Apple OS Upgrade: Monterey (Page 2): I am very surprised that Apple Support did not advise you that the 15” MacBookPro Retina MID 2015 is the oldest computer capable of running...

JD750 Loc: SoCal

Carl S wrote:

Previous post: I have OWC solid state memory on my computer, and it refuses the update. I have a MacBook Pro, early 2015 with retina display and maxed out at 16 GM of OWC memory. I don't really get a message other than the upgrade cannot be completed. The Apple support group has indicated that this is a problem for many of their users, and so far I have not found a workaround. Suggestions please!

I am very surprised that Apple Support did not advise you that the 15” MacBookPro Retina MID 2015 is the oldest computer capable of running Monterey or Big Sur. The Early MBP won’t run those operating systems.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212551
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211238

I had an Early 2015 MacBookPro Retina, with APPLE memory. It would not run Monterey (Or Big Sur). Traded it in I did. And I love the M1 MacBookPro running Monterey.

Carl S

It was listed as being compatible with Monterrey, and there is plenty of hard drive room, in fact, I am constantly
reminded to upgrade. Oldest/youngest: it was supposed to run the system. However, my wife has run into lots of problems with the stability of several of her programs on a new computer running Monterrey, especially with PS and a number of various plug-ins. I'm happy where I am, and when technology passes me by, I'll upgrade.

Ron 717 Loc: Pennsylvania

Carl S wrote:

There is a problem upgrading to Monterey if you have non-Apple memory installed on your computer: it just won't take the upgrade! To me this is alarming in that future upgrades may be restricted to only Apple-supplied memory. I have that problem, and you can color me very unhappy!

I have non Apple memory in my IMac and am running Monterey without any issues at all. It does recognize and use the installed memory.

traderjohn Loc: New York City

mffox wrote:

I have held off upgrading to Apple's Monterey OS, as my MAC has been a bit quirky lately. Has anyone had any problems with Monterey? Is it safe to make the move? Thanks.

Mark

Like you, I was hesitant and waited for the bugs to shake out. After I uploaded the newer version I had zero problems.

bw79st Loc: New York City

Carl S wrote:

There is a problem upgrading to Monterey if you have non-Apple memory installed on your computer: it just won't take the upgrade! To me this is alarming in that future upgrades may be restricted to only Apple-supplied memory. I have that problem, and you can color me very unhappy!

I have the original 8GB plus an additional 32GB from OWC. I just upgraded to Monterey a few weeks ago and I have no problem. Maybe if I had removed the Apple 8GB I would have the problem you wrote about.

Icecoach47 Loc: Baltimore

I’ve been using it since it was released with no problems.

Brian S. Loc: Oak Park, MI

Carl S wrote:

There is a problem upgrading to Monterey if you have non-Apple memory installed on your computer: it just won't take the upgrade! To me this is alarming in that future upgrades may be restricted to only Apple-supplied memory. I have that problem, and you can color me very unhappy!

Carl:

Where did you come across this information?

My wife and I have 7 different Macintosh computers all running NON oem memory and there has never been a version of the Mac OS not running on any of them.

Thank you for letting us know where you saw the info.

I just got off the phone with an Apple Certified technician and he said there is no issue with Monterey and Non Apple RAM.

Camlane Loc: North Carolina

Carl S wrote:

There is a problem upgrading to Monterey if you have non-Apple memory installed on your computer: it just won't take the upgrade! To me this is alarming in that future upgrades may be restricted to only Apple-supplied memory. I have that problem, and you can color me very unhappy!

That's not true. I have non Apple memory and Monterey works perfectly.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

Carl S wrote:

It was listed as being compatible with Monterrey, and there is plenty of hard drive room, in fact, I am constantly
reminded to upgrade. Oldest/youngest: it was supposed to run the system. However, my wife has run into lots of problems with the stability of several of her programs on a new computer running Monterrey, especially with PS and a number of various plug-ins. I'm happy where I am, and when technology passes me by, I'll upgrade.

Carl S you said it’s was an EARLY 2015 MacBook Pro which is not listed. I had an early 2015 MacBookPro and it was most definitely too old to update. So if that’s the computer you have then that is why it won’t upgrade.

Tote1940 Loc: Dallas

mffox wrote:

I have held off upgrading to Apple's Monterey OS, as my MAC has been a bit quirky lately. Has anyone had any problems with Monterey? Is it safe to make the move? Thanks.

Mark

Yes i did! 2 year old iMac more than 50 per cent of drive free all files on outboard drives
Half way into download something crashed
iMac would star but Finder crashed repeatedly on initial screen
Tried Safe Mode start nothing
Finally had to use Disk Doctor ( not sure of name one of choices in Safe Mode) showed disk full, erased HD reloaded OS and then from Time machine all my stuff
I think new OS loaded partially then reloaded ran out of space
It is amazing that in Safe Mode it is possible to erase HD , reload OS and retrieve your files and apps from Time Machine Doubt WIN can do that but gavr up on WIN after 7
Now all is well

JD750 Loc: SoCal

Tote1940 wrote:

Yes i did! 2 year old iMac more than 50 per cent o... (show quote)

Hmm. Interesting. Safe mode means it only boots essential services. You still have the power to destroy your own system, safe mode or otherwise. Yes you can destroy your own system with a windows machine as well.

If for some reason it’s only partially loading the OS it might re-start but it should write over the partial load not start new. You said disk is 50% full but the more important thing is free space. 50% of a small drive might not be sufficient. What is your available space? Do you have the disk partitioned?

JD750 Loc: SoCal

Brian S. wrote:

Carl:

Where did you come across this information?

My wife and I have 7 different Macintosh computers all running NON oem memory and there has never been a version of the Mac OS not running on any of them.

Thank you for letting us know where you saw the info.

I just got off the phone with an Apple Certified technician and he said there is no issue with Monterey and Non Apple RAM.

He’s come to that conclusion on his own but it’s not supported by concrete evidence, others experience, or information from Apple.

Carl S

We operate only five Macs, and my information came from discussions on the Apple support group page. I've tried to upgrade several times, and will continue to use Big Sur as it seems to be relatively stable with the programs I run. But I will mention it to my computer in strong terms at my earliest convenience!

Tote1940 Loc: Dallas

Mine is 2019 iMAc 21.5" 3.6 GHz Quad Intel Core 13 processor ; 16 Memory; HD 1 Tb currently 900 gb free partitioned in 2
Works great; I think problem was partial download of new OS then reloaded without erasing previous junk
Now GAS: any one looking at Mac Studio? It would work for me since my monitor is about 15' feet away from iMac, wireless mouse and keyboard, just dreaming

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

mffox wrote:

I have held off upgrading to Apple's Monterey OS, as my MAC has been a bit quirky lately. Has anyone had any problems with Monterey? Is it safe to make the move? Thanks.

Mark

Yes, it is safe to upgrade to MacOS Monterey 12.2.1 if your computer supports it (has the resources to handle it). If your Mac is more than five years old, you may want to consult this chart:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212551

All the usual advice about having a backup before upgrading applies!

I'm running a Late 2020 M1 MacBook Air with 16GB Unified Memory and 1TB SSD storage. Monterey runs great on it.