Paste Function Frozen

[RideForever]

Product - iMac running macOSCatalina, v10.15.7
Using either Magic Mouse (with AA batteries) or Magic Mouse 2 (or whatever it is called - rechargeable), if I copy anything from any source (a web page, an Adobe document, a MS Word document etc) and try to paste to a Word document, the end result is a paste from a couple of days ago. I have tried Restart and Shut Down without success. MS Word is accessed using Parallels.
Any suggestions would be most welcome.

 

[DaveWT]

If it is pasting something from a couple of days ago, then the copy function isn't working. But after a shut down and restart the clipboard should be empty so I wouldn't expect you would still get content from a couple of days ago. Can you double click on a word here (it should highlight it) then do Command-C to copy it, followed by setting your cursor somewhere else and using Command V to see if what you highlighted gets pasted correctly? I trust the C and V keys work properly when typing normally? Does the Command key work properly (try Command P to bring up a printer dialog (which you can then cancel) when in one of your documents.

 

[RideForever]

Thanks Dave - have tried all the suggestions and then some.
Command C/V in Word itself works, as does in Excel, as does in Google Sheets and going from a newspaper article to Pages.
Command C/V does not work: trying to copy, say a (a) png or jpeg files created from a screen shot to either Word or Excel; or (b) text from online newspaper (G&M - NYT - NP, etc) to either Word or Excel.

This has not been a forever phenomenon as I have been doing this for years.

 

[chas_m]

I doubt this has anything to do with it, but you're quite a few versions behind. It might be worth (after making a backup), upgrading to the latest macOS version, which will likely "solve" that issue in the course of updating the system.

 

[RideForever]

I doubt this has anything to do with it, but you're quite a few versions behind. It might be worth (after making a backup), upgrading to the latest macOS version, which will likely "solve" that issue in the course of updating the system.

I would like to upgrade but my iMac, purchased in 2015, turned out to be a late 2013 build (thank you now defunct Byte Computers) and when I tried to upgrade to either Big Sur or Monterey, a popup said it was not possible. https://www.macworld.co.uk/feature/what-version-macos-compatible-3776008/ was one source that confirmed that and I also found the same information on the Apple website. Is there in fact a physical change that can be made (graphics card for example) that would accommodate an upgrade or is it just not possible? A year or so back, the installed HD was switched out for a 1TB SSD by AR.

 

[chas_m]

Yes, Catalina is the last stop for that machine, I’m afraid.

Given that it will stop receiving security updates later this year, I would say it is time to think seriously about replacing it.

 

[RideForever]

Yes, Catalina is the last stop for that machine, I’m afraid.

Given that it will stop receiving security updates later this year, I would say it is time to think seriously about replacing it.

Wow !!

Is the cessation of security updates related to Catalina no longer being supported or the fact that the machine is a 2013 build?

Why would an order in 2015 be completed with a two year prior architecture? If I was to get a new one now, how do I know that it would not happen again vs getting current architecture?

 

[chas_m]

Apple ceases regular "features/fixes/security" type updates after the third new OS version, and they release new OS versions every year now, so that's three years. If a security problem is severe enough, they often bring out an update for a no-longer-routinely updated but fairly recent system versions.

Apple drops support for older hardware as well, though this typically goes back far longer than three years; typically about six-to-nine years, and occasionally longer. As I often say, the day your Mac cannot update to the latest version of macOS starts a three-year clock in which you should update the hardware to something newer (doesn't have to be brand new, but more recent) in order to prevent becoming vulnerable online.

Your late 2013 is nine years old AND Catalina is the last supported OS version for it, so you're experiencing the double whammy. Time for a new(er) machine.

As for Byte, they routinely sold older machines based on what customers wanted (and could afford). There's nothing at all unusual about this; EB Computers in Fairfield specialises in older Macs as well. Premium dealers like London Drugs and Best Buy and Staples don't do this, but most smaller/independent computer dealers do. It's a very common practice, and while they probably should have let you know that it was an older model at the time you bought it, you still got seven years of service from it; I don't think it owes you anything at this point, you definitely got what you paid for it out of it.

As for buying new: nothing in this world is guaranteed, but particularly with the Apple-made chips Apple is now using, I suspect they plan to stand behind them at least as well as they have previously stood behind the Intel chips. If you buy a new Apple computer and you want the maximum lifespan from it, that's simple: buy the latest model, and buy AppleCare+ to go with it. The AppleCare+ warranty can be extended beyond the three-year mark (though the procedure is a little complicated; see here for details) as of last year if you're buying the latest model from an Apple-authorised dealer (again, such as Best Buy, Staples, London Drugs, and possibly Costco).

 

[RideForever]

Apple ceases regular "features/fixes/security" type updates after the third new OS version, and they release new OS versions every year now, so that's three years. If a security problem is severe enough, they often bring out an update for a no-longer-routinely updated but fairly recent system versions.

Apple drops support for older hardware as well, though this typically goes back far longer than three years; typically about six-to-nine years, and occasionally longer. As I often say, the day your Mac cannot update to the latest version of macOS starts a three-year clock in which you should update the hardware to something newer (doesn't have to be brand new, but more recent) in order to prevent becoming vulnerable online.

Your late 2013 is nine years old AND Catalina is the last supported OS version for it, so you're experiencing the double whammy. Time for a new(er) machine.

As for Byte, they routinely sold older machines based on what customers wanted (and could afford). There's nothing at all unusual about this; EB Computers in Fairfield specialises in older Macs as well. Premium dealers like London Drugs and Best Buy and Staples don't do this, but most smaller/independent computer dealers do. It's a very common practice, and while they probably should have let you know that it was an older model at the time you bought it, you still got seven years of service from it; I don't think it owes you anything at this point, you definitely got what you paid for it out of it.

As for buying new: nothing in this world is guaranteed, but particularly with the Apple-made chips Apple is now using, I suspect they plan to stand behind them at least as well as they have previously stood behind the Intel chips. If you buy a new Apple computer and you want the maximum lifespan from it, that's simple: buy the latest model, and buy AppleCare+ to go with it. The AppleCare+ warranty can be extended beyond the three-year mark (though the procedure is a little complicated; see here for details) as of last year if you're buying the latest model from an Apple-authorised dealer (again, such as Best Buy, Staples, London Drugs, and possibly Costco).

Thank you Charles for that insightful and fulsome reply. And yes, Byte should have informed me of its business practices as it certainly charged the going rate for a brand new what I saw as marketed as an up-to-date machine on the Apple website. Live and learn the hard way.

 

[DaveWT]

Of course some Macs didn't always get updated every year, so a Mac could have been two years old and still be the "new model". But I don't believe that applied to the iMac.

 

[chas_m]

Of course some Macs didn't always get updated every year, so a Mac could have been two years old and still be the "new model". But I don't believe that applied to the iMac.

You're correct -- the late 2013 model was superceded by a mid-2014 update, and then the Retina iMacs debuted in late 2014 or early 2015 IIRC.