[andi*pandi]

I have an older mac at 10.6.8. I sincerely doubt it can run the latest OS... is there a legit way to get OSX10.7? in a speedy fashion? I found it on Apple's site but it said it would take a few days to email a download code. We have a need to run it tomorrow.

THanks for any leads.

[reader50]

They may have said that because it's the weekend. You might get the code Monday morning.

btw, what Mac is it? What are the specs, including GPU? You may be able to go higher than Lion, which isn't a great OS.

[P]

There is a small number of Macs that can run 10.7 but not 10.8 or 10.9, and it is IMO never a good idea to do so on them. If you can go to 10.9, do so, but do not stop at 10.7. It is better to stop at 10.6 in that case.

The Macs that can run 10.7 but not 10.8 are Macs with 64-bit CPUs but not 64-bit EFI, which is basically the machines released in the year between mid-2006 and mid-2007. With a single exception, all of these models are severely RAM-limited, and thus run better using 10.6 than 10.7. The single exception is the first Mac Pro, which can be stuffed full of very expensive FB-DIMMs and thus CAN run 10.7, but unless you already have those FB-DIMMs, you can get the same performance for less by simply getting a newer Mac.

[andi*pandi]

white macbook 4,1, which in a previous thread the consensus seemed to be leave it at 10.6.8. Which I would happily do except DH wants to run Scratch on it, which requires 10.7 and newer java.

According to this, it's not elCapitan-able:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread...art=0&tstart=0

I'll just buy 10.7 then, and hope the code is emailed promptly.

[P]

Ah yes, the mysterious Macbook model that OUGHT to run everything up to El Cap but doesn't. Probably the answer is that there isn't a 64-bit version of the GPU driver, which is needed if you want to run the kernel in 64-bit mode.

I don't think there is a legit way to get 10.7 except by code from Apple. I know that once upon a time Apple sold USB keys with it on, but good luck finding one of them now.

[reader50]

6 GB RAM ceiling, X3100 GPU with only a 32-bit driver available. Officially 10.7.5 max OS.

There is an MR thread where they shoehorn later OSes on that model (among other models). Everything you need is in the first post.

10.8 - works by using the Lion 32-bit GPU driver, along with the ML 32-bit kernel. Apple distributed the ML 32-bit kernel with the first developer preview, but omitted it from all later public builds.

10.9-10.11 works by skipping a GPU driver. Graphics run slowly without acceleration, with occasional glitches.

There can be glitches using Software Update to apply patches. You may need a 2nd partition with Lion for troubleshooting - but you need this anyway to do the ML install. From there, you can delete the platformsupport.plist file as needed, which updates sometimes reinstall. You also need to keep a kernel boot file copy, in case an update replaces the 32-bit one with a later one.

I tried Mountain Lion on a MacBook 2,1 and found it too much of a nuisance for my use. Ended up buying a newer MBP, which I needed for other reasons anyway. But ML did work. After a few reinstalls, I had narrowed the issues down to needing a copy of the 32-bit kernel file after running Software Update.