PART ONE
Keep your old Mac running
Do you have a legacy Mac that’s no longer updated? Don’t throw it away — there’s plenty you can still do with it
WRITTEN BY IAN OSBORNE
How often do you replace your Mac? Every couple of years? Every five years? Only when it can’t run the latest operating system?
And what do you do with the old one? Sell it? Give it to a family member? Put it in a closet? Do you still have an out–of–date Mac you haven’t switched on in ages? Perhaps it’s time to put it to some use.
An older Mac can do more than you think. It might not boast the same features as a modern machine, and it probably can’t run the latest software, but this doesn’t mean it’s useless. In this, the first of a two–part series, we take a look at an older version of macOS and a Mac that can’t be updated any further, and discuss to what use it can be put in the mid–2020s. As our starting point, we take a Mac that can go no further than macOS 13 High Sierra.
As you might remember, High Sierra was a performance update that had the same system requirements as its predecessor, Sierra. High Sierra’s successor, Mojave, ended support for quite a few models of Mac, such as iMacs from late 2009 to late 2011, MacBook Airs from late 2010 to mid 2011 and MacBook Pros from mid 2010 to late 2010. If you’ve a redundant Mac in the attic or a closet, there’s a fair chance it’s running High Sierra.