MP 1,1-5,1 Latest Photoshop 23 not compatible with Mojave OS 14.

[rodedwards]

I've just tried to update my Classic Mac Pro 5,1 to latest Adobe Photoshop 23 running Mojave 10.14.6 - but it's no longer compatible. Adobe has dropped support for Mojave.

Is there an easy way to upgrade to newer OS with these older Macs?

New ones are just sooooo expensive...

 

[mattspace]

I've just tried to update my Classic Mac Pro 5,1 to latest Adobe Photoshop 23 running Mojave 10.14.6 - but it's no longer compatible. Adobe has dropped support for Mojave.

Is there an easy way to upgrade to newer OS with these older Macs?

New ones are just sooooo expensive...

• Go read up on the threads about OpenCore, SurPlus & MonteRand. Or,
• transition your work to Affinity Photo, or
• get one of the remaining Intel Mac Minis + eGPU if you need lots of monitors, or
• an ARM Mac Mini if you don't.

 

[rodedwards]

Thanks for the pointers, will look into Open Core etc - but last time i looked it was pretty tricky hack.
So sadly not an easy fix ...
Nice 360 profile pic btw !

 

[Dayo]

OpenCore is not as difficult/tricky as it appears on the surface but the easiest option (OS support wise) is to go with Affinity. There is of course a learning curve to be considered.

You can of course install Catalina with the DosDude patch (if you don't want OpenCore) to kick the can down the road till next year.

Presumably, you can continue using your current PS version. I suppose you will need to keep paying them for the pleasure of using an outdated version ... Not sure how that works on the rental model.

 

[rodedwards]

OpenCore is not as difficult/tricky as it appears on the surface but the easiest option (OS support wise) is to go with Affinity. There is of course a learning curve to be considered.

You can of course install Catalina with the DosDude patch (if you don't want OpenCore) to kick the can down the road till next year.

Presumably, you can continue using your current PS version. I suppose you will need to keep paying them for the pleasure of using an outdated version ... Not sure how that works on the rental model.

Interesting info about the DosDude patch - is that a simple patch update? Or is life more complicated than that (as usual!) ?!

 

[paalb]

Have a look at this before you decide: Mr. Macintosh Guide

 

[Dayo]

is that a simple patch update? Or is life more complicated than that (as usual!) ?!

Implementing a Dosdude patched installation is straightforward but everything is relative I suppose. It is obviously not as straightforward as using Apple's Native process. Instructions are here: http://dosdude1.com/catalina

More importantly though, Dosdude patched installations are now outdated and the Catalina version was the last he produced, meaning you will still need to face moving to other implementation processes down the line. Also, it was not updated for later versions of Catalina; resulting in some (very minor) issues.

Your call in the end, but you should really be looking at OpenCore which gives you a path to Big Sur, Monterey and potentially beyond and as said, is not as difficult as it may appear on the surface.

There are many easy ways to implement OpenCore if you are not comfortable with the manual process in the OpenCore thread. You will find links to these in Post 1 of the main OpenCore thread here.

The most popular and most powerful is something called the OCLP. I have produced one of such pathways (focused on MacPros) called MyBootMgr (see link in my signature) where you just answer a few YES/NO questions and it does the heavy lifting, which you can amend if you wish or as you know more.

I obviously prefer MyBootMgr over the OCLP but it is as said, just one of the possible ways. You can go Old School or Automated or a hybrid of sorts. Myriad of options, all of which are safe and quite easy to implement ... in relative terms of course.

You can most likely just stick with Mojave and adjust your workflow around what works on this as well of course.

 

[richardallan]

I've just tried to update my Classic Mac Pro 5,1 to latest Adobe Photoshop 23 running Mojave 10.14.6 - but it's no longer compatible. Adobe has dropped support for Mojave.

I have the same dilemma. I have been using Photoshop for nearly 25 years so not interested in learning something else. DxO PhotoLab 5, which I also use has dropped support for Mojave as well.

I will get a Mac mini eventually but just trying to squeeze a bit more life out of the old Mac Pro first. I will have a look at these suggestions. I'm only interested in going to Catalina at this stage but I have some weird disc permissions problem that I need to sort out first.

 

[rodedwards]

Big thanks to you all for your help and suggestions. I'll now take a closer look and decide what's best. I back up with a Drobo 4 Bay and it can be awkward, so having a working backup is very important.

Or i'll just keep buying those lottery tickets and keep drooling at the new Mac Pros...

 

[flowrider]

^^^^Adobe offering the Photoshop 22.5.2 update for folks like you. Why not try it and see you it works for you?

Lou

 

[rodedwards]

^^^^Adobe offering the Photoshop 22.5.2 update for folks like you. Why not try it and see you it works for you?

Lou

Got that already thanks - but seeing the latest v23 seems too tempting to miss !

 

[ddhhddhh2]

Indeed, opencore is not that difficult in fact. My cMP 5,1 is using Catalina (waiting for the 0.7.5 upgrade package of h9826790), and today I upgraded adobe without any obstacles. I suggest you consider OC. The time cost of learning is definitely worth it, or to be safe, arrange a brand new M.2 to install a brand new system in order to return to Mojave.

 

[vsc]

I suggest consulting the OpenCore thread, focusing on Martin's post which is linked in the first post. In short Martin explains in his post how to install OpenCore on a MacPro 5,1 via prose and YouTube videos.

Using this path I have BigSur on a dual-core with similar specs to what you have posted. No issues with Catalina or BigSur with current Adobe S/W.

Getting 12.0.1 to install is another story... Note I'm using 0.7.4 of OpenCore at this point.

 

[richardallan]

I suggest consulting the OpenCore thread, focusing on Martin's post which is linked in the first post. In short Martin explains in his post how to install OpenCore on a MacPro 5,1 via prose and YouTube videos.

Using this path I have BigSur on a dual-core with similar specs to what you have posted. No issues with Catalina or BigSur with current Adobe S/W.

Getting 12.0.1 to install is another story... Note I'm using 0.7.4 of OpenCore at this point.

Thanks. I'll certainly have a look at that...

 

[rodedwards]

After speaking with Adobe support ... I've also made a formal feature request on their website for Mojave support on v23 Photoshop / Lightroom & Bridge etc. I'm sure old pimped up Mac Pros 5,1 etc can handle v23 in Mojave if Adobe didn't restrict the software to Catalina.

Support for Photoshop v23 with older Mac Pros using Mojave 10.14.

Hi everyone ... I'd like to report a 'bug' or ask for a feature request please ... v23 Adobe Photoshop / Lightroom & Bridge etc currently do not support Mojave 10.14. Atm, v23 requires Catalina or later to run. Like many users, I have pimped up my old 2009 v4,1 & v5,1 Mac Pros. It now has super...

community.adobe.com

 

[tsialex]

After speaking with Adobe support ... I've also made a formal feature request on their website for Mojave support on v23 Photoshop / Lightroom & Bridge etc. I'm sure old pimped up Mac Pros 5,1 etc can handle v23 in Mojave if Adobe didn't restrict the software to Catalina.

Support for Photoshop v23 with older Mac Pros using Mojave 10.14.

Hi everyone ... I'd like to report a 'bug' or ask for a feature request please ... v23 Adobe Photoshop / Lightroom & Bridge etc currently do not support Mojave 10.14. Atm, v23 requires Catalina or later to run. Like many users, I have pimped up my old 2009 v4,1 & v5,1 Mac Pros. It now has super...

community.adobe.com

Adobe support police for macOS is current release of macOS and the two past releases only - exactly what Apple support with Security Updates.

Operating system support guidelines for Creative Cloud apps

Learn about the latest operating system guidelines for your Creative Cloud apps.

helpx.adobe.com

The day Apple released Monterey, Adobe moved support to Monterey (current release), Big Sur (first past release) and Catalina (second past release).

 

[rodedwards]

Thanks Tsialex - i know you're right, but after spending an hour or more on chat with Adobe, i thought i may as well ask for feature request.

 

[ddhhddhh2]

Adobe support police for macOS is current release of macOS and the two past releases only - exactly what Apple support with Security Updates.

Operating system support guidelines for Creative Cloud apps

Learn about the latest operating system guidelines for your Creative Cloud apps.

helpx.adobe.com

The day Apple released Monterey, Adobe moved support to Monterey (current release), Big Sur (first past release) and Catalina (second past release).

Yes, when I saw such a policy back then, I didn’t know if I should feel sad or happy. The world never stopped, we could only be forced to move forward.

 

[bsbeamer]

The MP5,1 really is showing its age when using the vast majority of the latest versions of video or image based software. Might be time to lock the version you're using (don't upgrade) if you're sticking with MP5,1 for another few years. Believe you can get ~3 more years of support on the older versions before those begin to vanish as well.

If you're paying for the Adobe software license (and/or trying to make money using the software), get your money's worth and use a more modern machine. Really is a night day difference at this point.

 

[bsbeamer]

After speaking with Adobe support ... I've also made a formal feature request on their website for Mojave support on v23 Photoshop / Lightroom & Bridge etc. I'm sure old pimped up Mac Pros 5,1 etc can handle v23 in Mojave if Adobe didn't restrict the software to Catalina.

Thanks Tsialex - i know you're right, but after spending an hour or more on chat with Adobe, i thought i may as well ask for feature request.

No dig at you, but I personally hope they devote zero resources to this effort. The MP5,1 was a great machine for MANY years and outlived exceptions of many. You're at the point of this being 10+ year old hardware trying to drive modern graphics resolutions and software that's pushing 4K/8K+ delivery in some aspects. Even the MBP16,1 can outperform the MP5,1 on the majority of Adobe tasks, except for some very long 2-pass compressions without hardware acceleration. The M1/AS machines likely even faster, though I'd fully understand holding off another 1-2+ years before jumping on that train or not.

 

[paalb]

No dig at you, but I personally hope they devote zero resources to this effort. The MP5,1 was a great machine for MANY years and outlived exceptions of many. You're at the point of this being 10+ year old hardware trying to drive modern graphics resolutions and software that's pushing 4K/8K+ delivery in some aspects. Even the MBP16,1 can outperform the MP5,1 on the majority of Adobe tasks, except for some very long 2-pass compressions without hardware acceleration. The M1/AS machines likely even faster, though I'd fully understand holding off another 1-2+ years before jumping on that train or not.

Take a look at his specs.

 

[goMac]

Take a look at his specs.

Only the RAM is something hard to get with an Apple Silicon Mac. Everything else could easily be surpassed by even an entry level M1 Pro/Max MacBook Pro.

The Apple Silicon Mac might even still come out ahead on on the RAM. Swap would be so, so, so much more faster on an AS Mac.

Again, aside from the RAM, even an M1 MacBook Air wouldn't quite beat that setup overall, but would still be reasonably competitive. An M1 Mini actually seems like the best way to get a comparable setup, without spending Mac Pro 2019 money.

 

[tsialex]

Reading the OP signature, all components, with the exception of the non-specified AirPortExtreme, will work fine with Catalina or BigSur and it's an easy clean install to do with OCLP since OP have a flashed GPU.

I'd recommend a clean install of BigSur 11.6.1 to an empty disk and then check for any issues. This will give OP two more years of Apple security Updates and Adobe support.

 

[richardallan]

I'm hanging on to my 5,1 Mac Pro for another couple of years. I'm not interested in getting a laptop. I'll get a Mac mini next as I already have a very good monitor and multiple keyboards and mice.

I don't do any video other than the odd short thing in iMovie. And Photoshop is much less multiple CPU aware than most video applications, as far as I'm aware. I work with some pretty large photo files in Photoshop and I'm certainly not sitting around twiddling my thumbs waiting for it to do stuff. I also use DxO PhotoLab and they have managed to really speed that up over the last couple of releases too.

 

[paalb]

I work with some pretty large photo files in Photoshop and I'm certainly not sitting around twiddling my thumbs waiting for it to do stuff.

Yes, that was what I thought when I saw your specs. I work a lot in Photoshop and Lightroom and like you I do not twiddle my thumbs. The only thing that is slow is in Lightroom when moving from one edited photo to the next edited photo. I get a 1/4 second delay on the second monitor where I have the photo in full screen mode.

It is worthwhile to do a to Big Sur installation with OCLP on a new SSD like @tsialex recommends. I have had excellent results using Migration Assistant. It pops up pretty early in the installation process. Just check if all your applications are as new as possible before you start. Set aside some time after getting into Big Sur to log into accounts and getting everything as you are used to. I use about 6 to 8 hours before I am happy, but I have a lot of things going besides photo editing.