THE ACTORS:
  • Catalina (observed in MacOS 10.15.3 but possibly any MacOS 10.15 version)
  • A Mac with a T2 chip
  • SoftRAID 5.8.2 update
THE SITUATION: When installing the SoftRAID 5.8.2 update it is necessary to...
  1. permit the App in System Preferences > Security because the registration has changed from SoftRAID to OWC 😠
  2. reboot the system
WHAT HAPPENED:
  • the boot process hung, 😳
  • …and all subsequent attempts to boot also hung, 😱
  • reliably every time. 🤬
THE RECOVERY: 🤔
  1. Boot from the Recovery Drive (boot while holding ⌘R until the progress bar appears)
  2. Reinstall MacOS 10.15.3 🙏
  3. Reboot to verify the system will boot 😀
  4. Boot from the Recovery Drive
  5. Launch Utilities from the Menu bar and turn Boot drive protection completely off (this could have been done in step 1, but I wanted to be sure the reinstall was working first)
  6. Boot from the regular boot drive
  7. Launch SoftRAID 5.8.2 and install driver
  8. Reboot to activate the newly installed driver ✌️

WHAT I HAVE LEARNED:
  • Apple's T2 chip in combination with APFS and Catalina's new organizational structure provides significant additional protection for the MacOS system and the "in the box" apps.
  • These protections present a significant challenge for some application developers that may necessitate significant redesign
  • Catalina may have a similar look and feel to previous versions of MacOS but under the hood the reorganization and restructure is very significant.
  • The T2 chip functionality can be both a blessing and a curse
  • Safety and security come at a price
  • Next time I will be very sure to have a VERY RECENT clone before installing any new driver lest I end up having to go through the entire system download and install yet again. This is a lot faster using CCC's "full clone" or TinkerTool System's APFS > Copy




If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein