For the first time since Apple released OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion in July 2012, Apple has dropped support for a number of older Macs that had supported OS X 10.8 through 10.11 El Capitan. No MacBook and iMac models prior to Late 2009 and no MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and Mac Pro models prior to 2010 are officially supported by macOS Sierra, although workarounds have been developed for most unsupported 2008 and 2009 Macs.
With the SSD upgrade done and the RAM not quite delivered, I decided to give OS X El Capitan a whirl on this machine. You might be surprised how a 9 year old. While it works and is fully usable, Sierra detects it as just a standard mouse, preventing you from changing some trackpad-oriented settings. Insert your desired USB drive, open Disk Utility, and format it as Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Open the 'macOS Sierra Patcher' tool, and browse for your copy of the macOS Sierra. MacBook (Late 2008 or later) MacBook Pro (Mid 2007 or later) MacBook Air (Late 2008 or later) Mac mini (Early 2009 or later) Mac Pro (Early 2008 or later) As well as: Mac OS X version 10.6.8 or later; 2GB of RAM; 8GB of free disk space; If you have a Mac that is compatible with El Capitan but not Sierra, and have not yet upgraded to El Capitan. MacBook Pro Mac OS X Install Disc 1 (2Z691 6088 A)(Apple Inc.)(2007) Item Preview. MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid-2009 or later), (15-inch, Mid/Late 2007 or later), (17-inch, Late 2007 or later) MacBook Air (Late 2008 or later) Mac Mini (Early 2009 or later) Mac Pro (Early 2008 or later) Xserve (Early 2009) The requirements for Yosemite are the same as they were for OS X 10.9 Mavericks, iCloud system requirements.
Mac OS X is no longer being called OS X, and Apple is not promoting Sierra with a version number either (however, it is internally identified as OS X 10.12). Now it's simply macOS Sierra – in keeping with iOS, tvOS, and watchOS.
macOS Sierra was released on Sept. 20, 2016 and officially requires a supported Mac with at least 2 GB of system memory and 8.8 GB of available storage space. (We recommend at least 4 GB of RAM.)
Officially Supported Macs
All Late 2009 and later MacBook and iMac models are supported in macOS Sierra, as are all 2010 and newer MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and Mac Pro computers.
Hacking macOS Sierra for Unsupported Macs
Hardware requirements for macOS Sierre include a CPU with SSE4.1, so it cannot be run on any Mac with a CPU prior to the Penryn Core 2 Duo. In theory, it should be possible to get Sierra running on any Penryn or later Mac. It may be possible to swap out the Merom CPU in some Macs for a Penryn, which would then allow Sierra to run.
Sierra can run with 4 GB of system memory, but as with all recent versions of OS X, more memory will allow it to run even better.
Colin Mistr has published a macOS Sierra Patch Tool, which currently allows you to install and run macOS Sierra on the following officially unsupported hardware:
- Early 2008 iMac or later
- Mid 2009 MacBook (white) or later
- Late 2008 MacBook Air or later
- Early 2008 MacBook Pro or later
- Late 2009 Mac mini or later
- Early 2008 Mac Pro or later
Note: If you have the Early 2009 Mac Pro and have installed the firmware update patch so it identifies itself as MacPro5,1, you can run the standard installer. You do not need the patch tool.
You will need a USB drive 8 GB or larger and Mistr's patch tool, which is linked on his page. WiFi does not function on these unsupported systems if they have the Broadcom BCM4321 WiFi module:
- Late 2008 and Mid 2009 MacBook Air
- Early 2008 and Mid 2008 MacBook Pro
New Features
Siri comes to the Mac with macOS Sierra.
macOS Sierra can automatically sync all files on your Desktop and in your Documents folder with other Macs running Sierra. You can also access these files in your iPhone or iPad using iCloud Drive.
The new Universal Clipboard lets you copy on one device and paste on another – whether it's a Mac with Sierra or an iPhone or iPad with iOS 10.
Tabs are almost everywhere in Sierra, and they work much as they do in your browser. Third party apps will also be able to use tabs.
Top video editing software. Apple Pay is now part of macOS, not just iOS.
If you have an Apple Watch, Auto Unlock will authenticate you and log you in automatically when you approach your Mac.
Optimized Storage can store infrequently used files in iCloud while keeping them immediately available any time you are online.
Availability
Apple developers can download an early pre-release version of macOS Sierra today, and a beta version will be available to users in July. The full release is scheduled for Fall 2016.
Keywords: #macossierra
Short link: http://goo.gl/MkIekT
searchword: macossierra
Check compatibility
You can upgrade to macOS High Sierra from OS X Mountain Lion or later on any of the following Mac models. Your Mac also needs at least 2GB of memory and 14.3GB of available storage space.
MacBook introduced in late 2009 or later
MacBook Air introduced in late 2010 or later
MacBook Pro introduced in mid 2010 or later
Mac mini introduced in mid 2010 or later
iMac introduced in late 2009 or later
Mac Pro introduced in mid 2010 or later
To find your Mac model, memory, storage space, and macOS version, choose About This Mac from the Apple menu . If your Mac isn't compatible with macOS High Sierra, the installer will let you know.
Make a backup
Before installing any upgrade, 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.
Get connected
It takes time to download and install macOS, so make sure that you have a reliable Internet connection. If you're using a Mac notebook computer, plug it into AC power.
Download macOS High Sierra
For the strongest security and latest features, find out whether you can upgrade to macOS Catalina, the latest version of the Mac operating system.
If you still need macOS High Sierra, use this App Store link: Get macOS High Sierra.
Macbook Pro Sierra Update
Begin installation
After downloading, the installer opens automatically.
Click Continue and follow the onscreen instructions. You might find it 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.
Allow installation to complete
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
2007 Macbook Pro 17
- If you have hardware or software that isn't compatible with High Sierra, you might be able to install an earlier macOS, such as Sierra or El Capitan.
- macOS High Sierra won't install on top of a later version of macOS, but you can erase your disk first or install on another disk.
- You can use macOS Recovery to reinstall macOS.
