upgrading OS

coatli wrote:

hello all :)

i have not upgraded my macbook air's OS since el capitan, because ive been afraid of letting go of some older programs, or doing things wrong, or getting stuck somewhere, or losing files i didnt backup properly, or not liking the new OS, etc...

so i have some questions:

--if i update my mid-2012 macbook air to catalina (i leared that's the latest supported),

if i don't like it, can i go back to el capitan easily?

if i do go back to el capitan, can i also get all my old programs that i love back?

--if those are no longer available from the internet, how can i save them in advance,

and how do i reinstall them from there?

--do i have to re-install all the applications i accumulated manually?

do i have to find the newer versions of those one at a time, for each one for catalina?

do i need to find them in advance, and save them on my mac before i install catalina?

or after?

thanks!

A - Yes if you have reliable Time Machine Backup Before attempting the upgrade Make Time Machine Backup  is very useful and can be used to Revert to Previous Working macOS

A - For addition purposes - two Tested Bootable Clones each to separate external drives. This is insurance incase the upgrades goes sideways. At least one Tested Clone and / or Time Machine Backup should be Off - Site

Non Bootable Clone can be used on Big Sur and Monterey much like a Time Machine Backup and via the same method outlined in Revert to Previous Working macOS.

No Workaround is referring 32 Bit Applications, extensions and driver software will not worker function in Catalina macOS 10.15, Big Sur macOS 11 and Monterey macOS 12. That is because Apple has Stopped Support anything that is 32 Bit period. There is no method or workaround to fool the operations system to make 32 bit work.

The Go64 application will search out the entire library of all installed Applications and alert the user which Applications are 32 bit. Then it is the responsibility of the User to investigate the Application Developers web-site for 64 Bit versions of that application.

Follow this How to get old versions of macOS and verify what version this computer Qualifies to install.  For Best results use Safari to commence the download as Others may not work.

macOS Catalina is compatible with these computers

The Only full version of Catalina is macOS 10.15.7

Safari will open a redirect and open the Apple Store where the download can commence

A Clone of the Internal Drive to an External Drive is often done by a specialized piece of Third Party Software. What it does is makes an exact copy of the Internal Drive to an External Drive, thus the moniker Clone.

The External Drive Clone should be, once done, a Bootable Version of what is already on the Internal Drive and can under certain extra- ordinary circumstances can be used if he Internal Drive fails or be used to Reinstall the Clone Back to an Internal Drive

As important as Time Machine Backup is and suggest to all users to use TM Backup. The Clone is an insurance incase even Tm Backup is not enough for those times when the Internal Drive is so messed up or has failed outright - one can continue to function until that matter is resolve.

Th Off Site aspect - nature disaster do occur, hurricane, flood, earthquake, volcano, fire, etc. not to mentor theft, robbery etc. Having an Off Site place increases the chances one can recovery the Very Important Data, photos, music, Tax Filings, etc

Q - So the clone should be a "bootable version"-- does that mean there exist clones that are not "bootable"? if so, why would anyone ever want a non-bootable clone?

A - When a Clone is made with the third party software and made Bootable it means if one restarting the computer and use the OPTION key immediately at startup and with the Bootable Cone drive attached, the Startup Manager invoked by using the OPTION key - will see the external Drive as a Bootable Drive and can boot and run the External Drive as if it were a normal Internal Drive.

A - If that same Clone is not a Bootable Drive - the OPTION key will not allow the Startup Manager to see the external Drive as Bootable and thusly, can not boot from it.

Q - You said the clone "can under certain extra- ordinary circumstances can be used if he Internal Drive fails or be used to Reinstall the Clone Back to an Internal Drive" --so does upgrading to a different OS run an extra risk of having the internal drive fail?

A - Under normal operations - any upgrade to a newer version of macOS has risk factors. That is why one needs a Rescue Plan as outlined the following - Do I have a Rescue Plan In-Place. This comprises having 3 Backups using 2 methods and 1 Off Site incase of Theft, Loss or Natural Disasters. A Time Machine Backup  is very useful and can be used to Revert to Previous Working macOS. For addition purposes - two Tested Bootable Clones each to separate external drives. This is insurance incase the upgrades goes sideways. At least one Tested Clone and / or Time Machine Backup should be Off - Site

Q - And if it failed, how would you know whether to start using the clone, or to instead reinstall it back to an internal drive? (i am guessing that to use it would mean to keep the external drive permanently plugged in to the laptop, whereas to reinstall it would insert its info and then you could detach the external drive?)

A - A Failed upgrade to a newer version of macOS would present various immediate indicator including the computer not rebooting after the upGrade process has attempt to finish or after the upGrade has completed.

Q - Is the internal drive the actual apple computer that runs my laptop? is it like the brain, and my physical laptop with keyboard and trackpad and screen etc like the body?

and would different OS versions like catalina and sierra be like grades in school, so if i install catalina it's like putting my mac into a higher grade?

A - The Internal Drive is where the Files including the Operating System is housed. The Brain as per say is the Central Processing Unit ) CPU where all the instruction are performed and passed of to the Operating System ( OS ) The trackpad one of the means to interact with the OS as would be a mouse and the keyboard. The Screen is only where all the Actions one has invoked are displayed.

A - Upgrading to a newer version of macOS like from Sierra to Catalina adds features added into Catalina that are not present in Sierra so in a way to a Higher Grade pus Higher Security

Q - Do you know of any good free third party software i can use to create the bootable clones? And is an ordinary flash drive okay as the external drive, or do i need a special kind?

A - Free is what I avoid at all costs. The old adage " You get what you pay for " is very true. Pay Zero get Zero and in some cases Free and get a lot of problems. There are Free Trails for some this party Cloning software. It can be used for a limited Time period and it works but one the Time Frame for Free Trial passes - it stops working or one has to Pay to keep using it. The two I know of , Superdupper and Carbon Copy Cloner. Personally I have and still use one of the two mentioned.

Q - And how do i keep my dozens of applications? (eg, things like firefox, spotify, adobe reader, etc...........)

A - Like any software what is installed Now on Sierra may not work on Catalina or may require upgrading. Sierra supports 32 bit applications, extension and drivers. Catalina ONLY Support everything 64 Bit and there is No Workaround period.

To check for 32 bit Applications - a good application to use is Go64 - safe to use.

User wrote " But when recently i searched for the Catalina installation, i only found (and downloaded as a .dmg) a "macOS Catalina Patcher". Is this the one i want to use to upgrade my macbook El Capitan to Catalina? Or if not, is there some official, safe site i should go to download the correct Catalina installation?

" macOS Catalina Patcher" That is illegal and will only suggest Deleting that and stay away from that.

Welcome