I'm thinking of buying a new MacBook Pro, with the intention of it being a mobile extension of my workflow for which I currently sit exclusively behind a 2015 5K iMac running Sierra. I purposely haven't upgraded to High Sierra due to the fact that (a) I have a Fusion Drive and (b) that I have also seen that reaction to the updated OS has been mixed. If I get the new MBP, it will obviously come with High Sierra factory installed, which features all the new file formatting features that Sierra does not. As I will be moving files between machines a lot, I'm worried that fundamental differences between the 2 versions could possibly raise issues that at the moment I can't think of but I'm considering all future possibilities. Is this something I should concern myself about?
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Sierra & High Sierra
- Thread starter dazzer21-2
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fisherking
macrumors G5
the files will remain what they are (ie a pdf, a doc, a jpg, etc etc). should be fine (as it is moving files back & forth between my HS mac and my older-format external drives). same with different OS's (ie windows & mac), and different versions of apple's os.
EDIT: only sometimes, different app versions can matter; for example, my FCPX 10.4 files won't open in the previous 10.3.4 version)... but that's a whole different thing.
EDIT: only sometimes, different app versions can matter; for example, my FCPX 10.4 files won't open in the previous 10.3.4 version)... but that's a whole different thing.
I think at this point there is little downside to upgrading to High Sierra. I waited three months and took the leap a month ago with three machines. All of them perform flawlessly. And your fusion drive will remain unaffected because it will stay HFS+.
Bart Kela
Suspended
The current MBP can run Sierra since it was originally released on that version of the operating system. If I were you, I'd erase and install Sierra on the MBP so you won't be distracted by the slight differences between the two computers' operating systems.
You could A.) wait a few months to upgrade one or both computers to High Sierra, or B.) you could simply wait for the next version of macOS. To me, High Sierra feels more like an under-the-hood upgrade than a version that is laden with new features.
That said, I am running two High Sierra systems and one Sierra system and I don't really see any interoperability issues. Admittedly, these are devices for personal use, I don't use them for work.
You could A.) wait a few months to upgrade one or both computers to High Sierra, or B.) you could simply wait for the next version of macOS. To me, High Sierra feels more like an under-the-hood upgrade than a version that is laden with new features.
That said, I am running two High Sierra systems and one Sierra system and I don't really see any interoperability issues. Admittedly, these are devices for personal use, I don't use them for work.
fisherking
macrumors G5
and if the new mac already has the new file system? i mean, what's the point in moving it back to sierra? what does the OP gain? how distracted would one be between the two OS versions (or even HS & el cap, etc). sorry, just think you're making this way too complicated...
J.Gallardo
macrumors 6502
If a Mac comes from factory with High Sierra... I think one should try if everything works flawlessly, at least. My iMac came with HS and it runs smooth as butter.
...And, like it should be said: if it just works, don't downgrade!
Hmmmmm... I can see that indeed opinion is divided on this. I think I'll just go for the purchase and see how we get on. I thought that the main selling point of HS was the new HPFS, H.265 and all the other goodies that go with it that supposedly update the system to new levels of technical excellence ( I must have dreamt about that bit) - if the Fusion Drive is going to remain HFS+ whatever, I'll skip it for now and keep my eye on how things progress over time...
I've never been a fan of the Apple fusion drive. It is faster than regular HDDs but it's still a physical magnetic drive so you have the disadvantages of a physical spinning magnetic disk drive along with the disadvantages of it being an unconventional design with special formatting requirements. It was originally intended as an inexpensive alternative and a high capacity internal drive solution back when high capacity SSDs were much more expensive. It was an ok solution for desktop systems but not as much for mobile computers.
For now I wouldn't worry about keeping HFS+ on the older MBP with the fusion drive. However a newer MBP with an SSD and running High Sierra and the new APFS file system would be a nice upgrade. As far as compatibility is concerned... in the not too distant future all new Macs will be using APFS. It's a question of going with APFS now or APFS later.
For now I wouldn't worry about keeping HFS+ on the older MBP with the fusion drive. However a newer MBP with an SSD and running High Sierra and the new APFS file system would be a nice upgrade. As far as compatibility is concerned... in the not too distant future all new Macs will be using APFS. It's a question of going with APFS now or APFS later.
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Fishrrman
macrumors Nehalem
My suggestions:
Buy the new MacBook if you like, run it with High Sierra.
Leave the old iMac back at Low Sierra if it's running well for you. There's no particular reason why one "must" upgrade.
DO NOT convert ANY external drives to APFS.
Leave them at HFS+.
This way, you can use them with both Macs (and with other Macs not running HS, as well).
Buy the new MacBook if you like, run it with High Sierra.
Leave the old iMac back at Low Sierra if it's running well for you. There's no particular reason why one "must" upgrade.
DO NOT convert ANY external drives to APFS.
Leave them at HFS+.
This way, you can use them with both Macs (and with other Macs not running HS, as well).
Crunch
macrumors 6502a
Why? Because the damn software won't even START. haha...Well, you must not be using an external monitor or running High Sierra if iMovie works for you. Oh well, Low Sierra, here I come.
thadoggfather
macrumors P6
To me Sierra is Snow Leopard and High Sierra is Baby Leopard
disliked Sierra til the last couple builds tho
disliked Sierra til the last couple builds tho
loby
macrumors 68020
Yes, you sited the main reasons that High Sierra would be desired. When or “if” Apple hammers out the issues with High Sierra and HPFS, it will be great, but changing or upgrading to a new file system takes some time, especially using a previous file system format for many years. People are upset that the fusion drive does not run with HPFS, but HPFS is not designed for spinning hard drives, but primarily SSD and beyond.
What Apple is doing with upgrading the file system is a MAJOR task, so it will take time for it to work as intended. Not sure if this OS version will see this manefest, so I hope Apple does not leave High Sierra “high” and abandon it for the next OS version “Death Valley” or whatever they name the next OS.
Hope they extend another year and iron out the issues before moving on.
dogslobber
macrumors 601
SL took a long while to stabilize itself. I’m liking HS in its latest service pack implementation.
thadoggfather
macrumors P6
Nah for me a few older Mac OS X x.0 was butter. Pretty sure snow leopard was one. By .1 everything was good
I dunno ymmv
Crunch
macrumors 6502a
Not sure what a "cMP" is. I'm assuming it's a Mac Pro. Perhaps it works with a Mac Pro, because there can only be an external monitor, so the issue may be moot based on that.
Still, with a significant amount of people using their MacBook Pro the way I do, i.e. with the lid closed and an external monitor attached, the problem should have been fixed by 10.3.1.
Actually, it should have been tested well enough in the usually 7 or 8 release candidates and never even shown up in 10.3.0.
More disappointing still is the fact that Apple, at its 2016 MacBook Pro unveiling, advertised the fact that hey, you can use the new MacBook Pro with its four Thunderbolt 3 ports as a desktop replacement workhorse to use with an external 4K monitor and RAID array using a single cable. I remember Phil Schiller drooling all over himself showing off an LG 4K (or was it 5K) Thunderbolt 3 monitor daisy chained with a RAID array and how great it all was going to be.
But then there is the additional problem of how iMovie itself has been deprecated and neglected to the point of becoming useless with users hating it and looking for alternatives.
Finally, this whole APFS on the Mac doesn't appear to be working well enough just yet, so I'll skip it altogether by upgrading to 10.12.6.
Agreed! I remember trying out 10.8 through 10.11 at around the time RC3 ("release candidate") rolled around and staying with it every year.
So from now on, I'll be referring to High Sierra as RC 10.3.3. It's one big beta product and so is iMovie, at least on RC 10.3.3. 😀
loby
macrumors 68020
Problem with going back to Sierra is that you have to wipe out everything and start from scratch or use a time machine full or other backup due to the covered file system. There might be a better way, but this is what I had to do.
Crunch
macrumors 6502a
That's right. Wipe that P.O.S. APFS off your SSD, re-install the OS and applications, and then re-populate your drive with your files.
Yea, it'll take a little time, but so what. The payoff is well worth it. Just make sure you create a bootable USB installer, re-format the drive with HFS+, install Sierra or El Capitan, and you're good to go.
Just as a quick reminder, to make a bootable USB drive, open Terminal and paste the following:
sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/YourUSBdrive
This assumes that you have the Sierra installer in your Applications folder and that your USB drive is called "YourUSBdrive".
If you want a fancier way to do it or don't want to deal with Terminal, do a search for and then download Diskmaker X. It's a free app and works great.
Once you're done, do a Time Machine backup (or two) and pat yourself on the back for taking control of your Mac. 😀
fisherking
macrumors G5
or you can move forward now, in the present, instead of six months (or a year, or whatever) from now. no APFS problems here (and no issues moving files or backing up on my non-APFS drives).
am running HS on both of my macs, and am (mostly) happy. or as happy as i was on sierra, el capitan, mountain lion, grey goose, big bear... etc etc etc.
Crunch
macrumors 6502a
Oh yea? hahah...The guy behind CCC would disagree with you:
https://www.macrumors.com/2018/02/19/apfs-bug-macos-data-loss-disk-images/
Good riddance to the Release Candidate that is High Sierra. Let's see what 10.14 has to offer.
SoyCapitanSoyCapitan
Suspended
At this point with so many bugs it is better if they hold off 10.14 for another year.
Stick to fixing 10.13 even if they have to keep updating until it reaches 10.13.10.
It wouldn't be the first time a point release needed many updates.
fisherking
macrumors G5
funny, i live & die by CCC (well, also crashplan), and all is well. remember, not everyone has issues (or, the same issues).
with every new mac OS, the forums light up with people who think the current OS is 'the worst'... and others who are happy with it. that's how it's always been (& probably always will be).
anyway, the sky is not falling......