Get Your Computer Ready to Install macOS High Sierra

01. Confirm Your Computer’s Compatibility for macOS High Sierra

If you have a Mac purchased in 2011 of after, you’re likely good to go. Still, we recommend you check your macOS Sierra compatibility before installing the new OS. Also, be aware if you use Apple Pro Apps that only certain versions work with the new OS.

02. Purchase an External Hard Drive

If you don’t already back up your computer on an external drive, now is the time to do so. While your upgrade to macOS High Sierra is likely to go off without a hitch, you need to be prepared in case something goes wrong. I personally use and always recommend an Western Digital portable external drive. I store thousands of high resolution photos on my 2TB external drive without a problem.

03. Clean Up Your Computer

Before you start with a new OS, we recommend taking the opportunity to take stock of all the files and programs you’ll be backing up and taking over to the new OS with you. Do you need everything you have installed or saved? There are likely a number of legacy files, duplicate files, or simply junk applications you don’t need anymore. If you don’t have many files, you can easily do a manual review of your file structures and take care of business. If you are like me, however, and your whole life is uploaded somewhere onto your Mac universe, then you might need a cleaning program. Consider Clean My Mac 3 for a quick scan and clean up. Bonus: you can try it out for free without buying it!

04. Back Up Your Computer

Now that you’ve got an external drive, it’s time to back up your files. You can use Apple’s Time Machine to back up your computer. In order to get to Time Machine, complete the following steps:

 Menu > System Preferences > Time Machine

Once you’re in the Time Machine, choose Select a Backup Disk and choose your connected external hard drive. Then, choose Back Up Now from the menu options. This will manually force a back up to run.

Now You’re Ready to Install macOS High Sierra

As of this posting, macOS High Sierra is available in beta. You can download the beta from Apple’s website. Please remember, beta programs may have quirks and bugs (even more reason to back up your computer!). If you want to wait for the cleaned-up OS, you can grab it later this fall.