16/06/2026
Got an older MacBook or iMac that “can’t be updated” to a supported operating system (many of you have !) ?
Good news as that doesn’t always mean the end of the road…..
Just like installing Windows 11 on hardware that’s well past its prime, it can definitely be done, but there are risks and quirks you need to understand before diving in.
And in true Blue Peter fashion “here’s one I prepared earlier” !!.
This project started with a 21.5” Late‑2013 iMac, (13 year old device) officially capped at macOS Catalina and crawling along on a mechanical hard drive.
Step one was upgrading it to an SSD (yes, that means removing the screen as you’ll see from the photos below - something we’ve done dozens of times before).
Once that was in place, we used OpenCore Legacy Patcher to install macOS Monterey on the new drive plenty of great videos on YouTube if you’re curious and fancy having a go !.
Next up: removing the logic board to upgrade the RAM to 16GB now that the machine is fully operational again.
This iMac will be supporting a business application, so investing the time to modernise it made complete sense, and besides it turned into a great case study for LinkedIn.
If you’ve got hardware that’s heading for “e‑waste” status but still has potential, I’m always happy to help give it a second life.
Link to a great video that will walk you through the OCLP installation and OS switching steps - https://lnkd.in/eZ7caQwa