Too Funny, I over-planned but happy

[MBAir2010]

Hello everyone!

my  focus these past months was to purchase a MacMini M1 so I can return to Monterey.
I saw several that were over my needs therefore too much what I should spend.
then finally Saturday sonme great Mac site had one available.
the review stated the mini is equipped with BigSur, the release OS of this mini
GREAT!
So I ordered the mac_mini, made a specially thumb drive of Monterey on a USB c drive.
waited 2 days
then Viola!
the package arrived, unboxed -perfect mint condition and beautiful!
I plugged the Mac mini in, fabulous screen via HDMI and even the BT keyboard (cheap anker) worked!
my usb a 2006 Mac magic mouse is handy for these things as im checking the about this Mac.

HUH?
Sonoma?
yep!
Sonoma.

ouch, all this effort.....
well I logged in telling Cupertino this baby is now mine, which is a lifesaver.
then erased and tried to restored and could anything not extract from the thumb drive.
(command umm cnrtr on windows keyboard might be the problem)
I got to the 4 options then after a hours, decided to reinstall Sonoma-35 minutes.

I tried everything to reboot an install from that thumbs drive but no avail.

maybe I tried too hard to get Monterey back then realized,
the gods are not in my favor today?
I need to stop and accept what  has to offer.

maybe I will figure out how to revert to Monterey later this month on both Air and Mini

until then I will enjoy fast speeds, great graphic and syncing galore all in the privacy  provides!

Oh, thanks for reading this spoiled person's post

any comments will be acknowledged and replied to.

 

[russell_314]

Hello everyone!

my  focus these past months was to purchase a MacMini M1 so I can return to Monterey.
I saw several that were over my needs therefore too much what I should spend.
then finally Saturday sonme great Mac site had one available.
the review stated the mini is equipped with BigSur, the release OS of this mini
GREAT!
So I ordered the mac_mini, made a specially thumb drive of Monterey on a USB c drive.
waited 2 days
then Viola!
the package arrived, unboxed -perfect mint condition and beautiful!
I plugged the Mac mini in, fabulous screen via HDMI and even the BT keyboard (cheap anker) worked!
my usb a 2006 Mac magic mouse is handy for these things as im checking the about this Mac.

HUH?
Sonoma?
yep!
Sonoma.

ouch, all this effort.....
well I logged in telling Cupertino this baby is now mine, which is a lifesaver.
then erased and tried to restored and could anything not extract from the thumb drive.
(command umm cnrtr on windows keyboard might be the problem)
I got to the 4 options then after a hours, decided to reinstall Sonoma-35 minutes.

I tried everything to reboot an install from that thumbs drive but no avail.

maybe I tried too hard to get Monterey back then realized,
the gods are not in my favor today?
I need to stop and accept what  has to offer.

maybe I will figure out how to revert to Monterey later this month on both Air and Mini

until then I will enjoy fast speeds, great graphic and syncing galore all in the privacy  provides!

Oh, thanks for reading this spoiled person's post

any comments will be acknowledged and replied to.

Normally, you cannot install an operating system that predates what was originally installed.

I hear it’s actually more stable than Ventura but I haven’t tested it

 

[MBAir2010]

Normally, you cannot install an operating system that predates what was originally installed.

I hear it’s actually more stable than Ventura but I haven’t tested it

but one can install the original os that came with the mac as in my case.

 

[MBAir2010]

I might keep this mini on Sonoma due to the excellent experience tonight.
since we can external ssd Monterey on these, that is an option.

but a mac users needs to know when enough is enough and i think the limit was today.
knowing this i would have gotten the new m2, but happy and calling This a day.

 

[meson]

Sonoma actually seems to be pretty decent and pretty stable. I've run it on my mini since the official launch and on my work machine for the last few days. I'm still not thrilled about System Settings becoming a jumbled mess akin to the i*OS settings menus. Other than that, it's just another evolutionary step in the OS.

I'll also note that for the first time since the pandemic, I've been allowed to install the latest version of macOS on my work machine already. Over the past few years, it has been a 3-9 month wait before the powers that be allowed users to adopt the new OS. Either Sonoma enabled something very useful on the mobile device management side, or they've found it to be surprisingly stable.

 

[russell_314]

but one can install the original os that came with the mac as in my case.

Yes, you should be able to install the original OS that came with the Mac. If that Mac comes with Sonoma, then you can’t go with a previous OS though.

I hear mostly positive comments about Sonoma. This is giving me hope that maybe I should install it on my MacBook Air running Ventura. When Ventura came out, I didn’t hear many good comments.

 

[MBAir2010]

Yes, you should be able to install the original OS that came with the Mac. If that Mac comes with Sonoma, then you can’t go with a previous OS though.

I hear mostly positive comments about Sonoma. This is giving me hope that maybe I should install it on my MacBook Air running Ventura. When Ventura came out, I didn’t hear many good comments.

Thanks for the reply, im stickin' with Sonoma on Both M1s since Monterey wont last forever
and the OS is very good, the 14.1 version.

 

[macos9rules]

Is there any specific reason you want to go back to Monterey? The Mac Mini M1 originally came with Big Sur installed so you should be able to revert to Monterey by creating a bootable installer. It's not easy, but it should be possible.

 

[MBAir2010]

Is there any specific reason you want to go back to Monterey? The Mac Mini M1 originally came with Big Sur installed so you should be able to revert to Monterey by creating a bootable installer. It's not easy, but it should be possible.

I thought Monterey was better. more responsive, less clutter with the stage manager and widgets blocking the screen and my external drives and computer oriented
as Sonoma is iPadish. On a Sonoma buggy three di posted some grievances last month there.

while trying in vain to reinstall Monterey Wednesday and almost getting shut out of the new macmini, I decided to give Sonoma 14.1 a try which was a better experience than in the MacBook Air m1.
therefor I will stay with Sonoma on both M1.

I will make a reboot able Monterey ssd drive for both Mac today!
yesterday I typed that I eventually need to discard Monterey in a few years, so I might as well stay with Sonoma.

Oh Sonoma and Ventura "settings" are a mess compared to Monterey, took me 10 minutes to auto hide the menubar.

thanks for the reply and interest.

 

[macos9rules]

I thought Monterey was better. more responsive, less clutter with the stage manager and widgets blocking the screen and my external drives and computer oriented
as Sonoma is iPadish. On a Sonoma buggy three di posted some grievances last month there.

while trying in vain to reinstall Monterey Wednesday and almost getting shut out of the new macmini, I decided to give Sonoma 14.1 a try which was a better experience than in the MacBook Air m1.
therefor I will stay with Sonoma on both M1.

I will make a reboot able Monterey ssd drive for both Mac today!
yesterday I typed that I eventually need to discard Monterey in a few years, so I might as well stay with Sonoma.

Oh Sonoma and Ventura "settings" are a mess compared to Monterey, took me 10 minutes to auto hide the menubar.

thanks for the reply and interest.

Thanks for your reply! In my opinion, the only reason to stay with Monterey is for compatibility issue with older software. I have a utility that I use everyday (ClipMenu) that is unfortunately not 100% compatible with Sonoma and is no longer supported.

As for the Settings, yes they are a real mess in Ventura and Sonoma. Apple tried to replicate the Settings app in iOS, but I think they failed miserably. Thankfully, there is a Search field at the top left. Every time I go there, I end up using it to find what I'm looking for.

 

[for this]

Normally, you cannot install an operating system that predates what was originally installed.

I hear it’s actually more stable than Ventura but I haven’t tested it

That is not always true. The OS that comes with a Mac is generally the current version by the time the Mac is out of the factory. Which means sometimes a Mac can use older OS than what it is shipped with.

For example, my late 2012 mini, bought in 2014, came with Mavericks but it can also run 10.8.1 (Mountain Lion) because it was the OS that originally came with this model when it was released in 2012.

But if we focus exclusively on Apple Silicon Macs. I've heard problems here and there about downgrading OS. There may be a solution to it but I've no incentive to learn ways around these new Macs since I think my next computer won't be a Mac.

 

[tonmischa]

Installing an old macOS via USB-Bootstick was possible on Intel Macs, but is no longer possible(*) on Apple Silicon.

A proper downgrade on an Apple Silicon Mac is only possible by booting into DFU Mode and installing an IPSW file. (You need a 2nd Mac to do that.)

More info here:

Restore macOS Firmware on an Apple Silicon M1 Mac + Boot to DFU Mode

Need to install macOS on an Apple Silicon Mac? I will show you how to boot into Boot to DFU Mode + Use Apple Configurator 2 to restore macOS!

mrmacintosh.com

EDIT:
(*) To clarify: It is technically still possible, I did it a few times, but it made a mess on the partition table (2 recovery partitions) and I had a lot of troubleshooting to do afterwards. So it is probably better to say "it is possible, but it is strongly discouraged"

 

[russell_314]

That is not always true. The OS that comes with a Mac is generally the current version by the time the Mac is out of the factory. Which means sometimes a Mac can use older OS than what it is shipped with.

For example, my late 2012 mini, bought in 2014, came with Mavericks but it can also run 10.8.1 (Mountain Lion) because it was the OS that originally came with this model when it was released in 2012.

But if we focus exclusively on Apple Silicon Macs. I've heard problems here and there about downgrading OS. There may be a solution to it but I've no incentive to learn ways around these new Macs since I think my next computer won't be a Mac.

I don’t think this is exclusive to Apple Silicon max but I’m sure there are exceptions if you go back far enough. I’m pretty sure it applies to recent Intel Macs but someone correct me if I’m wrong. I haven’t really tried doing this on any of my computers because I try to keep the most up-to-date OS and applications for security purposes.

I couldn’t imagine trying to use a Windows PC as a daily computer for everything. I have one for gaming, but absolutely hate trying to do anything else with it. I’ve toyed around with Linux, but to me it’s not user friendly enough for a computer that I use on a daily basis for routine tasks. Of course everyone has different use cases so my use case is likely different than yours

 

[MBAir2010]

But if we focus exclusively on Apple Silicon Macs. I've heard problems here and there about downgrading OS. There may be a solution to it but I've no incentive to learn ways around these new Macs since I think my next computer won't be a Mac.

This is why im making a Monterey external,ssd for the mini and using that for now.

once the bt mouse and keyboard arrive.
they have been sitting in a USPS location since Friday morning.

 

[wingennis]

I might keep this mini on Sonoma due to the excellent experience tonight.
since we can external ssd Monterey on these, that is an option.

but a mac users needs to know when enough is enough and i think the limit was today.
knowing this i would have gotten the new m2, but happy and calling This a day.

I've enjoyed your thread. You are so easy to please and happy to be happy. It is refreshing.

 

[MBAir2010]

I've enjoyed your thread. You are so easy to please and happy to be happy. It is refreshing.

thanks that means a lot!

I might take a hiatus here until January due to static on other threads.

anyways:
I just revived a Satechi Bluetooth mouse and keyboard which work excellent and under $99
now I need to find the thread i posted promising an update....

 

[MBAir2010]

I bite the bullet and purchased a 2K Monitor for the Mac mini which is staying with Sonoma.
Downgrading to Monterey is too much work and im happy with what I have now.

oh a month away kept my insanity away!

 

[ToniCH]

Oh Sonoma and Ventura "settings" are a mess compared to Monterey, took me 10 minutes to auto hide the menubar.

I agree, I don't like the new iPhone -style settings thing on Macs at all. I find it so confusing to use compared to old version which we had until Monterey. 👍