macOS Catalina (10.15) - Bugs and bug fixes

[honestone33]

I don't have much software anyway, mainly Apple stuff like Pages. Mainly use my 2019 Mini for web surfing

Don't think there is a 2019 Mac Mini. The latest ones from Apple are 2018.

Also, assuming you run no third party software, you should be able to "move" to Catalina without issues. But, it is of course mandatory that you are making backups. And if you are, and based on what you said above, I suspect you are using Time Machine for that task. Correct?

 

[macintoshmac]

I don't have much software anyway, mainly Apple stuff like Pages. Mainly use my 2019 Mini for web surfing

In that case you are good to go, hopefully.

 

[steve333]

I don't have much stuff to back-up so I just save to a thumb drive every month and email some important things to myself

 

[honestone33]

I don't have much stuff to back-up so I just save to a thumb drive every month and email some important things to myself

While you might not have much "stuff" to back up, you are still taking a HUGE risk by not doing a full, complete backup of your system. And while Time Machine is OK, either SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cloner are much better, as they make a bootable backup/clone. Yes, I said bootable, which means you can boot your machine from such a backup. It definitely makes recovery, and also moving to a new OS, so much easier.

 

[macintoshmac]

While you might not have much "stuff" to back up, you are still taking a HUGE risk by not doing a full, complete backup of your system. And while Time Machine is OK, either SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cloner are much better, as they make a bootable backup/clone. Yes, I said bootable, which means you can boot your machine from such a backup. It definitely makes recovery, and also moving to a new OS, so much easier.

True. I use Carbon Copy Cloner and love the fact that I have a bootable backup ready with me for any time a disaster might choose to strike.

 

[steve333]

Can't I just re-start the Mac and do an OS re-install online?

 

[adrianlondon]

If you don't tweak stuff, keep all your data in the Documents folder (or other folders in your home directory that you remember, such as Music and Pictures), and are happy to redo any config that you've made in System Preferences, then backing up only those folders will be fine.

You'll need to reinstall any software you use in the case of a full system restore (as well as ensuring you have a working recovery partition, or fast internet access for the OS restore), but the upgrade tends to go smoothly for most people.

Catalina is fine to upgrade to imo. It's full of little bugs, some of which affect some people. However, on the flip side, if you only use your laptop for stock Apple stuff (Safari, Pages, Numbers, Mail etc.) then they'll work just as well on Mojave.

 

[macintoshmac]

If you don't tweak stuff, keep all your data in the Documents folder (or other folders in your home directory that you remember, such as Music and Pictures), and are happy to redo any config that you've made in System Preferences, then backing up only those folders will be fine.

You'll need to reinstall any software you use in the case of a full system restore (as well as ensuring you have a working recovery partition, or fast internet access for the OS restore), but the upgrade tends to go smoothly for most people.

Catalina is fine to upgrade to imo. It's full of little bugs, some of which affect some people. However, on the flip side, if you only use your laptop for stock Apple stuff (Safari, Pages, Numbers, Mail etc.) then they'll work just as well on Mojave.

I am not sure of this, but Catalina 10.15.2 does feel ever so slightly smoother than Mojave in terms of UI, more graphically than navigationally.

 

[adrianlondon]

I am not sure of this, but Catalina 10.15.2 does feel ever so slightly smoother than Mojave in terms of UI, more graphically than navigationally.

Maybe. I've had Catalina for so long (since the first beta) that I've forgotten what Mojave was like

 

[macintoshmac]

Maybe. I've had Catalina for so long (since the first beta) that I've forgotten what Mojave was like

I remember Mojave since I had it briefly on my MacBook Air 2017 for about six months before I installed Catalina (first beta and since) so I have a good comparison on the same petite machine.

 

[AAtte]

My Mac Mini 2018 has this pink boot screen for Mac OS and Windows every now and then. Also my Mac OS desktop boots with a screen stripe on the left side every now and then. If I set the resolution to something else and then back, it will dissapear. Should I be concerned, or is this Catalina?

 

[macintoshmac]

My Mac Mini 2018 has this pink boot screen for Mac OS and Windows every now and then. Also my Mac OS desktop boots with a screen stripe on the left side every now and then. If I set the resolution to something else and then back, it will dissapear. Should I be concerned, or is this Catalina?

Pink boot screen?

 

[AAtte]

Pink boot screen?

Yes, the boot screen where the Apple loads, is pink behind the Apple. Here is my desktop with the green line. You can see that the whole OS is shifted to right for some reason. Is my HD630 dying or is this Catalinas fault?

 

[honestone33]

If you don't tweak stuff, keep all your data in the Documents folder (or other folders in your home directory that you remember, such as Music and Pictures), and are happy to redo any config that you've made in System Preferences, then backing up only those folders will be fine.

Still a risk, not having a dedicated backup.
[automerge]1578334552[/automerge]

True. I use Carbon Copy Cloner and love the fact that I have a bootable backup ready with me for any time a disaster might choose to strike.

It also makes it so much easier and smoother when I do a clean, fresh installation of a new Mac OS, and then migrate/copy needed information from my just completed SuperDuper! backup.

 

[macintoshmac]

Yes, the boot screen where the Apple loads, is pink behind the Apple. Here is my desktop with the green line. You can see that the whole OS is shifted to right for some reason. Is my HD630 dying or is this Catalinas fault?

I would suggest you look into the monitor's settings. This might be an overscan setting that you need to adjust.

 

[AAtte]

I would suggest you look into the monitor's settings. This might be an overscan setting that you need to adjust.

Image adjustment is greyed out in my monitor because of other settings. I have used this monitor in multiple computers and I have not had a problem like this before. This is 100% problem in the Mac Mini. Here is the pink boot screen.

 

[steve333]

Still a risk, not having a dedicated backup.
[automerge]1578334552[/automerge]

I could lose everything I have right now and it wouldn't matter. I have my bookmarks, passwords, documents etc saved on multiple thumbdrives and in my email.

I guess I'll just wait for the next Catalina update and then install it then.

 

[macintoshmac]

Image adjustment is greyed out in my monitor because of other settings. I have used this monitor in multiple computers and I have not had a problem like this before. This is 100% problem in the Mac Mini. Here is the pink boot screen.

Just for saving some time, see if resetting the monitor to factory settings helps. If not, you obviously need to take the Mini to an Apple Store and get it sorted. Time is valuable and part of why people pay Apple the price they pay is to consequently save on time they would spend not being productive.

 

[honestone33]

I could lose everything I have right now and it wouldn't matter. I have my bookmarks, passwords, documents etc saved on multiple thumbdrives and in my email.

I guess I'll just wait for the next Catalina update and then install it then.

But what happens if something goes awry that is either directly related to the OS, or the OS itself? You will then not be able to easily boot your machine, and the subsequent recovery will be brutal.

 

[steve333]

But what happens if something goes awry that is either directly related to the OS, or the OS itself? You will then not be able to easily boot your machine, and the subsequent recovery will be brutal.

Can't I restore system software on re-start and combo keys from the internet?

 

[honestone33]

Can't I restore system software on re-start and combo keys from the internet?

Yes you can, but that is a long, and somewhat convoluted process. Doing the recovery from either a SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cloner bootable backup would be WAY easier and faster.

No matter how you slice it, you are still taking a HUGE risk not having a dedicated backup.

 

[shankar2]

So on latest Catalina 10.5.2 I see beachballs in programs like the Chrome browser exactly when I type a new url into the browser, and opening files with BBedit. Has anyone else seen this issue?

Also, when is the new update being released? Can anyone tell me if the above bug has been fixed? I'd appreciate some feedback. Thanks!

 

[macintoshmac]

So on latest Catalina 10.5.2 I see beachballs in programs like the Chrome browser exactly when I type a new url into the browser, and opening files with BBedit. Has anyone else seen this issue?

Also, when is the new update being released? Can anyone tell me if the above bug has been fixed? I'd appreciate some feedback. Thanks!

Were you facing the same issue in 10.15.1? Chrome beach-balling is more to do with Chrome using system resources obscenely. 10.15.2 is noticeably smoother than 10.15.1 on my MacBook Air 2017. I do not use Chrome though, strictly Safari.

 

[TTTedP]

Worst update experience ever, and I can remember OS 7. The biggest problem at the moment is with Mail. Certain messages received via my Exchange email account triggers this error message:

The message <name of message> could not be moved to the mailbox “Exchange.”
Invalid base64 string for MIME content.

It actually does move the message into the mailbox, even though it says it can't. Others have reported the same issue on Apple's forum. I've reported it via Feedback.

btw, this is still happening. The only solution I've found is to disable/delete rules.

 

[honestone33]

So on latest Catalina 10.5.2 I see beachballs in programs like the Chrome browser exactly when I type a new url into the browser, and opening files with BBedit. Has anyone else seen this issue?

It's been a while since I used Chrome, but have been using Brave more and more. Recently, I get some spinning beach balls on both of my machines running OS 10.15.2, but they are "hit and miss".

Also, when is the new update being released? Can anyone tell me if the above bug has been fixed? I'd appreciate some feedback. Thanks!

Here's the latest I could find about OS 10.15.3:

Apple Seeds First Beta of Upcoming macOS Catalina 10.15.3 Update to Developers

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming macOS 10.15.3 update to developers for testing purposes, one week after releasing the macOS Catalina...

www.macrumors.com

Note that link is for a forum here. Still nothing definitive.