Help with upgrading my MacBook

[Madureira]

Hi guys, I posted this over at the Apple Forums, but maybe you could give me some advice.

Here's the situation.
I have a mid-2011 Macbook pro, with an old operating system on it. 10.6.8 to be exact.
I also have an Ipad, software version 7.1.1 - Model MD786C/A

I never did the updates because I use these products for professional audio applications and also DJ, and at the time I got them I was so busy with projects that I couldn't just afford to have compatibility issues and whatnot.

So, a few years later, i'm starting to have issues with my software (Traktor Pro, Ableton Live, among others). And to update those, I need to update the OS on my devices.

I want to update both operating systems.

How should I proceed in order to avoid problems?

We're talking about some serious leaps in OS versions, so what do you advise? I'm also considering installing an SSD drive on my MacBook.

Should I take them to an Apple Store and let them do the work?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Dan

[AliMc]

I'm currently running Yosemite on an early 2011 Macbook pro (i7 quad 2.2) with no problems at all. I'll probably upgrade to Sierra at some point.
I'm not doing anything too taxing, but Ableton runs great. I also use Traktor with an S8 and have no problems with that either.
It'll run for hours without any glitching.
The OS upgrade is easy. Just make sure you've backed up and follow the instructions on the App store.

It's definitely worth upgrading to an SSD as well. I added one last year along with 16Gb RAM and it's like having a new computer.
You'll find everything much quicker.
They're pretty easy to install yourself. There are a lot of tutorials on youtube if you're not sure how.
I imagine it might cost you a small fortune if you take it to Apple.

Not sure about your iPad model.

Hope that helps.
Ali

[Pitch Black]

Running a mid-2010 MBP dual i5 here. I put a 500GB SSD in it and updated to Yosemite a year ago, and my system is faster than it ever was before (thanks SSD!) Like you, I also held back on 10.6.8 for ever because of the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" factor. Then Live 9.5 came out and I had to make the jump. Absolutely no regrets from the MBP standpoint. My machine with Yosemite and an SSD is faster than it ever was before for all uses including heavy audio (Live, Logic) and video (FCP, Modul8) work. From the solely MBP perspective, you won't regret it.

I don't have an iPad, so you'd just want to check which is the latest version of iOS that it can run, and google to see if that will play nice with Yosemite. I have an iPhone 5 running iOS 9.2.1 with no issues at all.

My advice would be buy an SSD and an external 2.5" enclosure for it. Use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone your internal HD to the SSD. Once that's done, swap the SSD into your mac and check that all runs well (it did on mine). Now, either put your old internal HD on a shelf as a "moment-in-time" backup, or use it as a time machine backup for your mac's new SSD.

TL/DR: do it!