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Update from Sierra to Mojave

DaniloGeekDude

DaniloGeekDude

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 17, 2018
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I want to update a Mac Mini 2012 from Sierra to Mojave. I'm sort of reluctant right now since Sierra is my go to OS and have not had any issues. But I want to try. My question is related to the APFS / HFS+ disk format. I know that Mojave requires APFS is required. Will updating automatically modify the disk format of my HFS based Sierra to the required APFS one? I would like to retain my data and specifications as much as possible during this update.

Thanks for any recommendations/insights/help.
 
If I remember right, and it has been a good while, APFS doesn’t happen if you have a HDD.

It would be a good idea to use CCC to clone your drive before updating.

If your drive is SSD, it will be converted to APFS. And if you ever want to revert back, you will have to use Terminal to kill and then convert the drive back HFS+.
 
colodane said:
I'm about ready to do the same update. Would you mind reporting back on how it went? Thanks!
Click to expand...

It went well. Thanks.

Screen Shot 2019-03-12 at 1.25.50 PM.png

Hope it does for you as well.
 
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My wife has the same MBP I have (with different specs) and she's still on Sierra while I've done all the upgrades. I've been wondering if it's worth updating her computer. The thing is, she doesn't adapt to new OS's; she continues to use her iPhone 7 on the latest iOS release as if she's on iOS 10. Probably not worth it.
 
DaniloGeekDude said:
@BasicGreatGuy , @chrfr

Thank you both. I will go ahead and update to Mojave and am confident it will work, thanks to your feedback.
Click to expand...

I got a question to the 3 of you. If I plan to downgrade from Mojave to Sierra (basically restore via Time Machine), will it change back the disk format from APFS to HFS+ since Sierra will only work on the HFS+ format?

Thanks.
 
DuncanGarp said:
I got a question to the 3 of you. If I plan to downgrade from Mojave to Sierra (basically restore via Time Machine), will it change back the disk format from APFS to HFS+ since Sierra will only work on the HFS+ format?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Anyone have any input or feedback please?
 
DuncanGarp said:
I got a question to the 3 of you. If I plan to downgrade from Mojave to Sierra (basically restore via Time Machine), will it change back the disk format from APFS to HFS+ since Sierra will only work on the HFS+ format?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
DuncanGarp said:
Anyone have any input or feedback please?
Click to expand...
Time Machine restore will not change the format from APFS to HFS+

Here is article I found with Google on how to downgrade to an older OS from Mojave:
https://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac-software/downgrade-macos-mojave-3581872/
 
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how is battery life from Sierra to Mojave, if on a Mac laptop?

2016 nTB still on last Sierra build
 
I am considering updating from Sierra to Mojave and have been looking at external hard drives to backup using Time Machine before updating. Any suggestions on best way to do this update? Been looking at Seagate Backup Slim Plus for Mac Portable External Hard Drive for backup. Another question - can the same drive be used to backup system before update and then again once update completed? Or should I use separate external drive for after update just in case of something going wrong or whatever? And what size would be recommended - 1T, 2T or 4T? Have been reading some posts here regarding going back to Sierra/High Sierra from Mojave, which makes me apprehensive about doing the update. Feedback regarding this switch would be appreciated. Thank you.
MacBook Pro 15", Retina Display, Mid-2015
 
HowdyHoThereHeyThere said:
I am considering updating from Sierra to Mojave and have been looking at external hard drives to backup using Time Machine before updating. Any suggestions on best way to do this update? Been looking at Seagate Backup Slim Plus for Mac Portable External Hard Drive for backup. Another question - can the same drive be used to backup system before update and then again once update completed? Or should I use separate external drive for after update just in case of something going wrong or whatever? And what size would be recommended - 1T, 2T or 4T? Have been reading some posts here regarding going back to Sierra/High Sierra from Mojave, which makes me apprehensive about doing the update. Feedback regarding this switch would be appreciated. Thank you.
MacBook Pro 15", Retina Display, Mid-2015
Click to expand...

The choice of backup drive depends, in part, on how you plan to perform the backup. If this is your only backup drive (meaning you're not backing up at all now) then you have a choice: are you going to rely solely on Time Machine, or will you clone the drive using software like Super Duper or Carbon Copy Cloner, or will you do both? Personally, I recommend both methods (Time Machine for convenience, clone for instant recovery if something goes wrong). General rule of thumb for Time Machine is size that is twice the size of your internal disk; a clone only needs to be as large as your internal disk. You can do both Time Machine and cloning to different partitions on the same destination disk, though this is then a single point of failure; separate disks will be unlikely to both fail at the same time.

If you buy a disk that is 3x to 4x the size of your internal disk, and then partition it so that one third is for cloning, and two thirds are for a Time Machine backup, then you can clone your Sierra install so that you have something to fall back on, and turn on Time Machine in Mojave with the larger partition. That way you have something to fall back to if necessary (the Sierra clone), but you also are backing up in Mojave going forward (using Time Machine). At some point when you feel comfortable that you'll be sticking with Mojave, start making Mojave clones on a regular basis and overwrite the old Sierra clone. I would predict that you'll be pretty happy with Mojave, however.
 
Is Mojave as responsive as Sierra on older computers (mbp late 2013)? I've tried only High Sierra, and the notification centre animation wasn't as smooth, so I kept using Sierra. But I think it may be the right time to update if Mojave is smooth enough...
 
Today I finally did the Sierra to Mojave upgrade on my mid 2017 iMac. All went smoothly and took about 45 minutes. Did need to remove and then reinstall my Epson printer, but that was fast and easy.
 
I updated a few weeks ago. It is mostly fine, but 5he spaces switching animation isn’t as smooth as it used to be in sierra, especially with slack. I doubt Apple will fix it, but hopefully the next OS will be smoother. They need to do what they did for ios 12.
 
colodane said:
Thanks! That's an extra confidence builder ;>)
Click to expand...

Glad to see it worked for you. I am in the same boat you were. I still keep putting it off, however, but I really really want to finally upgrade.

Do you use a USB-C dock? How could you not, unless you only occasionally plug in USB-A peripherals with a single-port dongle. There seem to be tons of threads in the Mojave section of the forums that make Mojave computers act crazy when they go to sleep and/or when they wake up from it. That's so infuriating.

If I don't upgrade soon, it'll be time to get angry about macOS 10.15 starting next month. @#$%^&*()_
 
Crunch said:
Do you use a USB-C dock? How could you not, unless you only occasionally plug in USB-A peripherals with a single-port dongle.
Click to expand...

No, I don't have a dock. I have two external hard drives connected to the USB-C ports - one for TimeMachine and one for CCC backups. I left them connected during the upgrade. Not sure I understand the meaning of your question.
 
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