Upgrading to Sonoma from Ventura...What do I need to return to Ventura if needed?

[coolbreeze2]

I am still running Ventura with latest updates on my mission critical Mac Studio M2 used in my music production studio. It appears all the software that I use is now Sonoma compatible. So. I'm ready to upgrade to Sonoma. I have the computer backed up with Time Machine on an external drive and have a copy of "Install Mac Ventura.app" on a SDXC card which was formatted and loaded by the computer. I will ensure that the Time Machine back up does not get tampered with by backing up Sonoma, once it's installed, to a different external disk.

Is there any other actions I should take to make returning to Ventura easy and simple if I need to?

 

[kitKAC]

and have a copy of "Install Mac Ventura.app" on a SDXC card

Is that the actual installer or did you do this?

https://support.apple.com/en-us/101578

 

[coolbreeze2]

Is that the actual installer or did you do this?

https://support.apple.com/en-us/101578

I downloaded it from Apple. It's 10.43 GB. It's a year old and if I have to use it, I'm sure it will say I need to update but at least won't take forever, right?

 

[Rich B22]

I am still running Ventura with latest updates on my mission critical Mac Studio M2 used in my music production studio. It appears all the software that I use is now Sonoma compatible. So. I'm ready to upgrade to Sonoma. I have the computer backed up with Time Machine on an external drive and have a copy of "Install Mac Ventura.app" on a SDXC card which was formatted and loaded by the computer. I will ensure that the Time Machine back up does not get tampered with by backing up Sonoma, once it's installed, to a different external disk.

Is there any other actions I should take to make returning to Ventura easy and simple if I need to?

If the only backup you have on your "mission critical Mac Studio M2", then whether or not you upgrade to Sonoma, you are flirting with disaster. Minimally, you should have at least one full backup (I like Carbon Copy Cloner, but there are plenty of others). Additionally, you should have another backup off-site (think natural disaster destroys your computer and backups) and one in the cloud.
Now getting to the question. To be able to migrate back to Ventura from Sonoma, the only way I know to do that is, 1) Before migrating to Sonoma, update to the most recent version of Ventura and make a bootable drive or USB of it. 2) After updating, run your backups (you should have at least one stand alone backup drive-preferably more and a Time Machine 3) Put those backups in a safe place, disconnected from your computer as you'll need them later. 4) After migrating to Sonoma, assuming you want to go back to Ventura, Do a backup of any files (music, documents, photos, etc. that have changed since Ventura. 5)Take your bootable installer and wipe your computer's hard drive. 6) reinstall Ventura. 7) load everything preferably from your Ventura backup or else use Time Machine, both via Migration Assistant. Bear in mind that any information you modified while using Sonoma will not be included in the restore from the Ventura, so you can manually move those files over from your Sonoma backup.
Essentially, you are starting as if a new computer and migrating the information. Just as with any project, the planning ahead of time (backups, downloads) will make it run smoother with no data loss.

Good luck

 

[coolbreeze2]

Thanks for the responses.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"have a copy of "Install Mac Ventura.app" on a SDXC card which was formatted and loaded by the computer."

Have you tested that? By doing a test boot from it?
I would not rely on an SD card for a bootable installer.
I'd create one on a USB flashdrive instead.

The free utility app named "Mist" can download whatever version of Ventura you want, AND create a bootable flash drive, all in one integrated operation.

Hmmm....
If you want to prove that "all your stuff" will really work with Sonoma, what I'd suggest doing is this:

Get an external USB3.1 gen2 SSD (such as the Crucial x9 or Samsung t7 shield).
Install a fresh copy of Sonoma onto it.
Migrate your setup from your current backup to the new drive using setup assistant (when you first set up).

Now, you can boot and run from your "test drive" BEFORE you make a commitment to your internal drive.
A commitment which may cause you considerable time and trouble IF you find things don't work as you expect.

This will let you test your audio apps, plugins, etc., BEFORE you commit to an OS upgrade.

If that works ok, THEN you update the internal drive.

 

[seggy]

I am still running Ventura with latest updates on my mission critical Mac Studio M2 used in my music production studio. It appears all the software that I use is now Sonoma compatible. So. I'm ready to upgrade to Sonoma. I have the computer backed up with Time Machine on an external drive and have a copy of "Install Mac Ventura.app" on a SDXC card which was formatted and loaded by the computer. I will ensure that the Time Machine back up does not get tampered with by backing up Sonoma, once it's installed, to a different external disk.

Is there any other actions I should take to make returning to Ventura easy and simple if I need to?

I did a Monterey-Sonoma test upgrade recently and it went disastrously wrong.

...which is why I do test upgrades on a spare Mac, of course. To see if there are problems.

First of all, definitely do not rely on Time Machine. I thought it would be a suitable basis to test, but what you need is a real bare metal restore solution if it's actually mission critical. My Macs definitely aren't anymore, and really they have never been compared to most of my other stuff - but mission critical or not, a botched upgrade is a giant ballache when you just want to use a machine and keep it up to date.

I'd say CCC is probably a much better bet as a basis to start for a pre-Sonoma backup (and also after). TM is fine for incremental changes, but I'd say you would save a lot of time and frustration with a system image instead when dealing with stuff like rolling back migrations.

That's definitely been one of my takeaways from this exercise. I have a lot of other takeaways but they're better saved for a MacOS rant, not here lol

....and of course, if it is mission critical, you'd have a spare to not only run your workloads but also maybe to test this like I do even with my non-mission-critical current setup, right?

 

[CMoore515]

Create a separate partition on the SSD/HD and install Sequoia that way. This way your main system remains untouched.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Create a separate partition on the SSD/HD and install Sequoia that way. This way your main system remains untouched.

Separate volume is fine, no need to partition with APFS.

That aside, this is the way.

 

[HDFan]

If the only backup you have on your "mission critical Mac Studio M2", then whether or not you upgrade to Sonoma, you are flirting with disaster. Minimally, you should have at least one full backup (I like Carbon Copy Cloner, but there are plenty of others). Additionally, you should have another backup off-site (think natural disaster destroys your computer and backups) and one in the cloud.

do not rely on Time Machine

Absolutely. Make sure you have a 3-2-1 backup plan in place with only one of those backups being TM. Once had 2 separate TM restores fail from 2 different disks.

 

[Ben J.]

It appears all the software that I use is now Sonoma compatible. So. I'm ready to upgrade to Sonoma.

There's always the option to NOT upgrade.

Don't fix it if it's not broken.

I've been using DAW software for decades, and they're well known for being very sensitive to combinations of hardware, software versions, compatibilities etc. We learned early on that staying a step or more behind the bleeding edge of OS/apps version updates, is the best way to not screw up things.

When I got my M2 Pro Mini to replace my M2 mini in december, I tried Sonoma for a couple of weeks. Pro Tools ran fine, but I had some very basic issues with Appstore and system settings search not working, and more. Also, the new macOS offered nothing new except new emojies and screensavers, so I reverted to Ventura, and I'm staying for a while. Nothing I miss from Sonoma.

 

[coolbreeze2]

After reading all these responses, I am waiting until January 2025 or somewhere around that time.

 

[HDFan]

I am waiting until January 2025 or somewhere around that time.

For Sequoia? Sequoia will likely be a bit too raw for critical applications at that time. Not many changes coming to Sonoma. It pretty much is what it is and will be.

 

[seggy]

Well you can always prep to test it on release, and decide if it works for you

 

[seggy]

After reading all these responses, I am waiting until January 2025 or somewhere around that time.

That's not necessarily going to be a better path *if* your current install *could* cause issues anyway.

I've had a fair number of issues over the last few years when upgrading two OS generations, but there wasn't any way to tell (or more specifically, I wasn't going to bother to find out) if it was an upgrade generation gap that was the problem or otherwise.

Either way, it makes sense to be already prepared, or make preparations in the near future, to do these things without it interrupting your "mission critical" workflow.