Home Forums Mac Software Mac Applications Issues with Cocktail for Ventura

Anyone having problems updating to Cocktail for Ventura?

I’ve used Cocktail since 2010 but, in 13 years, this is the first time Maintain Software has not responded to a simple query. I wrote to them two weeks ago but have not yet had a response. I have written again to let them know that any attempt to purchase puts me into a circular process. Here’s what happens:

1. I download the Ventura version and open it.

2. I click on Buy and it sends me back to the Maintain site to download the Ventura version again.

3. I download and install again, replacing the one just downloaded.

4. I open Cocktail and click on Buy and, you guessed it, Maintain sends me back to download the Ventura version yet again.

I am now very close to be being a previous user of Cocktail. I checked around and found this slightly dated Reddit link suggesting that Maintain is not too anxious to talk to customers. I’m close to becoming a “previous customer” of Maintain Software.

Thoughts?

Cocktail was, for many years, one of my macOS essential utilities along with OnyX, TinkerTool, TinkerTool System, DiskWarrior, TechTool Pro, Carbon Copy Cloner, MacPilot, and several others long since forgotten. But a few years ago, I recognized that many tasks I had been performing prophylactically were no longer necessary. So, I adopted a policy that if I had not needed a utility in two or more years, (or could not remember what it did) it wasn't needed. The only ones I still have and use regularly are Carbon Copy Cloner, MacPilot, and TinkerTool System and of those three CCC is hanging on by a thread. (TinkerTool System provides information about the system that macOS works hard to hide, and MacPilot offers hundreds of otherwise undocumented configuration options, and both replicate Cocktails functionality.)

This is not a criticism o Cocktail. As far as I know it still does what it claims to do, but macOS has become far more stable than it used to be. Have you actually NEEDED Cocktail recently, or are you just running it out of habit? If the latter is true, is Cocktail's functionality required?

I have to agree with that statement, not because of any particular technical knowledge but simply because there are so many fewer issues these days. I certainly can't claim to have "actually NEEDED" the app recently, so maybe I'll rethink things. What the heck, they aren't talking to me anyway and, in anything, failure to communicate causes me to lose interest rapidly.

I still use OnyX and Carbon Copy Cloner regularly, and like them both. For me, they each do what I need and each understand customer service.

EDIT: Oh ya, and Silent Knight.

With minor variations, both OnyX and Cocktail are graphical front ends for the same set of Unix commands. Since you have OnyX, you are losing very little functionality and if I recall correctly, nothing of significance, giving up Cocktail. The same functionality, using the same commands, is also available in TinkerTool System, TechTool Pro, and MacPilot or you can run the same commands in Terminal. I might be able to find the correct Terminal commands if you are interested.

Thanks very much for the very kind offer but I'll pass. What I will do is update my TinkerTool (OnyX and CCC are already current) and limit myself to those three. Unlike CCC, which is used daily and weekly for backups, OnyX and TinkerTool are periodic usage. It appears that apps are like "cooks in the kitchen" - fewer is better.

When you say TinkerTool are you referring to TinkerTool (freeware) or TinkerTool System ($17.00 USD—$8.50 USD upgrade)? The latter offers some unique functions not found elsewhere, as well as all the configuration functions found in TinkerTool. I don't use its maintenance functions, but it provides a view into the inner workings of macOS and APFS that macOS carefully hides from the user. The only other source of that information I have found is in EtreCheckPro's “Power User package”.

Speaking of which, I just realized EtreCheck Pro is the only tool I run prophylactically. It doesn't perform any maintenance or repairs, but it provides a very thorough analysis of system performance and pinpoints issues before they become a problem.

I have the TinkerTool System and, coincidentally, just paid for the upgrade to V8 to have compatibility with Ventura.

And I just realized that I fibbed about using only three apps....hahaha. I also find EtreChekPro to be an excellent tool for getting reports on how things are.

At this point, I maintain a few staggered CCC clones in place of Time Machine, and Drive Dx, which hasn't been mentioned yet, just in case. (It's great for consistently telling me that my thumb drive is dead when it's perfectly fine.)

I've got Tinker Tool System and Etrecheck Pro (but not the paid extended version), which I consistently forget about because I haven't had any reason to run either one in about a million years.

I've thought about MacPilot, but its MacUpdate description has never inspired me to spend the money.

DriveDX: I run DriveDX to continually monitor the health of my drives, but the only time I ever think about it is when a warning is raised. DriveDX did flag a Time Machine drive as overheating, and after some diagnostic troubleshooting and following a few other “breadcrumbs”, the problem was fixed by replacing the enclosure, not the drive. I would not have been aware the overheating was occurring, were it not for DriveDX.

EtreCheck vs. EtreCheck Pro:, EtreCheck admittedly relies on posting the EtreCheck report on the Apple Forums to be analyzed by a knowledgeable someone. The Pro version uses AI and other techniques to analyze the results and provides you with more and far more in-depth analysis. As an example: I have been encountering mysterious reboots every night and although Feedback Assistant kept wanting to report them to Apple, I had no way of describing what happened or when it happened. Etrecheck Pro's analysis revealed the reboots are occurring during the wake-up process and are related to delays in the Thunderbolt system. Even better, Etrecheck revealed the exact date and time the crash occurred and a link to the actual report so I could send it to Apple. I run EtreCheck Pro prophylactically after each update and analytically when I have unexplained issues.

MacPilot is not an often used app. Typically, I forget about it until the next macOS upgrade, then spend an hour or so going through the new configuration options and customizing the system to my preferences. (I also use it to look up the correct command line string for FineTunedMac posts). Over the years MacPilot has added tools essentially replicating the functionality of Cocktail, OnyX, etc. and added applications and reference tools of its own. What started out as a "one trick pony" has evolved into a suite of tools that could easily replace several other apps, plus providing over 1,000 unpublished configuration settings for macOS and its included applications. I had not thought of it until writing this post, but if I were to limit myself to one support app, it would be MacPilot, because it is the most complete and has useful features not found elsewhere. (Hmmm? Thinking about it I no longer need OnyX and I will have to think long and hard before paying for the next TinkerTool System upgrade.)

I do not run EtreCheck. I run EtreCheck Pro, but I haven't paid for its extended capabilities, nor will I if before I encounter a need for them. (Is unpaid Pro the same as basic, as it appears to maybe be?)

After reading your comment about MacPilot, I may buy it and forego TinkerTool System.

Please explain "I also use it to look up the correct command line string for FineTunedMac posts."

You got that one right in one try. Personally I think their branding/marketing is confusing. It may be the tool has simply grown in unanticipated directions.


As much as I have loved TinkerTool System, I have to admit the only part of it I use anymore is it's display of the APFS structure of the boot drive and EtreCheck Pro with the Power User feature activated (paid for) does an equal job of that.


In MacPilot's "Advanced" mode the actual terminal commands used are shown, in the Reference section you will find a searchable copy of the Unix Command manual, and a complete list of error codes. And although it is no replacement for FindAnyFile the File Browser displays a wealth of information on any file in the system.

Thanks.

I was thinking about paying for "Advanced" EtreCheck to aid in my quest for the root of my problem...noticeable delays when typing and closing windows, but the problem arose the very moment I upgraded to Monterrey, so I'm thinking that it's an incompatible 3rd party app issue that EtreCheck isn't likely to pick up on.

Does that sound right to you, or do you think diagnosing my problem is within the range of EtreCheck's capabilities?

I'm still mulling over buying MacPilot, and based on your opinion, chances are that I will.

EtreCheck will flag any application that is using a lot of resources, CPU cycles, Memory, etc. regardless of whether it is an Apple or third party product. You are still the detective looking for the guilty application and EtreCheck is the skilled criminologist feeding you the clues it finds in the data. EtreCheck Pro essentially presents you with the raw data gleened from the system. The Advanced Options provide a more detailed in depth analysis of the data

I can run with Activity Monitor on my desktop in addition to my MenuMeters CPU meter and get the same info, but, granted, not without distracting myself from the business at hand.

I think paid EtreCheck will wait for a problem that I can't approach on my own.

I haven't had Cocktail in years, but I just received an email touting a new release.

You must have had it more recently than me, then, because I didn't receive that email.

I got one of those mid-July but, apparently, they're not really interested in selling it. This is what I wrote to the publisher, Maintain:

I have assumed that the Ventura version requires a new purchase. No problem. Oh wait, there is a problem….any attempt to purchase puts me into a circular process.

1. I download the Ventura version and open it.

2. I click on Buy and it sends me back to your site to download the Ventura version again.

3. I download and re-install the new version, replacing the one just downloaded.

4. I open Cocktail and click on Buy and, you guessed it, you send me back to your site to download the Ventura version again.

After a couple of weeks with no reply, I told them I was close to be being a "previous user of Cocktail". Then, this thread happened and I have fulfilled the prophesy - I am now a "previous user". I figure, if they can't respond when I have an issue with purchasing, how much communication can I expect for an issue with using.

I just took a look at MacUpdate, where the latest version was posted yesterday, and there are numerous post similar to yours and worse.