Two steps forward, and one step back. That’s often the problem with upgrades.
“I just got a notice that there is a major upgrade for my software. This is the second time it’s been upgraded. I always seem to lose a few days installing and troubleshooting whenever I get one of these upgrades. Isn’t there an easier way?”
We see a lot of upgrade related frustration in our Technical Support department. Either one is desperately needed or someone released one too soon (before it was properly tested). Both circumstances are painful.
Our philosophy is often to leave something that is working alone. If you have equipment that is stable and doing what you want it to do then consider yourself lucky and keep using it. If some upgrade comes out that adds enhancements you really want then you have to weigh that against the chance for a few days of frustration.
The most common mistake we see people make is to get an upgrade (or buy a new product) a day before they need it for an important job, or while they are in the middle of a job. This invariably leads to frustration and frantic calls for help. Understand that any upgrade you do on a computer system (hardware or software) may require other upgrades. You have to remember it is a “system” and not a bunch of isolated components. This is why it is difficult for there to be a “better way.” It’s almost impossible for most manufacturers to anticipate every possible scenario of hardware and software their product will be used with. That’s the one down side of “systems” that are completely configurable by the user. This also applies to an ADAT “system” or many other types of setups where equipment is interfaced and must work together. Putting a new OS in your computer is almost certainly going to cause some problems in your MIDI and audio software. The best thing to do is allow yourself a couple of days of “down time” to resolve these issues.
It’s also generally not a great idea to upgrade to the first version of something. If you’re happily using Mac OS 8.6, you should think long and hard about a switch to 9.0, because not only is there a chance for new bugs to have been introduced along with the new features, but there is a really good chance that some of the other software you use on your computer isn’t OS 9 compliant, and the upgrade hasn’t been released yet. This type of problem is common with music and audio applications. Their support is almost always one or two revs behind the curve. This is a good thing generally. If you decide you want to be on the bleeding edge and get the latest version then all we can say is be prepared to bleed.