Older MacBooks get Mountain Lion cold-shoulder due to graphics drivers
The launch of Apple’s Mountain Lion OS X update is now only weeks away, with the Gold Master version now available to developers. However, not all Mac owners will be able to benefit from the new operating system’s feature set, with compatibility issues meaning that certain models won’t be able to grab the new edition.
Head over to the Mountain Lion upgrade page and you’ll be presented with the full list of Mac models all set to get the new OS. However, if you’re working away with a Mac that uses a 32-bit kernel extension (KEXTs), it looks like you’re out of luck. Mountain Lion requires your system be running the 64-bit Kernal we’re afraid.
The core of the problem seems to lie with outdated graphics drivers problems. Apple don’t seem keen to go back and work on these conflicting drivers, though at least it seems its only relatively older machines affected. From what we’ve seen so far of the list, if you’ve got an iMac or MacBook built after 2007, you should still be fine.
Mountain Lion is expected to hit the Mac App store before the end of the month. US users can expect to pay $19.99 for the upgrade, while UK users should expect to pay somewhere between £15 and £20.
Are you one of the affected users still hoping to upgrade your slightly older machine? Do you feel Apple are doing enough to keep you loyal, or are you getting tempted by the attractive draw of Windows 8? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
For the full list of compatible machines, click here.
