A basic step you can take is to run a general maintenance routine, but in addition you might consider uninstalling system add-ons that you don't use, and otherwise slimming down your system. If your system is running slowly or having stability issues, you might consider addressing these before upgrading. You can check for PowerPC applications on your system by using the System Profiler utility (see how to do this here). Snow Leopard and prior versions of OS X have included the 'Rosetta' translator that allowed older PowerPC code to run on Intel Macs however, this will no longer be available in Lion so be sure to check for any programs you use that are PowerPC-based, and upgrade them, find alternatives, or simply understand that they will no longer run in Lion. You can see how much RAM is installed by going to the same About This Mac window, but consult your Mac's manual to see how much RAM you can install some models can only upgrade to a maximum of 2GB of RAM. Macs in around 2007 to 2008 shipped with between 512MB and 2GB RAM, and Lion will require at least 2GB of memory to run adequately. If you only see Core Duo (without the number 2 in it), Core Solo, or any form of PowerPC, then you will not be able to run Lion.īeyond the CPU requirements for Lion, you may also consider upgrading your RAM to at least 2GB, but preferably 4GB if possible. If you see Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon in the processor name, then you should be good to go. If you have purchased your system in 2007 or later, then you should be good to go for upgrading to OS X Lion however, you can check for the processor type on your system by going to the Apple menu, selecting 'About This Mac,' and then looking at the Processor section. My XServe G5 will not run Lion because it has a PowerPC chip in it.

Mac os x lion upgrade