Professionals should NEVER Upgrade a Production Machine with a Major macOS Release

2020-12-16 • SEND FEEDBACK |
Related: Apple, Apple macOS, Apple macOS Big Sur, Apple macOS Catalina, printing, Staale A

Professionals whose stuff has to work and can’t stop working BEWARE of macOS Big Sure, or any Apple Upgrade for that matter. NEVER upgrade your 'production' machine without first testing the upgrade on some secondary non-essential machine.

For that matter, there is generally no reason to EVER do a major macOS upgrade on a production machine (security updates and simlar are usually OK provided you test first on another machine). Buy the machine and never do a major OS upgrade unless you like problems.

See also: Configure Software Update to Prevent Auto-Update

Carl Q writes:

I stupidly downloaded Big Sur and then found none of my print drivers work so I could not print. I was running Catalina and things were amazingly fine. We tried to clear the hard drive or boot and I do have Time Machine. In the process they claim the drive is corrupt so I have to take the computer into Apple.

So, I need to consult briefly with you as my next step may be purchasing a new or refurb computer and need your advice. After all of this I am really wondering if Windows is in my future. Nevertheless, I am sure you can talk some sense into me. Do you have time for a quick consult or your recommendations ?

MPG: consulting on such issues or on new systems is something I’ve done for a decade now. My services are particularly valuable when selecting a new system. I take the time to explain all the “why” in a non-technical way so that you can have full confidence you are making the best choice.

Update: Carl’s computer remains non-functional after Apple Support screwed it up by wiping out the boot volume, which now cannot reinstall successfully. Lost business is a total nightmare, and that’s what Apple in their gross negligence has done, both with the update, and the technical support.

Staale A writes:

FYI, after updating my iMac 27” the SD card reader only works after restarting and then only one time, ie if you want a second card read, you cannot see it... marvelous. So every time you want to save from your SD card to your Mac or attached HDs, you have to restart the machine...

MPG: nice work, Apple.

My MacBook Pro has become unusable with Photoshop thanks to Apple—total system freezes.