Then Click your HDD/SSHD/SSD that you want Mojave to be installed onto. Click continue after selecting your drive. Mojave is being installed onto your Mac. Once the installer is done installing, shut down your computer. This time, instead of installing Mojave again we need to install the necessary patches for Mojave to run properly.
On your own head and someone else's hard drive The Mojave Patcher Tool for Unsupported Macs is available for download from DosDude1. This is the same guy that did this for High Sierra, and has. MacOS Mojave running with 1Gb RAM on unsupported Mac-this is slow! If you're interested in how the management of memory and virtual memory in Mac OS X works and why it does work so well, here are some in-depth resources: 4 GB minimum for Mojave and all other 64-bit OS’s. “This year’s macOS Mojave beta, and subsequent update, won’t run and can’t be installed on any Mac older than about 2012 —or so Apple thinks,” William Gallagher writes for AppleInsider.
Apple updates its macOS (previously Mac OS X) desktop and laptop operating system once a year, like clockwork, bringing new features and improvements. That’s all very well, but Apple’s most recent version of macOS – Big Sur – won’t run on any Mac older than 2013, and in some cases 2014. Which may well mean that your Mac can’t officially be updated – unless you follow this tutorial.
Before you go ahead and follow the advice below a word of warning: there is a reason why Apple chooses not to support the new Mac operating system on older Macs. Older Macs just don’t have the necessary components or power required to cope with the demands of the more modern systems. So if you do install Big Sur, Catalina, or any recent version of macOS on an unsupported Mac don’t expect it to run smoothly.
Is my Mac too old to update?
We have a macOS compatibility checker here, so you can see which versions of macOS your Mac should be able to run.
Here’s an overview of the Macs that will run Big Sur, according to Apple:
- MacBook models from early 2015 or later
- MacBook Air models from 2013 or later
- MacBook Pro models from 2013 or later
- Mac mini models from 2014 or later
- iMac models from 2014 or later
- iMac Pro (all models)
- Mac Pro models from 2013 or later
Apple advises that macOS Catalina will run on the following Macs:
- MacBook models from early 2015 or later
- MacBook Air models from mid-2012 or later
- MacBook Pro models from mid-2012 or later
- Mac mini models from late 2012 or later
- iMac models from late 2012 or later
- iMac Pro (all models)
- Mac Pro models from late 2013
Apple advises that macOS Mojave will run on the following Macs:
- Mac models from 2012 or later
- iMac Pro (from 2017)
- MacBook models from 2015 or later
- MacBook Pro models from 2012 or later
- MacBook Air models from 2012 or later
- Mac mini models from 2012 or later
- Mac Pro models from late 2013 (plus mid-2010 and mid-2012 models with recommended Metal-capable GPU)
The older macOS High Sierra had a little more scope. Apple said that would run happily on a late 2009 or later MacBook or iMac, or a 2010 or later MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini or Mac Pro.
If you Mac is supported read: How to update to Big Sur.
This means that if your Mac is older than 2012 it won’t officially be able to run Catalina or Mojave. In the case of Catalina that includes all the old-style Mac Pro models, pre-‘trash can’. If you want to run , but your Mac is older than 2013/2014, the new macOS just isn’t for you, as far as Apple is concerned anyway.
However, despite this it is possible to run newer macOS versions on older Macs thanks to a patcher.
Don’t expect things to be plain sailing though – in fact you should expect to encounter problems. Be prepared for the fact that your Mac will not function optimally and you could lose data. (For that reason we recommend doing a full backup of your Mac first).
For example, many older Macs have problems with the Wi-Fi connection after installing macOS Big Sur. If you need Wi-Fi, installing the preview version is not advisable.
Running Big Sur on another macOS on an unsupported Mac may also be considered against Apple’s terms and conditions. For information about Apple’s terms and conditions read: Should you agree to Apple’s terms and conditions.
Mac Os On Unsupported Mac
Wondering if it’s worth updating your Mac? Read: macOS Big Sur vs Catalina.
How to install Big Sur on an unsupported Mac
If your Mac is more than a few years old and you try to install Big Sur on it you will hit a few hurdles – the first being the fact that Software Update simply won’t let you install the new version of macOS.
However, this doesn’t mean that installing Big Sur on an older Mac isn’t possible. It is – you just need a patch. Luckily there’s a patcher for installing macOS Big Sur on older Macs available – the big-sur-micropatcher can be downloaded from GitHub.
Note that macOS patchers cannot perform magic and not all Macs will be compatible. Before installing Big Sur on an older Mac, make sure that your Mac is compatible with the patcher. On the patch page (linked above) you will find some notes indicating the various years of manufacture. Before you upgrade to macOS Big Sur review the compatibility notes.
The procedure for updating to a new version of macOS on incompatible Macs is as follows:
- First you will need to obtain the installation files for the operating system. You’ll have to obtain these using a compatible Mac. If they don’t show up in Software Update you can get the installation files from the Mac App Store.
- Now you need to load these installation files onto a USB stick and prepare the USB stick for installing macOS Big Sur. We explain how to create a bootable installer of macOS in a separate article.
- Next you need to obtain software that is able to trick the installation files of the version of macOS you want to install into believing that the Mac is compatible. You can download that patcher we mentioned above from GitHub. Click on the Code and Download Zip buttons.
- After extracting the archive from your download you will find the file “micropatcher.sh”.
- Open a terminal window and drag and drop the file into the terminal. Then run the command.
- Now install macOS from your bootable installer.
- In some cases, there are still tasks to be performed after the installation. These can be found in the instructions for big-sur-micropatcher. After preparing the Mac with the USB stick, start a terminal and enter “/ Volumes / Image Volume / set-vars.sh”. The script is part of the patch for macOS Big Sur and changes important settings for booting and system files.
The update can take several hours. In our case it sometimes looked like the installer had crashed during the update. In this case you should wait, as the installation is usually still in progress. Over time, better ways to update a machine may be found. Currently, the safest approach is to update using a bootable USB stick.
How to install Big Sur updates on an unsupported Mac
Once you have installed macOS Big Sur, updates will appear in Software Updates as soon as they are available. However, you should not install these, but ideally again create a USB stick with the current installation files and install the update in this way.
Mac Os Mojave Beta
These steps were translated from an article by our colleagues at Macwelt.
How to run Catalina on an older Mac
You can download a macOS Catalina Patcher from a developer known as DOSDude1. The patch will enable you to install Catalina on an older Mac.
The Catalina hack doesn’t work with every Mac, but many are covered. You can see if your Mac is supported here.
DODDude1 offers a video tutorial on his website, here. We’ve simplified the steps below, but we recommend that you follow his tutorial.
- Download the latest version of the Catalina patch here. (You can make a donation).
- Open the Catalina Patcher app.
- Click Continue.
- Choose Download a Copy.
- The download (of Catalina) will start – since it’s almost 8GB it is likely to take a while.
- Plug in a flash drive.
- Choose ‘Create a bootable installer’ from the options.
- Plug the bootable installer into the Mac you wish to update.
- Restart the Mac while holding the Option/Alt key. This will cause the Mac open in Startup Manager.
- Choose the bootable installer drive and Enter.
- Now your Mac should open in Recovery.
- Choose Reinstall macOS and wait for the new version of macOS to install.
- After the installation has completed, you should restart the Mac in Recovery mode again, choosing the drive that contains the bootable installer.
- Now choose macOS Post Install and the required patches will be installed on your Mac so that Catalina can work.
- When the patches have been applied choose Force Cache Rebuild.
- Restart.
- When it reboots, your Mac should now boot into a fully working copy of macOS Catalina.
If you are running a version of macOS that predates High Sierra or Mojave, you will need to format your hard drive to APFS.
We have more advice about installing macOS via a Bootable Installer here.
How to run Mojave on an older Mac
As with Catalina, a patch tool was written DOSDude1 that enables you to install macOS Mojave on an older Mac.
You can download the Mojave Patch Tool here.
How to run High Sierra and older on an older Mac
DOSDude1 wrote a similar patch for High Sierra and prior to that Sierra. With the patch installed you can go back as far as early 2008 models. It’s unlikely to run like a dream, which is why Apple advises against this course of action. But you should be able to achieve tolerable performance.
Why you shouldn’t install new macOS on an old Mac
We’d advise tech beginners against attempting this workaround: it calls for a moderate degree of tech expertise.
Remember that we’re going against Apple’s official advice on this one, which means that if something goes wrong – and that’s always a possibility with an OS install, even if you’re using official software – your warranty is unlikely to save you. Of course, it’s unlikely that your 2008 Mac would be under any warranty so that may not worry you too much.
Back up your Mac before going any further. And bear in mind two more caveats.
At some point Apple may patch this hack and prevent it working in future. So if you’re keen, and happy that the risks and difficulties are worth it for you, then jump in while you still can.
Otherwise, you might want to read How to sell an old Mac.
We’ve had a look at what’s coming in Big Sur – here’s our verdict: macOS Big Sur: should you update your Mac?
Related posts:
Carbon Copy Cloner requires macOS. CCC will not run on Windows.Mac mini upgrade os.
Apple advises that macOS Mojave will run on the following Macs: Mac models from 2012 or later. Running Big Sur on another macOS on an unsupported Mac may also be considered against Apple's. 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 Developer = A Mac Developer, covers anyone who develops software on the Mac, including macOS iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS. Mac User = This could be anyone who uses a Mac. You want to learn more about how the Mac works. You could be an everyday user, enterprise user, student, collector, or even an enthusiast. I have at one time or another.
Carbon Copy Cloner 5 is the latest version available. Users running Yosemite (10.10), El Capitan (10.11), Sierra (10.12), High Sierra (10.13), Mojave (10.14), or Catalina (10.15) should use this version of CCC. If you are having trouble downloading CCC from the link above, try this alternate download location.
Upgrading from CCC 4? CCC 5 is a paid upgrade. CCC 4 Personal and Household licenses purchased prior to May 22, 2017 are eligible for upgrade pricing. When you open CCC 5, it will automatically retrieve your new license or an upgrade coupon that you can use to purchase CCC 5 at 50% off. CCC 4 licenses purchased on or after May 22, 2017 are eligible for a free CCC 5 upgrade license.
CCC 5: Support for macOS 11 Big Sur
CCC 5.1.22 (and later) is qualified for macOS 11 Big Sur. Open CCC and choose 'Check for updates..' from the Carbon Copy Cloner to get the update, or click the 'Download CCC 5' button above. Please take a moment to review the following resources prior to upgrading to macOS Big Sur:
Carbon Copy Cloner 4.1.24 is compatible with Mountain Lion (10.8), Mavericks (10.9), Yosemite (10.10), El Capitan(10.11), Sierra (10.12) and High Sierra (10.13). Note that while this version of CCC may work on El Capitan and newer OSes, we recommend that El Capitan+ users upgrade to CCC 5. We offer technical support for CCC 4, but we are no longer actively developing it. If you are having trouble downloading CCC from the link above, try this alternate download location.
Dec 08, 2020 On macOS 11, when upgrading from Mac Connector 1.12 to Mac Connector 1.14, Fault 4, System Extension Failed to Load, may be raised temporarily while the Connector is transitioning from the kernel extensions to the new system extensions.
CCC 4 and Mojave+: CCC 4 is qualified up to macOS High Sierra. CCC 4 license holders are welcome to continue using CCC 4 on later OSes with the understanding that this is an untested and unsupported configuration. CCC 5 is fully qualified on macOS Mojave and offers extensive support for APFS, including support for point-in-time restores via APFS filesystem snapshots.
Unsupported Versions
Macos Mojave On Older Imac
Macos Mojave On Unsupported Mac (macbook Pro Early 2011)
Download CCC 3.5.7 for use on Snow Leopard (10.6) and Lion (10.7). Download CCC 3.4.7 for use on Tiger (10.4) and Leopard (10.5). CCC 3.4.7 and 3.5.7 are provided as-is; we regret that we cannot offer any support for the installation or use of these older versions of CCC.