Question: Q: Unable to install macOS Catalina 10.15.7 Update Software Update prompts me that an update is available for my Mac. Specifically, the 10.15.7 update and tells me a restart is required. To install macOS Big Sur on an unsupported Mac we must do it on a disk partition and from macOS Catalina. This way if something goes wrong, we can always continue using our Mac as if nothing else. To make a partition follow these steps: Click on the magnifying glass and look for the app Disk utility. Up click on Create partition.

Apple this week officially released macOS Catalina (also known as macOS 10.15), the first major update to its Mac operating system since Mojave last year.

In this article, we will determine if your old Mac can still be updated to newer versions of macOS.

Most Apple devices have an average 5-year support lifespan, which means that they will receive software updates, including bug fixes, patches, and security updates over those years.

Until then, macOS and iOS devices are considered “unsupported” by Apple due to forced obsolescence of hardware.

In other words, Apple stopped supporting all its macOS and iOS devices with continuous software and operating system updates due to hardware limitations.

This is because as hardware ages, it cannot dully support newer programs that might be too advanced for its capability.

Starting with Mojave Apple did not allow older Macs to upgrade to newer macOS versions. With every new macOS release the minimum year of Mac hardware increases. While most pre-2012 officially cannot be upgraded, there are unofficial workarounds for older Macs.

According to Apple, macOS Mojave supports:

• MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
• MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or newer)
• MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 or newer)
• Mac mini (Late 2012 or newer)
• iMac (Late 2012 or newer)
• iMac Pro (2017)
• Mac Pro (Late 2013; Mid 2010 and Mid 2012 models)

According to Apple, macOS Catalina supports:

• MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
• MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or newer)
• MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 or newer)
• Mac mini (Late 2012 or newer)
• iMac (Late 2012 or newer)
• iMac Pro (2017)
• Mac Pro (Late 2013 or newer)

Lastly, macOS Big Sur supports these devices:

• MacBook introduced in 2015 or later
• MacBook Air introduced in 2013 or later
• MacBook Pro introduced in late 2013 or later
• Mac mini introduced in 2014 or later
• iMac introduced in 2014 or later
• iMac Pro
• Mac Pro introduced in 2013 or later

If you see that your Mac is older than mentioned above, you definitely can’t expect to update your device to newer macOS versions.

Does Apple still support your version of macOS?

Usually, macOS automatically updates itself once the software is rolled out to its users. But first, know which version of macOS your device is running.

To know which version of macOS you are using, click the Apple icon at the top left corner of your screen and select About This Mac.

A Window will appear showing the version of macOS running on your device.

Note: If you are using an older device, it will show that your system is called “OS X” (OS X 10.11 El Capitan is the latest) instead of “macOS” (starting from macOS 10.12 Sierra onwards).

Updating your Mac to the newest macOS versions

If Apple still supports your device, you can directly update your device from the About This Mac window by clicking “Software Update.”

This will download the latest version of macOS to your device. Alternatively, you can type “macOS <version>” on the App Store if you wish to install a specific macOS version on your device.

After the download completes, the installer will open automatically. Click Continue and follow the instructions and let it complete the process.

Make sure not to use your computer, put it to sleep, or close it slid during the installation process. Doing so may corrupt the installation files and your current system files.

Why Mac Won’t Update to Newer Versions of macOS

Usual installation problems across different versions of macOS could be:

• Incompatible Mac
• The update couldn’t be downloaded
• Insufficient storage space

Problem 1: Incompatible Mac

As stated before, newer versions of macOS do not support really old Mac devices. Always check if your device is supported by Mojave, Catalina, Big Sur, or other macOS versions before updating.

Problem 2: The update couldn’t be downloaded

In downloading the macOS update, you might receive an error message that says, “Installation of macOS could not continue. Installation requires downloading important content. That content can’t be downloaded at this time. Try again later.”

Other users might find that the download progress bar might be stuck.

If you encounter these problems, the culprit might be a network error. Try these fixes:

1. Check your router if you have a stable internet connection and not experiencing a network hiccup.
2. If you are using a wireless internet connection, try switching to an Ethernet cable connection to ensure that the download speed is consistent.
3. Lastly, check Apple’s System Status and see if The Apple Serve is live.

If the problem persists, there may be several people downloading the update at the same time. This most likely happens at the early release of the update so try downloading the update at non-peak times.

Problem 3: Insufficient storage space

In most cases, download files abruptly stop downloading if there is not enough space left in the computer, causing partial installation files to be stored in your system.

To fix this problem:

1. Look for a file name called “Install macOS <version number of what you are trying to install>“. For example, “Install macOS 10.14” for Mojave, “Install macOS 10.15” for Catalina, and “macOS 11.2” for Big Sur.
2. Delete the file.
3. Reboot and make sure to free up more than the necessary space required for the download file.
4. Download the file again.

Your device should automatically start the installation once it’s done. Otherwise, open the folder where you saved the update file and double-click it to prompt the installation.

Installing Newer Versions of macOS in Safe Mode

Some applications, startup items, or extensions might interfere with the installation process, causing it to terminate or not run the update at all.

To ensure that no other programs are causing this problem, you can install Mojave, Catalina, or Big Sur in Safe Mode.

To restart your device in Safe Mode:

1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Wait for 15 seconds until the device fully shuts down.
3. Press the power button and press Shift as soon as your Mac starts up.
4. Release the Shift key when the Apple logo appears.

From there, proceed to install the new version of the macOS you wish to upgrade to.

Do You Need to Update/Upgrade Your Mac?

Short answer: yes.

You need to update your macOS to the newest version mainly because of the security updates and performance fixes that come along with it. This ensures that your device is less vulnerable to hacks and more stable as new features are being released by Apple.

However, if you’re using a Mac that’s older than the Mac devices listed above, you might want to consider not upgrading to newer macOS versions like Mojave or Catalina.

Older devices might suffer compatibility issues with older applications once you decide to upgrade your Mac to newer macOS versions.

Especially in macOS Catalina, where Apple fully transitioned to 64-bit Mac applications, dropping full support for older 32-bit applications.

On the other hand, macOS Mojave (10.14) is the last macOS version that supports 32-bit applications.

For old Mac owners, this could be the closest to the newest macOS version that they can upgrade to while keeping most of their programs working on their device.

Installing New macOS Versions on Unsupported Macs

Even if your Mac is too old to update, it does not mean that it is impossible to install newer macOS versions to your old Mac.

You can actually install Mojave, Catalina, or even Big Sur to older unsupported Mac devices through a workaround patch.

However, keep in mind that you will experience performance issues in doing so. In most cases, you might lose data, so it is strongly recommended to create a full backup before you try these methods.

How to install macOS Mojave on Unsupported Macs

Step 1: Download macOS Mojave Patch Tool by DosDude1 from this link.

Note: NOT ALL old Mac devices are supported by this patch Tool so make sure that your device is listed under the “Requirements” section first before proceeding with the download

Step 2: For this step, you will need a 16 GB or higher USB drive and format it using Disk Utility. Go to: Spotlight (press Command + spacebar) > type “Disk Utility” and select it once it shows up.

From here, put any name you want for your USB drive, Format the USB Drive as OS X Extended (Journaled), and click Erase

Step 3: Once you finish downloading macOS Mojave Patch Tool, open it (Double-click or Right-click > Open). Click Tools >Mojave installer application to download the macOS Mojave installation file.

Note: If you get an error that the Mojave Tool does not support your Mac, you are out of luck because you will not be able to upgrade your Mac from this point.

Step 4: Once the Mojave installer has finished downloading, click the Mojave icon in the Patch Tool window. Select your USB drive on the drop-down menu and click Start Operation.

Step 5: Once completed, eject your USB drive and shut down your Mac. Do not remove your USB drive and wait for 15 seconds or until your device completely powers off.

Upgrade Unsupported Mac To Catalina

Then, press the power button and hold down the Option key on the keyboard when you see the startup screen. You will see a series of drives on the screen and select your USB drive.

Note: If you wish to do a clean install, follow Steps 6 to 7. Otherwise, skip to step 8.

Step 6: Open Disk Utility (Menu Bar > Disk Utility).

Step 7: Click on your system drive and click Erase to format your drive. Select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) or APFS and name your drive. After you successfully formatted your drive, close the Disk Utility window.

Step 8: You can proceed to install macOS on your system hard drive. Select where you want to install macOS and click Continue.

Step 9: Let the installation finish, and once it is completed, reboot back into the installer drive (same as Step 5). Click “macOS Post Install” in the side menu or the drop-down menu in Utilities.

Step 10: In the window, select the model of your Mac. The program will automatically select which patches are needed for your device, but you can also select which patches you want to include.

Step 11: Select the volume where you installed macOS Mojave and click Patch. Once it is finished, click Reboot.

Note: If the macOS failed to work properly after reboot, reboot once again into the installer drive and re-run the post installer patch. Select “Force Cache Rebuild” before rebooting.

Now, you should have a working macOS Mojave installed on your unsupported Mac.

How to install Catalina on an Unsupported Mac

Step 1: Download “macOS Catalina Patcher” from this link

Note: NOT ALL old Mac devices are supported by this patch tool so make sure that your device is listed under the “System Compatibility” section on the site above before proceeding with the download.

Step 2: You will need a USB drive with at least 8 GB of storage space to store the Catalina installation file. Plug it into your computer.

Step 3: Go to Spotlight (press Command + spacebar) > type “Disk Utility” and select it once it shows up.

From here, put any name you want for your USB drive, Format the USB Drive as OS X Extended (Journaled), and click Erase.

Step 4: Once the download finishes, open the Catalina Patcher application.

Step 5: Click Continue. Select “Download a Copy” if you do not have a copy of the latest Catalina installer. Otherwise, you can select your Catalina installer file by clicking “Browse for a copy.” Generally, the file is almost 8 GB.

Step 6: After the installation file has finished downloading or selected, click, Continue.

Step 7: Select “Create a bootable installer” from the three options.

Step 8: Select the USB drive you just formatted create a bootable drive. Once finished, shut down your Mac.

Step 9: Do not remove your USB drive and wait for 15 seconds or until your device completely powers off. Then, press the power button and hold down the Option key on the keyboard when you see the startup screen. You will see a series of drives on the screen and select your USB drive.

Note: If you wish to do a clean install, follow Steps 10 to 11. Otherwise, skip to step 14.

Step 10: This will take you to the macOS Utilities window. Open Disk Utility.

Step 11: Click on your system drive and click Erase to format your drive. Select APFS and name your drive. After you successfully formatted your drive, close the Disk Utility window and go back to the macOS Utilities window.

Upgrade Unsupported Mac To Catalina Operating System

Step 12: Select “Reinstall macOS” under the macOS Utilities window. Wait for the program to finish the installation.

Step 13: Once the installation has finished, repeat step 9.

Step 14: Select “macOS Post Install” and continue. The program will automatically select all necessary patches to install on your device.

Step 15: Once the patches are applied, select “Force Cache Rebuild” and restart.

Once it reboots, you should have a working macOS Catalina on your unsupported Mac.

How to install Big Sur on an unsupported Mac

Step 1: Download the macOS Big Sur installation file from the App Store or click this link.

Step 2: Plugin a USB drive with at least 15 GB of space. This is where you will store the Big Sur installation file.

Step 3: Go to SpotlightSearch (press Command + spacebar) > type “Disk Utility” and select it once it shows up.

Step 4: Once Disk Utility opens, click Erase.

Step 5: Name the USB drive “MyVolume” and select OS X Extended (Journaled) under Format.

Step 6: Select “GUID Partition Map” as the Scheme and click Erase. Wait until Disk Utility fully sets up the drive. Once it is finished, click Done.

Step 7: Open Terminal (Command + spacebar > type “Terminal”).

Step 8: Copy the following to the Terminal:

Step 9: Press Enter/Return. The terminal will ask for a password. Type your user login password and press Enter.

Step 10: The terminal will prompt you with a warning that says that it is about to erase the drive. Make sure to backup all important files in this drive before continuing. Once you saved all the files you need, the Terminal will show a text that says, “If you wish to continue, type (Y) then press return:” Do as it says and wait for the process to complete.

Step 11: Restart your Mac into the Startup Manager by holding Options on the keyboard while it is booting up.

Step 12: Once you are in the Startup Manager, select your USB drive “MyVolume” as the startup disk. Your Mac will enter in Recovery Mode and show you the macOS Utilities window.

Note: If you wish to do a clean install, follow Steps 13 to 14. Otherwise, skip to step 14.

Step 12: Open Disk Utility.

Step 13: Click on your system drive and click Erase to format your drive. Select APFS and name your drive. After you successfully formatted your drive, close the Disk Utility window and go back to the macOS Utilities window.

Step 14: Click Install/Reinstall macOS and click Continue. This will install macOS Big Sur on your device. Please wait for it to complete and reboot.

Once it reboots, you can now use macOS Big Sur on your unsupported Mac.

Photo credit: ©canva.com

Upgrade Unsupported Mac To Catalina Download

1. Jan 25, 2019 All of the new and old Mac users will experience the new operating system update that will be widely accessible through the App Store and software update. This software update will provide the opportunity to install the macOS Catalina with all the superb features on their Macs.
2. How to keep older Macs secure: a geeky approach (run Catalina on unsupported Macs) Posted on October 8th, 2019 by Jay Vrijenhoek. Note: This article was originally written for macOS Mojave, and has been adapted for macOS Catalina. From a security standpoint, using the latest version of macOS—the Mac operating system—is always preferred.

Helps you create a bootable USB drive for macOS Catalina which will work with older Macs, not officially supported by the operating system

But I would rather buy a second generation silicon mac to truly take advantage of the new OS features and remain on Catalina (or HS) for everything else. Or just bootcamp your old unsupported mac to windows 10 as the main OS and macOS as secondary to bring out some of its latent potential to 2021. I could not get it to properly install on imac 9,1. Mac OS X Server 1.0 is a operating system developed by Apple Computer.Released on March 16, 1999, it was the first version of Mac OS X Server. It was Apple's first commercial product to be derived from 'Rhapsody'—an eventual replacement for the classic Mac OS derived from NeXTSTEP's architecture (acquired in 1997 as part of Apple's purchase of NeXT) and BSD-like Mach kernel.

What's new in macOS Catalina Patcher 1.4.4:

• Fixed compatibility with Catalina version 10.15.5

Read the full changelog

macOS Catalina Patcher (formerly macOS Mojave Patcher, macOS High Sierra Patcher and macOS Sierra Patcher) is a small yet powerful tool that can help you create a bootable USB drive that can be used to install macOS Catalina on Mac computers older than mid 2012, basically acting as a macOS Mojave patch for unsupported Macs.

The tool extends the list of compatible hardware to the Mac Pro, iMac and MacBook Pro computers released in early 2008, Aluminum Unibody MacBooks or MacBooks Air manufactured in late 2008, or white MacBooks and Mac Minis produced in early 2009.

Get the macOS Catalina Installer app and make sure you have access to a compatible USB drive

To be able to use the app you must make sure that you have a USB drive that has at least 8 GB available, and that you have the macOS 10.15 Catalina installer app on your Mac.

Macos Catalina On Unsupported Macs

Note that you can download the macOS image from the Mac App Store application only on a machine that supports Catalina: otherwise, you must find an alternative solution.

For your convenience, macOS Catalina Patcher offers you the possibility to download the image through its interface: just navigate to the Tools menu.

At the same time, you must prepare the USB drive with the help of the built-in Disk Utility application: just format the disk using the Mac OS Extended (Journaled) standard.

Easy to configure patcher tool that can create bootable macOS Catalina USBs

Within the main window, you must simply load the macOS 10.15 image you want to use and select the target USB drive. The app will verify the image to make sure everything is OK, and all you have to do is press the Start Operation button.

You have the option to monitor the process in the macOS Catalina Patcher main window, and the utility lets you know when the task is complete.

Mac Os Catalina On Unsupported Mac

Worth mentioning is that after you install the OS by using the macOS Catalina Patcher bootable drive, you must launch the macOS Post Install utility to get access to patches specifically designed for your Mac’s model.

Make a bootable drive that allows you to install Catalina on unsupported Macs

Mac Os Catalina On Unsupported Macs Os

Bottom line, if your Mac has been manufactured before early 2008, chances are that you will not be able to install macOS Catalina on your computer.

All things considered, macOS Catalina Patcher is a small and user-friendly utility designed to help you bypass this limitation if your Mac is not in macOS Catalina's compatibility list, created to be used as an unsupported Mac Mojave patch.

Filed under

macOS Catalina Patcher was reviewed by Sergiu GatlanSYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

• 64-bit processor
• 16 GB USB drive
• macOS Mojave Installer App
• Early-2008 or newer Mac Pro, iMac, or MacBook Pro
• Late-2008 or newer MacBook Air or Aluminum Unibody MacBook
• Early-2009 or newer Mac Mini or white MacBook
• Early-2008 or newer Xserve

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macOS Catalina Patcher 1.4.4

add to watchlistsend us an update

Install Macos Catalina On Unsupported Macs

runs on:

Mac OS X 10.6 or later (Intel only)

file size:

223.4 MB

filename:

macOS Catalina Patcher.dmg

main category:

System Utilities

developer:

visit homepage

Mac Os Catalina On Unsupported Macs Drive

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