There's life beyond Catalina for unsupported macs.

As one mac pro 5,1's owner I'm really happy to know that there is an easy way to install the last OSX in my mid 2010 mac. The video in the link bellow explains the whole process in a straight way even for ppl without any knowledge on computers, and the best thing, the patcher used to install Catalina will update every time apple releases a new OSX as far as it mantains compatibility with our processors. I'm still on High Sierra and was able to download Mojave although I can't install it yet until I upgrade my graphic card to another metal compatible GPU, so I kept the Mojave installer till I upgrade my GPU. Mojave doesn't exist anymore as download in the apple store as expected. If I want to download Catalina apple store detects the computer's age from wich I want to download it and tells me that my computer is unsopported so I can't even download it for backup purposes before Apple removes it from the store due to another OSX release. But, as explained in the video, you can bypas the computer validation and download it without problem (even for back up purpose ). Very hopeful for those who would like to extend the life of their old mac and get access to future Logic X updates .

http://dosdude1.com/catalina/

Edited February 14, 2020 by elcrepusculo2015

AMD/ATI Radeon HD 5xxx and 6xxx series graphics acceleration:

Currently, it is not possible to achieve full graphics acceleration under Catalina on any machines that use a Radeon HD 5xxx or 6xxx series GPU. So be aware if you are planing to upgrade your native GPU for another metal compatible graphic card.

I actually did a test install of dosdude's patcher on my 5,1. Works fine. I don't plan to upgrade my machine any time soon though, I took an inventory of all the stuff I have that still does not officially support Catalina or flat out won't run on Catalina due to being 32bit (not just plugins) and the list is quite long. Maybe the day will come when I do it, but it probably won't be this year or the next. FWIW. Mojave is working quite well for me!

Let's hope the next Logic's BIG update doesn't make it incompatible with Mojave. That's my only concern as I am happy with High Sierra too. Anyway it isn't bad idea to be able to download Catalina even if one doesn't plan to install it yet, before Apple removes it from the Store when they release a new OSX (maybe next year).

They don’t remove it from the store if you previously “bought” it, it will still be there in the store later for years to come. You don’t have a way to buy it though if you have a 5,1. The Dosdude Patcher provides a download link for it anyway, which will be available for years to come.

Do you mean Mojave is still in the Store? I downloaded it (bought it) months ago but I can't find it in the Apple Store currently.

Only Catalina is shown.

You can still get Mojave if you bought it in the past yes. For one thing, you can get it with DosDude's Mojave patcher which has a menu option to download it directly from Apple. In the past, Apple has continued to make older OSX versions (and apps) available for download even after they are no longer available to purchase if you already purchased it in the past. OF course Apple is always changing everything so who really knows. Point is, there are a variety of ways to obtain Mojave today and there will be lots of ways to obtain Catalina in the future, I don't see a need to download and keep a large catalina installer around until you really need it.

Try this by the way: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/macos-mojave/id1398502828?mt=12

When I click on that link, it opens right up for me to Mojave in the app store, with a button to "GET" it.

 

 

 

 

So yes, apple is still providing it. I believe it will jump to Catalina automatically if you never "purchased" mojave before. But hey they might be jumping everyone to catalina anyway now, I wouldn't put that past Apple...but DosDude's mojave patcher can definitely download it directly from Apple also if you need Mojave.

...under "catalina" the download seems to a no go...

You can only purchase and download Catalina if your Mac supports it. The Dosdude Patcher, however, can download it for you

The thing to realize about Apple is that the OS X installers are available but Apple just makes it very inconvenient to click the right buttons and get to it. They try to use their app store and so forth to funnel people to the latest release. But you can still find older OS X installers, directly from Apple if you look hard enough. As I said several times, you can use Dosdude’s Patcher, without actually patching anything, it has a menu item to download the relevant installer from Apple directly, bypassing the App Store. If you’re in catalina and you want to obtain the mojave installer, and presuming then App Store is funneling you away from mojave, then grab dosdude’s mojave Patcher. Find the download menu item and download the installer. Then quit the Patcher and run the installer.

 

Yes this is all rather confusing I agree you can complain to Apple about that but I don’t think they will care because they want it to be easy to be on catalina, and a PITA to lag behind. In any case you can obtain older versions of OS X anytime you want. It’s just not always straightforward from the App Store.

...the dosdude1 thing works a treat...been 4/5 month with mohave on a 2011mbp...no issues at all...hth.../s~

In the past, Apple has continued to make older OSX versions (and apps) available for download even after they are no longer available to purchase if you already purchased it in the past.

My purchases since I bought my mac, talking about OSX, have been : Sierra, High Sierra and Mojave. Should I include Snow Leopard, the OS that came installed with this Mac when I purchased it? I lost the OSX DVD shipped with it and to this day I couldn't find a way for Apple to provide me with a solution to recover it.

Edited February 14, 2020 by elcrepusculo2015

That's why I do prefer to download every OSX from apple store while they are officially available. They don't weigh too much.

you can just download Mojave directly from Apple if you like https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210190

Just realised this links to the same place that dewdman linked above, but I've personally used that exact link to get my copy of Mojave I'm using now

you can just download Mojave directly from Apple if you like https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210190

Thanks for the link TheRdungeon. As I said above I already downloaded a copy of Mojave installer from Apple store before they released Catalina. I'll give it a try when I upgrade my GPU. By now I'm very happy with High Sierra and Logic 10.4.8. The only reason I would install a newer OSX would be the release of a major Logic update incompatible with my current OSX.