Prepare Your Mac to Upgrade to Big Sur
Happy macOS Big Sur release! While you wait for Apple to release the latest version of macOS, which usually comes out between 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM PT, there are a few things you can do to get your Mac ready for a smooth and hassle-free update process – or if you experience any problems, you will be ready to deal with them.
Who will get macOS Big Sur?
Most Macs made in the past seven years will be able to get a free upgrade to macOS Big Sur. However, in case you have an incredibly old system, here is a list of compatible Apple desktops and laptops:
MacBook
- MacBook Air (2013+)
- MacBook Pro (Late 2013 and newer)
- MacBook (2015+)
iMacs
- iMac (2014+)
- iMac Pro (2017+)
Other Mac Desktop Computers
- Mac mini (2014+)
- Mac Pro (2013+)
If you don’t have a compatible system, your macOS journey ends with macOS Catalina , the previous operating system. Of course, maybe we’ll see some kind of third-party installer that will allow you to install macOS Big Sur on an unsupported system, but it’s not available yet. In the meantime, you can at least use this tool to practice booting macOS Catalina on an even older system if it doesn’t have one.
How do I install macOS Big Sur?
As always, the process couldn’t be easier. After macOS Big Sur launches today, all you have to do is click the Apple logo in the upper left corner of your Mac and then open System Preferences> Software Update . Make sure you check the “Update my Mac automatically” box if you want to do just that in the future. After that, click “Update Now” to start the process.
What if I’m already using the macOS Big Sur beta?
While this isn’t usually a problem, I like to delete my beta profiles before upgrading to the latest operating system. That way, I can decide if I want to move on to subsequent beta releases for the next minor updates that Apple is working on. I like to stick with a stable build until there is something really cool in the new beta that is worth trying early.
If you’ve played macOS Big Sure in Beta , you can deregister your system before updating to the public version of macOS Big Sur by clicking the Details link under Software Updates on the screen with the same name. This window should appear:
Click “Restore Defaults” to opt out of the beta program. If you are prompted to reboot your system, do so. Then update macOS Big Sur to the latest version as usual.
I am not in beta testing. What to do before upgrading to macOS Big Sur?
I’ve never had any problems installing new Apple system updates, but that doesn’t mean problems can’t appear from time to time. If you’re migrating from macOS Catalina to macOS Big Sur, I don’t think you have to do much to get ready. However, if you are migrating from an older version of macOS, you need to make sure that any 32-bit applications you are using (to view using the Apple button> About This Mac> System Report> Outdated Software under Software »On the left sidebar) are compatible with the 64-bit application requirements of macOS Catalina and later, including of course macOS Big Sur.
Otherwise, I would recommend doing a full backup of your Mac because it can be much more difficult to keep your files if the update fails – if you can. At a minimum, I would check three times that you save your precious documents, photos, and everything else to iCloud (via System Preferences> Apple ID> iCloud ). It wouldn’t hurt to copy your documents and photos somewhere else (maybe Google or any number of other cloud storage services ). You can never have too many backups.
By the way, if you have any external storage like a spare USB drive or one of Apple’s fancy time capsules, run a Time Machine backup. This way, if a disaster strikes, you can easily restore your system to the full state it existed before Big Sur. (Obviously, whatever you do on your Mac between backing up and installing Big Sur will disappear, unless it was automatically done elsewhere.)
Other than that, you can also spend some time doing a little bit of work before installing macOS Big Sur (or while downloading it). Launch Finder and remove any apps you’ve installed that you haven’t always used, which should be obvious if you sort them by Last Opened Date.
You can also click the Apple icon in the menu bar and choose About This Mac> Storage> Manage , which brings up a handy little list of options to optimize your Mac’s storage (for example, by deleting Apple TV movies or shows that you already using). watched). The Browse Files option helps you find large files that you may no longer need or applications your system cannot use, and the file browser sorts various key folders by size so you can see what’s taking up so much space on your Mac.
You can always install macOS Big Sur on a separate partition (for now)
If you want to try out macOS Big Sur before fully committing, you can always install it on a separate partition for now, as long as you have enough space on your Mac’s hard drive.
Open Finder and click Utilities> Disk Utility . Click your hard drive in the left sidebar and then click Partition on the right side of the window. If you are already using macOS Catalina, you will be prompted to create a new APFS volume instead of a partition (which is what you should do). If you are using an older version of macOS, you will be taken directly to the partition settings screen.
Those who create the APFS volume are mostly finished at this point. Otherwise, click the + sign under the pie chart and choose how much space you want your partition to be, and make sure it uses APFS for the filesystem (and if that’s not an option, you need to select “Mac OS Extended”). , you’ll need at least 20GB to run macOS Big Sur, but I’d allocate a little more if you want to use it like your regular operating system.
Once you’ve clicked the Apply button and created the partition, make sure you choose that as the target once you’ve downloaded Macos Big Sur and the installation process is running. After that, you can switch between the two partitions by holding Option while the system boots.
What if there is a disaster with macOS Big Sur?
Do not panic. Remember the recovery shortcuts . When you boot your Mac, press and hold one of the following:
Command (⌘) -R
To reinstall the latest version of macOS that was on your Mac (ideally the one you were using last)
Option-⌘-R
Try upgrading to macOS Big Sur (again)
Shift-Option-⌘-R
Reinstall any version of macOS that came with your Mac, or any version you have that is still available.