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DitchComfort

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 12, 2019
8
1
Kristiansand, Norway
Hey!

I just purchased/ordered the 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display (personally configured), and it arrives with macOS Mojave.

My question is:

  1. Should I immediately update to MacOS Catalina?
  2. I know backup is important, but du I still have to backup when it arrives straight from the store, and I have nothing on the machine?

Help or tips would be greatly appreciated!
 
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DitchComfort said:
Hey!

I just purchased/ordered the 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display (personally configured), and it arrives with macOS Mojave.

My question is:

  1. Should I immediately update to MacOS Catalina?
  2. I know backup is important, but du I still have to backup when it arrives straight from the store, and I have nothing on the machine?

Help or tips would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...

Hi there!

1. I had Catalina with a Mac mini that I returned. Now I'm on a MacBook with Mojave. I've had far less problems with Mojave so I have to recommend sticking with that for the time being.

2. You don't have to backup at all. Purely your choice. You can use iCloud to back up your personal files if you want. There are plenty of options such as Time Machine as well. But nothing is mandatory.
 
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As with any new OS, Catalina still has some growing pains and needed tweaks. I would wait at least for the .3 version before upgrading from Mojave. Before you do any system upgrade, it is best to have a bootable clone of your existing system on an external drive using SuperDuper or CCC. I'm not a big fan of using Time Machine or iCloud as a complete system backup.
 
DitchComfort said:
Hey!

I just purchased/ordered the 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display (personally configured), and it arrives with macOS Mojave.

My question is:

  1. Should I immediately update to MacOS Catalina?
  2. I know backup is important, but du I still have to backup when it arrives straight from the store, and I have nothing on the machine?

Help or tips would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...

You really don't have to update to Catalina as Mojave will still continue receiving security updates for a little while longer. All newer applications will work with Mojave, but Mojave can support both 64bit and 32bit apps. Catalina only supports 64bit apps.

Backup is only useful if you have some personal information that you don't want to lose. The iMacs these days are designed in a way if it also has a T2 chip that when the T2 chip fails or the SSD in it fails, then you can not retrieve any data that you saved unlike older models. So yes, backup is your only recourse if your iMac dies during the warranty period. So it's up to you as to how important your data is to you.
 
First off, welcome to the Mac world and congrats on your purchase! I hope you'll enjoy your new computer :)
  1. Staying up to date is best. Sure some folks will always complain about minor glitches, but the latest OS offer more safety. One thing you have to know is that unlike Mojave, Catalina will not run 32-bit apps tho.
  2. Backup when you have important personal files on your computer.
 
The most important thing for me to know is whether Adobe Photoshop CC 2020 and Bridge 2020 appear to be suffering from temporary compatibility issues with Catalina? These are the two apps I use the most in my workflow.
 
My advice is:
NO!
Don't upgrade to Catalina just yet.
Get to know the new iMac as it is.

Mojave is a mature, stable OS.
Catalina (right now) seems fraught with problems.

Look before you leap!
 
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