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Posted By: macmillan Upgrading OS on Early 2008 iMac - 01/17/18 11:12 AM
Introduction:
I have 2 early 2008 iMacs
1) 24" running OS 10.10.5 with 6GB of RAM
2) 20" running OS 10.6.8 with 4GB of RAM
I replaced both (failed) hard disks in 2012 to 2TB Seagate Barracudas & added additional ram (from 2 to 6 & 1 to 4) as I suspected that the original configuration produced too much heat thus accelerating the early failure of the disks.
After the upgrades (that included a forced upgrade to 10.6.8) both machines were faster and much quieter (therefore running cooler as fans were not needed). I was content.
However, I wished to make some videos using the 24" for which iMovie version 8 was very poor. Unable to upgrade to iMovie 9 I was forced to upgrade the OS to the then current 10.10 with iMovie 10 but with the consequence that the machine has run hot ever since & is very slow (more like Windows). I therefore decided not to upgrade the OS on the 20"
Now however, due to my wife preferring Safari that is no longer supported on 10.6.8 I wish to upgrade the OS but not to the latest for which I have not read good reviews in relation to old hardware. (I have only ever used Firefox on my iMac to keep it compatible with my PC, Firefox still being supported on 10.10).

Q (at last) Can anybody tell me how to obtain 10.10 (or 10.11 if it doesn't create additional memory resource problems) ?
Posted By: Urquhart Re: Upgrading OS on Early 2008 iMac - 01/17/18 12:32 PM
The Mac App Store link for OS X Yosemite (10.10.5). The Mac App Store link for OS X El Capitan (10.11.6). The first one will likely not be available in most countries, because Apple seems to want upgraders at least on 10.11 these days.

The Mac running 10.10 could re-download the Yosemite installer from the Purchased tab in the Mac App Store, if logged in to the App Store with the same Apple ID as was used originally to get Yosemite. Download, and copy the installer to the other Mac, and run it there.

OS X 10.11 is the “maximum” OS version for the 2008 iMacs.
I can’t advise on the speed or memory. The system requirements for El Capitan are the same for Yosemite (and Mavericks, for that matter).
Posted By: artie505 Re: Upgrading OS on Early 2008 iMac - 01/17/18 04:39 PM
Originally Posted By: macmillan
Can anybody tell me how to obtain 10.10 (or 10.11 if it doesn't create additional memory resource problems) ?

I suggest that you max out the RAM in your 20" iMac at 6 GB regardless of which OS you upgrade it to.
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