Should I upgrade iMac Pro from High Sierra to Mojave?

[Rob Reiter]

Is there any reason to do this upgrade? I just purchased a reburbished iMac Pro from OWC that has High Sierra installed (and I'm currently using that on my 2012 Mac Pro.) This would seem to be the time to do an OS upgrade, before migrating software over to the new system. But should I? I've always tried to stay one OS behind the latest, but feature wise, I don't have a compelling desire for anything I know about Mojave and I'm nervous about things like the APFS file system which I know was problematic early on.

My main uses are heavy lifting in Photoshop and Lightroom as well as less demanding video work in Da Vinci Resolve and my main goal is no nasty surprises. So, is Mojave stable enough now to make this move and should I consider setting up my new four drive RAID 5 and several individual drives as APFS or HFS?

[rdonson]

Next week Apple will announce the next Mac OS at WWDC although that will take some time before its released and mainstream.

[degrub]

if you have any 32 bit programs/filters/add-ins, etc, that you need then don't.
It is only 64 bit now.

[Rob Reiter]

if you have any 32 bit programs/filters/add-ins, etc, that you need then don't.
It is only 64 bit now.

I know Catalina is 64 bit only, but I thought Mojave still ran 32 bit programs...but that's not my concern, anyway; it's just stability/APFS issues that I have questions about.

[Jeffrey Saldinger]

Re: 32-bit apps working in Mohave: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208436

[Rob Reiter]

The 32 bit app change is of no concern to me, only APFS issues and general operating stability of Mojave. I'm interested in people's experience with these issues.

[David S]

If you don't have a "need" to make the move, I would stay with High Sierra. I moved to Mojave and have gained a few, relatively small, headaches but no obvious ups.
Running a 2013 Trash Can Pro.
Dave

[Rob Reiter]

If you don't have a "need" to make the move, I would stay with High Sierra. I moved to Mojave and have gained a few, relatively small, headaches but no obvious ups.
Running a 2013 Trash Can Pro.
Dave

Thanks. Any experience with APFS vs. HFS file systems?

[rdonson]

I waited until 10.15.3 before updating due to some laggard software.

I've never had an issue with APFS.  It even works well with Carbon Copy Cloner.

[David S]

I too have had no obvious issues with APFS and back up proceeds as it did with High Sierra.

Dave

[Rob Reiter]

Thanks, folks. I think I'll stick with High Sierra and format the new drives with APFS. I remember the good old days when I eagerly looked forward to each OS upgrade and it¡s significant improvements over the old. Don't think I've approached any upgrade that way for about a decade now...

[kers]

Thanks, folks. I think I'll stick with High Sierra and format the new drives with APFS. I remember the good old days when I eagerly looked forward to each OS upgrade and it¡s significant improvements over the old. Don't think I've approached any upgrade that way for about a decade now...

The same with me; i stopped after 10.6 then 10.9 then 10.12...

Now i usually wait till the last version - the mature version just before the new OSX has arrived.

I am on mojave now as it is the last 32 bits version- a kind of end station for sometime.

Mojave brings: dark mode-  new finder modes, that i like-  support for newer camera's ...support for apple latest software ( final cut pro)  but nothing spectacular.

I find it very stable and my OSX is on a SSD formatted APFS - i even have a raid-0 formatted APFS. No problems encountered.
Like you i wanted to wait till the APFS problems were over- i think it is.
I work with a mixture of HFS+ 'old' harddisks and APFS formatted samsung evo 970 evo nvme - no problems ( yet)
Since 3 months i work with Mojave.; Before that i worked almost 2 year on High Sierra- also a good system.

[Rob Reiter]

The same with me; i stopped after 10.6 then 10.9 then 10.12...

Now i usually wait till the last version - the mature version just before the new OSX has arrived.

I am on mojave now as it is the last 32 bits version- a kind of end station for sometime.

Mojave brings: dark mode-  new finder modes, that i like-  support for newer camera's ...support for apple latest software ( final cut pro)  but nothing spectacular.

I find it very stable and my OSX is on a SSD formatted APFS - i even have a raid-0 formatted APFS. No problems encountered.
Like you i wanted to wait till the APFS problems were over- i think it is.
I work with a mixture of HFS+ 'old' harddisks and APFS formatted samsung evo 970 evo nvme - no problems ( yet)
Since 3 months i work with Mojave.; Before that i worked almost 2 year on High Sierra- also a good system.

That's good to know. I have the same attitude. I'll be using a mix of HFS+ and probably APFS for new drives. I'd like to try Mojave, since it's about as stable as it's ever going to be. I'm always concerned that some software upgrade is going to lock me out of an older OS. But from everything I've read so far, I'll be staying away from Catalina for a while...

[kers]

If you make a (timemachine) backup you can always return to High Sierra.
I ususally make an image disk of the system i like.
I has helped me a lot doing this. i still can use 10.6 on my old mac if i need to.

[Eric Brody]

Rob, I share your general disappointment with recent Mac OS "upgrades." The question is no longer "what's improved," but rather "what have they screwed up this time." For a while it was printers, now it seems to be APFS and 32 bit apps. I very hesitantly went to Mojave from High Sierra on my Mac Pro 2013 and MacBook Pro 2016. Nothing bad happened! I use the current Adobe apps, Photoshop and Lightroom Classic, and print on an Epson 3880 and they seem to be just fine on Mojave. My SSD in the Mac Pro is fine and my photo data is stored on spinners in a RAID 5 in an OWC Thunderbay.

Microsoft Office 2011 is the only 32 bit app I use often and I realize that Numbers will open Excel spreadsheets, and that Pages will open Word documents but still like the old programs even though it would not be too great a hassle to update to the current Office programs. I'm a retired bum and have reasonable resources but still hate to waste money on upgrades I don't need. Catalina is a different kettle of fish. If you're an Apple skeptic, read Lloyd Chambers' screeds on what he calls "Crapalina." Even though he can be a bit over the top, he makes some good points. I can see no valid reason FOR ME to go to Catalina at this time or the recently announced Big Sur, though I like the name. I think you can safely go to Mojave but I can see no compelling reason to do so.

Some folks blindly plunge ahead with whatever is new, sometimes even before any of the issues have been known and certainly before they are resolved. I like to wait at least a few months, or even longer, before committing to a new OS. Let others suffer the growing pains, (even though it doesn't hurt to grow.)

Be well and be safe.

[langier]

I already upgraded to Mojave on my MBP probably last year and took the plunge to my souped-up MacPro (2009) that is now as maxed out as far as it can be, including flashing the ROM to 5.1 status... It took a while to download and install and a few days to get everything back to normal but figured the imposed lock-down it would be a good use of the time. I wanted to make sure that I can install other updates/upgrades for a couple more years without having to migrate to newer, more expensive hardware and the usual hidden and expensive other costs.

In the over scheme of things, I figured with Catalina out and Big Sur on the way, it was a good time to bring everything to the latest my old machines would handle (with the exception of the MBP which Apple beckons me with Catalina...). I figure there will be fewer issues in the next few years if my machines were running the newer OS as my software is slowly migrated since previous updates even on Photoshop required it.

My experience in 35+ years on the Mac, it's a lot easier to update while the software is supported by Apple and higher up on the ladder than to track it down to install a few versions back.

So far with Mojave, things seem to work fine though I am breaking some of my software occasionally, but that's probably due to running it on hardware that's over a decade old with hacked-together hardware. It works but probably not as well as a fresh-out-of-the-box system.

[Rob Reiter]

That's been my general attitude. It was Lloyd's reporting that confirmed I don't want "Crapalina" anywhere near my computer, but I'm glad to hear Mojave has generally been seen as acceptable. The iMac Pro arrives next week so I'll put Mojave on it and move forward. At least I know Canon has reliable drivers for my Pro 4000 so I don't expect any major breakdowns in my business!

As much as I've enjoyed the old 5,1 Mac Pro, the lack of Thunderbolt 3 speeds has literally been slowing me down. And now I'm just hoping the latest weirdness  with the newest Photoshop can also be laid at the feet of old gear and not another Adobe screwup in the name of feature advancements...

Rob, I share your general disappointment with recent Mac OS "upgrades." The question is no longer "what's improved," but rather "what have they screwed up this time." For a while it was printers, now it seems to be APFS and 32 bit apps. I very hesitantly went to Mojave from High Sierra on my Mac Pro 2013 and MacBook Pro 2016. Nothing bad happened! I use the current Adobe apps, Photoshop and Lightroom Classic, and print on an Epson 3880 and they seem to be just fine on Mojave. My SSD in the Mac Pro is fine and my photo data is stored on spinners in a RAID 5 in an OWC Thunderbay.

Microsoft Office 2011 is the only 32 bit app I use often and I realize that Numbers will open Excel spreadsheets, and that Pages will open Word documents but still like the old programs even though it would not be too great a hassle to update to the current Office programs. I'm a retired bum and have reasonable resources but still hate to waste money on upgrades I don't need. Catalina is a different kettle of fish. If you're an Apple skeptic, read Lloyd Chambers' screeds on what he calls "Crapalina." Even though he can be a bit over the top, he makes some good points. I can see no valid reason FOR ME to go to Catalina at this time or the recently announced Big Sur, though I like the name. I think you can safely go to Mojave but I can see no compelling reason to do so.

Some folks blindly plunge ahead with whatever is new, sometimes even before any of the issues have been known and certainly before they are resolved. I like to wait at least a few months, or even longer, before committing to a new OS. Let others suffer the growing pains, (even though it doesn't hurt to grow.)

Be well and be safe.

[Eric Brody]

i just re-scanned this thread and wondered.... I am not at all sure one can "upgrade" to Mojave any more. I may be wrong, when it comes to hi tech, I often am, but generally it's impossible to avoid going straight to the latest OS (currently Catalina until the release of Big Sur in the fall) when upgrading. I suspect there's some convoluted way with a usb install disk from somewhere and with adventures in Terminal. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable than I am can tell the OP (and me)  if it's even a possibility to go from High Sierra to Mojave without an advanced degree in computer science.

[Jeffrey Saldinger]

i just re-scanned this thread and wondered.... I am not at all sure one can "upgrade" to Mojave any more. I may be wrong, when it comes to hi tech, I often am, but generally it's impossible to avoid going straight to the latest OS (currently Catalina until the release of Big Sur in the fall) when upgrading. I suspect there's some convoluted way with a usb install disk from somewhere and with adventures in Terminal. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable than I am can tell the OP (and me)  if it's even a possibility to go from High Sierra to Mojave without an advanced degree in computer science.

See this from Apple (published this past April): https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210190

[Rob Reiter]

i just re-scanned this thread and wondered.... I am not at all sure one can "upgrade" to Mojave any more. I may be wrong, when it comes to hi tech, I often am, but generally it's impossible to avoid going straight to the latest OS (currently Catalina until the release of Big Sur in the fall) when upgrading. I suspect there's some convoluted way with a usb install disk from somewhere and with adventures in Terminal. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable than I am can tell the OP (and me)  if it's even a possibility to go from High Sierra to Mojave without an advanced degree in computer science.

According to Apple, as of April 24, Mojave can be installed on all iMac Pro machines.