How to upgrade to OS X Mountain Lion

1. 

   Step 1:

   Make sure your Mac can run Mountain Lion.

   Your Mac must be one of the following models:
   • iMac (Mid 2007 or newer)
   • MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer)
   • MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer)
   • MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer)
   • Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer)
   • Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)
   • Xserve (Early 2009)
   If you are running Lion, you can find out if your current Mac qualifies by clicking the Apple icon at the top left of your screen, choosing About This Mac, then clicking More Info.

   Step 2:

   Make sure you have Lion or the latest version of Snow Leopard.

   While you have the About This Mac window open, check what version of OS X your Mac is running.
   If you are running Lion (10.7.x), you’re ready to update to Mountain Lion. Go to Step 3. If you are running Snow Leopard (10.6.x), update to the latest version of OS X Snow Leopard before you purchase OS X Mountain Lion from the Mac App Store. Click the Apple icon and choose Software Update to install Snow Leopard v10.6.8, the latest version.

   Step 3:

   Download OS X Mountain Lion from the Mac App Store when it’s available in July.

   Open the Mac App Store from your Dock to buy and download Mountain Lion. Then follow the onscreen instructions to install it. If you don’t have broadband access, you can visit any Apple Retail Store to get help with downloading.
   
   

2. 
   

3. 
   

Overview of Macintosh OS's & Models

Mac OS

Screenshot of OS X Lion
Company /developer	Apple
OS family	Mac OS (System 1–7, Mac OS 8–9) Unix (OS X)[1][2][3]
Working state	Publicly released
Source model	Proprietary software (with open sourcecomponents)
Latest stable release	"Lion" 10.7.4 (11E53) [±]
Latest unstable release	OS X Mountain Lion Gold Master Seed (Build 12A269) [±]
License	Proprietary EULA
Official website	www.apple.com/macosx/

• "Mountain Lion" (10.8)
 
• "Lion" (10.7)
 
• "Snow Leopard" (10.6)
 
• "Leopard" 10.5)

Product line

Main article: Comparison of Macintosh models

	Compact	Consumer	Professional
Desktop	Mac mini Entry-level desktop that ships without keyboard, mouse, or monitor; usesIntel Core i5 or Intel Core i7 processors	iMac All-in-one available in 21.5" and 27" models; uses Intel Core i5 or Intel Core i7 processors	Mac Pro Highly-customizable workstation desktop; uses Intel Xeon processors
Portable (MacBook)	MacBook Air 11.6" and 13.3" models; uses Intel Core i5 or Intel Core i7 processors	MacBook Pro 13.3" and 15.4" models; uses Intel Core i5 or Intel Core i7 processors
Server	Mac mini Server An additional Mac mini configuration that ships with Mac OS X Server installed.		Mac Pro Server An additional Mac Pro server configuration that ships with Mac OS X Server installed.

Specifications::                                    

The original Mac Mini before the 2010 re-design

Back panel of a mid 2007 2,1 model Mac Mini. From left to right, first row: power button, 10 ventilation holes, Kensington lock slot, audio in, audio out. Second row: DC in, gigabit Ethernet, Firewire 400, DVI, 4 USB 2.0 ports.

Back panel of a late 2009 3,1 model Mac Mini. From left to right, first row: power button, 10 ventilation holes, Kensington lock slot, audio in, audio out. Second row: DC in, gigabit Ethernet, Firewire 800, mini DVI, mini-DisplayPort, 5 USB 2.0 ports

Component	Intel Core		Intel Core 2 Duo
Model	Early 2006[29]	Late 2006[30]	Mid 2007[31]	Early 2009[32]	Late 2009[33][34]
Release date	February 28, 2006	September 6, 2006	August 7, 2007	March 3, 2009	October 20, 2009
Order number	MA205*/A, MA206*/A	MA607*/A, MA608*/A	MB138*/A, MB139*/A	MB463*/A, MB464*/A	MC238*/A, MC239*/A, MC408*/A
Machine model	Macmini1,1		Macmini2,1	Macmini3,1
Model number	A1176			A1283
Processor	1.5 GHz Intel Core Solo (T1200) or 1.66 GHz Intel Core Duo (T2300)	1.66 GHz (T2300) or 1.83 GHz (T2400) Intel Core Duo	1.83 GHz (T5600) or 2.0 GHz (T7200) Intel Core 2 Duo	2.0 GHz (P7350) Intel Core 2 Duo Optional 2.26 GHz (P8400) Intel Core 2 Duo	2.26 GHz (P7550) or 2.53 GHz (P8700) Intel Core 2 Duo Optional 2.66 GHz (P8800) Intel Core 2 Duo
Cache	2 MB on-chip L2 cache		2 MB (1.83 GHz), 4 MB (2.0 GHz) shared	3 MB on-chip L2 cache
Front-side bus	667 MHz			1067 MHz
Memory two RAM slots	512 MiB (2 × 256 MiB) of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM Expandable to 2 GiB		1 GiB (2 × 512 MiB) of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM Expandable to 4 GiB but about 3 GiB is addressable	1 GiB (1 × 1 GiB) or 2 GiB (2 × 1 GiB) of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM Expandable to 8 GiB (4 GiB supported by Apple)[35][36]	2 GiB (2 × 1 GiB) or 4 GiB (2 × 2 GiB) of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM Expandable to 8 GiB (4 GiB supported by Apple)
Graphics shared with main memory	Intel GMA 950 using 64 MiB of DDR2SDRAM (up to 224 MiB in Windows through Boot Camp)[37]			Nvidia GeForce9400M using 128 MiB or 256 MiB of DDR3SDRAM	Nvidia GeForce9400M using 256 MiB of DDR3 SDRAM
Hard drive 5400-rpm unless specified	60 or 80 GBSerial ATA Optional 100 GB or 120 GB	60 or 80 GB Serial ATA Optional 100 GB, 120 GB, 160 GB	80 or 120 GB Serial ATA Optional 160 GB	120 or 320 GB Serial ATA Optional 250 GB	160 or 320 GB Serial ATA 2 × 500 GB on server model Optional 500 GB
Optical drive	8× DVD read, 24× CD-R and 16× CD-RW recordingCombo drive or 8× DVD±R read, 4× DVD±R writes or 2× DVD±RW writes, 24× CD read, 16× CD-R, and 8× CD-RW recording SuperDrive			8× DVD±R read, 6× DVD±R-DL writes, 8× DVD±R writes or 6× DVD±RW writes, 24× CD read, 24× CD-R and CD-RW recording SuperDrive	8× DVD±R read, 6× DVD±R-DL writes, 8× DVD±R writes, 6× DVD-RW writes, 8× DVD+RW writes, 24× CD read, 24× CD-R and CD-RW recording SuperDrive No optical drive on server model
AirPort Extreme	Integrated Atheros 802.11b/g (some models may unofficially support 802.11a as well)			Integrated Broadcom802.11a/b/g/draft-n	Integrated Broadcom802.11a/b/g/n
Ethernet	10/100/1000 Base-T
Maximum operating system	OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard"		OS X 10.7"Lion"	OS X 10.8 "Mountain Lion"
Weight	2.9 pounds (1.3 kg)
Dimensions	2.0 inches (5.1 cm) H × 6.5 inches (17 cm) W × 6.5 inches (17 cm) D

Back panel of a mid 2010 4,1 model unibody Mac Mini. From left to right, first row: power button, AC power supply plug, Gigabit Ethernet, Firewire 800, HDMI, mini-DisplayPort, 4 USB 2.0 ports, SDXC card slot. Second row: ventilation holes, audio in, audio out.

Specifications:

Component	Intel Core 2 Duo		Intel Core i5 & i7
Model	Mid 2010[41][42]		Mid 2011[43][44]
Release date	June 15, 2010		July 20, 2011
Order number	MC270XX/A	MC438XX/A (server model)	MC815XX/A	MC816XX/A	MC936XX/A (server model)
Machine model	Macmini4,1		Macmini5,1	Macmini5,2	Macmini5,3
Model number	A1347
Processor	2.4 GHz (P8600) Intel Core 2 Duo Optional 2.66 GHz (P8800) Intel Core 2 Duo	2.66 GHz (P8800) Intel Core 2 Duo	2.3 GHz dual-core (Intel Core i5-2415M)	2.5 GHz dual-core (Intel Core i5-2520M) Optional 2.7 GHz dual-core (Intel Core i7-2620M)	2.0 GHz quad-core (Intel Core i7-2635QM)
Cache	3 MB on-chip L2		3 MB on-chip shared L3	3 MB on-chip shared L3 4 MB on-chip shared L3 with i7-2620M	6 MB on-chip shared L3
Front-side bus	1.07 GHz		DMI
Memory two RAM slots	2 GB (2 × 1 GB) 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM Expandable to 8 GB (2 × 4 GB) 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM	4 GB (2 × 2 GB) 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM Expandable to 8 GB (2 × 4 GB) 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM	2 GB (2 × 1 GB) 1333 MHz DDR3 Optional 4 (2 × 2 GB) or 8 GB (2 × 4 GB) 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM	4 GB (2 × 2 GB) 1333 MHz DDR3 Optional 8 GB (2 × 4 GB) 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM
	Unofficially 8 GB (2 × 4 GB) 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, via non-Apple suppliers		Unofficially 16 GB (2 × 8 GB) 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, via non-Apple suppliers
Graphics shared with main memory	Nvidia GeForce 320M using 256 MB of DDR3 SDRAM		Intel HD Graphics 3000processor with 288 MB of DDR3 SDRAM	AMD Radeon HD 6630M graphics processor with dedicated 256 MB of GDDR5 memory	Intel HD Graphics 3000 processor with 384 MB of DDR3 SDRAM
Hard drive	320 GB 5400-rpm SATA HDD Optional 500 GB 5400-rpm SATA HDD	2 × 500 GB 7200-rpm SATA HDD	500 GB 5400-rpm SATA HDD Optional 750 GB7200-rpm SATA HDD	500 GB 5400-rpm SATA HDD Optional 750 GB 7200-rpm SATA HDD, 256 GB SSD, or 1 × 256 GB SSD + 1 × 750 GB 7200-rpm SATA HDD	2 × 500 GB 7200-rpm SATA HDD Optional 2 × 750 GB 7200-rpm SATA HDD, 1 or 2 × 256 GB SSD(s), or 1 × 256 GB SSD + 1 × 750 GB 7200-rpm SATA HDD
Optical drive	SuperDrive (writes: 6× DVD±R-DL, 8× DVD±R, 6× DVD-RW, 8× DVD+RW; reads: 8× DVD±R, 24× CD, 24× CD-R and CD-RW	None included (Optional External Macbook Air Superdrive)	None included (Optional External Macbook Air Superdrive)
Connectivity	10/100/1000 Base-T Gigabit Ethernet port[45] built-in AirPort Extreme (802.11a/b/g/n)[45] Bluetooth 2.1+EDR[45]		10/100/1000 Base-T Gigabit Ethernet port built-in AirPort Extreme (802.11a/b/g/n) Bluetooth 4.0
Peripheral connections	1 × HDMI Port (Includes HDMI to DVI Adapter) 1 × Mini DisplayPort 1 × SDXC card slot 1 × Firewire 800 port 4 × USB 2.0 ports 1× 3.5 mm Line out/Headphone jack 1 × 3.5 mm Line in jack		1 × HDMI Port (Includes HDMI to DVI Adapter) 1 × Thunderbolt Port 1 × SDXC card slot 1 × FireWire 800 port 4 × USB 2.0 ports 1 × 3.5 mm Line out/Headphone jack 1 × 3.5 mm Line in jack
Power	(Non-Server Model)[46] Mode 100 V 115 V 230 V Off 0.23 W 0.24 W 0.26 W Sleep 1.39 W 1.45 W 1.42 W Idle 9.13 W 9.14 W 9.44 W	(Server Model)[47] Mode 100 V 115 V 230 V Off 0.19 W 0.26 W 0.31 W Sleep 1.18 W 1.18 W 1.28 W Idle 9.78 W 9.78 W 9.97 W	(Non-Server Models)[48] Mode 100 V 115 V 230 V Off 0.21 W 0.21 W 0.23 W Sleep 1.16 W 1.14 W 1.16 W Idle 12.97 W 12.97 W 12.85 W		(Server Model)[49] Mode 100 V 115 V 230 V Off 0.20 W 0.21 W 0.25 W Sleep 1.02 W 1.02 W 1.11 W Idle 11.98 W 12.02 W 12.36 W
Greenhouse gas emissions	270 kilograms (600 lb) CO2e[50]		280 kilograms (620 lb) CO2e[51]
Weight	3.0 pounds (1.4 kg)	2.8 pounds (1.3 kg)	2.7 pounds (1.2 kg)		3.0 pounds (1.4 kg)
Dimensions	1.4 inches (3.6 cm) H × 7.7 inches (20 cm) W × 7.7 inches (20 cm) D

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