I want to downgrade my m1 pro to Monterey and keep it there as long as possible, i don’t need the new stuff that is bloating the OS, i just need my daw and plugins to work reliably. What is the best way to do this (currently on ventura)
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Downgrading macOS, need your help.
- Thread starter mihighil
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1. Create a bootable macOS Monterey Installer
2. Boot to it
3. Erase your computer using Disk Utility
4. Install macOS Monterey
5. Restore from a backup Time Machine
Do you have a Time Machine backup?
Pretty sure he can't recover a Ventura backup to a new Monterey installation.
Here is the thread:
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...onterrey.2367547/?post=31671676#post-31671676
Read my following post in that thread too.
I was right! You can use a Ventura Time Machine backup on Monterey!
Sorry i didn’t clarify, i don’t need a time machine backup, all the files i use are on external drives (plugin installers too) i just need to know is it possible to do a downgrade and keep the system at that version for the longest time possible (probably just need to instal security updates)
As someone who is still on Monterey (2021 16" M1 MBP) and contemplating, reluctantly, an upgrade to Ventura (for new Photo Library Merge and HomeKit upgrades), can you explain why you want to downgrade and thereafter stay on Monterey?
Also: which plugins do you use? I upgraded two months ago, and everything is working on my M1 MBP. Some plugins are running on Rosetta, but 🤞🏼 no problems so far…
I dont need all the new bells and whistles that come with the OS upgrades, it seems so much bloated to me. I don't use my mac for emails, messaging, photo editing, video editing etc. I mainly use it for working with my DAW (mainly editing audio and some ableton MIDI shenanigans) and some light web browsing.
I mainly use free plugins since i cant afford to buy the more expensive ones. All of the brands have some free plugins and i have a collection from a lot of them and they get the job done. I pirate some plugins (example : oeksound soothe)
The weird thing to me is that after every update i have to enter the license codes for these free plugins which makes no sense. I use them every day with no problem and right after an update they ask for the license codes, its annoying having to reapply the licenses to every single one. Maybe i'm doing something wrong...im pretty new to this macOS stuff.
it might not be able to open your photos library when you downgrade. So you’d have to re import original masters As opposed to moving your current library.
I dont need to, im not syncing any photos through the cloud. I wrote in the post above that i dont use my mac for photos, messaging, emails, videos etc.
You can keep macOS Monterey on that version forever. Apple will continue to issue bug fixes for 3 years, then security patches another 2 years after that I believe. So 5 years, then you’re on your own.
You might want to wait until macOS Sonoma coming October I believe, install that, see if things don’t run better, and if not, then erase and reinstall macOS Monterey.
I don't see how macOS Ventura is "bloated", in fact for me, I need Ventura 13.4 or newer because of Xcode 15.
If Ventura is fine for you, then I would stay on it, Monterey had a couple of issues that Ventura fixed for me.
Also, Ventura is not a big upgrade from Monterey tbh, but please explain how it is bloated.
If Ventura is fine for you, then I would stay on it, Monterey had a couple of issues that Ventura fixed for me.
Also, Ventura is not a big upgrade from Monterey tbh, but please explain how it is bloated.
Same. Monterey was buggy, including permission-settings issues and Safari issues. Ventura fixed all that, and there was no bloat added that I see. But perhaps OP is referring to specific issues they are having in audio.
Tell me about it, I’m still on Catalina running Logic. Never really reason to rush out and upgrade your OS when your living that DAW life.
Curious, what are the DAW benefits of sticking to older versions, or what detriments occur when upgrading?
Good idea. I don't like Ventura, I downgraded to Monterey on my new M2 MBA. I did it using the USB drive method.
1. you know that you will not have any surprises with some apps or add-ons suddenly not working correctly anymore, or other weird behaviors
2. you are not getting additional background activities that you might have no use for which might, even if just ever so slightly, drop the performance of your DAW
so basically no guess work and leaps of faith.
it's actually good practice, especially if these particularly systems aren't used for your daily online stuff anyway and you don't need some of those new "lifestyle" features on your DAW
Yes you might, as I mentioned in the thread I linked earlier. But Apple has quietly introduced the ability to roll back a Photos Library by repairing it.
I understand and support that philosophically. I know professional recording studios that charge clients to use the studio time keep their Mac as-is, forever and ever because they’re not using macOS for anything else but to run Pro Tools or whatever. But as an individual producer who likely uses macOS for other things, I’m wondering what actual detriments are to be expected when upgrading macOS.
Like as a designer, I can expect that Adobe apps will be buggy, some effects won’t work, may crash the app, and even some apps won’t launch. That wasn’t the case the last couple updates but was when there’s big under the hood changes, like Catalina and Big Sur. So I have to proceed with caution and sometimes wait 4-6 months until I’m sure other designers on forums like this one give the green light to update.
So rephrasing the question, does the same happen with DAWs and plugins? Do things stop working so it’s common that producers stay three versions behind the latest macOS? Will your favorite compressor plug-in not launch? Will your audio interface bug out?
Apple Silicon is the first time Apple has full control of performance, at least for Macs, and Apple is aggressively cutting away outdated Intel Macs with each version update (less bloat and chance for bugs if you look at it that way), so I feel like the last few macOS version updates have been improving M1 and M2 Mac performance, not making things bloated.
Edit: Game Mode seems to be an api call in-game. May become an open source app to turn it on, who knows. Deleting my comment about it, none the less.
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