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space required to install big sur

Hi, I use macOS Catalina 10.15.6 on my MacBook Air 11" (early 2015), which has a 128GB SDD. Currently have about 21 GB free space. Planning to upgrade to Big Sur. Question is do I have the space to do this? Second, is it recommended - considering dated processor, lack of space etc?

MacBook Air 11″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Mar 24, 2021 8:45 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Mar 24, 2021 9:36 PM

aravindnair Said:

"space required to install big sur: [...]do I have the space to do this? [...]is it recommended - considering dated processor, lack of space etc

———-


No. It won’t install.

  • Storage space needed is 35.5GB. So, no, it will not install. Uninstall large, unnecessary files like Movies, TV Shows, and Virtual Machine. (See Screenshot).

Ideal Requirements

  • RAM: How much RAM do you have installed? 8GB would is the minimum, ideal amount (but16GB would be better).
  1. Go To: Apple menu
  2. Select: About This Mac
  3. View: total RAM


  • Hard Drive: Seeing you have a 128GB Hard Drive, you would be fine, as long as not much is stored on it, but rather is accessible from an external source (ie hard drive or cloud storage) 256GB would do, but 512GB would be better)

See Here: macOS Big Sur - Technical Specifications - Apple Support


Screenshot:

3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Mar 24, 2021 9:36 PM in response to aravindnair

aravindnair Said:

"space required to install big sur: [...]do I have the space to do this? [...]is it recommended - considering dated processor, lack of space etc

———-


No. It won’t install.

  • Storage space needed is 35.5GB. So, no, it will not install. Uninstall large, unnecessary files like Movies, TV Shows, and Virtual Machine. (See Screenshot).

Ideal Requirements

  • RAM: How much RAM do you have installed? 8GB would is the minimum, ideal amount (but16GB would be better).
  1. Go To: Apple menu
  2. Select: About This Mac
  3. View: total RAM


  • Hard Drive: Seeing you have a 128GB Hard Drive, you would be fine, as long as not much is stored on it, but rather is accessible from an external source (ie hard drive or cloud storage) 256GB would do, but 512GB would be better)

See Here: macOS Big Sur - Technical Specifications - Apple Support


Screenshot:

Mar 24, 2021 10:13 PM in response to aravindnair

aravindnair Said:

"space required to install big sur: Thanks a ton, @TheLittles. This is really helpful. Have decided to stick with Catalina

———-


You are welcome.


About One of my Macs:

I have a secondhand 13” 2017 MBP that has 8GB of RAM, and a 128GB HDD. So, I’m sticking with Catalina on it, myself. It is for extra use. My other Mac is much more high-end and suits my needs. So, I use Big Sur on that one.

space required to install big sur

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