{"id":69985,"date":"2017-09-25T09:15:23","date_gmt":"2017-09-25T16:15:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/?p=69985"},"modified":"2020-11-13T15:20:59","modified_gmt":"2020-11-13T23:20:59","slug":"how-to-prepare-your-mac-for-macos-high-sierra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/how-to-prepare-your-mac-for-macos-high-sierra\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Prepare Your Mac for macOS High Sierra"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-70381\" src=\"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Prepare-macOS-High-Sierra.png\" alt=\"How to Prepare Your Mac for macOS High Sierra\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Prepare-macOS-High-Sierra.png 600w, https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Prepare-macOS-High-Sierra-150x75.png 150w, https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Prepare-macOS-High-Sierra-300x150.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>For the latest version of this article, see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/how-to-prepare-your-mac-to-upgrade-to-macos-big-sur\/\">How to Prepare Your Mac to Upgrade to macOS Big Sur<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"3wJbnkCwNY\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/how-to-prepare-your-mac-to-upgrade-to-macos-big-sur\/\">How to Prepare Your Mac to Upgrade to macOS Big Sur: the Ultimate Guide<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;How to Prepare Your Mac to Upgrade to macOS Big Sur: the Ultimate Guide&#8221; &#8212; The Mac Security Blog\" src=\"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/how-to-prepare-your-mac-to-upgrade-to-macos-big-sur\/embed\/#?secret=3wJbnkCwNY\" data-secret=\"3wJbnkCwNY\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>You may have heard that the next version of Apple\u2019s desktop operating system, macOS High Sierra, is due to be released on September 25. Following the annual schedule that Apple has kept to for some time, operating systems for both the Mac and for iOS make their debuts this month, and these upgrades will be free.<\/p>\n<p>What does this mean for you? You most likely want to update your Mac, but there are a number of things you should consider doing before updating. And for some of them, it\u2019s useful to plan ahead.<\/p>\n<p>In this article, I&#8217;m going to explain how you can prepare your Mac for macOS High Sierra. Following are some answers to the most frequently asked questions about upgrading to macOS High Sierra.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"ismymaccompatiblewithmacoshighsierra\">Is my Mac compatible with macOS High Sierra?<\/h3>\n<p>The first thing to do is check to see if your Mac can run macOS High Sierra. This year&#8217;s version of the operating system offers compatibility with all Macs that can run macOS Sierra. So if you&#8217;re running the current version of macOS, you can upgrade. Here are the models that are compatible:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>MacBook (Late 2009 or newer)<\/li>\n<li>MacBook Pro (Mid 2010 or newer)<\/li>\n<li>MacBook Air (Late 2010 or newer)<\/li>\n<li>Mac mini (Mid 2010 or newer)<\/li>\n<li>iMac (Late 2009 or newer)<\/li>\n<li>Mac Pro (Mid 2010 or newer)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This is simple, for the most part, with the exception of exactly what \u201cLate 2009\u201d means. Apple often names its products like that, using \u201cEarly\u201d and \u201cLate\u201d to identify models.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s easy to find out your Mac\u2019s pedigree. Just click the \uf8ff Apple menu and choose About this Mac. You\u2019ll see a window with information about your computer. For example, I\u2019m writing this article an a \u201ciMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015).\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-69994\" src=\"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/about.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1174\" height=\"710\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/about.png 1174w, https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/about-150x91.png 150w, https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/about-300x181.png 300w, https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/about-768x464.png 768w, https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/about-1024x619.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/about-657x397.png 657w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1174px) 100vw, 1174px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>So if your Mac meets the above criteria, you\u2019re good to go. Note that your Mac will need to be running at least OS X 10.7.5 to be able to upgrade. (Presumably this is because you need to run the Mac App Store.)<\/p>\n<p>If your Mac is too old, you could always buy a new Mac, or even a more recent used or refurbished model. Even if you buy a Mac that doesn\u2019t currently have macOS High Sierra, you\u2019ll be able to easily update to the new operating system, as long as it fits the above list.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"howmuchspacewillineedtoupgrade\">How much space will I need to upgrade?<\/h3>\n<p>Apple says you\u2019ll need 8.8 GB free to upgrade to High Sierra. If you&#8217;re getting tight on hard disk (or SSD) space, read this<a href=\"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/how-to-uncover-and-delete-hidden-files-cluttering-your-mac\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> article about how to delete files that take up space on your Mac<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/how-to-reclaim-os-x-disk-space\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">this article about how to reclaim space on your drive using Intego&#8217;s Mac Washing Machine<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-69991\" src=\"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/storage.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1174\" height=\"346\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/storage.png 1174w, https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/storage-150x44.png 150w, https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/storage-300x88.png 300w, https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/storage-768x226.png 768w, https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/storage-1024x302.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/storage-657x194.png 657w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1174px) 100vw, 1174px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Regardless, if you only have enough free space to install macOS High Sierra, then you should seriously consider cleaning up your hard drive. Operating systems don\u2019t run well if they don\u2019t have free space for temporary files, and for virtual memory files, which can be several GB.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"willmymackeepupwiththenewoperatingsystem\">Will my Mac keep up with the new operating system?<\/h3>\n<p>It\u2019s hard to tell. If your Mac is on the far end of the compatibility list \u2014 those models from late 2009 or 2010 \u2014 you may find that things get a bit sluggish. This is because your Mac may have a slow processor that isn\u2019t up to the demands of the new operating system, or because you don\u2019t have enough RAM.<\/p>\n<p>While you can\u2019t update the processor on your Mac, you may be able to add more RAM. This is possible on many iMacs, the Mac Pro, and some Mac mini models. For laptops, it\u2019s a bit more difficult; check around to see if any company offers upgrades for your laptop. This will involve a technician opening up the Mac and performing surgery; not something I\u2019d recommend doing at home. If you want to try, though, check the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ifixit.com\/Device\/Mac\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">iFixit website<\/a>; they have great teardowns and walkthroughs that may help.<\/p>\n<p>As to how much RAM you\u2019ll need, Apple says 2 GB are sufficient, but I&#8217;d take that with a grain of salt. I&#8217;d want to have at least 4 GB, or more if possible. My MacBook has 8 GB, and that seems to me the minimum to be comfortable running multiple apps, but if your use is more limited, 4 GB should be fine.<\/p>\n<p>Another upgrade you can make, which would have a notable effect, is swapping your hard drive (if your Mac has one) for an SSD. Hard drives \u2014 especially in laptops \u2014 are relatively slow, and switching to an SSD will make your Mac feel like it\u2019s stopped for a drink at the fountain of youth. The price of SSDs has dropped a lot in recent years, but it will still cost a lot more per gigabyte than a hand drive.<\/p>\n<p>But you don&#8217;t need an SSD for all your files, unless you&#8217;re using a laptop. My iMac and MacBook both have 256 GB SSDs, but I use an external drive connected to my iMac to hold my media files. Having the operating system on an SSD is important; the media files, which aren\u2019t read often, don\u2019t need to be on a disk as fast.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"shouldibackupmymacbeforeupgrading\">Should I back up my Mac before upgrading?<\/h3>\n<p>I bet already know the answer. I\u2019ve always been a belt-and-suspenders guy as far as backups are concerned, and I recommend using at least two types of backup. You can use both <a href=\"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/intego-personal-backup-compared-with-apples-time-machine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Time Machine, which is part of OS X, and Intego Personal Backup<\/a>. They back up your files in slightly different ways, and it never hurts to have more than one backup in case one of them becomes corrupted.<\/p>\n<p>If you don\u2019t have a backup of both your startup disk and any external drives you use, you should certainly get into the habit now. And, when you\u2019re ready to upgrade to macOS High Sierra, you should clone your Mac\u2019s drive right beforehand, in case something goes wrong.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"shouldicheckmydrivebeforeupgrading\">Should I check my drive before upgrading?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes, that\u2019s a good idea. Open Disk Utility, which is in the Utilities folder of your Mac\u2019s Applications folder. Select your drive and click First Aid. The app will run a check on the drive, its catalog information, and your files. If there are any repairs to be made, it will be able to carry out most of them.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-69988\" src=\"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/disk-utility.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1638\" height=\"905\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/disk-utility.png 1638w, https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/disk-utility-150x83.png 150w, https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/disk-utility-300x166.png 300w, https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/disk-utility-768x424.png 768w, https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/disk-utility-1024x566.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/disk-utility-657x363.png 657w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1638px) 100vw, 1638px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>While you&#8217;re at it, you might want to check any external drives you use, and get into the habit of checking them from time to time just in case.<\/p>\n<p>If you discover more serious errors, then you\u2019ll need a specialized disk repair app. I\u2019m a big fan of DiskWarrior; you can read <a href=\"http:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/2884315\/diskwarrior-5-review-the-most-essential-drive-maintenance-and-repair-tool-gets-even-better.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">my review of the latest version from early 2015<\/a>. (<strong>NOTE: <\/strong>As of DiskWarrior 5.2, it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.alsoft.com\/diskwarrior5apfs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">does not support APFS formatted drives<\/a>. APFS is the new default Mac file system introduced in macOS High Sierra. DiskWarrior still works for external backup drives formatted with HFS+, though.)<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"shouldimigratemydataordoacleaninstallation\">Should I migrate my data or do a clean installation?<\/h3>\n<p>In most cases, simply running the macOS High Sierra installer will be sufficient. This installs the new operating system over your existing files, and doesn\u2019t touch any files that aren\u2019t part of the operating system.<\/p>\n<p>That said, there are good reasons to do a clean installation (I\u2019ve written about them in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/setting-up-a-new-mac-should-you-migrate-or-do-a-clean-installation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">this article<\/a>). If you do want to do a clean installation for macOS High Sierra, you\u2019ll need to clone your startup drive to an external disk, and boot your Mac from the clone, erase the drive, then run the installer.<\/p>\n<p>If you do this, make sure to have two backups of your startup volume. Since you\u2019ll be erasing the drive in your Mac, if something goes wrong with the clone, then you\u2019ll be in a lot of trouble.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"iuseandisimplycan\u2019tworkwithoutit.isitsafetoupgrade\">I use [App Name] and I simply can\u2019t work without it. Is it safe to upgrade?<\/h3>\n<p>This can be a problem. If you have an app you simply must use, check with the developer to make sure it\u2019s compatible with macOS High Sierra. Developers have had access to beta versions of the new operating system since June, but there are often cases of apps that aren\u2019t ready on release date. Check any essential apps before upgrading.<\/p>\n<p>One specific example is Microsoft Office 2011, which will not run on High Sierra. You can either purchase a newer version of Office, or you can subscribe to Office 365. Or switch to another productivity suite. See <a href=\"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/microsoft-office-for-mac-2011-not-supported-on-macos-high-sierra\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">our article that addresses this issue<\/a> with Microsoft Office.<\/p>\n<p>You may also have helper apps or drivers \u2014 such as for storage devices, printers, scanners, and others that you rely on \u2014 that might not be updated. Run an inventory of your most important apps, and don\u2019t forget hardware that needs its own software. If everything is compatible, make sure to upgrade all that software first, then move on to macOS High Sierra.<\/p>\n<p>And some utilities will need to be updated too. Apple has changed the way utilities can access parts of the operating system, and some of your favorite utilities may not run without upgrades.<\/p>\n<p>macOS High Sierra will be an excellent upgrade, but you should make sure to prepare your Mac so you don\u2019t have any surprises. And if something does go wrong, you\u2019ll have backups to be able to recover all your files. Just plan ahead.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do you plan on upgrading to macOS High Sierra right away? Have other questions about\u00a0preparing your Mac for macOS High Sierra? Leave a comment below!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For the latest version of this article, see How to Prepare Your Mac to Upgrade to macOS Big Sur. How to Prepare Your Mac to Upgrade to macOS Big Sur: the Ultimate Guide You may have heard that the next version of Apple\u2019s desktop operating system, macOS High Sierra, is due to be released on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":70387,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[7,10],"tags":[174,3175,3652],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v17.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For the latest version of this article, see How to Prepare Your Mac to Upgrade to macOS Big Sur.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/how-to-prepare-your-mac-for-macos-high-sierra\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Prepare Your Mac for macOS High Sierra - 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