Trying to get Yosemite on old imac please help

[ChalupaBatman]

So when i try to get osx yosemite from the app store it says that i cannot download it on this mac. i have osx 10.6.8 which i believe is snow leopard. so i did some research it says i need newer software to get to yosemite. my quesiton is .. if i purchase mountain lion 10.7 from the app store for like 20 bucks i think it was. will i then be able to update to yosemite for free??
or is there another way to get yosemite without using a boot installer, this is my mothers computer just trying to help her out but im not too savy when it comes to softwares.

my imac is late 2006 i think. it is 64 bit, and has enough free space to download

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

To get the exact model:

 > About This Mac > More Info... > Hardware Overview: > Model Identifier:

Let us know what that says. If it is a Late 2006, the maximum OS X version it supports is Mac OS X Lion 10.7.5.

C

 

[jlowell]

I decided to try. I had 10.8.6 I was afraid I was going to screw up my fastest most problem free computer. Bit I downloaded Yosemite. It took 30 minutes
as opposed to 5 minute on my newer laptops. My two laptops are 64 bit 2.7ghz I 7's w/16 GB of Ram and are slow as mud. .....and new with hardly anything on them. My I Mac is a 32 bit 2.7Ghz I7 w/16GB of Ram and is extremely fast and responsive and a pleasure to use.
I dread using the cloud with my notebooks. I can't believe I have a 27" screen IMac I can't use for editing on the cloud. I may buy another Imac to use for editing. It is crazy how may computers i have and how many problems the new laptops have.......all knds of bugs in the system nobody can figure out.

 

[swholland]

So when i try to get osx yosemite from the app store it says that i cannot download it on this mac. i have osx 10.6.8 which i believe is snow leopard. so i did some research it says i need newer software to get to yosemite. my quesiton is .. if i purchase mountain lion 10.7 from the app store for like 20 bucks i think it was. will i then be able to update to yosemite for free??
or is there another way to get yosemite without using a boot installer, this is my mothers computer just trying to help her out but im not too savy when it comes to softwares.

my imac is late 2006 i think. it is 64 bit, and has enough free space to download

With the older Mac OS versions, they don't have the support to download the updated Mac OS over the internet. I recommend you back up your machine fully using TIME MACHINE and then take your Mac to the Apple Store--Genius Bar--appointment strongly recommended. It take the genius bar people 10 seconds to wipe the hard drive, 9 minutes to fully install the latest OS in one step, and then you go home and restore the user files using your TIME MACHINE backup. That part took about 15 minutes for me and worked great. This was a very fast, very effective solution.

 

[honestone]

Assuming your iMac is a 2006 model, according to this link from Apple, it cannot be upgraded to either Mavericks (OS 10.9.x) or Yosemite (OS 10.10.x):

http://www.macworld.co.uk/feature/mac-software/will-your-mac-run-os-x-1010-yosemite-3521736/

Your iMac would need to be at least a mid 2007 model, according to the information in that link.

 

[Peggy]

So when i try to get osx yosemite from the app store it says that i cannot download it on this mac. i have osx 10.6.8 which i believe is snow leopard. so i did some research it says i need newer software to get to yosemite. my quesiton is .. if i purchase mountain lion 10.7 from the app store for like 20 bucks i think it was. will i then be able to update to yosemite for free??
or is there another way to get yosemite without using a boot installer, this is my mothers computer just trying to help her out but im not too savy when it comes to softwares.

my imac is late 2006 i think. it is 64 bit, and has enough free space to download

I just did this. You need to install more RAM first. Then get MountainLion, and the Yosemite update is free. I got additional RAM for about $50. Cheaper than a new computer!

 

[honestone]

I just did this. You need to install more RAM first. Then get MountainLion, and the Yosemite update is free. I got additional RAM for about $50. Cheaper than a new computer!

So, what you are saying is that you have a Mac that is not on the list from the link:

http://www.macworld.co.uk/feature/mac-software/will-your-mac-run-os-x-1010-yosemite-3521736/

and you were able to upgrade to Yosemite? (By the way, are you running the latest version, 10.10.3?) What specific Mac model do you have?

If his iMac has only 1 Gig of Ram, then yes, an upgrade to at least 2 Gig is necessary in order to run Yosemite, but 4 gig would be better. But, can Yosemite be installed onto his machine?
.