mac model and year (as seen in About this Mac from your Apple menu)?

Snow Leopard is more than a decade old. Very very few macs from around 2013 can run Ventura, most of them stopped at Bir Sur. I believe the single exception is the 2013 “trash can” Mac Pro.

I seriously doubt that there will be macs capable of running both Snow Leopard and also macOS 14.

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Answer 3

John Barro Author

Level 1

9 points

Apr 10, 2023 6:35 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Thank you Luis. I have a MacBook Air M1, 2020. I wasn't sure if this was possible or not. Good thing my MacBook Pro can still do this. I don't really use it that much with the Snow Leopard boot-up but I was wondering if it was possible. Thanks again! Much appreciated!

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Answer 4

John Barro Author

Level 1

9 points

Apr 15, 2023 10:36 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Sorry Luis, I don't mean to be confusing. Currently I have a MacBook Pro running High Sierra that I can plug in an old back-up drive running Snow Leopard that I can boot-up on the MBP. I was just wondering if I could still do the same with my new MBAir. It's not that important since I can still use my MBP but I was trying to find an easy way to copy over my old photos and videos to the MBA. I guess its up to my flash drives! Again, sorry for any confusion. Thanks again for answering. It is very helpful.

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Answer 5

John Barro Author

Level 1

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May 27, 2023 9:20 AM in response to Barney-15E

Thank you Barney. Understood. I know my M1 can 'see' the files but cannot run any apps, but mostly I needed access to the docs, photos, movies and any music files. At least I know to hang on to and tae care of my old MBP.

Did I mention the I still have my original 2004 iBook running System 8? Ot still boots up and works just great although the iTunes will no longer connect to Apple Music. But that's okay. It's a peek back into systems past.

Thanks again!

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Answer 6

Old Toad

Level 10

210,189 points

Apr 15, 2023 11:11 AM in response to John Barro

Just so we're all on the same page: a Mac cannot run a system older than the one it came with.

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Answer 7

Apr 10, 2023 6:42 AM in response to John Barro

I am confused...

An M1 MacBook CANNOT run Snow Leopard.

It is irrelevant if you have macOS 13, or 14.

You seem to be saying that you CAN currently do so. Can you please elaborate?

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Answer 8

John Barro Author

Level 1

9 points

May 7, 2023 7:10 PM in response to Old Toad

My old MBP running High Sierra (MAC OS 10.13) can boot-up a saved hard disk of Snow Leopard (10.6), but apparently, an M1 MacBook Air cannot?? It was a simple question, or so I thought.

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macos 14 Boot up old hard drives?

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