Lion is an upgrade and can be installed on all your authorized personal Macs. The OS X Lion Up-to-Date upgrade will be available through the Mac App Store at no additional charge to all customers who purchased a qualifying new Mac system from Apple or an Apple Authorized Reseller on or after June 6, 2011. If your current operating system is OS X Lion (10.7), you can skip a few versions, and upgrade directly to macOS High Sierra. To upgrade to Sierra from, say, Mavericks, you’ll have to consequently upgrade to Yosemite and then to El Capitan first. Check Your macOS for Sierra Compatibility These OS versions can upgrade to Sierra. Upgrade to OS X El Capitan first. Then you can upgrade from that to MacOS High Sierra. If you’re running Snow Leopard (10.6.8) or Lion (10.7) and your Mac supports macOS High Sierra, you will need to upgrade to El Capitan first. Starting with OS X Lion, Apple did away with DVDs and other media as a method of installing software and switched to a download model instead.Even so, it's still easy to create a USB installation disk for OS X Lion if you want to install Lion on a freshly formatted hard drive, if you're in an emergency booting situation, or if you need to repair your Mac's hard drive. Click the Apple menu followed by “About this Mac” to check to make sure your Mac is compatible.
The latest version of the macOS operating system, macOS High Sierra, was released on Monday, September 25, 2017.
In this article, we will explain how to upgrade mac to macOS High Sierra.
Why Should We Upgrade to macOS High Sierra?
Apple released the latest macOS, High Sierra, and added some new features including a new and improved Apple File System (AFPS), a faster browser, stellar graphics, better gaming capabilities and VR support. MacOS 10.13 is absolutely worthwhile to upgrade your Mac.
macOS High Sierra System Compatibility
You can download and install macOS High Sierra OS for free in 2009 or later. Basically, if your Mac is currently running macOS Sierra system (macOS 10.12), you can smoothly upgrade to macOS High Sierra.
The following is the device compatibility information released by Apple:
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Some features, such as High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) encoding and decoding require newer processors and devices, some of which unfortunately cannot run on older devices.
If you are running OS X Lion (10.7.5) or later, you can upgrade directly to macOS High Sierra.
How to Upgrade macOS
There are two ways to upgrade macOS: directly in Mac App Store, or upgrade using an USB device.
No matter which way you choose, always remember to back up your data before performing an upgrade.
Time Machine Backup
Apple has its own official backup tool: Time Machine. This feature was released in OS X 10.5 Leopard. If you have never backed up, let me tell you how important it is.
Time Machine can connect to your Mac and any external hard drive via USB, FireWire or Thunderbolt port. Back up everything on your Mac directly to your hard drive, in case the Mac cannot upgrade properly.
It also supports Apple’s Time Capsule and backup disks connected over a network as long as the disks support AFPS. As long as the disk is available to your Mac, you can use it for Time Machine backups.
When enabled, Apple’s Time Machine will periodically transfer all files and store data on an inserted external hard drive or on a Time Capsule connected to the network.
You can choose hourly, daily or weekly backup to store your data on the external hard drive. When the external device is full, Time Machine will delete the oldest backup and replace it with the newer version.
Let’s check how to enable Time Machine backup on Mac devices.
1. Choose “System Preferences…” from the Mac menu.
2. Double-click the Time Machine icon.
3. Click “Select Backup Disk…” to select the disk you want to use as a Time Machine backup.
4. Select the “Back Up Automatically” check box so that your Mac will automatically back up data to your chosen disk.
Latest Mac Os Sierra Update
If you want to restore files from Time Machine, make sure your Mac is running. Click “Enter Time Machine”, find the previous file or folder, and then click “Restore.”
Besides Time Machine, you can try other great backup and restore software such as Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC) and SuperDuper.
1. Direct Upgrade in Mac App Store
Generally, you can upgrade your system directly in the Mac App Store by clicking “Check for Updates” or click the following link to download macOS High Sierra:
If you use a Beta version, you still need to click the link above to download the system, or go to the developer’s website for download information.
If you want to choose “USB clean upgrade”, check the detailed information below.
2. Upgrade using USB device
i. USB Preparation
Before formatting your current operating system, download macOS High Sierra from the Mac App Store first. You will need a copy of macOS High Sierra to perform a clean installation later. If you want to upgrade to this version, it is possible as long as your current operating system version is lower than macOS High Sierra.
Natively, look for “Disk Utility” in your application, select an external USB device with a capacity of 8 GB or larger, format it directly, and remember to choose the format “Mac OS Extended (Journaled)”. If it is a hard disk, it would be better to make a partition beforehand.
If you have already downloaded the macOS High Sierra package, do not click on the installation. Directly open the “terminal” program, which you can find in the application.
When typing the following text in the terminal, check the name of the formatted external USB device. If you do not name it “Untitled”, you need to change the command syntax of the path name: Volumes/Untitled. The names of external USB devices cannot contain spaces and are case sensitive.
sudo /Applications/Install macOS High Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/Untitled –applicationpath /Applications/Install macOS High Sierra.app –nointeraction
Press “Enter” on your keyboard to execute the command. You will then be prompted to enter the administrator password. It will start the process after the operation, which can take a long time, depending on the transfer speed of the external USB device. When done, the terminal window will report “Done.”
ii. USB Upgrade Installation
a. Click the Apple icon .
b. Choose “Restart…” from the drop-down menu.
c. Press and hold “Command+R” when you hear a startup ring (or when the screen on your newer Mac device turns black), and hold down the keys until your computer restarts.
d. Open “Disk Utility”, choose your startup disk, and then click “Erase”.
e. Select “Mac OS Extended (Journaled)” from the list of volume formats and start formatting.
f. When it returns to the former page, insert your USB and click “Continue”.
g. When the installation window appears, click “Continue” again.
h. Agree to the software terms and conditions. Choose your hard drive.
i. Click “Install” and wait until the upgrade is done.
How to Keep Your Mac Always Clean
Os X Lion Update To Sierra 10.13
If you have done a complete installation of macOS, you must be enjoying the completely new macOS now. I believe you also want to keep your Mac clean. Let’s say someday your Mac has a lot of junk files and duplicate photos. There are also probably many apps you have never used and don’t need them anymore. I must tell you there is a savior for your Mac! Its name is Cleaner One Pro. It’s really great to have such a system optimizing tool. With its “Junk Files” feature, it not only cleans temporary files including logs, mail caches, iTunes and iOS temporary files, and empties trash for the current user, but also detects remaining files after deleting apps.
It also has a function called “Duplicate Files”, which can find duplicate files on your Mac through fast and accurate scanning techniques covering your entire home folder. Duplicates are selected not only by the file name but also by their contents. Files are shown in detailed previews. It can further help you decide which copy to delete by presenting the “Auto Select” button.
Duplicates can be sorted by file type and listed in their full route for you to track. You can decide which way to clean these files; either by sending them to trash or deleting them permanently.
You probably also need an intelligent app uninstaller. Don’t worry, Cleaner One Pro has this function. It can auto-clean leftovers of deleted apps and manage all the applications installed on your Mac easily. When you remove an app you don’t need anymore, it can get rid of all the associated files of the uninstalled app as well. It will also notify you of new updates to installed apps.
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To get the latest features and maintain the security, stability, compatibility, and performance of your Mac, it's important to keep your software up to date. Apple recommends that you always use the latest macOS that is compatible with your Mac.
Learn how to upgrade to macOS Big Sur, the latest version of macOS.
Check compatibility
If a macOS installer can't be used on your Mac, the installer will let you know. For example, it might say that your Mac doesn't have enough free storage space for the installation, or that the installer is too old to be opened on this version of macOS.
If you want to check compatibility before downloading the installer, learn about the minimum requirements for macOS Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra, Sierra, El Capitan, or Yosemite. You can also check compatible operating systems on the product-ID page for MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, MacBook, iMac, Mac mini, or Mac Pro.
Make a backup
Before installing, it’s a good idea to back up your Mac. Time Machine makes it simple, and other backup methods are also available. Learn how to back up your Mac.
Download macOS
It takes time to download and install macOS, so make sure that you're plugged into AC power and have a reliable internet connection.
These installers from the App Store open automatically after you download them:
- macOS Catalina 10.15 can upgrade Mojave, High Sierra, Sierra, El Capitan, Yosemite, Mavericks
- macOS Mojave 10.14 can upgrade High Sierra, Sierra, El Capitan, Yosemite, Mavericks, Mountain Lion
- macOS High Sierra 10.13 can upgrade Sierra, El Capitan, Yosemite, Mavericks, Mountain Lion, Lion
Your web browser downloads the following older installers as a disk image named InstallOS.dmg or InstallMacOSX.dmg. Open the disk image, then open the .pkg installer inside the disk image. It installs an app named Install [Version Name]. Open that app from your Applications folder to begin installing the operating system.
- macOS Sierra 10.12 can upgrade El Capitan, Yosemite, Mavericks, Mountain Lion, or Lion
- OS X El Capitan 10.11 can upgrade Yosemite, Mavericks, Mountain Lion, Lion, or Snow Leopard
- OS X Yosemite 10.10can upgrade Mavericks, Mountain Lion, Lion, or Snow Leopard
Install macOS
Follow the onscreen instructions in the installer. It might be easiest to begin installation in the evening so that it can complete overnight, if needed.
If the installer asks for permission to install a helper tool, enter the administrator name and password that you use to log in to your Mac, then click Add Helper.
Please allow installation to complete without putting your Mac to sleep or closing its lid. Your Mac might restart, show a progress bar, or show a blank screen several times as it installs both macOS and related updates to your Mac firmware.
Learn more
You might also be able to use macOS Recovery to reinstall the macOS you're using now, upgrade to the latest compatible macOS, or install the macOS that came with your Mac.