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Incompatible Disk

I have several 32 bit programs that can not be updated to 64 bit. In an attempt to upgrade my system to Big Sur and also retain access to the 32-bit programs I partitioned my hard drive and installed Mojave on the new partition and upgraded the system on the main partition to Big Sur. Big Sur ran fine. When I used the "Startup Disk" from System Preferences to switch to the Mojave partition to run my 32-bit programs the "Incompatible Disk" warning appeared and my main partition had been relabled a "Data Disk". Big Sur had completely disappeared from the finder and from the "Startup Disk" control.


How can I get Big Sur running reliably in my main partition and retain Mojave in the new partition? At the very least how can I get rid of the Incompatible Disk Warning? Any comments or suggestions greatly appreciated.


Thanks TomJF

iMac 27″ 5K, macOS 10.14

Posted on May 18, 2021 1:14 PM

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10 replies

May 19, 2021 5:54 PM in response to TomJF

Ok, thanks for the listing. You definitely look like you got it correct. Your APFS formatted internal drive is configured with two containers (partitions). Each holding a different macOS version's sets of volumes. disk3 does look appropriate for macOS Mojave, sans the unique naming of what would be the default Macintosh HD. However, disk2, which you state is running Big Sur, doesn't quite look right, even with your naming convention you used.


For Big Sur, I would have expected five volumes and a single snapshot, as follows:

  1. Macintosh HD - Data [yours is George - Data, which I assume is what you renamed it to]
  2. Preboot
  3. Recovery
  4. VM
  5. Macintosh HD [This one is blank on yours. I would have expected George here following your naming convention.]
  6. com.apple.os.update ... [This one appears to have been renamed on yours.]


Again, I'm not sure what your next steps should be. If it was me, I would start over by completely erasing your system drive. Then install a "clean" copy of macOS Big Sur. Then use a VM manager to run macOS Mojave. However, again, maybe someone else with an idea on how to resolve this will chime in. Good luck!

May 18, 2021 2:00 PM in response to TomJF

Sorry, I couldn't have provided you with a direct solution. Maybe someone else here may have some ideas on how to proceed with this situation. With the later releases of macOS, and especially with Big Sur, a lot has changed with the new APFS file system where partitions are now containers. In theory, when you partitioned your iMac's drive, you created a second APFS container. In turn, each container can have multiple volumes. If all went well, Mojave would have been installed on a second container and not in a volume inside the Big Sur container.


The following image may prove helpful in what I just stated above:


To help others, who may be able to help you, providing a screenshot of your current system drive configuration would go a long way. To do so, open the Terminal, and then, enter the following command: diskutil list


The result of doing so should provide you with the breakdown of your system drive. I provided an example of what my 2018 Mac mini system drive, running macOS Big Sur looks like for comparison:


May 20, 2021 12:14 PM in response to Tesserax

Big Sur is nowhere to be found on my computer. Although I installed it on George as explained in my original post it disappeared when I used the startup disk to switch to Georgette and Mojave. This action also changed George to George-data and caused the Incompatible Disk warning (shown here) to appear whenever I start my computer (with Mojave).



My system appears to be running OK under Mojave but I the above warning is a nuisance! I thought with one of the Mojave updates the warning would disappear but it hasn't happened yet. My current system is 10.14.6. I have about decided to give up on 64-bit Big Sur and continue using 32-bit Mojave.


If I use the recovery procedure to reinstall Big Sur or Mojave will all my data files be preserved? I have been reluctant to erase any part of my disk for fear of losing essential data.


Again Thanks for your comment.


Tomjf

May 20, 2021 1:18 PM in response to BDAqua

This works!! I am writing to you from Big Sur. Thanks so much for the suggestion. I didn't know about booting using the option key. I have only been running Macs since they came out in 1984! I guess I will never master the Mac!


Now how can we get rid of the annoying Incompatible Disk warning when booting into Mojave?


Thanks again

Tomjf

Incompatible Disk

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