Software Update is available under the Apple menu.
You must have an Administrator user name and password to install software updates.
Make sure you have enough disk space. Even small application updates may require a few hundred megabytes of space to complete the optimization phase of the installation. Mac OS X itself requires at least 18.5 GB of free space.
You may want to avoid using your computer while the updates are being installed, although it is not required to install most updates. You may even want to restart your computer immediately before installing an update.
Some installations automatically restart the computer; you may not notice if you start the installation, then leave your computer.
Using the Software Update feature, you can get updates immediately or schedule when Mac OS X checks for updates. Because some updates are prerequisites for others, you may need to use Software Update more than once to get all the desired updates.
The basic installation steps are provided below.
- To immediately get updates for Mac OS X versions 10.7 and higher:
- Select Software Update from the Apple menu.
- In the App Store window, select the items you want to install, then click Install.
- Enter an Administrator user name and password if prompted.
- Once the update has completed, restart the computer, if necessary.
- Repeat these steps to see if more updates are available. Because some software updates are prerequisites for others, you may need to repeat these steps several times to complete the software update sequence.
Keeping Your Mac Up-to-date
Your Mac notifies you when updates are available for OS X. It also notifies you when Upgrades are available for your Mac. Updates should be applied, upgrades to the operating system should not be done when they first come out. Please refer to Operating Systems Upgrades and Program Compatibility for more information.