Should I move to Sierra, 10.12, from 10.9.5 on late '09 iMac

[macnicol]

I'm running Mavericks, 10.9.5, on my late '09 27" iMac 11,1 2.8 GHz Intel Quad Core i7 16 GB 1067 MHz DDR3.

It is running fine except for an occasional fail to wake from sleep overnight. I'm concerned that if I get too far behind OS releases I won't be able to update in the future. What about application compatibilty? I am running OS from an external SSD and have a second SSD that I can install 10.2 on. What is the best way to migrate my apps and files to the new OS?

 

[dianeoforegon]

I'm running Mavericks, 10.9.5, on my late '09 27" iMac 11,1 2.8 GHz Intel Quad Core i7 16 GB 1067 MHz DDR3.

It is running fine except for an occasional fail to wake from sleep overnight. I'm concerned that if I get too far behind OS releases I won't be able to update in the future. What about application compatibilty? I am running OS from an external SSD and have a second SSD that I can install 10.2 on. What is the best way to migrate my apps and files to the new OS?

I suspect Sierra will be as far as you can update so it's worth a shot. The early 2009 does not meet requirements for Sierra.
How much RAM?

Do a clone backup first and set it aside. If you are not happy with Sierra you can clone your Mavericks install back.

I would do a clean install and not use migration. It would be easy to boot from your Mavericks clone and erase the internal drive and install Sierra. Without bringing over any of your files, test Sierra for browsing etc. If you don't see beachballs, you can then move over your data. We can go into manually moving over once you are satisfied with Sierra's performance on your Mac.

How to check if your software will run under a newer version of OS X. See this site to check for compatibility:
http://roaringapps.com/

 

[Ebenezum]

OP:

I would first recommend that you check application compatibility directly from the developers, while you can use roaringapps it may contain partially incorrect information.

Unfortunately Sierra has buggy PDFKit, if you are using any third party PDF software you may not want install it at the moment...

Since your Mac is supported model Sierra will work and 16 GB of RAM is plenty, keep in mind that external SSD isn't going to be as fast as internal.

As for when Apple stop supporting your Mac its anybody's guess, if previous OS versions are any indication it could be 3 or 4 versions before Apple drops the support but there is no way to say for sure.

I agree with dianeoforegon, first thing you should do is to clone the Mac and then consider your options. You might want to download Sierra now even if you don't install it because Apple will likely remove it from the App Store once next OS is released...

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

BEFORE you upgrade, I would strongly advise you to do the following:

1. Download either CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper (both are FREE to download and use for 30 days)
2. Using either of the above, create a bootable cloned backup of your 10.9.5 install on an external drive.
3. Boot and test the drive -- to be sure it IS bootable.

After doing this, then it's time to try the upgrade.

WHY do this?
Because if you DON'T like the upgrade, having a bootable cloned backup makes it trivially easy to "get back, get back, get back to where you once belonged."

WITHOUT a cloned backup, this WILL NOT be easy. You'll "be stuck".

Final thought:
You may find Sierra runs slower than Mavericks. Just something to be aware of.

 

[h9826790]

I'm concerned that if I get too far behind OS releases I won't be able to update in the future.

OS support base on your hardware. As long as your iMac is supported, you can always upgrade to the latest OS.

Apple usually support a hardware up to 7 years. So, highly likely Sierra will be the highest OS that your iMac is officially supported. Install now, or later, shouldn't make any difference.

I never hard anyone can't install the most up to date OS because (s)he do that too late.