Managing macOS Releases - Suggestions Requested

[noelchristopher]

Hi!

How do folks here manage macOS releases vs. PT compatibility?

Ex: Say you are running or want to run PT 2020.9. The PT compatibility chart shows the that you will need any of the following macOS versions to be compatible with PT 2020.9: 10.13.6, 10.14.6, 10.15.3, 10.15.5, 10.15.6. Now let's say that is not what you are running on a MacBook Pro, so you will need to update your macOS. Yet, the current macOS update via the App Store will download and install macOS Catalina 10.15.7, which is currently unsupported. What do you do and, the real question for this post, how do you manage the situation in an ongoing manner for future releases? Do some people monitor the macOS releases and download and save them and wait for them to be compatible and then upgrade? Do others have another solution they prefer?

I find myself in this dilemma quite often and I don't really have a good solution.

Thanks!

Noel

[Top Jimmy]

The compatibility document only ever lists officially sanctioned Mac OS releases. This doesn't mean PT won't work just fine on another OS release, just that it either isn't officially tested, or doesn't have enough testing to get official approval. In the case of older OS's such as High Sierra and Mojave, testing is only ever done on the last available release.

If you want an updater that's not the latest, simply google for the combo update you're looking for. https://support.apple.com/kb/DL2048?...S&locale=en_US

[Darryl Ramm]

You can make a habit of downloading full installers for each major macOS release as it comes out. And keep them in an archive... or just having the history of a past "purchase" should make them show up later for you. Apple support may also grant access to past installers if you have a good reason.

And as Jimmy points out sometimes stuff does work fine, asking on DUC will often show if people are using it OK or know of any issues. But especially if you are running a business I would try to be on supported configurations.... including supported configs for all the plugins.

But one thing to point out again here is try to avoid doing in situ updates of macOS for major version changes. You can end up with systems in different states depending on all the things that have been installed or changed in the past. The way to get best compatibility is to do clean macOS installs at each upgrade. Use a spare SSD drive or if there is space on an existing drive then use an APFS container to do a test install on that, install Pro Tools etc. and test... and if there are problems you are only a reboot away from going back to a know working systems. And don't use the migration assistant (assassin) to move apps or drivers. Yes it takes more time, but you end up with a more trustworthy and likely more stable system.

[noelchristopher]

Originally Posted by Top Jimmy

The compatibility document only ever lists officially sanctioned Mac OS releases. This doesn't mean PT won't work just fine on another OS release, ...
If you want an updater that's not the latest, simply google for the combo update you're looking for. https://support.apple.com/kb/DL2048?...S&locale=en_US

Originally Posted by Darryl Ramm

You can make a habit of downloading full installers for each major macOS release as it comes out. And keep them in an archive...
But one thing to point out again here is try to avoid doing in situ updates of macOS for major version changes. You can end up with systems in different states depending on all the things that have been installed or changed in the past. The way to get best compatibility is to do clean macOS installs at each upgrade. Use a spare SSD drive or if there is space on an existing drive ...

Thank you both Top Jimmy and Darryl! Much appreciated

[EGS]

Originally Posted by noelchristopher

... don't really have a good solution...

ALL ProTools versions from 2016's 12.5 to today's 2020.9 are AVID supported on Win10.

Win10 was introduced in 2015, and will be fully supported through Oct 2025 (if not longer). Win security updates/feature updates/build versions are just that ... i.e. they are not an entirely new OS version. Hmmm... https://avid.secure.force.com/pkb/ar...tibility-Chart