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How do I get El Capitan?
- Thread starter myke323
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You don't need El Capitan first to upgrade to Sierra. First, backup your computer, and be sure it's running 10.6.8. Then open the App Store and download Sierra, and install it.
"If your Mac doesn't support Sierra, or you're using Snow Leopard and would like to upgrade to Sierra, you can get El Capitan from the App Store."
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206886
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206886
^^ Thank you. I had actually found that too and it did allow me to finally get to download it. Just searching for it, it wouldn't show up for me.
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I don't get it though, if it's a clean install and I plan on wiping the drive. But there must be a reason...
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Well apparently you do. I am running 10.6.8 and when I try to download Sierra from the app store it gives me a message that says you must have 10.7 or greater and it won't allow me to download.
I don't get it though, if it's a clean install and I plan on wiping the drive. But there must be a reason...
In order to upgrade to Sierra you need a minimum of OS 10.7.5. For people running Snow Leopard, Apple provides a way to get El Capitan so you can meet the minimum of 10.7.5 (otherwise you would have to buy 10.7.5).
Requirements for Sierra:
https://support.apple.com/kb/sp742?locale=en_US&viewlocale=en_US
Requirements for Sierra:
https://support.apple.com/kb/sp742?locale=en_US&viewlocale=en_US
I forgot about the 10.7.5 limitation. It's probably because Apple didn't want to bother testing the upgrade from 10.6.8 to 10.12; I can't think of any other reason.
I see... it's probably that you can't upgrade from snow leopard to sierra, but a clean install would work fine. They won't let you download it if you are running snow leopard as an upgrade would cause problems.
They should just let you download it and warn that an upgrade won't work, only a clean install.
They should just let you download it and warn that an upgrade won't work, only a clean install.
You can install El Capitan if all you've ever had is Snow Leopard without having to get Lion First.
Buy a bootable USB El Capitan installer on Amazon for $14. That's what I did. It works flawlessly & super easy install. Just plug it in, hold the option key during startup, choose the El Capitan installer & off you go.
This is the one I used:
(I had never downloaded any OS since SL so the only way for me to get El Capitan instead of Sierra was to go this route)
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—El Capitan 10.11 for Mac OS - VERY EASY INSTALL FROM 16GB SanDisk Bootable USB Drive - YOU CAN DO IT BY YOURSELF - Instruction Included. - for Non Tec https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015HCZDJS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_ofWbp4djWT9t8
Buy a bootable USB El Capitan installer on Amazon for $14. That's what I did. It works flawlessly & super easy install. Just plug it in, hold the option key during startup, choose the El Capitan installer & off you go.
This is the one I used:
(I had never downloaded any OS since SL so the only way for me to get El Capitan instead of Sierra was to go this route)
-----
—El Capitan 10.11 for Mac OS - VERY EASY INSTALL FROM 16GB SanDisk Bootable USB Drive - YOU CAN DO IT BY YOURSELF - Instruction Included. - for Non Tec https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015HCZDJS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_ofWbp4djWT9t8
It's a bad idea to buy an operating system from an unknown source, especially when Apple makes it available for free.
The link is in post 3 in this thread.
Yeah, that would be nuts... I would never do that.
I completed my clean install of Sierra on my 2010 MBP with 4gb ram and it's running sweet!!! Very snappy, like a brand new machine. Have installed CS5.5 too and some other apps. So far so good...
And it's running so much better than the El Cap upgrade I did yesterday, but that's to be expected from a clean install vs. an upgrade...
That is called commercial copyright infringement. Some use a smear word for that: "piracy".