Smooth, uneventful updating or an unfortunate situation with glitches and issues? I think a lot has to do with the age and model of a machine, what all the user puts into it, how the user works with the machine, etc., etc. I tend not to use a lot of plug-ins and apps, and in general I prefer to keep things fairly simple. I sometimes will download an app and use it for some specific purpose and then forget I've even got it. However, eventually I go through my Apps folder and weed out any apps that I haven't used in a while. Since the last time I bought a new machine was back in early December, that was a good time to sort out a lot of stuff I had on the older computer and either it was deleted altogether or just never made it into the new one.
From what I see here on the Cafe, there doesn't seem to be many problems with Catalina itself but other software running on Catalina.
I was going to wait until the first update comes out but I have a little extra time this weekend.
I might just go ahead and take the plunge.
I'm backing up right now with Time Machine and Super Duper and I'll be ready to go.
I normally wait with the update till a month or so before the next one comes out.
Now if these updates would contain anything useful for me, I'd might take a different approach.
In any case, for the update to catalina, I still have to find a valid alternative for Media Pro from Phase One and the Spyder software doesn't get updated to 64 bit either.
I normally wait with the update till a month or so before the next one comes out.
Now if these updates would contain anything useful for me, I'd might take a different approach.
In any case, for the update to catalina, I still have to find a valid alternative for Media Pro from Phase One and the Spyder software doesn't get updated to 64 bit either.
I used Media Pro for fast culling but I switched to Photo Mechanic in preparation for Catalina. I am in no rush to update to Catalina but know that I eventually will.
I did the upgrade to Catalina.
I am not able to find any programs that will not run.
I normally like to wait a little as well before upgrading but today was a good day for me timewise.
I did make sure I backed up before upgrading.
I did the upgrade to Catalina.
I am not able to find any programs that will not run.
I normally like to wait a little as well before upgrading but today was a good day for me timewise.
I did make sure I backed up before upgrading.
For some apps like Adobe, the primary app you launch will run OK. Services that run in the background to support it are where you hit the snags. Adobe's license mgmt service is not compatible with Catalina. When Photoshop or Lightroom needs to reach out to Adobe to get a renewed license key (happens monthly or so), it may fail and then you will be locked out of using your Adobe products. This is just one example. Other apps have various supporting services that run in the background and you never see and might be the very thing that the software make has been lazy about making 64-bit or making it Catalina compliant.
It is always best to have an inventory of software you have installed and check their web site for news of certification for major OS updates. Even if all your apps appear to work, you may get a nasty surprise when you least expect or can afford it.
After installing Catalina I ran the "Go64" program.
Thank You Allan.
The only 32 bit application it found was Zoom, the program to set up video meetings.
I went to the Zoom website and downloaded their latest update.
It is now 64 bit, runs just fine and Go64 does not find any other 32 bit programs.
In hindsight I probably should have run Go64 before installing Catalina and updated it but luckily it worked out in the end.
The long in the tooth early 2009 Mac Pro was becoming more gnarly by the day, so 2020 became the time for an i7 iMac. Other than CC PS and LR falling (with C1 and DXO carrying the torch forward), no other issues to report thus far on Catalina.
There is a HUGE difference in so many ways from a 2009 Mac of any sort to a 2020 one! Yes, the Retina display is fantastic and once you've used one you're spoiled for life!
The 2009 Mac Pro may not be worth it, but if you have a 2010 Mac Pro, a major re-build of its internal components pays huge dividends — especially if you install a fast 8 GB GPU; a PCI-mounted SSD to use as your Boot drive; possibly some more DRAM and perhaps modern USB-3.0 ports.
I did this and for, about $1000, I now have a screamingly fast machine (although "screaming" is the wrong adjective because the new 2 TB SSD is silent!) which is capable of running Catalina (at such time that I choose to install it — probably around next July?!).
My serious recommendation to others would be to grab a second-hand Mac Pro 2010 tower (they are often available quite cheaply) and rebuild it yourself: and then pair it with a large free-standing calibrate-able colour-managed wide-gamut monitor. My ten-year old NEC had finally became too dim to calibrate and has been replaced with a BenQ (with which I am highly impressed).
I did this work myself (it's pretty straight forward and easy to do in the tower architecture of the Mac Pro machines) and I am totally thrilled with the speedy performance of my "new" Mac Pro.
I could also install more Processors if I wanted to but I haven't felt any need to do that so far — although someone who is into video-production might choose to install more and the cost is very reasonable.
The long in the tooth early 2009 Mac Pro was becoming more gnarly by the day, so 2020 became the time for an i7 iMac. Other than CC PS and LR falling (with C1 and DXO carrying the torch forward), no other issues to report thus far on Catalina.
Congrats on the new Mac but if you haven't yet tossed your Classic MP, you should take a look at installing OpenCore as your bootloader.
I have been using on my 2008 (cMP 3,1) and its amazing what is being done there. Even my old iSight cam, a masterpiece of industrial design, which I had kept sitting in position as prop as Apple has broken support for it a few OS iterations ago (they posted a fix at the time but by the time I found this, I had further upgraded my OS and the fix could not be installed on HiSierra onwards), has sprung back to life!
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The 2010 (cMP 5,1) is certainly worth a punt but in terms of differences to a 2009 (cMP 4,1), the devil, as always, is in the detail.
First off, there is actually only a minimal basic difference between the two and all it takes to upgrade a cMP 4,1 to a "cMP 5,1" is a trivial firmware upgrade.
In terms of performance, the main thing to look out for is the CPU Model:
cMP 1,1 (2006): CPU Model = Merom or Woodcrest
cMP 2,1 (2007): CPU Model = Merom or Clovertown
cMP 3,1 (2008): CPU Model = Harpertown or Penryn
cMP 4,1 (2009): CPU Model = Nehalem
cMP 5,1 (2010): CPU Model = Nehalem or Westmere
cMP 5,1 (2012): CPU Model = Nehalem or Westmere
A 2010, or even 2012, with a Nehalem CPU is even closer to a 2009. Those with Westmere CPUs have more distance.
One rough way is determining whether a cMP 5,1 has a Nehalem or Westmere CPU is to see what the maximum official RAM limit is.
cMP 5,1 (2010) Nehalem: 16 GB
cMP 5,1 (2010) Westmere: 32 GB
cMP 5,1 (2012) Nehalem: 32 GB
cMP 5,1 (2012) Westmere: 64 GB
For reference:
cMP 3,1 (2008) Penryn: 32 GB
cMP 4,1 (2009) Nehalem: 32 GB
Basically, you don't want to be on a cMP 5,1 (2010) with the Nehalem CPU. Those with Westmere CPUs are the attractive ones but the official Apple RAM limit is a bit meaningless these days as it was later discovered that this could be raised using high density RAM sticks.
Basically, there are configurations where a 2009 cMP is preferable to a 2010 one (the relatively limited 2009 Nehalem offering) and sometimes, even a 2008 cMP is also preferable as it allows more RAM than a 2010 Nehalem. The 2010 Westmere is great though.
Outfits such as OWC have been cashing in on people wanting to jump on cMPs as the value proposition is great if happy to get hands dirty but I see that often, they have the 2010 Nehalem on offer. I would look seriously at a 2012 Westmere but it seems owners are sitting on their machines.
Apple is slowly but surely closing the door on the cMP hacks that allow them to run on current macOS versions, particularly with the T2 Chip. It took a lot of effort to crack Catalina using the DosDude patch but Opencore has kicked that door wide open again for a while ... I reckon until a macOS version that only supports machines with the T2 chip is released in a few iterations.
Thank you so much for your most useful and informative post.
This is the first time that I have heard about OpenCore and I am definitely intending to acquire it.
Their website is very detailed so I would love some guidance from you on which module of OpenCore would be the right one for using on my Mac Pro 2010 (which is a Nehalem).
OWC do sell processors if I need them but frankly this machine is now so fast (instantaneous responses to every my every keystroke and screen refresh) that I didn't go ahead with adding further Processors or changing mine for Westmeres.
OWC could also install new Processors for a very reasonable price if I just ship the tray (which holds the processors) to them.
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