Macbook Pro 2011 Upgrade To Catalina

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If you have a machine with one of these GPUs installed, I'd advise upgrading it if possible (can be done in 2010/2011 iMacs, iMac11,x-12,x), disabling the dedicated GPU if using a 2011 15' or 17' MacBook Pro (MacBookPro8,2/8,3, instructions to do so can be found here), or not installing Catalina. Running Catalina without full graphics. Don’t even go with Catalina! Yes, you can upgrade to a SSD MacBook Pro 17' Unibody Hard Drive Replacement as well as upgrade the RAM to 16 GB MacBook Pro 17' Unibody RAM Replacement. I don’t recommend replacing the optical drive with a drive. SSD’s are much cheaper today than what we had back in 2011 and are much larger! If so, you will need to upgrade or replace them. See: 32-bit app compatibility with macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 and later - Apple Support. Also, before you upgrade you might want to start a new post about the problems you are having currently with Catalina to see if someone can help with that. An upgrade may not solve those problems. MacBook Pro models from mid-2012 or later. In the case of Catalina that includes all the old-style Mac Pro models, pre-'trash can'. Before you upgrade to macOS Big Sur review the. A 2015 MacBook Pro can upgrade to all available OS's including Catalina and the newest macOS Big Sur. Although it is possible to upgrade directly to Catalina or Big Sur if you are interested I would recommend. You upgrade to macOS High Sierra 10.13 first as this will prepare your mac for the new APFS filesystem.

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Macbook Pro 2011 Upgrade To Catalina

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Macbook pro 2011 to catalina

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I’ve been partial to tinkering with my computers for quite a while now. My hard drive to Solid State Drive upgrade, battery replacement, OS re-installation, even keyboard replacement, I’ve done it myself.

Oftentimes, the tinkering was motivated by a lack of funds and a desire for upgrading combined with just wanting to open up my computers.

Henceforth, my latest attempt at tinkering; the upgrade of an unsupported Macbook pro 13 Inch (early 2011) from MacOS High Sierra to Catalina (2 generations up)

Macbook

For those who are interested, the website Macworld has an excellent resource on how to do the upgrade (https://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac-software/install-catalina-old-mac-3654960/). They have also been kind enough to give a warning to users regarding the stability.

Macbook pro 2011 upgrade to catalina

I followed the instructions and managed to install Catalina successfully. Here’s my account of the experience:

Macbook Pro 2011 Upgrade To Catalina

Installation

Macbook Pro 2011 Upgrade To Catalina Download

The download took some time, as expected of a large file such as an installer. After the download has finished, do patch the installer using the included Catalina patcher, or the installer will not work (it will simply state that your Macbook is incompatible with the installer)

As recommended by the website, I used an external USB drive to create a bootable installer. Pressing the [ALT option] key while restarting, I entered the recovery mode and selected install MacOS. After you click next several times during the installation progress, the installation will start.

Here, I was not sure what affected the speed. As I was using an SSD, there should not have been a speed bottleneck there. Perhaps it was due to the slow USB connection on the 2011 Macbook Pro. Nevertheless, I managed to complete the installation after about 1 hour.

The initialisation process also encountered a hitch. The first log in became stuck in a loop error, after which I had to force restart the macbook.

Eventually, I managed to reboot the macbook; lo and behold, I had Catalina!

Using MacOS Catalina on the early 2011 Macbook Pro

Macbook Pro 2011 Upgrade To Catalina Vs

There was a slight but noticeable lag when I startup the Macbook Pro. Subsequently, usage of Google Chrome has a very significant lag when I start it up that was not present when High Sierra was installed. I cannot be sure if it is due to insufficient RAM or optimisation issues with unsupported hardware.

Conversely, there is no issue when starting up Safari, or the other Apple apps that I use (the iWorks suite, the app store, etc…). Most apps are reasonably snappy after clicking, with few instances of the spinning beach ball.

More updates to come regarding usage of the Macbook over time.

Macbook Pro 2011 Catalina Performance

Macbook pro 2011 upgrade to catalina mac

P.S. incidentally, this review/ report of the usage was typed on my Macbook Pro 2011 running Catalina, for what it’s worth.