Troubleshooting MacOS Catalina Problems
Some Mac users have reported a variety of problems with MacOS Catalina, ranging from installations getting stuck or taking abnormally long, to problems with some apps not working, to issues with certain printers or accessories no longer working, App Store difficulties, iCloud and Apple ID issues, amongst other nuisances.
While installing and using MacOS Catalina goes fine for most users, that is no solace if you are experiencing problems with a particular Mac and the new MacOS 10.15 release. Below we will discuss a variety of reported issues and problems with MacOS Catalina, and offer various troubleshooting methods to attempt to resolve those difficulties.
Before perusing this guide or attempting any troubleshooting method, be sure to back up your Mac and all data first. Failure to backup data can result in permanent data loss.
MacOS Catalina Won’t Download or Shows “An error occurred while running scripts from the package “RecoveryHDMetaDmg.pkg”
If you are attempting to download MacOS Catalina and it fails with a “An error occurred while running scripts from the package “RecoveryHDMetaDmg.pkg” error message, it may be related to third party firewall, anti-virus, or anti-malware software running on the Mac.
Temporarily disable the third party software that is a firewall, anti-virus, or anti-malware protection, and then relaunch System Preferences to check for the download again and MacOS Catalina should arrive as expected.
Note that some Macs may need to be restarted after third party protection software is disabled, depending on the software and how it works. In that case, after rebooting the Mac return to System Preferences in the Software Update section to download MacOS Catalina as expected.
MacOS Catalina won’t install because “There is not enough free space on Macintosh HD to install”
If you do not have sufficient free disk space available on the Mac hard drive, you will not be able to install MacOS Catalina.
Aim to have at least 15GB freely available to complete the installation of MacOS Catalina.
MacOS Catalina Installation Stalls on “Estimating time remaining…”
A fair number of people have reported that MacOS Catalina installation takes longer to install than they were expecting, or longer to install than prior MacOS installations. A common symptom of this is the Mac is apparently stuck on “Estimating time remaining…” when trying to install MacOS Catalina.
If you see the “Estimating time remaining…” screen when trying to install MacOS Catalina, be patient. It’s unlikely the installer is actually stuck, so just let it sit, and if it’s a MacBook Pro or Air make sure it is connected to a power source.
Let the Mac sit for however long it takes to complete the installation of Catalina, it may take several hours. The Mac will automatically boot into MacOS Catalina when finished installing.
There are mixed reports that the MacOS Catalina installation has taken anywhere from 45 minutes to over 12 hours to complete, how long it takes on a particular machine likely depends on many factors, including computer speed, internet connection speed, the Mac OS version being updated from, and more, thus it’s best to initiate the installation when there is plenty of time available to allow the Mac to complete installation.
MacOS Catalina Installation Stuck on “Less than one minute remaining”
Some users report that installing MacOS Catalina gets stuck on a black screen with an Apple logo and progress bar, stating there is less than a minute remaining to complete the installation.
If you see this screen, let the Mac sit and wait for a substantial amount of time before attempting to intervene.
If the Mac is still stuck on “Less than one minute remaining” after many hours (let it sit overnight if you can), and you have a full backup of your data, try powering down the Mac and then turning it back on again. It may boot directly into the MacOS Catalina setup screen. It also may fail to boot entirely, in which case you’ll need to reinstall MacOS system software with Internet Recovery (you can also try to reinstall MacOS Mojave through regular recovery too), or restore the Mac from a previously made Time Machine backup.
MacOS Catalina Installation Stuck or Fails with “The operation couldn’t be completed. (PKDownloadError error 8.)”
This error has been reported to occur during installation of MacOS Catalina if the internet connection is disrupted or disconnected.
Insure that the Mac has an active wi-fi or ethernet connection and that the internet works as expected, and then try installing MacOS Catalina again.
MacOS Catalina Stuck on “Setting Up Your Mac” Screen After Install
Let it sit for at least several hours, it may resolve itself.
If a after hours pass, force reboot the Mac by turning the computer off, then turning it back on again
Mac Running MacOS Catalina Randomly Crashes & Restarts
Some Mac users are reporting their Mac is crashing and restarting itself, particular when the Mac is left unattended for a period of time.
This random crash/freezing/restarting issue appears to happen more often on newer Macs with T2 security chips, or with Macs with a Radeon Pro Vega GPU, but it has been reported on other Mac models as well.
There are various discussion threads on Apple Support Forums here about this, but there is not yet any clear explanation or solution to this problem.
Reinstalling MacOS Catalina may help.
If any updates come available to MacOS Catalina, be sure to install those right way (ie: MacOS Catalina 10.15.1, 10.15.2, etc), as they may resolve the problem.
Downgrading to MacOS Mojave may also be a workaround to some users, though that is obviously not desirable or practical for many users.
Frequent “Update Apple ID Settings” Requests
Some users have reported a frequent “Update Apple ID Settings” pop-up message, informing them that some services will not be available until they sign-in again. Then after signing in again, the popup returns.
If you encounter frequent “Update Apple ID Settings” alerts, first try restarting the Mac.
If the “Update Apple ID Settings” alert message continues still, back up the Mac (if you haven’t done so already), then go to System Preferences and logging out of the Apple ID, rebooting the Mac, then logging back in again.
Be aware that signing out of an Apple ID may cause issues with synced data over iCloud, including iCloud Documents, iCloud Files, iCloud Photos, and other iCloud syncing.
Persistent iCloud Password Requests
Some users have reported issues with persistent Apple ID and iCloud password requests.
Open System Preferences > go to iCloud settings > and login to iCloud directly.
You may also need to log out and then log back into iCloud via System Preferences, but be aware that doing so can cause issues with iCloud Documents, iCloud Files, and other iCloud syncing.
Seeing Constant iCloud Terms & Conditions Agreement Loop in MacOS Catalina
Some users are reporting a constant loop of seeing iCloud Terms & Conditions that won’t be dismissed or agreed despite interacting with it.
Go to System Preferences > Internet Accounts > choose the Apple ID that is used for the App Store and other purchases, and then agree to the Terms & Conditions that appear on this screen.
Some Mac Apps Don’t Work, “App Needs to be Updated” Error Message
Any 32-bit app that has not been updated to 64-bit will not work in MacOS Catalina.
When attempting to launch an app that does not work in MacOS Catalina, you will see an error message stating “(Name) needs to be updated”
This includes many older versions of popular apps like Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc), Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, and many smaller third party tools and utilities.
Additionally, many popular older Mac games are 32-bit and thus will not work on MacOS Catalina (unless they are updated for 64-bit support, which some developers have already stated will not happen with older software).
The only solution to this is to update the apps to 64-bit versions, or to find alternative applications. Or, more extreme, would be to downgrade from MacOS Catalina, but that’s a sizable hassle.
Printers, Scanners, Accessories Incompatible or Don’t Work with MacOS Catalina
Some users have found that printers, scanners, and other hardware accessories are no longer working after updating to MacOS Catalina.
This may be related to the loss of 32-bit application support, as some older printers and drivers are not updated to 64-bit.
Numerous reports exist of various Brother, Epson, HP, and other printers and accessories are incompatible with MacOS Catalina currently.
A good first step would be to reach out to the manufacturer of the printer, scanner, or hardware accessory and see if new drivers or related software are available with MacOS Catalina compatibility.
If new Catalina compatible drivers are available, install them to regain access to the printer, scanner, or hardware accessory.
Mail Missing, Mail Data Loss After MacOS Catalina Update
Some users have reported mail is missing, or that parts of mail messages are incomplete, or some other form of Mail app data loss has occurred after updating to MacOS Catalina.
If you have a Time Machine backup from before updating to MacOS Catalina, you should be a able to restore the Mail folder from that backup. You can also access the backup mail data folder directly on the Time Machine backup, then from Mail app in MacOS Catalina, go to File > Import Mailboxes and import that back-up Mailfolder.
Wi-Fi Not Working in MacOS Catalina
Some users have reported wi-fi problems with MacOS Catalina. Often a solution for wi-fi not working is to go to System Preferences > Network > and create a new Network Location and to re-join a known working wi-fi network.
Bluetooth Input Lagging, Magic Trackpad Slow Response with MacOS Catalina
Some users have reported significant bluetooth input lag since updating to MacOS Catalina, where interacting with a Magic Trackpad or other Bluetooth device has a notable delay of sometimes several seconds before responding.
If you’re experiencing slow response from Bluetooth devices in MacOS Catalina, try disconnecting them from the Mac, removing them, and then reconnecting and resyncing the Bluetooth accessory to the Mac.
Unable to Connect to Network Drives / SMB Shares in Catalina
Some users have reported they are no longer able to connect to network shares with SMB file sharing. This may be an issue with NetBIOS, or it may be due to some other problem, depending on what exactly the network problem is.
You may be able to resolve network sharing issues for Guest users by going to System Preferences > Users & Groups > Guest User > and choosing “Allow guest users to connect to shared folders”
Loss of iTunes Causing Issues with Music Playlists
Some users have reported that music playlists created from iTunes are not being imported or included in the new Music app of MacOS Catalina.
This may be a bug, or it could be an issue with the Music app not finding the playlist files from iTunes.
Some users have reported that simply quitting Music app and restarting the Mac has allowed their old iTunes playlists to surface in Music app as expected.
Unable to Access TV Purchases & TV Content from TV App in Catalina
Some users have reported they are not able to access any content from the TV app in MacOS Catalina.
Some users are not able to stream their TV purchases and video content from the TV app, and some users are not able to download their purchases from TV app.
Symptoms of this issue are typically a gray ‘download from iCloud’ button showing but that is unresponsive, and no video content downloads or plays in the TV app on MacOS Catalina.
If you’re unable to access your purchases and content in TV app in MacOS Catalina, confirming that the appropriate Apple ID is logged into the Mac and TV app, then quitting the app and restarting the Mac may help.
iTunes Removal Causing Issues with XML File Support & Third Party Music Apps
Some users of various music apps have reported that MacOS Catalina does not work with various music production and DJ apps.
This is apparently due to an issue with XML file support being removed from the new Music app.
If you rely on an application which requires iTunes or iTunes XML file support, consider avoiding MacOS Catalina for the time being, or until the apps you rely on are updated to support MacOS Catalina.
You can read more about this specific issue at The Verge if interested.
Mac App Store Showing “No Purchases”
Some Mac users are discovering that MacOS Catalina is not showing their purchased app history.
Sometimes simply rebooting the Mac can resolve this problem.
Otherwise, try logging out of the Mac App Store, quitting the App Store application, relaunching the App Store, then logging back into the Mac App Store again, to regain access to purchases.
Mac App Store Showing “No Updates”
Some users have reported that the Mac App Store is erroneously showing a “No Updates” available message, despite having older versions of apps like iMovie installed that are not working without an update for full 64-bit compatibility.
Quitting the Mac App Store, then rebooting the Mac and relaunching the Mac App Store appears to resolve this problem.
Mac is Hot and Running Slow After Installing MacOS Catalina
This is likely due to the system reindexing files on the drive, and the system toll it takes to perform maintenance tasks that are necessary after reinstalling or updating MacOS system software.
Let this process complete, it may take a while, but the Mac should perform as expected when that background activity has finished.
Safari Can’t Connect to Websites, But Internet Works
Some third party firewall software and anti-virus apps may be causing issues with Safari and other apps accessing websites and the internet in general.
Try disabling those third party firewall and virus tools, then rebooting the Mac to see if the issue is resolved.
MacOS Catalina Wi-Fi Dropping Connections
Adding a new Network Location often can resolve issues with dropping wi-fi connections.
Make sure you also have reasonable distance to the wi-fi router and there is no significant interference, which is good general advice or wi-fi connection issues.
Additional MacOS Catalina Troubleshooting Ideas
Depending on the issue, you may want to try a few additional troubleshooting steps like:
- Try re-installing MacOS Catalina by rebooting the Mac and holding down Command+R and choosing to “Reinstall MacOS” – this will reinstall the core operating system without changing user files. Be sure to have a full backup fo your Mac before attempting this.
- Try resetting SMC: Learn how to reset the SMC on older Macs or how to reset SMC on MacBook Pro & MacBook Air 2018 and newer models
- Reset the PRAM on the Mac
MacOS Catalina is Unusable for Me, Help!
If you find MacOS Catalina totally unusable for whatever reason, you have a few options:
- Restore the Mac from a previously made Time Machine backup, which is perhaps the easiest and best method of reverting from MacOS Catalina
- Reinstalling MacOS via Internet Recovery, which will attempt to reinstall the version of MacOS that came with the Mac
- Erase the Mac and restore from Time Machine or a prior backup method to effectively downgrade from MacOS Catalina to the prior version of MacOS you had backed up
- Contact official Apple Support for further assistance – Apple support techs and engineers may be able to resolve a problem for you that unaffiliated third party fan sites like this are not able to address
Are all of these problems common?
No, these are not commonly encountered issues with MacOS Catalina.
Perhaps the most common issue that may be experienced by users with MacOS Catalina is that some older apps will not work, because of the loss of 32-bit app support. The other issues discussed here are fairly rare.
If you’re on the fence about whether or not to install MacOS Catalina then don’t assume you will experience any of the issues or problems discussed here. This is intended as a troubleshooting guide for problems that a small number of users are encountering, and by no means is representative of the wider MacOS Catalina user base or experience. You can use this guide to get ready and prepare for MacOS Catalina and download MacOS Catalina as soon as you’re ready for the software update. Or you can skip it for the time being, that’s OK too!
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Did you experience any problems with MacOS Catalina? Were the above troubleshooting tips helpful for you? Let us know your thoughts, experiences, solutions, and difficulties with MacOS Catalina in the comments below!
I googled my brightness slider bar is missing “MacBook pro-2012”. I found these volumes of encyclopedias of fixes. but alas “no fix” for my problem. Thanks for a million ideas for all aspects of matters you covered, mine must be one you didn’t have a problem with, which may have worked years ago, but I think Catalina and Apple updates have removed the brightness slider bar, which I did use to get the brightness correct” then after a restart, unsuspectingly it disappeared? It was there, I turned on Laptop and the picture was a little dark, went to the system, displays and alas “slider no longer exists”. Do you know any friends who know more than you about this issue? so many people are struggling with this update modification.
Hi All‼️I justt spent an hour reading all the Catalina Nightmares😡Don’t feel as bad now as mine are minor in comparison. My #1 is the Battery. It won’t retain it’s charge napping. Brand new Apple installed battery was perfect until I upgraded to Catalina. No help from support nor Apple store. Only thing that helps is to close all APPS & Power down when not using. Also really miss “Dashboard”. Apple has become really, really stupid. Fortunately, I have 2 other MBPs (mid-2012) so I am still surviving most of the time on good-old Hi Sierra👍Hopefully, I’ll never upgrade again. Since I have no Time Machine backup of pre-Catalina, I might just try installing a new SSD & SuperDuper from one with Hi Sierra & then drag back whatever else I need. Anyone with better ideas⁉️ Ed
Need some direction on library folder. Hi new to the site. Mid 2012 MacBook Pro, Catalina 10.15.6 Was trying to resolve slow boot/performance issues(spinning beachball although I have huge amounts of disc/RAM space) related to Catalina.
I came across 266 library folders 13.16GB.Is this right? Are this many folders required? How do I cull them The path is MacIntoshHDuserMyNamelibrary.
I have downloaded and applied the update to Catalina.
I am at screaming pitch. Supported Apple products for years but Catalina is disgraceful. 4 computers in one house all going ape. Time Machine vanished, records one day whilst on then nothing. Lost all.
Photo App terrible. THEY decide where my photos should go. My old file method worked fine for me. Now I have on occasion reach 438 copies of one photo. So many duplicated multiplied several times. Apple – forget it.
photos lost. Apple haven’t got a clue and suggest they phone you back from another dept. Nothing of course.
Bye bye Apple after all these years.
I bought a new iMac after the video card died in my old Mac, so it came with Catalina. Had the issue with buffering or a memory leak somewhere and had to reboot. That fixed the problem of everything moving slowly. Now, however, Podcast dies after playing the first episode.
I don’t think I have the luxury of going back to an old backup. I kinda wish I’d just been able to get a new video card for my 2009 baby.
Just bought a new 2019 iMac a few weeks ago. I’m having an issue where most (but not all) the time, I can not interact with desktop items with a double-click. Meaning, I have to right click and select open folders or files. Also, once selected, I can not deselect a desktop item by clicking off of it. Not the biggest issue in the world, but it’s annoying.
I’m coming from a 2011 17″ Macbook Pro where I installed an SSD. That thing was still cranking until it died a couple months ago. I expected much better perfomance out of this new iMac compared to my old macbook, but it’s been a bit of a letdown. Not sure if it’s the machine or catalina since I’ve really got nothing else to compare it.
Catalina is (10.15.1, 10.15.2, 10.15.3, 10.15.4) is very vulnerable. One problem is not able to tell which was the infractor. Another problem is that a local problem crashes the whole environment.
Somedays I hit 6 reboots.
You lose any appetite for the brand.
Leo.
I “upgraded” to Catalina three weeks ago and have never had three longer weeks of my life. The computer crashes constantly, the pinwheel of death is a daily companion – I have had to do force quits and restarts twelve times TODAY and still deal with the slowest system since I had a Commodore 64 in front of me. I hate what Catalina has done to my Mac. Hate it.
If I try to do anything with iCloud it gives me a “you have to sign in” box, then I sign in and it gives me a “you are already signed in” box, then I try to do anything with iCloud and it gives me a “you have to sign in” box, then I sign in and it gives me a “you are already signed in” box – the biggest mistake of my adult life: installing Catalina on this machine.
Don’t get Catalina, it’s a big mistake.
After updating to Catalina found that some files / folders wouldn’t compress.
After some trial & error found that anything that was locked would cause it fail.
Changed “locked” to “read only” & everything worked as before
My Catalina software update claims it is done. It reads “8.16 out of 8.16”. HOWEVER, the blue var that shows the updates progress is not entirely full, having stopped just short of the end. I have tried, quite literally, everything. Spent probably 3 hours now and getting very frustrated. I’ve tried restoring my mac to its original software- didn’t work. I’ve tried messing with the cache- didn’t work. I’ve tried “x-ing” out of the unfinished update that claims it is finished, then clicking on catalina update again, just for the same exact unfinished blue bar to present itself- so that didn’t work. I’ve tried reseting “NVRAM”- that didn’t work. I’ve literally googled everything and cannot find the solution. What should I do?
I needed to recover an email message. I opened Mail, opened Time Machine, and everything crashed to the Desktop. I have tried in Safe mode, same story. Apple Support says they’ll look into it. How do I stop the crashes? I get a Mail Unexpectly Quit message as well.
Thank you!
Hi Gill, Many Catalina users were able to fix the crashing by resetting the SMC. Go to the Apple menu & shut down Mac. Press and hold the Shift-Control-Option on the left side of the built-in keyboard, then press the power button at the same time. Hold these keys and the power button for 10-15 seconds. It could resolve the problem. One more thing you have an alternative option to recover your email data via using third party program Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Mac. You can download its free trial version and recover your lost email data efficiently. Thanks
My address book has jammed on an alert saying:
‘Are you sure you want to import 1 card ?’
and none of the three options to this has any effect when clicked.
I cant quit address book either.
It is running on 10.15.3 – Catalina.
Can someone help me ? many thanks. Gerba
Thank you so much I have been have the”MacOS Catalina Installation “The operation couldn’t be completed. (PKDownloadError error 8.)”
my mom even called shaw about your interest problem they had someone come out and fix it only foe your interest to be the exact same as before they fix it T_T will be heading to my uncle and aunt’s place for new year’s day so will see if it works there if not then I have to go back to the store “jump plus where I got it and see what they can do I’m so glad I got the 3 year warranty on my mini Mac
Oke thank you sir about your article my macbook has problem solving
i am suddenly having an issue where Time Machine stopped backing up. Initially I was getting the “backup failed” error message but now I am getting the redi (info) button which says that Time Machine can’t back up because File Vault is encrypting or decrypting. I have never used File Vault in my life. But when I try to open the Privacy pane and see what’s going on, I get an error message that the Privacy pane can’t be opened. This only started happening after Catalina was installed and the first update was installed. I am preparing to get rid of this late 2015 iMac nd if I can’t back it up I don’t know how I’m expected to set up a new Mac with Time Machine if it won’t let me make a backup.
Catalina causes serious connectivity problems. can not connect to any wifi and had real hard time connecting through my mobile phone. I had to plug in my phone … Other than that preview keeps quitting whenever I try to annotate my signature to a contract. Why does apple release such an incomplete and troublesome operating system. I am now scared to switch back to mojave since I dont trust apples recent attitude towards its clients and fans.
No one with left with tinny dock icons???? Even when I put it to the biggest, it doesn’t work. When I choose to add my dock to the left for example, where Mac notably make them smaller, they become minuscule. Help!
anyone else having “Hot Corners” issues?? the drop down menu to select option is blank and causes artifacts on the screen
Thanks for the new upgrade but unfortunately introduced to a new issue. my Macbook air 2014 after upgraded now Trackpad not working, and I use extra mouse. I hope to have the solution…with the best regard.
I upgraded to Catalina 11/13/19, only because my Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop programs were updated and I couldn’t access them any longer because my MAC OS no longer supported them (it was an older OS El Capitan). I have never had this much frustration before with any MAC or PC. I’m a photographer and need this up and running for my business. I spent three DAYs, yes, three days on the phone with Apple tech support, uninstalled and reinstalled etc…(Thank God I backed up everything) to an external hard drive. I worked with an Apple senior tech advisor on the phone…for 3.5 hours. She told me she was stumped and couldn’t help me and offered to make an appointment with the Apple store for me. The next day I dragged my 27″ iMac into the Apple store. The dude was condescending and quite frankly could care less about the seriousness of my problem. He did the same, reinstalled and sent me on my way to transfer my data from my external hard drive to my iMAC at home… claiming no one is having any problem with Catalina! Day 5, I took it to a computer repair shop where the dude was willing to try to help me. I sat there with him for 5.5 hours while he wiped out everything and reinstalled Catalina…everything seemed to be fine. I got it up and running today in hopes of getting caught up on my work and the same issues occurred. After leaving it idle for 10 mins, I returned to find the dreaded prohibitory symbol on a black screen. I can’t get rid of it without doing more to it than I’m comfortable with…so now I lost another two days of work and will take it back to the local repair guy on Monday. APPLE NEEDS TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS! I loved using my apple products, but I will never purchase another APPLE product again! HOW CAN I RESOLVE THIS? I can’t call the APPLE store, can’t just walk in there either. if anyone has any idea as to what I should do, please advise.
I’m having the EXACTLY same error (the prohibit sign at hte screen)… In my case, I restart, then I get into safe mode (cmd r), then I restart again and it normally get trough the os and I see my login.
The main issue is that it IS A WORKAROUND and the HD driver is getting louder and louder, getting tired to all this start, restart, cold boot etc. I wish someone could le me know how to fix it
Your Applestore dude is wrong, catalina has a memory-management issue. I can not open a document in MS Word which I could open before, it tells me, it exeeds the memory. A friend’s macbook pro froze working on a CAD file and froze after any restart, my Macbook pro froze as well when I moved 2GB of Photos to the trash. I left it over night, but in the morning I had to reboot it via powerbutton (ouch). A collegue has problems with his apple mail (macbook air of 2019). So, no – there are no problems at all…
Yeah, the search bug is really annoying. Is there a feedback site for Apple where we can open a bug report? Gripping about it in this comment section is not gonna get it fixed.
There are a couple of halfway workarounds:
1) It seems that find works the first time after opening a PDF document. So if you want to search again, close the document and reopen it.
2) It seems it still searches also after the first time, but doesn’t highlight on the page. If you turn on the thumbnail preview (left side panel) the pages in the side panel are filtered to only show the ones where the search term occurs. You can click on their thumbnail in the side panel to jump to them. However, once you’re on the page you have to manually scan it since the search term is not highlighted.
To anyone who’s experiencing this issue on the 2019 MacBook Pro: last week, I noticed that the flickering occurs especially when the screen is adjusting to warmer/colder ambient light. I turned off True Tone and auto-brightness and haven’t had a single glitch ever since. I suggest you try doing the same, see if it works for you. If this is indeed about True Tone and/or auto-brightness, I would imagine Apple can solve it through a software update.
Screen blinks black for a second and then resumes working normally
Hi, I purchased a new 2019 Macbook Pro last week and within a few days, I noticed the screen flicker 3-5 times a day. The screen essentially blinks black for a second and then resumes working normally. I returned that Macbook to the Apple Store this week as it was assumed to be a hardware issue (and I simply bought a ‘lemon’). However, I’ve been using a new new 2019 Macbook Pro that they exchanged my original one for this week, and this issue is persisting. I’ve experienced this flickering on two 2019 Macbook Pros now in a week span.
Any similar experiences? Advice?
Frans, are we the only ones?
Upgrading (I did not hesitate… I wish I did) to Catalina went very smooth! But then, nothing than bugs. Like the ones you already prescribed but also for instance files which were just created like screenshots (png) which CANNOT be opened. Only preview using the space bar. Restarting the finder, logging out en in, nothing helps but rebooting! Apps that just quit like Mail, Pages, etc. And even more strange: I got frequently logged out! (first about 20 sec a freezing ‘wheel of death’ – spinning wheel, then black screen as if OS was starting up again but progress bar always at 3 quarters for about 5 sec, then the login screen with all users (guest included) appears! After login, most of the apps were closed (like Pages!) – Sometimes this occurred a minute or so after continuing to work on my MBA. I changed in system preferences to never put the MBA to sleep when screen goes off. Nope, didn’t help. Nice job! Catalina is up to now the most unreliable OS ever! More than 25 years never used anything else than Mac and Apple products. Sorry guys, but ever since leaving classic mac os (OS 9), thing went from bad to worse. I would love to pay again each time for an upgrade. At least you were sure that the OS was tested to the bottom and very, very reliable. I cannot remember to had one freeze or had to reboot!!
Paul- Having same thing here kind of – its making me insane. I can’t save files to desktop (get error) than oddly sometimes they save anyways, other times form inside an app to SAVE to desktop I get “desktop can not be opened” and when I reboot it fixes it (I think) most of the time.
This update has been by far the worst one with problems non-stop, did you figure this out by chance, Let’s hope someone pops up with any answer today.
I am having the exact same problem as Nicole, especially with xlsx, docx, pdf, jpg, png files. Has anybody found a solution to this yet? I’m tired of rebooting 5 times a day.
I regularly update my OS on IMac 27″ and this update was the most troubling so far ( keep my fingers crossed )) Now I cannot see contents of folders in Downloads – I have to manually go to folder settings, type my admin password and allow to write and read to folder in order to see contents! ))) Ridiculous, and when I started to Google this issue I did not see this partucular problem mentioned but a whole lot of other ones ))))
After the Catalina update, some keys started malfunctioning; first the r, then the e, the o typed double… I started using a usb keyboard and yet, the r suddenly appears when I hit other keys without even pressing on it, like rrrrrrr every time I use an accented letter in Spanish á, é, í, ó, ú, or a back space, or any other symbol, the Mac keyboard is getting worst. it types itself and suddenly starts beeping, rendering my Mac unusable.
Advice to you: Before installing any new operating system, backup your data so that if the new system has issues, you can reinstall the latest copy of your computer. I had to get rid of the OS Catalina 10.15.1 that I foolishly updated to and reinstall my old OS which was Mojave 10.14.6 using my back up plus by Seagate. The OS Catalina 10.15.1 prevented my Canon printer/scanner from scanning. And Malware Bytes would no longer run. I learned from this mistake to never trust-always backup before you trust an update and allow it so you can be up and running again.
Yes, also can’t run Malwarebytes after this install of Catalina. Other problems, too. No scroll bars in any app, lost email and mail boxes, can only shut down with power button, …
Mail Preference window doesn’t show up anymore since I’ve installed Catalina macOS 10.15.1. Only a complete empty window with the title “Signatures”.
Some time after Catalina some of my wireless keyboard keys stopped working, namely caps lock, tab and function.
I cannot seem to find any answers online, and nobody answered on Apple community support.
This is really frustrating, especially with the tab key.
Has this happened to anyone else?
I am not sure if this problem is directly to Catalina, but this happened a couple of days after the latest update, and I haven’t been able to solve it.
Old post but it seems this continues to be an issue with Catalina 10.15.7. Copy\paste will also stop working. Suspecting the issue is related as the keyboard just doesn’t work. Doesn’t matter if using the keyboard built into the laptop or an Apple bluetooth keyboard. Lame
I just updated to Catalina. Most things seem to be working, but I can’t change the fonts in Mail. Any suggestions? Thank you.
WHAT A POS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Updated to Catalina on my 2017 iMac. 99.9% of my photos and videos that were in photos ARE NOW GONE. Trued to get 2nd level tech on the phone at Apple, hold was so long my phone battery quit. Those items are BEYOND irreplaceable !
That is what backups are for. Not using timemachine on a mac for backups is just insane. Yes windows backup and restore is painful but not the mac timemachine. No sympathy if you didn’t use timemachine…as homer simpson would say: “DOH”
my issue isn’t that they are gone… but come up after a small crop or exposer shift as a blank picture and blank thumbnail….
this seems to be a bug and apple tech sent me a link to the how to reset your permission support link…..
that didn’t help much…..
this seems to be a bug and apple tech sent me a link to the how to reset your permission support link…..
that didn’t help much…..
my issue isn’t that they are gone… but come up after a small crop or exposer shift as a blank picture and blank thumbnail….
Catalina auto-infected my elderly mother’s Mac. She is completely unable to navigate the flurry of glitches and pop-ups by apps flashing error messages and seeking new permissions. Among the broken apps is Teamviewer, which is my method of supporting her. There is no way I can walk her through this disaster over the phone without seeing the screen.
My mother will probably use the use of her Mac until Thanksgiving when I visit her. Catalina is a complete, God-damned disaster.
Installed Catalina a few weeks ago. Now, the OS process…
is devouring massive CPU cycles slowing down my system to a crawl. Activity monitor shows it running in excess of 35% constantly even after I turned of my mic.
How can I turn it off, disable it, shoot it, get my machine back to working reasonably ?
I have the same problem. Add to it that my Apple Magic Keyboard is not ‘identified’ by my iMac and my Time Machine will not back up.
Have you resolved the Time Machine back up yet? I have been trying without success and can’t seem to find too much about it being a common issue.
I’m having the same problem with Time Machine. The backup process hasn’t completely failed, but it’s incredibly slow.
So true — since Time Machine is so very broken, how would one actually backup or restore? It insists that it needs to start over and make a new full backup; Once done, it might do one incremental, and then it insists that something is wrong and it must start with a new full backup… rinse and repeat.
My Time Machine won’t back up my Mac since installing Catalina. Any suggestions??
I updated to Catalina and also updated my iPhone 7+ to iOS 13. I use the iPhone Remote app to control music playing in the house. The Mac and related drives are upstairs and we have speakers throughout the house. Since updating, Remote sees the music files, I can select them, but it will not respond to the “Play”command. Is the issue with the Remote app in iOS or Music in Catalina, or both. Anyone else with this issue?
I’m having the exact same issue. The Remote app on my iPhone 11 (iOS 13) can see my library but the Play command is gray and unresponsive. Very disappointing.
Having the same issue on Catalina with updated iOS on an iPhone. Remote sees my shared library but doesn’t show/control currently playing song. Wonder if they have a new Remote app hidden somewhere? Annoying
How do I fix this? The recovery server could not be contacted. I’m stuck.
The batch rename feature in Finder has not worked since the Catalina install. Anyone else experiencing this?
Thanks!
David
Since installing Catalina QuickTime no longer works and my MacBook Air photos are all in iCloud on my MacBook Air and half my videos cannot be accessed says source unavailable and these are in the cloud that the computer can’t find now . They still work on iPhone so I had to use iPhone send the video to me via message then save video then it created a double and now iCloud show two in photos and they work. Apple Genius Bar couldn’t figure it out I showed him how to do what I did. Also he downloaded elmedia app and I can access my AVI videos as VLC wouldn’t work to view anything on MacBook Air with Catalina.
i got fired from my job coz I lost all my files after the update… what am I gonna do???
Since upgrading to Mac OS Catalina Firefox will not connect to any sites. I get a “The connection has timed out” and there seems to be no way to change that.
I think you have Intego’s NetBarrier. If you do disable it. Intego admits that there is an issue an is investigating. they ask users to disable Netbarrier.
my Catalina horror: the ‘updated’ Photos app continually reports “An error occurred while downloading a larger version of this photo for editing. Please try again later.” –
this means the app is useless for photo editing…
i have no idea what is ‘downloading’ – i have my Photos Library on a separate volume (which worked perfectly fine and is functioning correctly).
i don’t use the iCloud and i don’t keep any personal data on my Macbook Air…
good thing The GIMP still works
Upgraded to Catalina, no issues.
Did a supplemental update 19A620.
I had no way of connecting to internet. Public Wifi, Private Wifi, Ethernet… you name it. Wouldn’t work… Reinstall? You need Wifi for that.
No rollback options is pure stupidity and arrogance from a company delivering unreliable software updates.
I have this problem with Catalina where I have 1Tb disk and used about 500Gb but Catalina shows that I have 118Gb left so surprisingly there is still about 400Gb somewhere. I’m pretty pissed that I’ve updated to this macOS S***!
I have an early 2014 MacBook Air. I only had about 11 gigs of storage, so was unable to install Catalina. I was at the Genius bar for something else and the person helping me offered to do a forced upgrade. It worked perfectly until I realized all of my keychain data was missing. So we wiped my computer clean, reinstalled Catalina and then restored my computer from the backup done right before visiting the Apple Store. Sure, it took some effort, especially with the keychain snafu – and now I have 31 gigs free in storage. The rep at the genius bar indicated I might gain some space back. No issues other than the fans running incessantly. Once I turned off Dropbox (it was using a really high percentage of CPU), problem solved.
I just installed 10.5 and the first thing I noticed was that all my Microsoft Office apps wouldn’t work unless I update them using their new ripoff annual subscription. Thieves and bandits, all of them! Also I got two notices on my desktop, one says – “dandan” could not be moved to Trash. Please move this item to the trash manually. and the other one says – “vhjkvwaegjio” is damaged and can’t be opened. Google Chrome downloaded this file on August 31, 2016. I have no idea what either of these things are and neither can be removed at all, no matter what I try and neither of these are apps that I installed or even heard about! B****rds are all trying to screw with me.
Im haveing the same problem with”is damaged and cant be found error message – have you found a solution?
cheers mike
-Calendar will not save “show birthdays” option, so I need to check box EVERY time.
-Photos will not sort by filename or by date/time taken
-Music / itunes – song time played / remaining time removed (because they can)
-Mucis / itunes – view by genre / artist / album table removed from above the playlist
-Photos takes forever to boot and needs to restore library every single time
All that on a 10 month old Macbook Pro. I can not even imagine what would happen if I had an older computer.
And I did not really dig deep into it – imagine what else is there for me to find. BY FAR the worst OS I have seen so far.
One more blow like this and I am back to windows, enough is enough. If they have nothing new to offer at Apple, they better release an update every 2 or 3 years, rather than messing everything up only to show that they come up with “new” things.
It installed and showed the Island picture, I logged in following initial install, and it stopped on “Setting Up Your Mac” spinning wheel; left it on overnight; next day the screen had locked already; logged in again, brought up spinning wheel. Force restarted computer by holding power til it turned off. Turned power on. Install window showed up and completed. Island picture showed again, and showed some news messages, then disappeared. Logged in. Screen went black for a few minutes and it logged out. Logged in again. Screen black, but showed mouse cursor. Slowly brought up menu items top left, and completed. No further issues.
Some people with 2018 Mac mini that have bricked completely after installing MacOS Catalina can find a possible solution through this video below. It’s techy and weird but if your Mac is stuck not booting after Catalina it may be why and related.
Apparently if I understand the video sometimes a 32-bit application is loaded at system start, but since Catalina doesn’t support 32-bit apps the system can’t start and the whole thing breaks. Weird situation. Anyway there’s a way to disable and delete that 32-bit app.
The solution offered is basically this for terminal, but you must know the 32-bit application that is loading at start and where it is so you can remove it:
dsenableroot/sbin/mount -uw /
rm -rf /path/to/32-bit-application-helper-to-remove.app
dsenableroot disable
reboot
If you have this issue you’ll see an error about failing to return kernel address space with an error about something like:
/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/IMTranscoding.framework/XPCServices/IMTranscoderAgent.xpc/Contents/MacOS/IMTranscoderAgent
I don’t know, watch the video below it might help someone with a bricked machine after MacOS Catalina install, the video has a lot of ranting in it so ignore that but maybe some useful information:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=120&v=S0QmIxOvILM
OSX Catalina sucks. Facing so many problems.
I have always loved Apple products for their User Friendly operation. I DO NOT want to go Microsoft etc. But I’m growing increasingly frustrating. But THIS ONE has been THE WORST! I’m right their with you.
Yeah, this could be my last Mac. This is absurd.
Installation stucked on a black screen for about 10 hours until I decided to turn it off. When restarted asked my password and never recognized it. It couldn’t be reseted using the Apple ID. I tried to reinstall or repair the HD and it can’t. So I would have to erase the HD because there’s no way to back up to restore. what else can I do?
Catalina download is unavailable, despite running 10.14.6 on a brand new MacBook Air with plenty of storage. Tried quitting the App Store & rebooted as suggested, but still nothing. Help!
You’re not missing anything
Issues with Word for Mac
Selecting any text inside Word for Mac will cause MacOS to freeze for 10 seconds (with the beachball). Then the screen snaps and any text/action done during the freeze will be performed. Selecting again will cause the same.
Tried selecting using Wireless/Wired mouse, trackpad, shift+arrow, all same results. Sometimes the screen turns Red for few seconds then returns back to normal after the 10 seconds!
No issues with Excel or Powerpoint for Mac.
Current setup:
MacBookPro11,5
MacOS Catalina 10.15 (19A602)
Word for Mac 16.31
Lots of SSD disk space and 16GB Ram
Same problem here.
(MacBook Pro 15″ Mid 2015, MacOS 10.15 (19A602), Word for Mac 16.30).
Did you find a solution?
Obviously Word for Mac 16.30 has some issues cooperating with MacOS Catalina (see https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/word-is-sluggish-after-switching-mac-os-x-to/261721c9-07d8-4857-a347-b1ae195f41d5)
Easyest solution so far: Revert to Word for Mac 16.29.1; i.e. rename your existing Word installation or trash it, then download 16.29.1 from https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/officeupdates/update-history-office-for-mac and install.
That sounds convenient…
I have the same problem and have been through several hours with the Microsoft Support helpline. We completely reinstalled MS Office and tinkered with some other settings, with no resolution. The problem does not appear in safe mode.
Speaking to Apple their only advice was very generic – reset the SMC (done, made no impact), reinstall MacOS (I will do this soon)
Is anyone else experiencing the following:
When I Shut down my mac, it reboots, showing a black screen telling me to either press any key on my keyboard or wait for an x amount secs. Then it reboots to the login screen, then I can turn my mac of. On the next startup, after login in, I get an error message stating that I turned my Mac of because of a problem, followed by a crash report. However, the problem was turning it of in the first place. has anyone encountered this? And how did you fix this, if you fixed it?
I have experienced the same issue. I had to boot to a USB drive and reinstall Catalina from there. I noticed that it started after applying the 10.15.1 update. I have not discovered a fix, but the reinstall from boot USB did not delete any data, and it set my system back to the pre 10.15.1 update state.
Be safe and try Catalina on an APFS volume created with Disk Utility before installing over Mojave. I did, hated it, and just deleted the volume. No sweat, no problems.
Catalina has decided not to let me print to a Dell printer due to the software being downloaded from an unauthorised site (i.e. dell.com). The print job is interrupted before being sent to the printer, and only option it offers is to delete the specific driver application, which it then cannot do because the file is (obviously) in use.
This seems pretty poor, as there is not the usual security override (via the Control Panel) and the print application appears to be 64-bit compatible. Looks like this was not properly tested prior to release
Mac Mini 2012: No Audio thru HDMI. Workaround PRAM reset after every ca. 3 sleep cycle. Thanks Apple for adding this bull** “feature”. Already resolution was screwed (underscan setting needed to redo after each sleep cycle) after sleep
cycle in previous MacOS release and now this…
How can I downgrade to OSX Sierra? Seems Apple sacked their quality department…
Reboot the Mac into Recovery Mode
Restore from Time Machine backup of Sierra
Then ignore Catalina, I will skip it entirely it is too buggy by the reports. From this website, to Apple forums, to MR forums, to other blogs, here’s another one that keeps track of problems.
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2019/10/15/catalina-system-issues/#catalina-system-issues-update-2019-10-18
It’s just a big mess, for what advantage? I can’t take that kind of risk, my computer must work for me to work!
Lost many albums, picture comments and photos in the ”Photos” app after downloading Catalina. All my hours of picture organization and chronology are gone. Not to mention photos also.
I have experienced several oddities: my usb extended apple keyboard on restart after install and after mini updates restart wouldn’t work, I had to use a bluetooth keyboard I had lurking about, then after a little while removing the usb, looking at the system keyboard input tab, looking at system profile usb and repeating that a dozen times, it suddenly decides it will work.
I’ve also had some files disappear, which threw me, but luckily I had time machine, though I had to recover to a different location and then copy it back to the relevant folder. Recovering to the folder itself didn’t appear to do anything.
I also had the screen go haywire but restarting it seemed to help, I think it either had something to do with the Adobe Stock Library or the object styles menus in Adobe InDesign CC. Restarting fixed it.
It seems a little shaky at times but to be fair it is a big re-write. Though some of the bugs have me shaken.
Loaded Catalina to my iMac , ran great for about five days, then I started having issues with music(wouldn’t close) then screensaver would not stay on my selection, now when I close any browser I have to try “force quit “all hanging applications (music, Firefox, Opera, photos ). Can’t shut down even after 60 seconds countdown.
Catalina ‘Voice Control’
This is quite important for me. It is CLAIMED that no voice data is sent to Apple, all being stored locally … OK where is it stored locally, how can I delete this ‘locally stored’ data.
Anyone have a clue?
Thaanks
go to system prefs>apple id>icloud drive>options. depending on what voice app you used you can check/uncheck and it will show you where stored on computer.
worth a try.
I found this writeup by Mike a bit shocking. I have never needed to restore a backup when I had plenty of time. The need ALWAYS occurs at the worst possible moment, right? So while his article is brilliant and informative, as usual, I disagree with his conclusion that it is an acceptable trade off. I’m sure that must if the world’s back ups are on spinning hard drives and … well, read the article.
https://bombich.com/blog/2019/09/12/analysis-apfs-enumeration-performance-on-rotational-hard-drives
I’d suggest everyone spend some time studying the information on CCC’s developer’s website RE: APFS, FileVault, the conversion processes of both, snapshots, Time Machine and how it all affects your backups and clones, especially if you are on a newer T2 equipped Mac. It is very complicated and the potential pitfalls are numerous and perhaps, depending on your setup, more likely than not. I’d start reading with his information about High Sierra and work your way forward. He does a great job of explaining all of it and is a tried and proven resource as is OS X Daily. Many thanks to both!
Also, I found his article about Catalina and how it destroys the read/write speeds of spinning external hard drives, by forcing their conversion from HFS+ to APFS, to be stunning. I’m sure that most backup hard drives in use today are still the cheaper spinning HDDs. If that is your case, don’t “upgrade” to Catalina. My advice, not his.
http://www.bombich.com
This is a great point. CCC is a FANTASTIC backup application from a great developer and I would definitely take his article concerns and advice into consideration. Here is the article on standard rotational hard disks performance issues:
https://bombich.com/blog/2019/09/12/analysis-apfs-enumeration-performance-on-rotational-hard-drives
I am staying away from macOS Catalina for the foreseeable future. It breaks more than it adds for me personally.
I cannot get any of my photo titles to show up. I have clicked and unclicked “View – Metadata – Titles”, I have quit and restarted, I have unchecked Photos from iCloud and reinstalled them. Nothing works.
The same is true on my laptop, so it’s not specific to one computer. I need to see the titles of my photos. Please help!
I upgraded both my Mac to Catalina and my iPhone 8 to 13.1.2. Somehow, a couple of my photos in each of my photo albums have gotten out of order! Also, if I arrange photos on the Mac app, it jumbles the photos on the iPhone, and vice versa. What the heck? Please tell me there is a fix!
When it’s finished you’ll have 2 volumes, one named (for example) “MacintoshHD” and then “MacintoshHD – Data”. And neither one seems to be the entire contents of the volume.
“According to some macOS developer geeks, it is because Apple didn’t yet update the storage tab in “About this Mac” to recognize the new file system layout in macOS Catalina.”
https://iboysoft.com/mac-data-recovery/macos-catalina-problems-and-fixes.html
“Similar to how iOS is configured, macOS is now on a separate partition from user data, which acts as if it is read-only (but in beta 1, it’s merely SIP-protected). In the beta, you’ll see “Macintosh HD” and “Macintosh HD — Data”. Data is a separate volume mounted in /System/Volumes. OS-installed applications live in /System/Applications, but the Finder presents them in /Applications as well. Apple calls the technology “firmlinking”. Beta 2 will be fully read-only by default.”
https://medium.com/@hammen/significant-changes-in-macos-10-15-catalina-of-interest-to-mac-admins-fbc3865c055e
I DON’T CARE. IT’S SUPER-ANNOYING EITHER WAY.
If I had wanted 2 damn volumes I would have partitioned it that way! So now I have to 1) either wait until Apple fixes this, or 2) no longer update.
Installed Catalina but it won’t start. It continues till the end of the progress bar and then it remains there for eternity. No boot!
I had the same happen with Mojave. Complete the progress bar and stay there for eternity, no boot.
Luckily I had this experience already, so I had an extra partition running High Sierra to fall back to.
Ans after reading all these problems you guys encounter here, I even wonder if I SHOULD upgrade.
And I also wonder if this would happen if Steve was still around.
Good luck guys. I’m sticking with High Sierra for now.
No, there is little reason to install MacOS Catalina.
There’s a saying in Texas, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”
“I also wonder if this would happen if Steve was still around.”
OS X 10.5 and OS X 10.7 were both released under Steve, and were widely reported to have lots of issues.
A clean install (after a backup) may well do the trick for you.
Greetings! Here’s the only thing I’ve noticed (so far) where Catalina seems to hate me. ;-) In Photos (version 5.0 (101.15.190)) 2/3rds of the time I try and write a description into the Info Description field it will delete the description and replace whatever I’ve typed with “Looking for descriptions…” which I can then select and type and it’ll usually delete that again. Weird.
MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017), 10.15 (19A583), 2.9 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, 16/1000, with German keyboard (in case that might matter).
I have this problem too. MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015), 2.9 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5. Catalina 10.15 (19A603), Photos 5.0 (101.15.190). I use photo descriptions a LOT so this is really annoying.
Install the latest MacOS Catalina software update to be able to add descriptions to Photos again
Go to Software Update in System Preferences to find it
My clock has been lagging several seconds behind since I downloaded Catalina, and it’s falling more and more behind each time I check.
I have the date and time set automatically (Apple Americas/U.S. (time.apple.com)), as well as the time zone.
Here’s my list; install froze 2 days; day 3 all username/passwords deleted; day 4all desktop content/Documents/ apps, everything/ deleted off desktop; keeps asking for ‘old’ mac password; unstable as can be, everything keeps crashing; still do not know where all my data went; all functions suer slow, I see the win wheel more than I se anything else; ‘add password’ function doesn’t work, that started day 6; password preferences logs out after about 20 seconds; anti-virus fighting with some other function, works but never ending updating now,,,, and thats just as of day 8, Apple is baffled (surprised?). I’m going to drive 2 hours this week to take this paperweight into the Apple Store, DO NOT install this software until they have the bugs out (Mac mini, 2012/ 1TB drive, 1600 RAM) Summary, Dont Install this until they get the bugs out!!!!!!
After I installed OSX Catalina, my iMovie is not able to access Photos. Does anybody have the same problem? Anybody knows how to fix it? Many of my other applications were broken, too. I am really frustrated. Any help will be appreciated.
after upgrading to Catalina my imovie drop down menus dont work – screen just turns purple with wierd geometric design – same with some other apps too – can’t even shut down via top left hand corner apple button – can’t get the drop down menu here either. I’ve tried deleting imovie and installing it again but that doesnt solve the problem – yesterday I could manage the preparation of my movies – now with catalina I can’t do anything – what a mess
Me too!!! I am so frustrated. Someone said that maybe the installation of Catalina wasn’t completed correctly due to an internet issue but I don’t know how to reinstall it or if that would even fix the problem. I have an iMac late 2013 model. Let me know if you get this resolved!
Hi. I also have this same error with dropdown menus in iMovie since updating. Very frustrating!
Bei mir das gleiche Problem. Wollte ein mp4 mit iMovie öffnen, fängt der Bildschirm an zu spinnen. Kontexmenues zeigen nur noch Rahmen ohne Inhalt und komische lila Artefakte zieren den Bildschirm oder Teile davon. WTF.
This may be helpful for someone who has been unable to connect to a network drive using SMB. I found a very simple solution.
I have a local network that includes a Mac mini server with an attached USB drive, and after upgrading to MacOS Catalina I was unable to mount the drive from any computer on the network.
I found many posts on various forums that reported the problem but none of the suggested “solutions” solved the problem for me. (And on one forum I was even chastised for reporting the ineffectiveness of two suggested solutions.)
Here’s how I solved the problem:
On the Mac mini server I displayed the Info window for the attached USB drive and selected “Shared folder”.
Now I’m able to access the drive from my other computers in the network.
Actually having the “Mac Running MacOS Catalina Randomly Crashes & Restarts” issue. Hope it will be solved with some update.
Also, Music keeps on having an activity going on “load illustration”, that I don’t understand. I have noted that a new folder “Music” has been created, similar to the old “iTunes”, but iTunes keeps on existing with the library files. Hope they can cohexist.
the download of “Catalina” took 3 days and the mail function didn’t work for another day. Currently having problems accessing my music files – previously on “iTunes”
I am getting a message – “accessing music files may take a few minutes” Fair enough I thought – that was 36 hours ago…I have 3 Apple computers and I am not sure given this experience that I will move the other two over to “Catalina”
So let me see – I couldn’t use my MacBook Pro for three days – I had tow other machinist use for my business so in the grand scheme of things it is not a huge problem for me – but what about people or businesses relying on “one machine?” In effect they are out of action for several days….
My Acer KG241Q monitor could not detect signal from my Mac Mini 2018 using HDMI to HDMI, or USBC to HDMI or USBC to DP ports after upgrading to MacOS Catalina a few days back. It worked fine only once, but when rebooted, it went blank all the way, even after forced shutdown a number of times. It was working superfine under MacOS Mojave. I don’t have access to monitors/displays anymore, and hence can’t even troubleshoot.
Same problem with Samsung 4K monitor. Some solution available?
Same issue here. Tried every suggested solution on the internet. Can’t seem to find a solution.
I had similar problems with my 2018 Mac mini connected to an LG 4K display, and zapping the PRAM (holding down Command+Option+P+R at startup a couple of times) seemed to resolve it.
Catalina S U C K S.
I’ve lost my 3 favorite programs, plus numerous others, due to the elimination of 32bit support. I mean how much would have hurt to continue to support it? Ridiculous.
So, I figured I’d open TIME MACHINE, and go back to the day before CRAPOLINA, and use MOJAVE again, (which incidentally I loved.) Well, CRAPOLINA completely wiped out my Time Machine backups, prior to the Crapolina installation. I’m really beside myself angry that Apple would put put out such a huge piece a S H * T as this.
Totally unacceptable.
This is not the fault of Catalina, this is more with the developers of the apps that are not available as 64-bit.
no, this Catalina upgrade is a debacle… rendered the Photos app unusable on my Macbook Air
I have the same problem. Any solution?
since microsoft office isn’t working, now, it tells me to go to app store to get 365. BUT, not accepting my Apple ID password. when i try to change password, it tells me to use my unlocking mac password … which it doesn’t accept.
its a circular problem. help!!
Apple TV App in my 2015 MBP now reports that my screen isn’t HDCP compliant can’t see the video to any purchased movies or tv although I still have sound. I feel a roll back coming on. 😡
Had the same iTunes HDCP error problem. I followed the instructions here and everything went back to normal: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8448615?answerId=33791006022#33791006022
Preview does not allow searching anymore. it will populate on the sidebar with the pages the phrases I am searching are found on, however, it wont actually show them on the page or allow me to find the “next” instance of it.
Also continually getting warnings to accept user terms and agreement, and I have…. about 50 times. still shows up as needing to do it. Literally every time the screen wakes up.
This is actually really annoying. I am encountering the same issue and need this feature to return.
I have the same issue! It’s terrible!
Same. This feature is essential to me and too many of my colleagues. We need it BACK!
Omg I have the same issue and need to get an essay done by Sunday. Apple has to fix that ASAP!
I have the same issue. It is really annoying and terrible because my job required to use this function a lot for research. We seriously need it BACK!
I believe it is in fact a bug, because sometimes it works but only for a little time. It really needs to be solved
Let’s submit feedback directly to Apple https://www.apple.com/feedback/macos.html
Tried the normal update – got an error message that the update could not be completed because there was an error removing the old (Mojave) operating system. Tried it several times with no success. Created a bootable disk on a flash drive and tried to install from that but got the same message. Decided the only solution was too format the main drive (startup disk) – deep breath – knowing I had a Time Machine backup.
That worked – Catalina then installed OK and I restored from the Time Machine back–up. As far as I can see everything is working (minor issue with Mail telling me there was not enough room in my home folder when I had over 100Gb free!). That seems to have resolved now.
Major issue for me is that I cannot run Final Cur Pro X. The program quits every time I try to load it. I’m hing the 10.15.1 update will sort that!
Since I updated to Mac OS Catalina, I have had some issues.
When I type on the keyboard it repeats 3 or 4 characters (which is a drag when put passwords because it always goes wrong. Example: When I try to write Catalina appears “catlinaina” or “catactalina” or when I try to type Quando appears “Quanuado” or when I try to type more appears “More ore” or when I type the word try appears “try tr”.
I called apple support and they tried to fix it through the “smc” and “pram”. Not only was it not solved, but it added one more problem: The Delete key no longer quickly erases a few words when I press and hold but it does character by character (about one per second) and so do the arrows keys.
The battery is also going really fast but I’ve seen a lot of people complain about it.
Some help please?
I’m having the same problem, Jane. It’s not just you. So far, no fix found.
Same here. No fix so far :(
I did the update but still did not solve… Do you have all the issues? It’s just that there are times of the day that happen more often than others. I don’t know what is suppose to do to fix this mess…
I have the same problem. Add to it that my Apple Magic Keyboard is not ‘identified’ by my iMac and my Time Machine will not back up.
Me too. Typing anything is an issue. It seems to randomly insert previously typed characters. Passwords are a mess.
I hope they fix this soon. Or else it’s back to Linux for me.
Same issue here. Thought perhaps it was mainly an issue using an external keyboard, but it’s happening directly on my MacBook Pro as well (not not the same issue as the keyboard keys occasionally not registering that has afflicted the keys before). Definitely some kind of software issue.
I have the same issue, But for mac pro user I have some information,please go through it:
https://support.apple.com/keyboard-service-program-for-mac-notebooks
I am using Mac mini but above article is not helpful in my case. Please share info regarding mac mini Desktop.
I installed it on a test machine, saw it was rubbish and wiped it
My Catalina Installation stuck at ”IOHDIXcontroller: note: administrator is creating non-ejectable disk”
I know many users have waited hours for installation to complete… mine is there for 4/5 hours.
Any ideas please.
Thanks
All went well until I tried to remove some of the desktop pictures. Minor point, I know but…
I get a message that says the macOS needs these.
Any ideas?
Since the upgrade the screen resolution is off and I can only see half my screen so I can answer the questions on the other half… anybody got any insights?
Catalina inhibits and causes backups to an external hard drive to take an extreme amount of time and fail. With High Sierra and Mohave, it took approximately 10 minutes to backup my iMac [including encryption]. With Catalina, time machine indicated 10 hours [later reduced to 6 hours] but, the system kept stalling at 4 hours and would not complete the backup.
I gave up and just did a backup of critical files to a memory stick. I have older backups and am considering undertaking the task of converting my system back to Mohave as this system is slow, cumbersome and not worth the trouble.
Time machine is a dog. Use carbon copy cloner and switch back to Mojave
Well,,,, So far, it froze during installation, 2 days to get it unstuck,,,, next day, my entire username passwords files erased themselves,,,,,today, the desktop completely wiped itself off of any icons or data, except for my background photo,,, lovely upgrade Catalina is,,,,,not!
I upgraded and the installation went OK on a late 2016 MBP, my issue is with Adobe Bridge which will not show the contents of my Desktop, Download or Document folders, in the file structure on the left of Bridge these folders have a downward pointing arrow on them and if the folder is clicked in the normal way a message is shown saying no items to display but they are there when using Finder. I contacted Adobe support and they said they are aware of the issues with Catalina and they are working on a fix.
Since using Catalina, I cannot use Draftkings Sportsbook on my MacBook. I informed Draftkings but they did not know how to resolve, just to make sure my intranet cable (what??, never mind, thanks)
Anyone else encounter this or at least have a reason why it does not “locate me” properly? Maps and other apps know where I am so not sure the issue.
Thanks
I had the same issue with draftkings sportsbook site. I ended up going back to the previous iOS until the bugs are all worked out. Are you still having the issues? I saw their was a iOS update but didnt want to try it yet.
We currently have a 66% roll back rate on this botched up install.
Not only have we seen all of the above issues but drive I/O access issues after. Many SSD drives don’t report well with encryption. So lots of boot faults and hangs under APFS.
My 2015 MacBook Air has been rendered useless after attempting to install Catalina. I was on my iPhone with Customer Support for almost 3 hours and the situation only became worse. Now, I have no working MacBook Air and Apple will not rectify it after their damned OS decimated my hard drive. Do not, under any circumstances, install Catalina.
the same happens to me
Since upgrading to catalina, I’m not getting icon previews for music files – in particular .aiff and .m4a apple losseless. These files display on desktop and in finder with blank icons. (some mp3 icons do appear though.)
is this a bug or am I missing something?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated
I have the same problem…
I have the same problem… but no fix yet
Same here too than sometimes it works other times not, now I can not save anything to desktop.
Louis
Since installing Catalina, apple music does not work properly. If I play a recommended album, the playback stops after each track and therefore I have to manually select play for each track.
Also sometimes apple’s playlists play ok, others, times only a few of the tracks are played before playback stops.
I didn’t have any of those problems with the previous version of the operating system using the iTunes app.
Well I’m glad (sort of) that at least one other person is having this problem. It’s most annoying, but doesn’t appear to be common, based on a search. Have you found a fix, by any chance?
Two-user MBP; secondary administrator. Catalina kept asking for my Apple ID repeatedly—entered it, asked for my log in pw, entered it and it recycled; waited a day; logged out, restarted, had it asked for again, entered it and log in pw, but this time I waited a little longer; after 5-10 seconds, I got a request for a passcode for one of my other devices. After that, the prompts and the warning triangle went away. Done!
Please How do you now reset the network settings ie delete network prefs in Catalina, as I can’t locate system configuration folder. It is not viewable or searchable so I can’t access network prefs to delete or move out of the folder.
Cheers
You can’t maunually edit system folders at all…The system files are on a disk that is read-only now. You can get to System Preferences for the APPLE menu though.
Great Article. After installing Catolina on IMac I have three yellow triangles
Confirm mac password
Update Apple ID settings
Update Apple ID settings (yes 2 the same)
After trying to add password message reads can’t connect to server or my password is wrong when I know it’s correct.
Any ideas on a remedy
How many others have similier issues?
Cheers Simon
You should call (800) MY–APPLE (800–692–7753) which is Apple’s official tech support phone line and make them walk you through the resolution to your problem.
Everyone else is just guessing, or trying things on their own, hoping this or that will work, and maybe it does. But this is Apple’s mess and we are just working through it as fellow users.
Apple created the mess with Catalina, broke a lot of stuff, so call them and let’s hear their explanation on how to fix it. I would like to know what they say, though their call center employees probably don’t know yet either.
I have seen other people say the Apple ID password is being rejected despite being accurate, that is a common issue and obviously a problem with Mac Catalina.
APPLE won’t give you free tech support via the telephone UNLESS you still have time left in your tech support window…the first 90 days.
I had the same problem with System Preference Apple ID function not recognizing my Apple iCloud ID. My issue was resolved by deleting my NordVPN program which I was using to watch blacked out college sports in my area. Even tho it was turned off or so I thought, it was interfering with my internet connection to the Apple ID Server. Once I deleted the VPN and restarted my Mac, the issue resolved itself on startup like magic!
Upgraded to Catalina now the Extensions off the Edit mode of Photos does not allow the changes to be saved. Get error message that states: Unable to Save Changes for “Luminar 3”. Ab error occurred while saving. Please try again later.
Same problem here, I hope either Apple or Luminar can fix this, as it makes the otherwise brilliant Luminar plugin useless.
Everything went smoothly for me. Does anyone else have a minor problem in finder? When I open my download folder the last download is always above the interface. I always have to scroll up to see the last download.
My MacBook Pro, which is compatible with macOS Catalina, won’t even upgrade to 10.5 because the download always seems to fail once I’ve gotten past a certain threshold. In my case, it’s after I pass 5 gigabytes out of the 8 gigabytes you need to download. From there, then estimated time remaining jumps to 12 hours to 3 days. Then it just fails and I have to start from scratch. This has been a persistent issue for the past two days. Is it because of congested network traffic on the part of Apple since so many people are downloading this? Is it my internet connection? I don’t think it is because I can stream HD without buffering issues. I have it downloading again and hope that it won’t fail with another error.
Since I updated my Mac with Os Catalina, the screen is stuck with Screen Time. I can’t access any application, nothing!
Anyone could help?
Is there a list of applications, like 32 bit ones, people have encountered ?
a list of those not upgradable?
This would be hugely helpful if a user requires an application that is unavailable!
Noticed my disk space percentage was radically reduced… decimated, actually. Went from 81% to 8%. There are 32GB of space eaten up by “Other” with no idea what that “Other” is. Any ideas?
Sit for days if it takes that long. Are you right out of your mind? Wait for days for an install? Not very likely.
Lost the entire Time Machine backup history (about 3 years of backups) after upgrading to Catalina. Only the backups made with Catalina are shown when opening Time Machine.
I have the sam issue on 3 different machines 2 iMac’s and a Macbook Air. Spent almost 2 hours with Mac support, tried to tell me I needed to format my time capsule to APFS, which can’t be done
Ditto, I have the same issue. I cannot access pre-upgrade backups, even though time machine says they’re there (1.3/2.0 TB of the disk are in use).
This happened to me as well, I lost all Time Machine backups. This is totally unacceptable. Please consider this before upgrading to Catalina.
I wish I would have found this before doing my upgrade. I have the same problem and found out after noticing that some of my m music collection went missing. What is worse, I have Apple Music Match which the songs were uploaded to.
Music and TV apps will update album and DVD covers over time. Just leave the apps open. I hope they’re not being grabbed off the net. All my albums, TV shows and movies had art already attached to file in iTunes.
Also the remote app on your iPhone or iPad doesn’t work with Music. Which sucks. Hopefully Apple will update or fix the app.
I have upgraded to Catalina but iPhoto has disapeared along with all my photos. Photos is ticked ini cloud but nothing has come back?
Can’t use playlists in Music.
My personal equalizer preset function drops after each song but still indicates ‘on’ and must be reactivated.
Most annoying.
I must control myself and not update first day…
Same here, hoping to find a fix. Other equalizer apps like Boom not as effective yet.
No, you’re not missing anything. The view you are looking for, doesn’t exist anymore :-(
And the album artwork problem is a general one: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250711429?page=3
Catalina isn’t a great update for music, because Music is a dork… ;-)
I had the memory leak issue. I force quit Music, but it still said my system was out of memory. I rebooted my iMac.
After the reboot, I logged in and started Activity Monitor and Apple Music app. The status bar says loading artwork. I let it climb to 11GB and quit Music.
Someone said that deleting the artwork folder fixed it for them. They didn’t lose art work embedded in the albums.
I think that I’ll try that.
Since upgrading to Catlina, Word crashes immediately upon opening. I know this is not isolated to me, others are reporting it too. I spent 2 hours on a chat “hold” with Microsoft with no resolution. That was after 2 help sessions with Apple, thinking it was a Catalina issue.
I’m able to use Word, but I can’t save a document in Word format. When I try to save a document, the document title bar changes from Document1 to the file name I’ve chosen, but after a few seconds, it changes back to Document1. I was able to “print” it as a PDF file, so I have a copy of it, but if I want to open the document again, I’m hosed.
Hi, did you ever find a fix for this. Word is pretty much unusable at the moment and for a technical editor that’s a problem. Any document I open hangs or screen goes red or its just unbearably slow. Only way round I have found is to close the document and reopen.
I just updated to OSX Catalina and I lost (or not yet found) the way to show the Album Artwork (on the left side) when I select “Songs”. This is very annoying as the list with the Album cover was more “view” friendly than the actual “text” list. Have I missing something? Anyone else?
Thanks for shed some light.
Regards, Fulvio, Switzerland