Upgrading to 10.15 on older machine

[Agincourt]

I just procured an old 27 iMac from late 2012 with 10.13

My App Store icon keeps informing me of the OS 13 update (which my computer can't use) but there's absolutely no means to find a 10.15 upgrade anywhere. The best I got was some 10.15.9 3 GB download and then it complained that it needed 10.15 to run it!

Where does one find an OS 10.15 upgrade?

 

[CoastalOR]

See the Catalina link to get the full installer app.

How to download and install macOS - Apple Support

Download and install current or previous versions of the Mac operating system on compatible Mac computers.

support.apple.com

 

[Agincourt]

See the Catalina link to get the full installer app.

How to download and install macOS - Apple Support

Download and install current or previous versions of the Mac operating system on compatible Mac computers.

support.apple.com

Thanks.

I actively looked in the App Store for 'Apple 10.15' and 'Catalina' for no results. I wonder why the search function didn't work for me.

I have just downloaded that and my machine is updating as I write this.

Seriously why would the App Store highlight an OS upgrade my machine can't use?

 

[avz]

Seriously why would the App Store highlight an OS upgrade my machine can't use?

I am not an expert but it is probably important to promote the latest and greatest macOS that will hopefully inspire people to upgrade their hardware in order to get it.

It is similar to when most musicians will say that their latest album is by far their strongest release to date.

 

[Agincourt]

Well I just got Catalina uploaded and now STEAM is complaining that it can't run 32-bit games anymore!

Jesus! I upgraded this OS so that I could run GOG games which won't download to anything lower than 10.15. I gotta partition my drive and install OS 10.13 again!

I had a MacBook Pro (2012) which had everything I wanted before it died. Why can't I match its abilities as I could three years ago?!

 

[MBAir2010]

Hello Agincourt

Catalina does not run 32 bit programs
Mojave is the last OS to do so.

I have a 2012 MacBook Pro and Mac Mini that run both Mojave and Monterey.

you can partition the drive or use an external one to run:
-Mojave for older software
and
-Catalina to run newer  software and security (which they might have stopped)
and
Monterey can be installed using a Open Core Legacy Patcher
there is a forum dedicated to this process on the Monterey OS section.


hope this helped!

 

[Agincourt]

Hello Agincourt

Catalina does not run 32 bit programs
Mojave is the last OS to do so.

I have a 2012 MacBook Pro and Mac Mini that run both Mojave and Monterey.

you can partition the drive or use an external one to run:
-Mojave for older software
and
-Catalina to run newer  software and security (which they might have stopped)
and
Monterey can be installed using a Open Core Legacy Patcher
there is a forum dedicated to this process on the Monterey OS section.


hope this helped!

I know and I just tried doing exactly that... I don't know how but even disk utility has been compromised! There once was a time that the hard drive used to show up on the desktop and you could navigate exactly what was where. Now I'm finding myself not knowing whether I'm creating a new partition or reducing my present 'untitled' disk to 1/5 its size. Why has Apple made it harder to work with their computers?

I'm trying to create a new partition to upload 10.13. but disk utility isn't offering any solutions. I created a new partition but it's showing '1 TB' capacity like the other two volumes on the same 1 TB drive. Why has disk utility de evolved from what it was ten years ago?

 

[Agincourt]

If I sound like an idiot that doesn't know what he's babbling about... you're probably right. Apple systems have mutated to the point I can't make heads nor tails of any of it.

I'm presently now trying to create a partition and getting contradictory feedback. I created two volumes that were supposed to be independent of the first 'untitled' hard drive and I'm getting ALL three showing up under the '800 GB' part of the drive when I intended two 100 GB sections be carved out from 1 TB. Now I've no clue where those 200 GB went, as they're not accessible anymore.

I'm inclined to reset the computer and start again from scratch.

 

[Agincourt]

Just fixed the 'lost 200 GB' problem. Now dealing with two volumes each identifying with themselves as if each are the full 1 TB drive. The partition function in disk utility doesn't work!

Do I have a fusion drive? Does that piece of hardware screw up partitioning?

 

[MBAir2010]

you need to format one volume as APFS for Catalina and newer.

BTW
you are definitely not an idiot
an idiot would throw their iMac away
you are just trying to find a solution to a new problem all  users have
and smart enough to ask!

lately I need help and I started using apple computer since the mid 80's
and 1990 with Photoshop on a small box screen, I screw things up too much for my experience.
but know this formatting scheme now.

 

[Agincourt]

Here again.

Back in the days where we had physical copies of the OS it was easier to select and partition OS on a single drive. Now that we get everything online it's a mess. As of now I've got the 10.15 and now seeking a 10.13 download while my present system seems to be rejecting downloads because it 'senses' an earlier version download and is rejecting it.

In a perfect world I could try booting up from the blank partition, whereas the online function would kick in and start downloading the default OS (10.13) that this computer was designed with. If the computer were completely blank, I could start again from scratch and install the OS 10.15 in its own partition.

Problem I have is that Apple OS's don't seem to like one another and can't allow for multiple versions to coexist on same drive.

 

[AlixSPQR]

Here again.

Back in the days where we had physical copies of the OS it was easier to select and partition OS on a single drive. Now that we get everything online it's a mess. As of now I've got the 10.15 and now seeking a 10.13 download while my present system seems to be rejecting downloads because it 'senses' an earlier version download and is rejecting it.

In a perfect world I could try booting up from the blank partition, whereas the online function would kick in and start downloading the default OS (10.13) that this computer was designed with. If the computer were completely blank, I could start again from scratch and install the OS 10.15 in its own partition.

Problem I have is that Apple OS's don't seem to like one another and can't allow for multiple versions to coexist on same drive.

Apple isn't making things easy. You can use this tool* to download High Sierra: https://dosdude1.com/highsierra/

However, your Catalina may not accept it to install, you need to create a bootable USB installer and use this in order to install.

How to create that: https://support.apple.com/en-hk/HT201372

Good luck!

*It's nothing shady, the tool uses Apple's own servers. But without the Apple hindrance.

 

[Agincourt]

It's pretty much impossible to download an earlier OS, even to its own partition. How can I restart the computer from the internet? I've tried pressing 'option' at startup and the computer coerces me to start up with OS 10.15... it won't allow me to select anything else. I've put these on external disks, tried uploading the OS... my present system kills my every effort to download an earlier OS. The only possible external OS copy I can create is of the OS I'm presently using.

Come on APPLE!!!!

If we can start up a computer with a blank drive via internet, surly this should be possible.

If I don't find another solution soon, I'm doing a factory reset.

 

[CoastalOR]

How can I restart the computer from the internet?

See the Apple Page:

If you can't start up from macOS Recovery - Apple Support

Learn what to do if you can't get your Mac to start up from macOS Recovery.

support.apple.com

From the Apple page link:
"When an Intel-based Mac can't start up from its built-in Recovery system, it automatically tries to start up from macOS Recovery over the internet. If it doesn't, press and hold Option-Command-R or Shift-Option-Command-R during startup."

Internet Recovery
Option-Command-R: Start up from macOS Recovery over the internet. Use this key combination to reinstall macOS and upgrade to the latest version of macOS that’s compatible with your Mac. (in your case that is probably Catalina since that is what is currently installed and that is the max OS for your iMac)

Option-Shift-Command-R: Start up from macOS Recovery over the internet. Use this key combination to reinstall the version of macOS that came with your Mac or the closest version that’s still available. (Mountain Lion (10.8) is the OS that shipped with your iMac or a version of OS that is still available. (OS 10.8 to 10.12 will not be able to recognize the APFS format used by 10.13 or higher. My guess is the earliest OS that it should try is 10.13 - no guarantees how Apple will handle this).

Basically to downgrade from a your current installed Catalina OS requires erasing your disk and installing the older OS.

An earlier OS than 10.15 will work for you since they can run 32 bit apps. My personal choice would be Mojave (10.14), but 10.13 would be good since you have experience with it.

 

[Agincourt]

Didn't work.

I reset the computer and it's running 10.13. I'm seeking to upgrade to 10.14 and test it on its own partition so that I don't risk going through all this again. The last time I tried this the upgrade erased all the data on the partition I wanted to save. I'm going to save this on a time machine drive so that I can restore the OS from mistakes.

My primary goal is to retain the ability to run 32 bit apps, but I would also like the perks of having my desktop files be shared with my primary computer. If 10.14 does that, I see no reason to have 10.15 at all.

 

[MrCheeto]

-reading this tumultuous headache.

Thank god I just installed Parallels and moved on with playing my GoG library. You can install Lion, I think even Mountain Lion, XP, Win7 and higher in Parallels.

I’m using WinXP in Parallels for gaming and considering the age of those games the performance is seemless. This is in Leopard on my Mac Pro.

For more modern gaming, I just boot into Win7. Modern as in Crysis and CS:GO.

What a feeling.