Will I encounter any issue while upgrading from macOS Catalina to Sequoia on MacBook Pro?

To be honest in answering any major update can result in glitches but such things are rare. Most updates go without issues. The ones that don’t are trumpeted as proof of failure by Apple by the uniformed. These forums are like a hospital in that only sick systems are here and you see only the problems not the successes.

There are a few recommendations to ensure a good update...

1. Before beginning BACKUP, BACKUP all your data in case something goes wrong.
2. Use the Disk Utility app to check/repair your internal drive or the drive you boot from.
3. Check with the developers of the software you rely on the most to make sure it is compatible with Sequoia or that there is an update available that makes it compatible. (In most cases, if you have kept your software up to date, you won’t encounter problems.)

But the MOST IMPORTANT step to follow is to backup your data on a separate drive to keep in reserve if something goes wrong.

Only real issue is if some app is not compatible but that will line out in your apps after the update. You would then need to see if a newer release is available. Be sure you have a Time machine backup tbefore doing the update.

To get a More Complete view of both the Hardware and Software currently installed

Perhaps there is more than just the Steam Games that need attention before moving forwards with the upGrade

Download the Application Etrecheck  ( External Link ) directly from the Developer.

This is a Diagnostic Tool that makes no changes to the computer.

It makes a coherent and readable inventory of both the Hardware and Software used on the computer 

The application is free or paid for added features. 

The Report will Not Reveal Any Personal Information. 

Post back the Full Report - Share Report >> Copy , then  paste  >>>> using the Additional Text Icon  <<<<

1) Your MacBook Pro's really small 128GB Storage Drive is to Full to update.

for some solutions to free up space, see > Free up storage space on Mac - Apple Support

2) The Write speed of your MacBook Pro's Storage is way down to 414 MB/s

the likely cause for this is that the Storage Drive is to full to preform at full speed.

3) Another issue is that you have BitDefinder installed on your MacBook Pro.

beside not being needed in macOS, it is crashing and possible causing other issues.

4) Another issue is that the OneDrive App is also crashing.

to be honest I do not use One Drive, so I can not say what is causing that.

Wolfchan wrote:

Thank you very much for analysis. (You too @Owl-53.) It is very much appreciated. Glad I gave into my anxiety and asked for help rather than going forward.

You're welcome.

Running through your points:

1) Yes, there's a lot of Word documents on this tiny laptop. While I do have an iCloud Drive account, I prefer to work off the hard copies. I have been thinking about getting another external hard drive purely for my writing / work, so I could move the all of the files across onto that and work primarily off for the hard drive to free up room. Along with taking a look at the other storage-freeing solutions.

I also prefer using local external drives preferable SSD's for excess data storage. Just be-sure to backup that excess data to a second external HDD or SSD.

2) Hopefully doing the above will improve the Write Speed. I'll run another report after I've moved some files around to see there's any improvement.

Perfect! I also think that will help your over all performance.

3) Honestly had no idea about Bitdefender. Thank you for the heads up - I'll delete it.

macOS has all of the necessary Security built-in-to the system. The problem here is that you need to stay up-to-date in order to benefit from the latest security updates.

What's new in the updates for macOS Sequoia - Apple Support

4) The reason why One Drive is crashing is because my OS is too out-of-date for it to work. I previously used this to work on work-related writing both at home and in the office as my preferred writing software is Microsoft Word. I keep an external hard backup and iCloud Drive though, so deleting it shouldn't cause any problems. Regaining access to this was one of the reasons why I wanted to update the iOS.

Another good reason to not fall to far behind the curve when it come to updating.

One last questions if I may - do you think I would be better off upgrading Catalina to either Moneterey 12 or Ventura 13? Still getting some of the upgrades I need from a piece of software my laptop can properly handle.

You should have not problem running macOS Sequoia on that Mac. If fact, it runs great on my 2018 Intel Mac mini.

One thing that you might consider instead of buying several external SSDs, is to just go ahead and replace it with a new Mac (MacBook Pro, iMac or Mac mini) that has 1T of internal storage space.

Mac - Which Mac is best for me? - Apple

Thank you again for all of your help!

Again, you're welcome.

Thank you

We see the report and I will comb it very carefully and get back to you as soon as I can

I do encourage both of my colleagues to have a look see too / also

The more eye on the report the better it should be

I would concur with both of the earlier contributors and especially with the assessment of @den.thed re hardware and third party security software

Must say it seems it was worth the examination of the machine before moving forwards

Good work done by All

Good morning @ Wolfchan

If it were my computer, which ir is not.

I might also consider my options carefully when looking beyond macOS 15 Sequoia

Once macOS 26 Tahoe is released this Fall , this machines does not qualify

It is reported that the successor to Tahoe will only support Apple Silicon computers

In the Long Term, this Intel unit will be limited to Sequoia

And so, the cycle of falling behind in macOS will start again

As has been mentioned earlier by @den.thed

You may consider investing in a new M-class computer with at least 1 TB drive which comes with 16 GB Unified RAM for basic usages

Or if for Video and Image manipulations, in something more powerful with a larger drive and Unified RAM

Wolfchan wrote:

Will I encounter any issues upgrading my MacBook Pro (2019, 13-inch) from Catalina to Sequoia?

If you. upgrade, I would suggest going into System Settings > Desktop & Dock and making these changes:

• Under "Desktop & Stage Manager", change the selection for "Click wallpaper to reveal desktop" to say "Only in Stage Manager."
• Under "Windows", turn off the switch for "Drag windows to menu bar to fill screen."

When you run the Music and TV applications for the first time (after the upgrade), they may ask for permission to access removable volumes. (I forget the exact wording.). If you have an external optical drive, grant it.

Before you upgrade to Sequoia (if you already haven't done so) make sure there are no "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus or VPN apps on your Mac.

If they are uninstall them according to the developer's instructions.

You can check to see if you've removed all of the "hidden" supporting files by downloading and running the shareware app Find Any File to search for any files with the application's or the developer's name in the file name.  For XXXX software you'd do the following search(es): 

1 - Name contains "app name" or

2 - Name contains "developer's name" - like macpaw for CleanMyMac.

Any files that are found can be dragged from the search results window to the Desktop or Trash bin in the Dock for deletion.

FAF can search areas that Spotlight can't like invisible folders, system folders and packages.  

If you get warnings that the file can't be deleted because it is in use or used by another app boot into Safe Mode according to How to use safe mode on your Mac and delete from there.

Note:  if you have a wireless keyboard with rechargeable batteries connect it with its charging cable before booting into Safe Mode.  This makes it act as a wired keyboard as will assure a successful boot into Safe Mode.

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