DaveWT
Well-Known Member
If you have been doing your reading before upgrading your Mac to Catalina (macOS 10.15) you will have heard that this will spell the end of 32 bit apps. Apple has warned about this for years but finally is going through with this important step in going forward. But some of you may wonder "do I really still have any 32 bit apps?
The easiest way to do a quick check is to start from the Apple logo at the top left end of the menu bar. If you click on that, you can pull down to the first item that appears: "About This Mac".
That will produce a new window with all sorts of useful info about your Mac, including the serial number if you ever have to talk to Apple about an issue. But what you want here is the button: "System Report..."
That will produce a new window with an amazing amount of information about your Mac that could entertain you for hours.
But for these purposes you need to click on "Applications" under the "Software" heading (1), then pull down on the little dot separating the lower detail area from the upper list (2). Finally click on the "65 bit..." heading at upper left to see which applications are NOT 64 bit (i.e. they are still older 32 bit apps that won't work after you update to Catalina. (3)
You can see I have several that need attention here before I can update to Catalina. I have a drawing program called Intaglio that appears to be 64 bit (found lower in the list if I scrolled down with a "Yes" beside it. So this method suggests I am safe there.
But on the MacWorld podcast I heard of a very useful FREE utility called "Go64" from https://www.stclairsoft.com/Main/products.html I downloaded, installed it and ran it for a much more informative picture. A few moments after launching it, this app will do a scan and fill its window with the results:
I have highlighted my Intaglio drawing application for which it has shown a warning. Clicking on "More Info" at the bottom presents more details about a component that is still 32 bits and may or may not cause me grief. I can then click on "Go to Website" at the top to take me to the Intaglio developer's site to look for a newer version or perhaps contact the developer to learn if he plans to address this issue.
Some applications like my "Toast Titanium" will clearly not work under Catalina but can be easily remedied by paying for a newer version if I decide I want to keep it. My beloved EyeTV software is in a more perilous place at this time, with the developer claiming to be working on a 64 bit version but not clear (if it does ship) whether it will work on my old hardware.
Of much interest to me is how poorly Epson has handled its software for my expensive 1 year old Eco Tank printer. Some components will clearly fail, some are questionable and there are some that are safe (not shown here.) For those of you thinking of upgrading to Catalina, perhaps trying out "Go64" may be a valuable tool.
But in any case, whatever you do, "DON'T FORGET TO MAKE A BACKUP" before you attempt Catalina!
Dave Teece
The easiest way to do a quick check is to start from the Apple logo at the top left end of the menu bar. If you click on that, you can pull down to the first item that appears: "About This Mac".
That will produce a new window with all sorts of useful info about your Mac, including the serial number if you ever have to talk to Apple about an issue. But what you want here is the button: "System Report..."
That will produce a new window with an amazing amount of information about your Mac that could entertain you for hours.
But for these purposes you need to click on "Applications" under the "Software" heading (1), then pull down on the little dot separating the lower detail area from the upper list (2). Finally click on the "65 bit..." heading at upper left to see which applications are NOT 64 bit (i.e. they are still older 32 bit apps that won't work after you update to Catalina. (3)
You can see I have several that need attention here before I can update to Catalina. I have a drawing program called Intaglio that appears to be 64 bit (found lower in the list if I scrolled down with a "Yes" beside it. So this method suggests I am safe there.
But on the MacWorld podcast I heard of a very useful FREE utility called "Go64" from https://www.stclairsoft.com/Main/products.html I downloaded, installed it and ran it for a much more informative picture. A few moments after launching it, this app will do a scan and fill its window with the results:
I have highlighted my Intaglio drawing application for which it has shown a warning. Clicking on "More Info" at the bottom presents more details about a component that is still 32 bits and may or may not cause me grief. I can then click on "Go to Website" at the top to take me to the Intaglio developer's site to look for a newer version or perhaps contact the developer to learn if he plans to address this issue.
Some applications like my "Toast Titanium" will clearly not work under Catalina but can be easily remedied by paying for a newer version if I decide I want to keep it. My beloved EyeTV software is in a more perilous place at this time, with the developer claiming to be working on a 64 bit version but not clear (if it does ship) whether it will work on my old hardware.
Of much interest to me is how poorly Epson has handled its software for my expensive 1 year old Eco Tank printer. Some components will clearly fail, some are questionable and there are some that are safe (not shown here.) For those of you thinking of upgrading to Catalina, perhaps trying out "Go64" may be a valuable tool.
But in any case, whatever you do, "DON'T FORGET TO MAKE A BACKUP" before you attempt Catalina!
Dave Teece