Hi, this is Gary with MacMost.com.
Let's talk about how to run your old 32-bit apps once you update to Catalina.
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So if you still have some old 32-bit apps that you're running you've probably been getting
warnings for awhile now saying it's not going to work in a future update of MacOS.
That future update is Catalina which will be out in the Fall.
Once you update to Catalina 32-bit apps just will not work!
So, what do you do?
Well, there are several reasons people are still using 32-bit apps.
In most cases a new version of the app does exist.
So all you need to do is update.
Sometimes people are reluctant to update because of the cost.
It's going to cost you something extra to get the new version.
Sometimes it's because there are new features that maybe you don't want or you're just used
to the old version that you're using.
Other times you just don't want to take the time to learn all the changes in a new version.
But that's simply not an option now.
You're not going to be able to use a 32-bit app so you need to update.
If the update is available now you might as well get the update now, learn the new features,
pay the upgrade cost, and you're ready for when you update to Catalina.
In some cases there is no 64-bit version of the app.
The developer has abandoned the app.
There are not going to be any more updates.
It seems like this mostly effects games.
A game is developed.
It does well for awhile and then the developer decides not to keep updating it or has moved
on to new games.
In that case you're going to have a tough decision to make because you're just not going
to be able to run that game in the new version of MacOS.
Another type of app seems to be hardware support apps.
Either drivers or software that's connected with printers, scanners or special accessories.
This is a tough one.
I've got a scanner that falls into this category too.
After ten years I'm just not going to be able to use it with Catalina.
It's a shame that hardware developers don't want to update their software.
But in many cases years ago they moved onto new versions of the hardware.
New models.
They just can't keep supporting every model they ever made back in time.
So, what are the solutions.
The best solution is sometimes there's a free update.
Sometimes the software you've bought has a 64-bit version and you can get it for free.
It's just a matter of getting used to the new features.
In that case it seems pretty obvious what you need to do.
In other cases you have to pay for an update.
Now if you think the app is important enough to you, of course you need to pay for it.
If you don't think it's worth paying for an update then you may want to consider that
the app is not that important to you.
In that case you may want to look at moving on to a different app.
For instance, two examples that come up all the time are Microsoft Word and PhotoShop.
Now if you use Microsoft Word professionally or PhotoShop professionally it's a no brainer.
Just update to the latest version.
You probably already are using the latest version.
But if it's just for casual use then you really should consider alternatives.
There are great alternatives to the software.
For instance, your Mac comes with Pages.
Microsoft Word is a very professional word processor.
But if you're not willing to pay for an update to it then chances are you're not using it
professionally and Pages is a great alternative.
There are also tons of other apps including just using Goggle Docs for free.
Search the Mac App Store for word processor and a bunch of different ones come up.
PhotoShop has a bunch of competitors that are much cheaper.
Acorn, Pixelmator, Affinity Photo all can edit photos.
Chances are if you're not using PhotoShop professionally then any of those are going
to be a perfectly fine replacement.
It's just going to take a little time for you to learn the new tool.
Maybe set some time aside.
After all if you've been using an old version of Word or an old version of PhotoShop then
you're out of date already and it's time to modernize not only the app on your Mac but
your skills.
Another thing to consider is giving up the app entirely.
In the case of games it might be time to move on and play new games for recreation.
So if you really need to keep 32-bit apps around then a great alternative is to have
an older Mac around.
One that maybe isn't even capable of running Catalina.
Have those 32-bit apps installed on that and use that Mac for that purpose.
For instance you can connect an old Mac to a scanner with the software that's 32-bit
and use the scanner through that old Mac.
If there's an old game you can keep that old game on that Mac and boot that Mac up when
you want to play.
Now a lot of us already have old Macs because we buy a new Mac and the old Mac goes into
the closet.
Now you can use that Mac for these 32-bit apps.
If you've given away, resold, or recycled your old Macs and you just don't have anything
like that around you can consider buying a used Mac.
A used Mac shop may sell an older Mac for a few hundred bucks.
If you're using an old 32-bit app chances are it might run just fine on a ten or twelve
year old Mac which may not cost you that much.
You also may want to consider whether it's time for a new Mac right now because this
might be a good time to buy one leaving your old Mac running Mojave and having a new Mac
that's running Catalina.
How long you keep your Mac really depends on how you use your Macs.
Pros may replace their Mac every year or two whereas casual users may use their Mac for
ten years or more.
But if you think it's getting time for a new Mac then this might be a great opportunity
to make that break so you have an old one to run 32-bit apps and a new one to run Catalina
for your everyday use.
You can also partition your Mac's drive.
In one partition have Catalina installed and be using that for your everyday use and another
one have Mojave or something earlier installed.
You can boot to one partition or the other.
I don't like this idea because it takes a lot of hard drive space and it requires you
to reboot to use the 32-bit app.
It's also a very expert level thing taking a lot of time to set it up and to maintain
it.
You can also run MacOS on an external drive with most Macs.
So you can plug this drive in, boot to it, and have an older version of the OS on it.
But it tends to run very slow when on a drive like this especially if you've got an older
Mac without the latest, fastest USB or thunderbolt.
But it can be a good option if you've got an old app that you occasionally need to refer
to but you don't really need speed when doing it.
Another option is that it may be possible to use virtualization software like Parallels
to actually run an old version of MacOS in a virtual environment.
I've done this in the past but we're going to have to wait for Catalina to come out,
wait for the Parallels update for Catalina to come out to see if it's actually possible
to run, say, Mojave or High Sierra in parallels in a virtual machine inside of Catalina.
It's a very expert level thing to do but it is a possibility for some users especially
if you already own parallels.
The last possibility is my least favorite.
That's to stick with MacOS Mojave.
I hate this because I always believe in using the latest and greatest tools.
I feel that any advantage you get from using Catalina is going to far outweigh any benefits
you get from using some old abandoned 32-bit app.