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Apple Computing Products:
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Need Advice - Updating late 2014 mini - Monterey or Big Sur?
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<blockquote data-quote="MacInWin" data-source="post: 1902560" data-attributes="member: 396914"><p>I would start by getting rid of both of those. You don't really need any AV software to be resident and running. An occasional scan with DetectX Swift, and/or Intego VirusBarrier Scanner (both free, as I recall), will do. CMM has been a bit over-aggressive in the past at deleting critical files it thinks are not needed, but which are. Around here, you won't find many people supporting CMM and almost nobody supporting resident AV programs.</p><p></p><p>That said, your mini can run Monterey so if you are going to step all the way up from Sierra, might as well go all the way. There are some pitfalls for you to be aware of:</p><p></p><p>1. 32 bit software won't run any more. You need to find what you have that is 32 bit and then decide if you need it, if there is a 64 bit version, and what your options may be. I used a program called Go64 to identify 32 bit software for me. <a href="https://www.stclairsoft.com/Go64/" target="_blank">Go64</a> Generally, Apple will have 64 bit versions available (including GarageBand). Most popular software has moved on to 64 bit as well (Office, Adobe, etc.) Some boutique software has not been supported for a while, and is stuck at 32 bit. You just need to see what the issues might be to make an informed decision.</p><p></p><p>2. Your entire hard drive will be reformatted in the process. The format will change from Mac OS Journaled to APFS. So a good, tested, backup of your data is critical. You say you have TM, you might consider making a clone backup into that partition you aren't using. Change it from exfat to Mac OS Journaled and use a cloner to create the clone. Both Carbon Copy Cloner and SuperDuper! have downloads that work for a while that are free for you to use for 30 day, I think. TM will probably be enough, but it's always to have another backup, just in case.</p><p></p><p>3. With your use case, Monterey should run well. It doesn't need 16 GB of RAM. In fact, it manages memory better than Sierra, so you may find memory no longer gets challenged as much.</p><p></p><p>If you decide to go ahead and install Monterey, you can do the clean installation and at boot it will act as if it were new, taking you through the "Welcome" routine. At some point it will ask if you want to Migrate your data. Say yes to that and point to the TM backup and let it run. When done, you will be able to boot into the system and log into the account it created with the same login and password as you have now. Everything should be there except what it knows won't run (32 bit software). </p><p></p><p>One final point. As you go through the setup, be careful to read what is on the various setup screens. Apple defaults to turning File Vault ON, for example. You probably don't need or want that, unless you are a super-secret spy or an accountant for the Mafia. You may or may not want to share diagnostics with Apple, etc. Just read the screens before clicking "next" or "agree" or whatever is the highlighted choice. </p><p></p><p>When you get done, the file structure will be completely different from what you have now. If you want the lowdown on what APFS looks like, let us know and we can show where you can read the details on it. Generally, you won't care. Apple tried to make it look and feel just the same for the average user.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="MacInWin, post: 1902560, member: 396914"] I would start by getting rid of both of those. You don't really need any AV software to be resident and running. An occasional scan with DetectX Swift, and/or Intego VirusBarrier Scanner (both free, as I recall), will do. CMM has been a bit over-aggressive in the past at deleting critical files it thinks are not needed, but which are. Around here, you won't find many people supporting CMM and almost nobody supporting resident AV programs. That said, your mini can run Monterey so if you are going to step all the way up from Sierra, might as well go all the way. There are some pitfalls for you to be aware of: 1. 32 bit software won't run any more. You need to find what you have that is 32 bit and then decide if you need it, if there is a 64 bit version, and what your options may be. I used a program called Go64 to identify 32 bit software for me. [URL="https://www.stclairsoft.com/Go64/"]Go64[/URL] Generally, Apple will have 64 bit versions available (including GarageBand). Most popular software has moved on to 64 bit as well (Office, Adobe, etc.) Some boutique software has not been supported for a while, and is stuck at 32 bit. You just need to see what the issues might be to make an informed decision. 2. Your entire hard drive will be reformatted in the process. The format will change from Mac OS Journaled to APFS. So a good, tested, backup of your data is critical. You say you have TM, you might consider making a clone backup into that partition you aren't using. Change it from exfat to Mac OS Journaled and use a cloner to create the clone. Both Carbon Copy Cloner and SuperDuper! have downloads that work for a while that are free for you to use for 30 day, I think. TM will probably be enough, but it's always to have another backup, just in case. 3. With your use case, Monterey should run well. It doesn't need 16 GB of RAM. In fact, it manages memory better than Sierra, so you may find memory no longer gets challenged as much. If you decide to go ahead and install Monterey, you can do the clean installation and at boot it will act as if it were new, taking you through the "Welcome" routine. At some point it will ask if you want to Migrate your data. Say yes to that and point to the TM backup and let it run. When done, you will be able to boot into the system and log into the account it created with the same login and password as you have now. Everything should be there except what it knows won't run (32 bit software). One final point. As you go through the setup, be careful to read what is on the various setup screens. Apple defaults to turning File Vault ON, for example. You probably don't need or want that, unless you are a super-secret spy or an accountant for the Mafia. You may or may not want to share diagnostics with Apple, etc. Just read the screens before clicking "next" or "agree" or whatever is the highlighted choice. When you get done, the file structure will be completely different from what you have now. If you want the lowdown on what APFS looks like, let us know and we can show where you can read the details on it. Generally, you won't care. Apple tried to make it look and feel just the same for the average user. [/QUOTE]
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Need Advice - Updating late 2014 mini - Monterey or Big Sur?
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