Biggest Problem with MacOS... No option to reinstall previous version

[VinegarTasters]

In the latest MacOS on latest Mac hardware, there is a trend at Apple to lock down an operating system near a protected sector on the hard drive or ssd. So each time you update (let's say Ventura 13.1 to Ventura 13.2, the previous operating system gets wiped and the protected disc sector now stores 13.2). When you want to re-install MacOS, it will take that version (the latest version you installed) and reinstall it on your hard drive or SSD.

Why is there no option to revert to a previous version of MacOS? The one that used to work perfectly?

I think all Macs should get an option to revert to a previous version if they found out that the new version will screw up their work. Maybe an app won't work. Maybe something won't work in the browser. It could be anything that is broken by a new operating system update. Sometimes you find out a few days later, or a week later and now you are stuck with this new operating system with no way to revert. Let's say you didn't make a backup and don't like using the cloud for things. I think there should be an option to keep 2 MacOS versions when you go into recovery to reinstall the MacOS. The previous working one. And the current on you just installed. This will save a lot of people trouble.

 

[gilby101]

Why is there no option to revert to a previous version of MacOS?

Because the upgrade or update to the new version of macOS will have made changes to some settings and databases (using those terms loosely). If you think about it logically, the old version macOS can't know about these changes and so can't undo them.

The best that can be done is to erase the disk, install old macOS and recover everything else from a Time Machine (or other) backup made before the update.

 

[VinegarTasters]

Suppose the volume has a protected sector A1 containing the current macOS version (say Ventura 13.1). You can do a fresh install over and over again with that version. Then you download Ventura 13.2. When you click on install for 13.2, the computer should do this:

Copy A1 to A2. Install Ventura 13.2 into A1. Now you have 2 clean versions of the install that you can install over and over again (fresh or not). If you do a A2 install, you will force a wipe. If not, you can reinstall A1 and keep your data.

This solves the main problem:
Allows reverting to a working version of macOS if an update causes damage to app, data, or lost time due to bugs or whatever. It is so simple to implement I do not know why this is not the policy. Instead, Apple rely on a small number beta testers and then force everyone (the whole) world to suffer if a bug was not caught by beta testers.

 

[gilby101]

Suppose the volume has a protected sector A1 containing the current macOS version (say Ventura 13.1). You can do a fresh install over and over again with that version. Then you download Ventura 13.2. When you click on install for 13.2, the computer should do this:

Copy A1 to A2. Install Ventura 13.2 into A1. Now you have 2 clean versions of the install that you can install over and over again (fresh or not). If you do a A2 install, you will force a wipe. If not, you can reinstall A1 and keep your data.

It is not that simple. Yes the operating system volume could be swapped back and forth as you wish. But an upgrade does more than this. It modifies system files and your files - particularly those in /Library and ~/Library. The old macOS cannot know how to remove the changes. It is all about not being able to see the future and the changes it may wrought.

Apple provide the solution (and you can add to it with other backup tools like Carbon Copy Cloner). It is all about restoring the whole computer (not just the OS files) to the state it was before the upgrade.

I have just done this when the macOS 13.2 upgrade had unexpected consequences. Annoying - yes, painful - yes, prepared for - yes, irrevocable damage - no.

 

[VinegarTasters]

Yes, I understand what you are hinting at. But read my post above again.
If you have 2 copies (1 for current, and 1 for previous), you can choose which to install.
If you elect to install a previous version, your current version will be wiped and a clean install of previous version will be installed.
If you elect to install the current version, it will update the current version (or you can wipe first, then install the current version).

In both cases, you get the best of both worlds. If going back to previous version means you need to clean install... THAT IS FINE. You can reinstall the apps. But at least you know those apps will work fine and the data is usually on an external USB stick anyways that you can copy back. I find relying on Apple's Time Machine is a hassle (but others may like that interface). I prefer to keep backups of DATA on separate USB sticks and that feels safer for me than relying on a hard disk (that may corrupt) and not finding the correct date and searching through endless scrolls of backup data. Sometimes it is not just the app, it could be the underlying system that is causing the problem. For example, Safari might not work right on some sites because the underlying system software changed.