Please help with questions re:Catalina upgrade

[hcaroselli]

I am preparing to upgrade to Catalina and have a couple concerns.

1. Using the Mojave System Report I was able to identify and upgrade all 32 bit apps so unless the System Report is wrong I think I am ready. If anyone has any more thoughts on this please advise.
2. In Mojave I use iTunes to back up and sync my iPhone and iPad. I connect these devices to my iMac via USB and I store the backups on my computer, not iCloud. I have read that this is possible in Catalina via Finder. Has anyone done this is Catalina? How is it done? Is it working?
3. Is there an easy way to go back to Mojave if Catalina turns out to be a bust?
4. any other things I may have missed?

Please advise and thanks in advance.

Hector Caroselli

 

[benshive]

1. If all of the your apps are 64 bit you should be fine there. Just keep in mind that apart from 32 vs 64 bit some apps may still need to add support for the new OS. Maybe double check important third party apps you use to see if they officially support Catalina.
2. Your iPhone pops up in Finder and when you click on it you get a window that looks the same as the way it looked in iTunes previously. Backing up locally is still just as easy.
3. Yup, you can still get the installer for Mojave through the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/macos-mojave/id1398502828?mt=12

 

[hcaroselli]

Thank you benshive. That is very helpful.

 

[hcaroselli]

Has anyone used the above link to install Mac OS Mojave after installing Catalina? Does it work Okay? Any tricks or suggestions to using it.

Thanks.

 

[chabig]

Everyone who installs Mojave does it using Apple’s installer. You’ll be fine.

 

[hcaroselli]

I downloaded the installer and it does NOT work. I have attached a file that shows the error. The message is essentially saying I cannot use this installer to go backwards.

Please advise as to how I can go from Catalina (V10.15) to Mojave (10.14)

 

[IowaLynn]

Catalina updated the mac firmware. ALWAYS make a bootable backup (clone) before installing a new OS, such as CCC from Bombich .

 

[hcaroselli]

Well, it's too late for the bootable backup for Mojave. Do I have any other options?

 

[chabig]

Dis you just download the latest installer directly from Apple? They recently posted new versions because the old installers had an out of date certificate. Your error seems like you used an older installer. Use Internet recovery to guarantee the latest installer:

How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support

You can use macOS Recovery, your computer's built-in recovery system, to reinstall the Mac operating system. Reinstalling macOS doesn't remove your personal data.

support.apple.com