Select 32-bit Download or 64-bit. Wait until the downloading process is completed. The Windows 10 Disk Image (ISO file) will be stored in the Download folder of your MacBook. Launch Boot Camp Assistant. Boot Camp Assistant is a utility that comes with your MacBook. It will help you to install Windows 10 on MacBook. You can find it in the. Make sure Automatically keep my Mac up to date is checked. Select the Apple Menu, then App Store. Select the App Store menu, then Preferences. Make sure Automatic Updates is checked. MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air must have the power adapter plugged in to automatically download updates.
Which Mac operating system is the best is a topic of numerous debates among Apple fans.
Since the mission of this blog is to refute myths and legends around Macs, it’s time for me to provide my 2 cents about the issue on hand. While everything below is just my opinion, as a long-time Mac user and veteran software engineer, I hope my opinion worth something.
The best Mac OS version is the one that your Mac is eligible to upgrade to. In 2020 it is macOS Big Sur. However, for users that need to run 32-bit apps on Mac, the best macOS is Mojave. Also, older Macs would benefit if upgraded at least to macOS Sierra for which Apple still releases security patches.
How to Tell Which macOS You Are Running
To find out which macOS is currently running on your Mac, follow these steps:
- Click on Apple logo in the top left corner of the menubar
- In the dropdown click on the first item: About This Mac
- The first line in the Overview tab is the name of the current OS.
What Version of OS Can My Mac Run?
Not all Macs can be upgraded to the latest OS version. For instance, old Macs powered by PowerPC CPUs cannot run OS intended for Intel-based computers. Also, some versions have hardware limitations.
For instance, Mojave cannot be installed on MacBook Pro earlier than Mid 2012 model.
Check below to know exactly what version of OS your Mac can run.
Which OS is Best for my Mac
Anytime someone asks me which OS is best for them I always suggested going with the latest. Things have changed recently, however.
Should I Upgrade to macOS Catalina or Big Sur?
While personally I like macOS Big Sur and have it installed on my MacBook Pro, it comes with serious breaking changes.
The first issue is compatibility.
Big Sur is a transition OS which is designed to help Apple to move from Intel processors to their own chips on ARM.
After I installed Big Sur on my MacBook Pro mid 2020 (pre-Silicon), most of my apps, including Microsoft Office, were working as expected.
However, my VMWare Fusion 11 does not start anymore, so I have to purchase a new license if I want to keep using it (or roll back to Catalina). Luckily, I took a full backup before the upgrade.
The second breaking issue is the lack of 32-bit app support.
macOS Catalina and Big Sur can only run 64-bit apps.
If you wondering whether you should upgrade to macOS Catalina or Big Sur, first verify that you don’t have any 32-bit apps. But first, take a back up, so you can go back in case something breaks after the upgrade.
For instance, I had to remove uTorrent after upgrade. And I didn’t know that uTorrent is 32-bit!
How to Know If App is 32-bit or 64-bit
To find out whether the app on your Mac is 32-bit or 64-bit follow these steps:
- Click on Apple logo in the top left corner of the Mac screen
- Click on About This Mac option
- Click on System Report button in Overview tab (first one)
- Scroll down to Software -> Applications
- Find the app and check Kind
Which macOS Should I Use
If you have an older Mac which is not eligible to upgrade with some latest software or hardware, I’d suggest upgrading at least to Sierra (or better High Sierra) for the following reasons:
- Sierra is still supported by Apple, and it gets security updates
- APFS file system is available
- It supports Siri
- Significant security improvements
The most important point when choosing the best OS is the ability to get security updates. While Apple generally does not announce the OS end of life dates, it is possible to know when they stop releasing security updates from this page.
For instance, according to the page, the last security update for OS X Yosemite was released on September 12, 2017. The last update for OS X El Capitan was in July 2018, and Carnegie Mellon University confirmed that El Capitan’s end of life date was August 2018.
Snow Leopard Myth
I know that some users on forums believe that the best OS version for Macs was Snow Leopard. But that is a myth. And I know how such myths get created.
Once I worked in the company, which was selling a 20-year old product. And customers were still using and didn’t want to switch to new versions, because the old one was rock solid.
I then talked to the engineer who worked on the project, and he revealed that the product was a total disaster when it was first deployed. Engineers had to work on-site for almost a year in order to fix all bugs.
After five or so years of polishing the product, it becomes virtually bug-free, and nobody now remembers how bad it was when it was first rolled out. A similar thing happened Snow Leopard, and it was recognized as best mac os version after some time.
How to Update to the Latest Version
There are two ways to update to the latest OS version on Mac:
- From the Software Update section in System Preferences
- Use a download link
Using Software Update
This is by far the best option, but it only available if you have Yosemite, or later OS installed already. If you enabled automatic updates, then Mac will inform you that the next macOS is available.
Just open System Preferences, go to Software Update and click on the Upgrade Now button.
This method is also best if wondering how to check if you have the latest version of OS installed on your Mac. Only the version compatible with your hardware will appear here.
For instance, my the latest version for Mac Mini 2012 is Mojave, I can’t install anything newer than that.
Using download links
For older systems or in case you need to downgrade, you have to download a standalone installer in DMG format. DMG stands for disk image, similar to ISO, just different formats.
After downloading the installer, just double click on it and follow instructions. Again, do not forget to take a backup before the upgrade.
Mac OS Comparisons: Requirements, Features, Compatibility, Download Links
Following is a high-level description of all Mac operating systems as early as Mountain Lion.
You can refer to those descriptions when deciding which operating system is best for your iMac, Mac Pro, Mac mini, or MacBook.
With each OS description, I included a list of Macs supported. However, you can use Mac OS compatibility checker for more detailed information.
macOS 11 Big Sur
macOS v11 (codename Big Sur) is the latest version of the operating system for Apple computers.
Release date: October 13, 2020
Hardware Requirements: RAM requirement 4GB. Big Sur is the first OS to support new Macs using ARM technology (in the future).
Features
- The biggest design refresh since macOS X.
- Support for new ARM processors.
- Safar improved performance and power consumption.
- Time Machine supports backup to APFS volumes.
- One-click translation for 7 languages.
- Redesigned maps
Software Compatibility Issues
Only 64-bit apps are allowed to run on Big Sur.
How to install
There are two ways to install Big Sur: enable automatic updates in System Preferences or download by using the following link.
List of Apple computers compatible with macOS Big Sur
- MacBook (2015 and later)
- MacBook Air (2013 and later)
- MacBook Pro (2013 and later)
- Mac mini (2014 and later)
- iMac models (2014 and later)
- iMac Pro (2017 and later)
- Mac Pro (2013 and later)
macOS 10.15 Catalina
Release date: October 7, 2019
Hardware Requirements: RAM requirement increased from 2GB to 4GB.
Features
- Introduced Sidecar, which allows for Macs to use an iPad as an external display.
- iTunes was replaced by separate apps: Music, Podcasts, and TV.
- Find My Mac and Find My Friends have merged into one app.
Software Compatibility Issues
macOS Catalina is the first Mac operating system that does not support 32-bit applications. Only 64-bit apps are allowed to run on Catalina.
How to install
There are two ways to install Catalina: enable automatic updates in System Preferences or download by using the following link.
List of Apple computers compatible with macOS Catalina
- MacBook (Early 2015 or later)
- MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or later)
- MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 or later)
- Mac mini (Late 2012 or later)
- iMac models (Late 2012 or later)
- iMac Pro (All models)
- Mac Pro (Late 2013)
macOS 10.14 Mojave
Release date: September 24, 2018
Hardware Requirements: 2GB RAM and 18.5GB free space on disk
Features
- The main feature of Mojave is “Dark Mode”
- FaceTime adds group feature which allows chatting with up to 32 people
- News, Stocks, Voice Memos, and Home apps were ported from iOS to Mac.
How to install
If your Mac is eligible to update to Mojave, then the easiest way to install it is by enabling automatic updates. Downloading a standalone Mojave installer could be a little tricky.
List of Apple computers compatible with macOS Mojave
- MacBook (Early 2015 or later)
- MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or later)
- MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 or later)
- Mac mini (Late 2012 or later)
- iMac (Late 2012 or later)
- iMac Pro (All models)
- Mac Pro (Late 2013 and 2010-2012 models with upgraded GPU)
macOS 10.13 High Sierra
Release date: September 25, 2017
Hardware Requirements: 2GB RAM and 14.3GB free space on disk
Features
- APFS (Apple File System) becomes the default file system in High Sierra. It’s a significant upgrade from the older HFS+ in terms of speed, size, and security
- iCloud support of Messages which allows sync messages of the account across multiple devices
- Mail app uses 35% less storage space due to optimizations
List of Apple computers compatible with macOS High Sierra
- MacBook (Late 2009 or newer)
- MacBook Pro (Mid 2010 or newer)
- MacBook Air (Late 2010 or newer)
- Mac mini (Mid 2010 or newer)
- iMac (Late 2009 or newer)
- Mac Pro (Mid 2010 or newer)
How to install
Here is a High Sierra download link.
macOS 10.12 Sierra
This is the first macOS version. Previous OS versions for Macs were called OS X (X stands for 10).
Release date: September 20, 2016
Hardware Requirements: 2GB RAM and 8GB free space on disk
Features
- Siri was introduced to Macs
- Optimized storage with iCloud sync
- Auto-lock feature allows unlocking MacBook with paired Apple Watch
- APFS preview available
- Disk Utility can manage RAID sets again
- Significant security improvements
How to install
Here is a Sierra download link.
List of Apple computers compatible with macOS Sierra
- MacBook (Late 2009 or newer)
- MacBook Pro (Mid 2010 or newer)
- MacBook Air (Late 2010 or newer)
- Mac mini (Mid 2010 or newer)
- iMac (Late 2009 or newer)
- Mac Pro (Mid 2010 or newer)
OS X 10.11 El Capitan
Last OS X version.
Release date: September 30, 2015
Hardware Requirements: 2GB RAM and 8GB free space on disk
Features
- System Integrity Protection – a security feature that protects even when the root user executes the process
- Performance improvements: open PDF files four times faster, Mail is twice faster, launching apps 40% faster
- Notes app similar to the app in iOS
Macs compatible with OS X El Capitan
same as OS Mountain Lion.
How to install
Here is El Capitan download link.
OS X 10.10 Yosemite
Release date: October 16, 2014
Hardware Requirements: 2GB RAM and 8GB free space on disk
Macs compatible with OS X Yosemite
Same as OS Mountain Lion.
Features
- Major user design overhaul
- Introduction of Handoff and Continuity features
- Photos app replaced iPhoto and Aperture
How to install
Here is Yosemite download link.
OS X 10.9 Mavericks
First free Mac OS. Previous OS versions vary from $19.99 to $129.
Release date: October 22, 2013
Hardware Requirements: 2GB RAM and 8GB free space on disk
Features
- Compressed Memory feature automatically compresses inactive apps when approaching maximum memory capacity
- Timer coalescing is a feature that reduces CPU usage by up to 72 percent
- App Nap puts apps that are not currently visible to sleep
Macs compatible with OS X Mavericks
Same as OS Mountain Lion.
How to install
OS X Mavericks installer is not available on Apple Site. Follow instructions here to install Mavericks.
OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion
Must be purchased. Fixed many bugs introduced in OS X Lion.
Release date: July 25, 2012
System Requirements: 2GB RAM and 8GB free space on disk
Features
- New apps: Notification Center, Notes, Messages, Game Center
- AirPlay mirroring allowed to mirror Mac screen to Apple TV
- Application updates automatically install from the App Store
List of Apple computers compatible with OS X Mountain Lion
- iMac (Mid-2007 or newer)
- MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer)
- MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer)
- MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer)
- Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer)
- Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)
- Xserve (Early 2009)
How to install
Mountain Lion installer is not available on Apple Site. Follow instructions here to install OS X Mountain Lion.
List of older Mac OS Versions
Following Mac OS versions are still running on older Macs, but Apple does not support them anymore, and there is no point to upgrade (or downgrade) to them:
- OS X 10.7 Lion
- OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
- Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard
- Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger
- Mac OS X 10.3 Panther
- Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar
- Mac OS X 10.1 Puma
- Mac OS X 10.0 Cheetah
When the MacBook Pro is dead or crashed, or it can not boot properly, the first thing is to recover data from the dead Mac hard drive. How to recover data from dead MacBook Pro or MacBook Air? EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac with Bootable Media and several manual methods will help you to recover data from MacBook Pro hard drive and repair failed/unbootable Mac hard drive in the simplest way.
You can follow this page to either repair a failed hard drive on Mac or recover data from a dead Mac hard drive.
| Workable Solutions | Step-by-step Troubleshooting |
|---|---|
| Fix 1. MacBook Data Recovery | Method 1. Restore Mac data from dead MacBook...Full steps Method 2. Recover dead Mac hard drive data to another computer...Full steps |
| Fix 2. Repair Failed Mac Hard Drive | Method 1. Run First Aid to Repair Failed Mac Hard Drive using Disk Utility...Full steps Method 2. Fix Won't Turn on MacBook Pro or Mac Computers...Full steps |
How Do I Recover Data from My Dead MacBook Pro?
'My MacBook Pro died and stopped working last week. It won't turn on from then on and gets stuck in the process of trying to boot up. Is there any way I can recover data from the dead MacBook Pro?'
As one of the most popular desktop devices, MacbookPro elevates the notebook to a whole new level of performance and portability. Although Macbook Pro works normally in most cases, however, something wrong may occasionally happen, such as it may suddenly crash or die due to various reasons.
Here is a list of major reasons that may cause you Mac computer died or fail to boot:
- Computer wear and tear, or aging
- System crash
- Hard drive failure
- Virus attack
- Too many bad sectors
When the problem occurs, you can neither boot the MacBook Pro nor can you access the data on the hard drive. At this time, the first thing you can do is to get data off the dead MacBook Pro is using a professional Mac data recovery software. Then you can use the built-in Disk Utility or other methods to repair the corrupted hard drive on MacBook Pro with ease.
The provided solutions on this page also work to recover data from dead Mac hard drive on MacBook, MacBook Air, etc., computers. Read on and see the detailed how-to guide.
MacBook Data Recovery: Recover Data from Dead MacBook Pro
If you have a Time Machine backup on MacBook Pro, you can follow methods in the next part to repair failed hard drive, make MacBook pro bootable again, and restore Mac data from Time Machine backup.
If you don't have a backup, don't worry. You can try the following two methods to restore data from dead MacBook Pro to an external hard drive to another computer.
Method 1. Recover Data from Dead MacBook Pro to an External Hard Drive
Professional Mac hard drive data recovery program - EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac with bootable media can effectively recover lost photos, audio, music, documents, emails from failed/crashed/dead MacBook Pro.
EaseUS Mac data recovery software also supports recovering deleted files from the emptied Trash, external hard drives, USB flash drives, memory cards, SD cards, etc. on Mac OS X 10.9 to macOS Catalina 10.15.
Now, you can follow the tutorial below to create a bootable recovery drive and recover data from the dead MacBook Pro hard drive with a few steps:
How to Create a USB Bootable Media
Step 1. Install and run EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac on another Mac computer, select 'File' > 'Create Bootable USB'. Then, choose a USB drive to create the bootable disc.
- Warning
- The creator will prompt to erase the drive to reallocate the space; then it can write the bootable files to this drive. Please back up all USB files before processing 'Eraser'.
Step 2. The program starts to create a 2GB space and save the boot files. The rest space on the USB can be still used for storage.
Step 3. Once it completes, please follow the guide to boot the corrupted Mac from the bootable disc and start the recovery. We suggest you restore the data to an external hard drive.
How to Recover Data from Mac Hard Disk
Step 1. Select the disk location (it can be an internal HDD/SSD or a removable storage device) where you lost data and files. Click the 'Scan' button.
Step 2. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac will immediately scan your selected disk volume and display the scanning results on the left pane.
Step 3. In the scan results, select the file(s) and click the 'Recover Now' button to have them back.
Note: Remember to save the recovered Mac data to another secure external hard drive and then follow methods in the next part to repair the problematic Mac hard drive.
Method 2. Recover Mac Hard Drive Data to Another PC/Mac
Note: As the following tips will break your computer warranty and you are on a warranty, don't try the provided tips. Also, if you are not experienced in removing or inserting hard drive on Mac computers, revert back to Method 1 for help.
If you have two computers at home, you can also try the following steps to restore Mac hard drive data to another computer:
First. Remove Mac hard drive and connect it to another computer
Required tools: a screwdriver, an external hard drive enclosure, and a USB connection cable.
Step 1. Open your Mac computer case, remove the hard drive with your screwdriver.
Step 2. Put your Mac hard drive into the external hard drive enclosure, and connect it to your computer.
Next. Access and check the data
On Windows Computer: Open the Windows File Explorer, double-click to check the hard drive data.
On Mac: Double-click the disk icon on the desktop and check if you can access the hard drive and its data.
If you can access the data, congratulations. You've successfully got your data out of the dead MacBook Pro. If not data shows up, refers to the next step.
Last. Restore Mac Hard Drive to Another Computer
On Windows computer, you can download the Windows version of EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard to scan and recover data from Mac hard drive to PC with ease.
On Mac computer, you can follow the three steps below to directly scan and bring the Mac hard drive data back:
Step 1. Select the disk location (it can be an internal HDD/SSD or a removable storage device) where you lost data and files. Click the 'Scan' button.
Step 2. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac will immediately scan your selected disk volume and display the scanning results on the left pane.
Can I Download Vero On My Macbook Pro Max
Step 3. In the scan results, select the file(s) and click the 'Recover Now' button to have them back.
After this, you've successfully restore data from your dead MacBook Pro.
How to Repair a Failed Hard Drive or Dead MacBook Pro
When you meet these issues on MacBook Pro, such as MacBook Pro is dead, Mac won't start up, multiple apps quit unexpectedly, a file is corrupted, and an external device doesn't work properly, you are highly possible having a problematic Mac hard drive.
Usually, when your Mac computer dead or failed to boot up, it's highly possible that the problem exists on your Mac hard drive or the macOS. As the causes are different, the fixes may also differ.
Method 1. Run First Aid to Repair Failed Mac Hard Drive using Disk Utility
Disk Utility is a built-in Mac disk management tool that can also fix some disk problems, like Mac hard drive won't boot.
After restoring the Mac hard drive data to a safe place, you can use the Disk Utility to check for errors and repair problematic hard drive and volumes with the following steps:
Step 1. Restart your Mac computer, press and hold Command + R keys simultaneously.
Step 2. Click 'Disk Utility' and then 'Continue'.
Step 3. Go to 'View' > 'Show All Devices'.
Choose the Mac hard drive to be repaired.
Step 4. Click 'First Aid' and then 'Run'. Click 'Done' when the process completes.
If Disk Utility reports that the disk appears to be OK or has been repaired, you've finished.
If Disk Utility tells you the disk is about to fail, you can't repair it, got back to Method 1 with the provided Mac data recovery tool to export all the data from dead Mac immediately. Then you can either choose to replace the old Mac hard drive with a new one or directly switch to everything - your data to a new Mac computer.
Method 2. Fix Won't Turn on MacBook Pro or Mac Computers
When the Mac computer is installed with a piratic macOS or the macOS crashes, the MacBook Pro or other Mac computers may also fail to boot. And some even don't react at all, showing like a dead computer.
Can I Download Vero On My Macbook Pro 2020
So how to fix this issue? Here are 5 ways that you can try to fix Mac computer won't turn on issue:
- Fix 1. Fix PRAM/NVRAM
- Fix 2. Reset SMC
- Fix 3. Boot in Safe Mode
- Fix 4. Run Disk Utility
- Fix 5. Reinstall macOS
For a step-by-step guide, please refer to Mac won't boot for help.
Conclusion & MacBook Data Recovery FAQs
On this page, we covered the reasons that cause MacBook Pro and hard drive dead. To recover the lost Mac hard drive data immediately, turn to EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac.
It will quickly scan and restore your lost Mac hard drive data with a created data recovery bootable disk. You can also try to switch the old Mac hard drive to a new computer, and check if you can access the data.
As for repairing the problematic Mac hard drive, you can run Disk Utility with its First Aid feature to see if the disk can be fixed. If nothing works, you can consider changing a Mac computer or try the recommend 5 methods to fix the Mac computer that won't turn on.
If you still have some questions about MacBook data recovery, check the quick answers below to help yourself out:
1. How do I recover data from my Mac?
When you lost data on Mac computer, here are three ways that you can try to recover data from Mac:
Method 1. Restore Deleted Files from Mac Trash Bin
Method 2. Recover Data from Time Machine Backup
Method 3. Recover Data using Mac Data Recovery Software, such as EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard.
2. Does Apple offer data recovery?
According to Apple's hard drive data recovery and warranty implications: 'Hard drives that have become non-functional through normal use, and have had data recovery performed on them by third-party companies specializing in data recovery services can be returned to Apple for warranty service...'.
3. How do I recover data from my MacBook after factory reset?
The possibility to recover data after factory resetting MacBook is not very high. But, as long as you didn't save any new files on the Mac hard drive after the factory reset, you can still try to run EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac and check if it can find something for you.
If you need a complete guide to factory reset a Mac computer, refer to Factory Reset MacBook without Losing Data for help.
4. How do I recover data from my Macbook SSD?
As you know that SSD has a Trim mode, and if you turned on the Trim mode, everything you deleted cannot be restored.
Therefore, if you need to restore data from SSD, you need first check the SSD Trim status; Then if the Trim is disabled, run EaseUS Mac data recovery software to scan and restore data from your Mac SSD.