Error message in dual boot system

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Error message in dual boot system

I have a 2014 Mac Mini on which I have recently installed both Mojave and Monterey because I have some software that will only run on the former. I have them installed onto separate volumes and can boot between them by using the Option key on startup.

They both seem to work fine, as far as I can tell. However I am getting an error message when I boot into Mojave that says "Incompatible Disk. This disk uses features that are not supported on this version of Mac OS."

Apple has this to say about creating a dual-boot setup:

"This is not a long-term way to continue using an earlier macOS after upgrading. Later macOS versions can install changes designed to keep your Mac secure and these changes can affect your computer’s ability to continue using a significantly earlier version."

Clearly this is correct and is giving rise to what I am seeing. However there are several guides on MacPaw etc. describing how to set this up that don't mention the error. The question is, is it something I can safely ignore, given everything seems to work fine in both OS versions? I don't want to keep using it if it is going to damage the drive in some way. Would it be better to partition it first in order to keep both installations separate - would that make any difference? Any help appreciated thanks!

Mac mini, macOS 15.4

Posted on Apr 17, 2025 09:25 AM

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Answer 1

HWTech

Level 9

66,758 points

Apr 17, 2025 11:54 AM in response to MarcusMax

MarcusMax wrote:

I have a 2014 Mac Mini on which I have recently installed both Mojave and Monterey because I have some software that will only run on the former. I have them installed onto separate volumes and can boot between them by using the Option key on startup.

They both seem to work fine, as far as I can tell. However I am getting an error message when I boot into Mojave that says "Incompatible Disk. This disk uses features that are not supported on this version of Mac OS."

I believe this error is due to Mojave not recognizing the "Update" volume. I recall seeing a similar error when booting older versions of macOS 10.14 & earlier and connecting a macOS 10.15+ boot drive. Since the Monterey boot volume no longer calls the "Update" volume by name, the error message may not be able to provide an adequate error message for the volume involved.

Just ignore it.

Or you can try preventing the Monterey volumes from automatically mounting in Mojave (assuming Filevault is not enabled) by using the instructions in the following article....you may need to add several lines for each of the major Monterey APFS volumes ("Macintosh HD", "Data", and perhaps another one for the "update" volume whatever it may be called in Monterey):

Prevent a volume from mounting at startup - Apple Community

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Answer 2

Apr 17, 2025 10:36 AM in response to MarcusMax

IMHO, dual booting using only the local drive can be problematic. I had a need for Catalina after I upgraded to Big Sur because I have a piece of hardware that the developer stopped support for any macOS after Catalina. my local drive is now running Sequoia, and I still have the need to use Catalina from time to time. but in my instance, I installed Catalina onto an external SSD. (Samsung T7 PSSD) and even today, I can option boot into my Catalina drive, and have not seen that error message that I'm sure I would be seeing if I tried to boot into a Catalina install that would be installed on my local drive with Sequoia installed.

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Answer 3

MarcusMax Author

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8 points

Apr 17, 2025 11:18 AM in response to jeffreythefrog

Ok well perhaps you're right that it can be problematic but so far it's only the appearance of the error itself that is concerning - all other behaviour seems normal and optimal. I did make the error of running Disk Utility on the Monterey volume from Mojave and vice versa and it came up with several warnings in the latter but none in the former (if that makes sense). That was before I read that you shouldn't use it on a drive that has been formatted by a more advanced OS in case it damages the file system. I'm not sure if the reverse is true. However I then ran it on both volumes from their respective OS only and it reported all as ok, so hopefully no harm was done..

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Answer 4

Apr 17, 2025 11:33 AM in response to MarcusMax

As well as jefferythefrog's solution, another would be to install Mojave into a VM (e.g. Parallels) on your Mini. The advantage of that is that you could run both OS's simultaneously, though you would need a decent amount of RAM, e.g. 16GB. As Mojave would be virtualised - i.e. running in its own virtual hard drive - you wouldn't get that warning.

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Answer 5

MarcusMax Author

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8 points

Apr 17, 2025 03:22 PM in response to HWTech

HWTech wrote:

I believe this error is due to Mojave not recognizing the "Update" volume.

Just ignore it.

Or you can try preventing the Monterey volumes from automatically mounting in Mojave (assuming Filevault is not enabled) by using the instructions in the following article.

Great. So it's safe to ignore it then? I may try that preventative measure as well though. Many thanks for the info.

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Answer 6

MarcusMax Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 17, 2025 03:26 PM in response to christopher rigby1

christopher rigby1 wrote:

As well as jefferythefrog's solution, another would be to install Mojave into a VM (e.g. Parallels) on your Mini. The advantage of that is that you could run both OS's simultaneously, though you would need a decent amount of RAM, e.g. 16GB. As Mojave would be virtualised - i.e. running in its own virtual hard drive - you wouldn't get that warning.

Yes I should have mentioned that I tried the VM (VMware) route but it's no good because there is too much latency in the audio app that I need to use, due to the VM using software instead of directly accessing the computer's hardware. So it needs to run natively. A type 1 hypervisor might work but I doubt the Mini could run it.

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Answer 7

MarcusMax Author

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8 points

Apr 17, 2025 03:24 PM in response to HWTech

Posted a reply before learning how to quote but can't see how to delete it fully.

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Error message in dual boot system

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