Preparing For macOS 10.15 Catalina Or macOS Server 5.9

Preparing for macOS 10.15 Catalina and/or macOS Server 5.9

1. Check whether you have a compatible Mac from this list:
   • MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
   • MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or newer)
   • MacBook Pro 13"/15" (Mid 2012 or newer)
   • Mac mini (Late 2012 or newer)
   • iMac (Late 2012 or newer)
   • iMac Pro (2017 or newer)
   • Mac Pro (Late 2013 or newer)
   
   NOTE: If you are not sure whether you have a compatible Mac check our macOS 10.15 Catalina Frequently Asked Questions article before proceeding.
2. Check you do not need any of the following as Catalina does not directly include/support them:
• 32-Bit Applications
• Legacy media formats
• TLS certificates signed with the SHA-1 hash algorithm
• Apple's hardware RAID and Apple's RAID Utility has been removed
• Installing on and booting from FireWire storage
• Safari 13 in Catalina does not support .safariextz packaged Safari Extensions - see our Catalina Third Party Product Compatibility Information article
• Safari 13 in Catalina does not support legacy NPAPI browser plug-ins except for Adobe Flash
• Playlist XML files - Big Sur splits iTunes into separate applications but also removes support for Playlist XML files - many popular DJ applications no longer work in Big Sur and will need to be upgraded
• The Dashboard feature - it is no longer available in the Mission Control System Preferences
• Legacy smart card support that uses TokenD
• Python 2.7 is no longer included
• The ability to run AppleScripts/use Scripting Additions - see this in-depth article
• The ability to run most server features in macOS Server
• The ability to fully run applications that utilise OpenGL
• Back To My Mac
• Proxy Automatic Configuration (PAC) via FTP or File URL schemes
• Messages support for AIM, Yahoo, Googla Talk and Jabber accounts
• PPTP VPN support
• Rosetta for running PowerPC software
• Web Sharing
• Xgrid Sharing
• X11 - XQuartz may need to be reinstalled if you use it
3. If you have a third party SSD installed in your computer check to see if it needs a firmware update before installing Catalina.
4. Make sure you are connected to the internet (preferably with a fast connection and with a large or no data cap in place).
5. Make sure you have an Apple ID (use the iTunes or App Store application to create one if necessary e.g. go to Macintosh HD > Applications > App Store > Store menu > "Create Account…" to get started if you don't have an Apple ID).
6. Consider whether you want the Mac App Store Apple ID to be the same for services such as iCloud, iTunes, etc if you are going to use them.
7. Make sure that your Apple ID "account" has enough credit on it or has a credit card on file (with enough credit on it).
• macOS 10.15 Catalina = FREE
• macOS Server 5.9 = NO LONGER AVAILABLE TO BUY
8. Check you have enough disk space:
• macOS 10.15 Catalina installer = ~8GB
• macOS Server 5.9 installer = ~200MB
• macOS 10.15 Catalina installation = ~35GB
• macOS Server 5.9 installation = ~500MB
9. Go to Macintosh HD > Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility:
• Select the volume under the disk you are going to use for Catalina on the left, then on the right of the window click "Verify Disk" - if problems are found you will need to repair your disk.
• Select the volume under the disk you are going to use for Catalina on the left, check at the bottom that it states "Format: Mac OS Extended (Journaled)". If it doesn't state "(Journaled)" you will need to turn journaling on by going to File menu > Enable Journaling.
• Repair your boot disk's permissions.
10. Backup and/or clone your computer.
11. Check that your favourite software is Catalina compatible.
12. Temporarily disable any third party disk encryption software.
13. Temporarily disable any anti-virus/malware software.

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