2012 MBP 13 reinstall/wipe hdd

[ikc]

Hi, go easy on me, I am completely new to Mac/OS coming from PC.

I bought a used 2012 MPB13 with Catalina on it 4g of ram (I plan on upgrading to 16 depending on smooth the software I want to use runs).

I bought it as a bridge before I shell out more money into M1 or M2 chips in a year or so to get used to MacOS. When I bought it came with FCPX, Logic Pro, and Ps CC2018 installed on there. I want to wipe the hdd clean and do a fresh install of Catalina on it to clear out previous user info that they didn't clear out and ensure I am starting with a fresh mac (albeit old). My desire really stems from making sure the person I bought it from doesn't have a keylogger software or other suspicious software. Just trying to stay on the safe side.

I don't want to loose the aforementioned software especially FCPX. Since I didn't purchase FCPX, etc, can I save the program on a flash drive and re-install it after I wipe/reinstall Catalina given I didn't purchase FCPX and it wouldn't be in my app store since I didn't purchase it. I would rather not purchase it if I don't have to afterwards.

I found this article https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202412 that shows how to do this for FCPX 10.1, I have 10.4 on the MBP13 currently. Also the way it read was simple that I wanted to make sure its the software and not just the project files. Not sure if this article still apples to 10.4 and later. Does this apply to Logic Pro as well?

Can I do what want to do or is this just old PC habit wishful thinking?

For some reason when I opened up Ps CC2018 it let me in to use which was confusing because I thought CC version required subscription to Adobe CC.

If you need more info please let me know I will add in.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Longkeg]

Do you have the installers for the apps you want to keep or were you just thinking of copying the app icons to copy back onto the fresh OS installation. Sometimes when an application is installed in MacOS you’ll get the main icon but a bunch of support files are are installed throughout the system. It’s next to impossible to identify and track them all down, especially if a registration key is involved. If they aren’t copied over the application will fail. Other times just moving the app icon will work because the application will rewrite the files if they are missing.

To be safe I’d get an external drive and install Catalina on it. Boot up from it, copy over your apps and see what happens. By preserving the original drive at least there’s a chance of a plan B if the apps break with the new OS.

 

[ikc]

Do you have the installers for the apps you want to keep or were you just thinking of copying the app icons to copy back onto the fresh OS installation. Sometimes when an application is installed in MacOS you’ll get the main icon but a bunch of support files are are installed throughout the system. It’s next to impossible to identify and track them all down. If they aren’t copied over the application will fail. Other times just moving the app icon will work because the application will rewrite the files if they are missing.

To be safe I’d get an external drive and install Catalina on it. Boot up from it, copy over your apps and see what happens. By preserving the original drive at least there’s a chance of a plan B if the apps break with the new OS.

Unfortunately I don't have the installers. Correct when i looked at the instructions on that link it seemed like it was just copying the app icon which made me question if it is capturing all the application files that are installed throughout the system. That is not a bad idea to install on a external and test it out. Can I install on a SD/micro SD card that is large enough instead of a external drive (I would assume so since both are storage devices)?

 

[Longkeg]

Macs will boot up from just about any properly formatted drive (MacOS Journaled extended, GUID participation). Speed may be an issue for you though. The last time I booted from an SD card it took forever just to boot and writing files to it took forever. If it were me I’d want at least a fully capable USB 3 drive.

 

[ikc]

Macs will boot up from just about any properly formatted drive (MacOS Journaled extended, GUID participation). Speed may be an issue for you though. The last time I booted from an SD card it took forever just to boot and writing files to it took forever. If it were me I’d want at least a fully capable USB 3 drive.

Thanks @Longkeg. Installed to external drive and dragged and dropped the software from a sd card to the external drive where I installed Catalina into the os Applications folder. Worked for Apple software FCPX and LogicProX but did not work for Ps or MS Office. At least the other two are working. Thanks again!