[Sebring]

I got OS Catalina, but it's nothing earth shattering. Any great features that are useful? Any new look (like dark mode, last time)? Giant file size, though.

[WasavaTyres]

Guys, someone who's using a mixed HDD setup on a MBP (HDD & SSD) suggests that since the MBP supports HDD lock function via a motion sensor only for the primary disk and not the optical drive, it is advisable to use the SSD in place of the Superdrive bay as an SSD negates the need for a motion sensor lock. Any inputs ??

Also, if I decide to use the SSD in place of the HDD will a simple clone do the job ?? I came across the following on a Mac Knowledge board.

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by WasavaTyres

it is advisable to use the SSD in place of the Superdrive bay as an SSD negates the need for a motion sensor lock. Any inputs ??

Check the SATA bus speed of Hdd and superdrive. In my iMac I decided against using the drive one for SSD as it was SATA 3 Gbps vs 6 Gbps off the unused port on the backside of mother board and HDD one. Decided to go with Fusion drive setup instead to solve both drives being mounted differently. Note fusion drive works as long as you plan to have applications of size less than SSD portion. The OS dynamically decides what data to move where. Not the best in terms of redundancy, but I take plenty backups.

Also, if I decide to use the SSD in place of the HDD will a simple clone do the job ?? I came across the following on a Mac Knowledge board.

Yes, should work in a MacBook. I recently swapped in an SSD into the HDD bay using Carbon Copy Cloner utility in a friend's MacBook. Plug and play.

[sgiitk]

I tried Catalina, the install did not go through. So had to do a Machine Restore. As we were in the process of moving the last one I had was from May.

Now I will clean up the disk, got more space and then try again.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

I tried Catalina, the install did not go through. So had to do a Machine Restore. As we were in the process of moving the last one I had was from May.

Now I will clean up the disk, got more space and then try again.

Don't. Tons of bugs reported. Hold off until they approve an update.

These software updates have become like buying a new launch vehicle.

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Don't. Tons of bugs reported. Hold off until they approve an update.

These software updates have become like buying a new launch vehicle.

Thanks. So i will lay off till the first update arrives. I was debating. This solves it.

[SX4LOVER]

Got Catalina on the day of its release. No bugs encountered yet, and the ship is sailing smooth. Like someone said, nothing earth-shattering except for music and TV with its new features and integration. On my 256 GB MBP 15 inch, the touch bar has been showing issues of freezing at times and goes away after I fiddle with the controls through the mouse. Any comments? experts!

[manas27587]

Since the sale is going on,
I have a Macbook Air 13' Early 2014 model.
Can anyone suggest an upgrade for the SSD?
Also is it advisable to do DIY swap?

[tilt]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Don't. Tons of bugs reported. Hold off until they approve an update.

These software updates have become like buying a new launch vehicle.

Well, I guess it is a matter of luck. I have two machines capable of running Catalina. One machine (macbook pro) I updated. Well, not actually "updated" but did a complete nuke & pave. No problems at all, other than that Brother had not provided updated drivers for their scanner; so scanning functionality was lost until they provided new drivers on Friday.


The other machine, an iMac (my daily driver) has not yet been moved to Catalina. I shall do so in a few days. Even here I am planning on doing a nuke & pave rather than upgrading in situ.


When I say it's a matter of luck what I mean is, I have read horror stories of quite a few people having problems while upgrading - machines stuck for two days and waiting to complete, machines freezing up, machines stuck in a continuous reboot cycle, etc. On the other hand I have also heard cases where (like mine) the upgrade went smoothly.


Cheers

[tilt]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Don't. Tons of bugs reported. Hold off until they approve an update.

These software updates have become like buying a new launch vehicle.

Originally Posted by sgiitk

Thanks. So i will lay off till the first update arrives. I was debating. This solves it.

OK, back-to-back post purely because I am way past the Edit window on my previous post and nobody else has posted after I did.
In my previous post above I mentioned that my daily driver iMac had not been moved yet to Catalina. Well, today I executed the move and it has been flawless.

Let me address Red Liner's concern: Upon further investigation, I noticed that the people who encountered problems and have horror stories are those who "updated" or "upgraded" their OS in situ, meaning, kept their current system and just installed the update when prompted.

Those people who, on the other hand, did a "Clean Install" / "Erase & Install", or what I call "nuke & pave" have not had any issues.
I went through the nuke & pave a few days ago on my laptop and it went through well and works absiolutel,y without any issues whatsoever.

The difference in my daily driver iMac is that I have a shit-ton of data and so does my wife. Two user-accounts, two sets of photos, music, docs, contacts, passwords, preferences, etc.
So, this is what I did:

0. Deleted all 32-bit apps from my machine since none of those will work after the update;

1. I made a completely fresh Time Machine backup of the iMac;

2. I downloaded the catalina update install file and made a bootable USB Install disk with it;

3. I booted the iMac with that Install disk;

4. Went into Disk Utility and erased the iMac's hard dive completely;

5. Ran the "Install OS" option;

6. When prompted by "Migration Assistant" halfway during the installation process, I selected "Restore from Time Machine Backup" and selected the fresh backup I had made;

7. I selected both user-accounts (my wife's and mine), selected all Applications; all settings; all Printer Drivers etc. and hit "Contyinue"

8. I waited for around three hours for everything to be restored and recreated;

9. Logged into my account; opened Photos and let it update the library, opened Music and let it update the library, opened Mail and let it update the mailboxes;

10. Logged into my wife's account and did the same thing there too;

11. Post this thread here;

12. Now going to look for updated 64-bit versions of the deleted 32-bit apps. I don't really care if I do not find any, nothing was that critical.

Cheers

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by tilt

When I say it's a matter of luck what I mean is, I have read horror stories of quite a few people having problems while upgrading - machines stuck for two days and waiting to complete, machines freezing up, machines stuck in a continuous reboot cycle, etc. On the other hand I have also heard cases where (like mine) the upgrade went smoothly.

I agree, people who opted to upgrade (without a clean install) had faced most of these issues. I for instance went with upgrade on my office MBA and it wouldn't update, saying there was space constrains. Deleted some unwanted stuff and next time it went through.

Another friend who did for his iMac had restart stuck at "setting up" message overnight. Finally he had to do a hard restart and things started working fine. Again unlucky he was, since he didn't check on the compatibility issue of older 32 bit programs and lost his MS office instal which was a 2010 version

Apart from this there are some minor bugs here and there, like safari sometimes showing one of the older image, when you open a pop out image tab in Facebook. Occasional misfires from Mail app etc. Nothing major, but yes there are some misses here and there. Gone are the seamless updates and bug free experience that apple used to provide

[sgiitk]

How do you find the free space on the disk. Last time Catalina bombed out due to insufficient space. So I want to make sure.

[Warwithwheels]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

How do you find the free space on the disk. Last time Catalina bombed out due to insufficient space. So I want to make sure.

Click on the apple symbol on the left top corner ---> About this Mac ---> Storage

[sgiitk]

Sorry, do not get it. I could not find the place or the information (naturally). Please guide me further.


---- Found it.

[sharktale]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

Sorry, do not get it. I could not find the place or the information (naturally). Please guide me further.

Alternatively, you could left click once on the Harddisk logo on the Desktop to select it, and press the Spacebar. It'll show you a useful window with info you need.


Protip : An app called CleanMyMac X, available on the App Store can automate a lot of cleaning/removal of junk from your system or Bin.