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Since security update 2020-002, I'm having lots of trouble with a macbook pro early 2015 running high sierra

The computer freezes all the time

From what i read, this update causes problems when the graphics are solicited a little more than standard which is my case as I have 24" external monitor always plugged to the computer (hdmi) and i use software such as illustrator and indesign on a daily basis

Is there any way to revert/cancel updates on mac os ?

If it is not possible, my only option would be to get Catalina.
In case something goes wrong with Catalina, i would like to know how to get installers for Mojave and/or High Sierra (i don't 'purchase' mac os versions so i don't have them on my App Store purchased tab)
Is there a direct link to the dmg install files ?

Thanks

NSTK
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  • Which version of High Sierra are you running? – dan May 25 '20 at 14:04
  • The latest one. Security update 2020-002 is the latest on High Sierra anyway. As i told @Allan , i had no choice but to move to Catalina. The computer isn't freezing anymore but performance isn't as good as on High Sierra. Interesting read on Catalina's performance issues : https://sigpipe.macromates.com/2020/macos-catalina-slow-by-design/ – NSTK May 25 '20 at 14:26
  • Security update 2020-002 isn't a MacOS version. I think yours was 10.13.6. Then you could try my latest answer. I tested it with success on a much older Mac :). – dan May 25 '20 at 14:30
  • High Sierra is the macOS version i was running. Within High Sierra, the freezing problem appeard after i installed an update they released on March 2020, called 'Security update 2020-002'. Since i have been able to install it, i assume i was running the latest release of High Sierra 10.13.6, otherwise i wouldn't have been able to install it. I will try what you recommended when i have some free time. Thank you – NSTK May 25 '20 at 16:33
  • Security Update 2020-003 has just been released: https://support.apple.com/kb/DL2042 – lhf May 28 '20 at 00:19
  • @lhf: do you know if it is fixing this bug? – dan May 31 '20 at 09:12
  • @dan,I don't, but it's worth trying. – lhf May 31 '20 at 11:17
  • @lhf: taking into account how hard and time consuming is a system rollback on MacOS, I stopped testing their patches a long time ago. I don't ltrust this kind of upgrade without information. The lack of information is always an advantage for the cyber-criminals. – dan May 31 '20 at 11:38

3 Answers3

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Rollback procedure

The only way I found to be able to fight bad OS updates, and to revert an OS update is the following procedure. It is a procedure to have in place before any update and at the same time it is a heavy and pretty good backup policy.

  1. Buy a dedicated disk for this backup and rollback policy, twice the capacity of the disk of the Mac you want to protect.

  2. Make a full bootable backup of your OS with Carbon Copy Cloner (you can try it for free to make your own opinion about the quality of this software).

  3. Once this backup is complete, test it by booting your Mac on it and check everything is OK (your vital applications at least).

  4. Reboot your Mac on its internal disk and make a log file to track which versions of your OS you backud up correctly. For example I use a basic text file I maintain with vi (and rcs):

    backup disk name        version of the OS saved        date of backup

  5. Make the update that App Store proposed you and check everything is OK (your vital applications at least).

  6. If this update is OK, just continue with it: end of the backup procedure.

    Else, make a rollback of your previous version saved on your backup disk with Carbon Copy Cloner.

Practical time spent on this procedure

  • one hour for backup CCC,
  • half an hour for checking the backup,
  • one hour for MacOS update,
  • 2 full days for testing the new MacOS version,

  • one hour for rollback CCC if the new MacOS is ill behaving,

    total: 2.5 days (essentially testing a fresh new MacOS version).

Practical time saved with this procedure

between 1 day and 3 years, depending on the time Apple will take to fix a misbehaving version of MacOS.

dan
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  • Thanks for the detailed and thorough answer. I use an external backup disk but not for the OS, only for files in general (work, photos etc..) i should try your procedure in the future. Thanks again. – NSTK May 23 '20 at 04:00
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    There’s no need to do this if using APFS. Just take a snapshot, if the update fails, roll it back to it’s working state. We’ve been doing snapshots like this with ZFS for over a decade now. It’s old hat. In fact, Windows 7, had the ability to roll back a failed update. – Allan May 25 '20 at 19:06
  • @Allan, you're right. My procedure is more than 10 years old and there a point I highly like in it: the fact that the backup is physically independant of the running OS and may be let offline. Offline of crapware and offline of not so perfect OSes :). – dan May 25 '20 at 20:43
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There's no way to roll back a system update once it's applied. The only way would be to restore from a Time Machine backup. There is a caveat, if you were using APFS file system, you could take snapshot prior to the update and if you had problems, roll them back to your known working state.

As for where to get installers, this question has been asked/answered several times here on Ask Different:

There's also a page on Apple Support, How to upgrade to macOS Catalina that describes in detail how to get older versions like Mojave, High Sierra, and even El Capitan (bottom of page).

Allan
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    Wouldn't a new install of original High Sierra followed by the sequence of all OS updates but the Security update 2020-002 provide the rollback searched? – dan May 21 '20 at 21:43
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    It may or may not. Apple may have rolled the update into the High Sierra download. You could try doing a clean install from recovery (off your internal drive.). That shouldn’t be “updated” with the security patch. However you move forward, make sure everything is backed up. – Allan May 22 '20 at 00:53
  • I did the update to catalina as i needed to get some work finished for this weekend which was impossible with the constant freezes on HighSierra. I can already say the computer felt faster and more reactive on HighSierra. As for getting older installers, i tried those links from some blog posts it doesn't work. The AppStore loads then on HighSierra nothing happens it just stays on the home page, now on Catalina, i get a message saying that i cannot to the App Store. I have been using macs for around 20 years. I don't think my next computer will be a Mac. Thanks a lot for taking time to reply – NSTK May 23 '20 at 04:16
  • @Allan: the Apple Support page is OK, but for High Sierra. I needed it and tested it. After redirecting to iTunes the file to download is not available. – dan May 31 '20 at 09:10
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Here is a tested procedure to roll back to High Sierra 10.13.6:

How do I download macOS High Sierra for offline install?

I used the Greg Neagle's Python script and was able:

  • to download an installer of High Sierra 10.13.6,
  • build from the downloaded installer an USB standalone installer on an iMac mid 2011,
  • and finally install it.

All in all: 2.5 hours + 8 GB on an USB key.

Recommandation: I advise to make this download + build + install on an external disk first, for example one containing a Carbon Copy Cloner clone of the actual running internal disk.

dan
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