Home Forums Mac Software Mac Operating Systems I'm back about partitioning

1. Now that Macintosh HD has been repaired from Recovery and we've determined that your external hasn't got any bad blocks you're ready to proceed.

I didn't realize my external had no bad blocks as Mavericks is gone (which is fine).

Oops! I don't know if I ever explained that the 10 hour terminal command you ran was a check for bad blocks (on your ENTIRE external HDD) which may have been causing the prohibited sign you got when you tried to boot into Mavericks. It may have been a function of Mavericks itself, but we'll never know.

2. I'd delete all extraneous partitions from your internal and leave only Macintosh HD, i.e. "Sierra." Caveat: If you decide you'd like to maintain an onboard clone you'll need a second partition, which will really only be feasible with a second APFS container.

I don't understand the reason for an onboard clone (and I don't know how to do that) unless it's just to keep Sierra before upgrading. I use an ext HD to clone my OS incase my Mac gives me problems.

I maintain an onboard clone because I want a current clone without having to hook up my external every day to do it the correct way. You could do the same, but I"m afraid that your using the space on your small SSD would degrade the performance of your actual OS.

5. Next, I'd clone your house-cleaned Macintosh HD to your external...which partition isn't particularly consequential.

Not sure exactly what you mean by cloning my HD rather than just Sierra, et al.

"Macintosh HD" is the name of your SSD on which Sierra is the OS. If you clone MHD you clone Sierra.

8. If you choose to upgrade via a "clean install," you can run Migration Assistant to import your apps, data, and settings from any other volume.

I probably won't run a clean one because I don't want the trouble to migrating what would naturally come along with the upgrade.

A clean install would be appropriate if MHD/Sierra is corrupted, which actually may have been the case before you booted into Recovery and ran "Repair Disk" on it, but now should be moot.

11. Learning curve #2: I don't remember in which OS versions or order they phase in, but you WILL run into some new security features as you meander along the upgrade trail, but in each instance they're presented in the form of (generally tongue ) intuitive pop-ups accompanied by expert interpretation here at FTM. wink

OK. I am wondering with all the security upgrades, when I may no longer need MalwareBytes. Or maybe I will until I upgrade to Catalina.ll.

I doubt that a time when you no longer need MalwareBytes will ever come.

Ironically, the biggest learning curve item hasn't been mentioned yet... Safari 12 will "kill" ALL your extensions and necessitate their being replaced with apps, either from the App Store or freestanding, that may or may not replace your lost functionality. You're going to be on your own in that respect, although if you tell us which ones you're running we may be able to help.

OK. Like I said, Ad Blocking apps are my main concern. I can always re-downlaod those. I am keeping a list of what I may lose.

You may have missed the point on that one. Once you get to Safari 12, ALL your extensions, content blockers etc., will become dead issues. macOS will automatically uninstall them, and you'll have to search for apps to replace them. Some of your extensions may have already been released as apps, but their functionality may have changed with the change, and you may be back to square one as respects them.

I think that covers everything in your last post that required clarification.

Thanks so much for your time, Artie, with entertainment thrown in.

Always happy to help, Rita.