Can I upgrade my MacBook Mac OS X to newer version? How?

[Taz4peace]

Hi Folks,
I've got a MacBook my family bought for me refurbished in 2011. For the last several months I have manually searched for software updates, and none show up. I want to install Google Chrome and OneNote, but I cannot because my version of OS 10.6.8 can't download them. I'll admit that I'm not technically savvy, so please offer some constructive advice. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer. Here are some more details about my Mac:
Model Name: MacBook
Model Identifier: MacBook5,2
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.13 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 3 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 1.07 GHz
Boot ROM Version: MB52.0088.B06

 

[honestone]

First, you can upgrade the OS, for free, your machine, and in fact, all the way to OS 10.11.2, El Capitan (new version came out yesterday). If you want to upgrade the OS, you do need to do some preparatory tasks. Let us know and we can help you (you will need to upgrade to more RAM, but that is not a difficult task).

Secondly, you can install Google Chrome on it. Here is the link where you can download the latest version (just came out yesterday):

https://www.google.com/chrome/browser/desktop/

As for OneNote, the newest version, 15.16, requires OS 10.10 (Yosemite) or above (here is the link for that version:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-onenote/id784801555?mt=12

You should do a google search for a version between the one you have now and V 15.16 for one that will work with Snow Leopard, OS 10.6.8.

 

[tompatrick]

Taz4peace,

You can always update your MacBook the latest version. And, for your knowledge the latest version of Mac is EI Capitan.

But, I have seen many users who are facing problems after upgrading their Mac to this new version. Some of the most common problems are: performance issues, HD issue, RAM issue etc. So, I suggest you to avoid to this new Mac version and wait for some time.

Alternatively, you can update it using the help of this post from Apple.

Hope, the answer will be helpful for you.

 

[honestone]

The newest version of El Capitan is 10.11.2. The key is to get completely ready for an upgrade. The things one needs to do are:

1. Clean off as much unneeded "crap" as possible. The venerable and excellent free program Onyx can be of great help with that.

2. Insure that one has either upgraded all software that needs to be compatible with the new OS, or at least download the necessary upgrades (they can be applied later). Sometimes, a piece of software needs a brand new version to be compatible with the new OS. Such was the case for me, as I use Onyx, and a new version specifically came out for El Capitan.

3. Insure that they have a very recent backup to an external device prior to the upgrade. Time Machine is OK, but a bootable backup created with either SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cloner is much, much better.

4. Boot to the Recovery HD partition (unless one has a robust disk maintenance/repair program like Disk Warrior or TechTool Pro)

5. Run Disk Utility from there to 1) Verify and Repair the internal drive at the Volume (ie, top) level, 2) Verify and Repair Permissions, and ) Verify and Repair the internal drive at the Partition (ie, second) level.

6. Either just upgrade from the current OS on the internal drive to the new one, or use Disk Utility to Erase and Format (and if necessary, partition) the internal drive and then do a clean installation of the new OS onto the empty drive.

The more preparations one takes, the smoother the upgrade for me. For myself, OS 10.11.2 is running fine on both of my Macs.