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MacOS Catalina review

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engrssc

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MacOS Catalina review

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chr.schmitz

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Re: MacOS Catalina review

PostTue Oct 08, 2019 4:32 am

Updating to macOS Catalina was the most painful macOS update ever. I did not expect that as I am working with various beta versions of macOS Catalina on another machine without having any issues. I will describe the problems I faced and how I solved them. Maybe this can help others facing planning to update their systems.

I have a Mac Pro (2013) with two 23-inch monitors attached in portrait mode. Retrospectively this was probably the main issue.

While running the update the screens turned black after a few minutes. I assume that the update was still running when I decided to reboot the machine. After rebooting the update continued, but the monitors turned black again. So I left the computer alone. After an hour or so the update was finished. Everything seemed to be okay.

But I found files on my hard disk obviously from a previous macOS version, which could not be deleted -- even with administrator privileges. It turned out that the macOS System Integrity Protection (SIP) mechanism did not allow me to do so. The solution is rebooting in Recovery Mode and delete the files in the Terminal. Most Internet posts recommended to temporarily disable SIP (sudo csrutil disable), but this was not necessary on my system. But starting in Recovery Mode was a problem I had never faced before. After some time my screens turned black again. No chance to open a Terminal window. I finally detached the two portrait monitors and attached one landscape monitor. This worked. Very weird! Maybe it was the second monitor and it would have worked with a single portrait monitor as well.

After rebooting normally I got a message that my SoftRAID driver needs to be updated (although the latest version was already installed). I use SoftRAID for an external SSD. Although officially not supported (at least according to a relatively current thread in the SoftRAID forum), it worked beautifully after updating to (or re-installing) the lastest version (5.7.5).

Touch-Base drivers: The touch functionality stopped working. I un-installed the current drivers and re-installed them. After a re-configuration the touch functionality was back again. However, for some reason I have to boot my computer twice. After the first boot the driver recognizes the monitors, but the status is "Not okay". After rebooting everything is fine. I already contacted Dave Bhattacharjee from Touch-Base. He usually provides me an updated driver within few hours.

Last but not least: HASP driver. I had already updated to the latest 64-bit driver (v7.100) before updating to macOS Catalina. This driver worked after the update to macOS Catalina out of the box.

Finally and most importantly, Hauptwerk 4.2.1 works without any issues.

In summary, Hauptwerk 4.2.1 works great on macOS Catalina 10.15. However, if you plan to update your system issues may arise from third-party drivers.

With best wishes,
Chris
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Grant_Youngman

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Re: MacOS Catalina review

PostTue Oct 08, 2019 11:46 am

I updated my 2018 MacBook Pro without a hitch. Had three apps I had to update (I had been lazy, and didn't do it in advance), and one more important one (XRite screen color calibration) that won't have a compatible app released until mid-October. Otherwise, just fine.

My only disappointment so far is the fact that wireless iPhone backup/syncing is no longer supported. I suppose Apple would rather have you pay for iCloud storage when you get tired of having to connect every phone with a cable to sync it with the new but sort of clumsy and definitely not improved Finder method ..

And if you've been a Dashboard user, it's gone … which is no great loss.
Grant
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engrssc

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Re: MacOS Catalina review

PostTue Oct 08, 2019 11:37 pm

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larason2

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Re: MacOS Catalina review

PostThu Oct 10, 2019 6:17 pm

Just an update about Catalina. I successfully got Hauptwerk running on my Mac with Catalina, details on another forum topic. Unfortunately, however, my Steinberg UR22 interface is not working with Catalina, and there is no word on when this will be fixed (it requires an updated driver) This seems to validate Brett Milan’s recommendation to avoid the update for the time being! That would be my recommendation as well.
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RaymondList

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Re: MacOS Catalina review

PostThu Oct 10, 2019 6:39 pm

I'm sorry to hear that. After the upgrade, and the modification of the file, I hooked up my MOTU UltraLite-MK4. Before I could start Hauptwerk, the MOTU did a download and update. Following that, I started Hauptwerk and everything is working as it should, with no issues. I'm sorry you are having issues.
Ray
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larason2

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Re: MacOS Catalina review

PostFri Oct 11, 2019 10:38 am

Thanks for your sympathy! I guess I took a calculated risk when I upgraded. Luckily I still have my old computer which still works and runs Hauptwerk well. I’ll just use that until the dust settles on Catalina! Thanks for your help getting Hauptwerk running on my new Mac.
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larason2

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Re: MacOS Catalina review

PostWed Nov 13, 2019 1:01 pm

Just wanted to post an update to my last post. Steinberg just released an updated driver for the UR22, and now all works well with my new Mac and Catalina. Still can’t wait for V5!
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Lougheed

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Re: MacOS Catalina review

PostThu Nov 14, 2019 7:53 am



Good review. I think Catalina will be great, once we're able to upgrade - after the inevitable cycle of waiting for third parties to catch up.
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kruimel

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Re: MacOS Catalina review

PostMon Nov 25, 2019 7:10 am

I have got some 32 bits VST or AU plugins in my Reaper.......

Does anybody know if they still will work in Catalina?? Not all can be upgraded......

Greetings,

Geert
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larason2

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Re: MacOS Catalina review

PostMon Nov 25, 2019 10:57 am

Hi Geert,

32 bit plug ins will not work in Catalina. If you’d like to keep using them, you can try looking if the company has released a 64 bit version, or find a 64 bit plug in that works similarly.

Cheers,

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