How To Intall Mac OS Catalina

Authored by: Support.com Tech Pro Team

1. Introduction

There's been a lot of work at Apple in the last one year. Apple has again updated its product list. MacOS 10.15 (Catalina) was released on 7 October 2019. The newly released update, macOS Catalina, is available to users who are running OS X 10.9 (Mavericks) or later on their Mac.

With this latest iteration, Apple replaces macOS Mojave sporting newly updated features. Users can now run custom iPad applications available on the app store (mac store) and the iPad as a secondary display.

Also, the new OS, Catalina, features Apple Arcade, improved security, and privacy, better accessibility for the disabled, more applications, Find My Mac feature, and many more.

However, one problem users tend to face often with new Operating System releases is how to download and install them. Updating and installing new Operating Systems could prove to be a daunting task. In this guide we'll be going through how to install macOS Catalina step by step.

2. Check Your MacBook's Compatibility

Not all Macs can run Catalina, so you must check if yours is eligible. Luckily, Catalina's hardware requirements are the same as Mojave, so if your Mac is already running Mojave, then you can Catalina without any issues. Macs running macOS Mavericks (or newer) can successfully run Catalina so long as it meets the hardware requirements. Below is the list of Macs that meet Catalina's hardware requirements:

• Mac Mini 2012 and later
• MacBook 2015 and later
• MacBook Pro 2012 and later
• MacBook Air 2012 and later
• Mac Pro 2013 and later
• iMac 2012 and later
• iMac Pro 2017 and later.

1. To know which year your Mac is, click on the Apple menu icon.

1. Then select About this Mac among the options shown in the drop down menu.

1. It looks like...

3. Things To Do Before Installation

Before you download macOS Catalina, we recommended the following to ensure the upgrade process goes as smoothly as possible:

Create A Backup On An External Drive

Make a backup of your Mac's drive, which you can restore if anything goes wrong. To do this backup, you'll need to access the built-in Time Machine backup utility on your Mac. To do this connect the external drive to your Mac and;

1. Click the apple icon at the top left of your screen (shown in yellow oval and arrow below).
2. Click System Preferences.

1. Click Time Machine.

1. Once you're on the time machine dashboard, click Select Backup Disk.

1. Then select the disk you want to backup your files on.

1. Click Use Disk to initiate the backup process, this starts immediately after.

Get Connected And Stay Connected

The update itself is a large file, so it will take some time to fully download and additional time will be required to complete the upgrade process. As such, make sure your Mac is able to be connected to the internet and remain connected. Do not perform this upgrade while connected to a public WiFi network. Also, ensure your Mac is connected to AC power to make sure it is able to stay on throughout the download and installation process.

Know your Apple ID

Your Apple ID is the account that's used to access Apple services like the App Store, Apple Music, iCloud, iMessage, FaceTime, and more. All these Apple services can be accessed with a single Apple ID and password. Because you may be prompted to log in with your Apple ID to access many of these services, it's important that you have those credentials handy if need be.

If you need to create a new Apple ID:

1. Click on the App Store.

1. Click sign in and then click Create Apple ID to create your new Apple ID.

If you're not presented with the options above, it means your Mac is already signed into iCloud.

Free up Space

In certain cases, your Mac may not have the available hard drive space to accommodate the files needed to perform the upgrade. The files are around 6.5GB in total, and Apple recommends having 20gb of free storage space on your drive if you want to install the OS. You can do this by getting rid of files your computer no longer needs. To know how much space you have left on your Mac:

1. Go to About this Mac as explained in step 1 and click Storage this time around.

1. Once you click Storage, you'll be presented with a window shown below with your Mac's storage status.

1. Click the Manage button and make use of the different memory management schemes offered.

Update Your Apps

Finally, make sure all the apps on your Mac are up-to-date to avoid any compatibility issues post-upgrade.

1. Go to the App Store.
2. Click the Update button on the App Store toolbar.

1. Click the Update button in front of each app to start downloading each update.

Each update is installed automatically after download.

4. Download macOS Catalina

For Macs Already Running MojavemacOS Mojave is the immediate predecessor to Catalina, which makes the upgrade process fairly easy. The following steps only apply to Mac computers that are running macOS Mojave:

1. Go to the apple menu via the apple icon on the top left corner of your screen and click System Preferences.

1. Then click software update.

1. click the Upgrade Now button to initiate the download.

1. Wait till the download is complete.

For Macs Not Running Mojave

For Macs that meet the hardware requirements and are running at least macOS Mavericks (or newer), the upgrade process begins on the Mac App Store:

1. Go to the Mac App Store.

1. Input Catalina in the store's search box and check if notification for update comes up.

1. If it does, click the Update/Get button to initiate the download.

5. Install macOS Catalina

Once the download is complete, the installer will open immediately. Click Continue and follow the prompts to complete the upgrade process to macOS Catalina.

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