OS X 10.8 'Mountain Lion' Q&A - Updated August 31, 2012
Oct 03, 2013 The 10.8.5 update is recommended for all OS X Mountain Lion users and improves the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac. This update: Fixes an issue that may prevent Mail from displaying messages; Improves AFP file transfer performance over 802.11ac Wi-Fi; Resolves an issue that may prevent a screen saver from starting automatically. If you need to purchase Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, you can order it from this page. The current version of the Mac operating system is macOS Catalina. To learn more, please click here. What you receive: An email with a content code for the Mac App Store.
To be notified of new Q&As, sign up for EveryMac.com's bimonthly email list.
If you find this page useful, please Bookmark & Share it. Thank you.
Which Macs are compatible with OS X 10.8 'Mountain Lion'? Which Macs are not compatible?
In the company's promo copy, Apple officially notes that the following general Macs support OS X 10.8 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)
Identification Help
If you're not sure which Mac you have and need help to identify it, look it up with EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Lookup.
This feature makes it easy to lookup any of these Macs by the Model Identifier listed in software (select 'About This Mac' under the 'Apple' menu and click 'More Info'), its Serial Number, and a variety of other methods. Remove pdf watermark free online.
Mountain Lion Compatible Macs
More precisely than the official info, the following list of Macs support OS X Mountain Lion, provided that they have 2 GB of memory, at least 8 GB of available storage space, and are running Mac OS X 10.6.8 'Snow Leopard' or later, which includes any version of OS X 10.7 'Lion.' If you need to upgrade the RAM or storage in your Mac, EveryMac.com's Mac Upgrades section can be helpful.
However, please note that all Macs on this list are not fully compatible with OS X Mountain Lion, as many do not support the AirDrop, AirPlay Mirroring, or Power Nap features:
Of course, subsequently introduced Macs will be compatible with OS X Mountain Lion for as long as it is the current version of the operating system.
Mountain Lion Incompatible Macs
All earlier Intel-based Macs, as well as PowerPC-based Macs, are not compatible with Mountain Lion. Most notably, Apple does not support Mountain Lion on these Intel-based systems that support Lion:
Unofficially, however, it is entirely possible to run Mountain Lion on many of these systems -- albeit some with limitations -- with hardware upgrades and/or software hacks.
Also see:
- What is 'AirDrop'? Which Macs are compatible with the 'AirDrop' technology?
- What is 'AirPlay Mirroring'? Which Macs are compatible with AirPlay Mirroring? Are there any 'hacks' or third-party apps to use AirPlay Mirroring on unsupported Macs?
- What is 'Power Nap'? Which Macs are compatible with Power Nap?
- How can I upgrade or 'hack' an incompatible Intel Mac to run OS X 10.8 'Mountain Lion'? Is it even possible?
Permalink | E-mail a Friend | Bookmark & Share | Report an Error/Typo
Suggest a New Q&A | Sign Up for Bimonthly Site Update Notices
<< OS X 10.8 'Mountain Lion' Q&A (Main)
Mac Os X Mountain Lion
Mac Os X Mountain Lion Torrent
EveryMac.com is provided 'as is' without warranty of any kind whatsoever. EveryMac.com, and the author thereof, shall not be held responsible or liable, under any circumstances, for any damages resulting from the use or inability to use the information within. For complete disclaimer and copyright information please read and understand the Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy before using EveryMac.com. Use of any content or images without expressed permission is not allowed, although links to any page are welcomed and appreciated.