Switch from iMAC (mid 2011) to CustoMac and upgrading to Catalina

[mivanovic]

Hi,

please sorry if the question is stupid, but I must be sure I understand the process of macOS upgrade on my CustoMac.

I have completed assembling my new CustoMac PC. I used to have iMAC 12,2 (mid 2011) which was not compatible with Mojave masOS, so I have decided to switch from iMAC to CustoMac. I have created a full backup using Time Machine and I have created a bootable USB with High Siera 10.13.6.

So, my next step would be to boot my new CustoMac from USB and to restore m backup from Time Machine.
Now I have exact copy of my iMAC before I decided to switch to CustoMac.

Would it be possible now to upgrade my macOS to Catalina directly from App Store, as it should be normally done on iMAC, or I have to create new bootable USB with Catalina OS on it?

Thanks for your help.
M

 

[P1LGRIM]

I have decided to switch from iMAC to CustoMac.

You cannot switch from iMac to CustoMac because there is no such system definition.
CustoMac is just another term for Hackintosh.

 

[mivanovic]

You cannot switch from iMac to CustoMac because there is no such system definition.
CustoMac is just another term for Hackintosh.

Apparently, you miss-understood my idea of switching.... What I meant by switching was to completely get rif of old iMAC, buy new HW and install High Sierra from bootable USB, made on my old iMAC.
Once this is done, I need to fully restore my iMAC configuration from Time Machine backup.

My question is, how should I upgrade to Catalina on this new PC HW:
1) simply by using Apple Store
2) repeating the whole process of making bootable USB with Unibeast Catalina

Thanks.
M

 

[Namok88]

I think since Catalina changes the entire disk format (APFS with firmlinks), it would be wiser to backup/clone your current iMac system and fresh install Catalina in your new hardware, then when you get everything up and running, you can then restore your apps/data with Migration Assistant.

 

[trs96]

Would it be possible now to upgrade my macOS to Catalina directly from App Store, as it should be normally done on iMAC, or I have to create new bootable USB with Catalina OS on it?

If you have High Sierra installed now then Clover is too old to work with Catalina. Kexts may not be up to date too. Simplest approach would be to clean install Catalina and then get the latest Lilu, WEG and AppleALC kexts to place in your kexts/other folder along with the other essential kexts. Migration assistant does work but can also create problems so you'll need to try it to see if works well or not. I generally avoid it and do things manually.

 

[mivanovic]

If you have High Sierra installed now then Clover is too old to work with Catalina. Kexts may not be up to date too. Simplest approach would be to clean install Catalina and then get the latest Lilu, WEG and AppleALC kexts to place in your kexts/other folder along with the other essential kexts. Migration assistant does work but can also create problems so you'll need to try it to see if works well or not. I generally avoid it and do things manually.

When you say manually, does that mean that I have to manually reinstall all my applications over fresh Catalina?
So, if I am not wrong, it looks like it is not possible at all to upgrade to newest macOS simply using App Store on Hackintosh computer?

 

[trs96]

When you say manually, does that mean that I have to manually reinstall all my applications over fresh Catalina?

That's what I do. Just my personal preference. There are going to be newer versions of many programs you'd have to upgrade to for Catalina anyway. Anything you've purchased via the Mac App Store can be re-downloaded.

So, if I am not wrong, it looks like it is not possible at all to upgrade to newest macOS simply using App Store on Hackintosh computer?

You could upgrade Clover and the necessary kexts first but if you're completely new to this the clean install method is the simplest approach.

 

[mivanovic]

That's what I do. Just my personal preference. There are going to be newer versions of many programs you'd have to upgrade to for Catalina anyway. Anything you've purchased via the Mac App Store can be re-downloaded.

You could upgrade Clover and the necessary kexts first but if you're completely new to this the clean install method is the simplest approach.

Sorry trs96, but I still need to understand what is the process when Apple release the newest version of macOS? Let's say, I am using Catalina (10.15.xx) on my Hackintosh and the latest macOS (10.16.xx) is available for the upgrade on App Store. can I simply upgrade from App Store as it woudl be done on any normal iMAC computer, or I have to go through the whole process of clean installation and re-installing all my apps again?

 

[trs96]

can I simply upgrade from App Store as it woudl be done on any normal iMAC computer, or I have to go through the whole process of clean installation and re-installing all my apps again?

When your system is configured and working correctly, OS upgrades through the MAS generally work with no problems. No need to re-install all your apps with every upgrade. Just make sure the version of Clover you are using works with the newer macOS version. Sometimes kexts must be updated as well.