I'm not a newbie , just a middlebee. But...I am using 10.5.8 and Logic 9.1.3 and am very happy with it. I'd just like to ask if it's always necessary to update ? Just to get opinions from other musicians and engineers and producers. I did update to 9.1.4 and that was odd so I went back to 9.1.3 and stuck to it. Please explain what I should do to ensure I can always revert to an earlier version of Logic. I used Time Machine when going back to 9.1.3. Maybe that is safe enough. Now 9.1.5 is out...I was just wondering. I know...I heard that about never updating whilst in the middle of projects. Thanks. This helps fresh people too.I remember how scary it all was... Thanks

Updating. It's a double-edged sword. To answer what I think is the most important question, one way to revert back to an older version is to make a *clone* of your hard drive. Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC) is the way to go here. You use CCC to make a disk image of your existing system. Then you update what you want to update and, if you don't like it, re-install the old system onto your HD from the disk image you made. Note that when you do this you'll lose whatever data you've saved on your HD between the time you updated stuff and when you revert back to your clone. And for that reason it's always best to save your projects on a separate hard drive. That way, your project data is completely independent of HD that your operating system lives on. And of course, if you have any downloaded music, photos, etc. that you put on your system after you upgraded, back that stuff up before reverting to the older system. A less complicated way, but one which involves more expense, is to get a separate hard drive onto which you'll use CCC to copy your existing system drive. Then, boot from that disk and update that system. If you don't like the performance of the update then all you have to do is switch back to booting from your regular system drive. I'll have more to say about updating in a separate post.

My philosophy is that you should never update anything (and I do mean anything) unless you have a good reason to. Simply updating because an update is available is not, IMO, a good reason to update. That's because updates are rarely tested thoroughly enough by the developer that issues them (yes, even Apple), and by updating you run the risk of hobbling an otherwise perfectly well-running system. Almost without exception, when Apple issues an update (say, for Logic), it will include a note to customers saying "recommended for all Logic users". For me that's just not enough information. It's too nebulous. Going on that scant bit of advice (and it is [i]advice[/i], not a mandate) means that I should trust Apple. Well, I don't. I don't trust any developer. And I say that from experience, not from a position of "bashing". Case in point: Logic 9.1.4 was recently issued. While it fixed some problems, it broke some other aspects of Logic (notoriously, the LFO's in ES-2). So imagine you were in the middle of a project where you were using ES-2's. If you updated mid-project, say goodbye to the integrity of your production! That's why you must never update in the middle of a project. Of course, if you made a backup (clone) of your previous system, you could revert back to it. But why go through the trouble? The best approach is, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". The two most foolhardy things you can do with a working computer system are to update for the hell of it, and, to neglect to back your system before you DO update. The example of 9.1.4 and how it was inherently buggy (despite the things it fixed) proves my point that you can't trust an update to be benign. I've seen this situation come up far too many times to inherently trust an update. So how do you find out if an update is good, bad, or otherwise? First, study the release notes for any update. If it details that the update addresses an issue you've been having, then at least you have some information to go by in making the decision to update or not. However, the best way to find out how well (or not) an update behaves is to research it, and fortunately that's very easy to do! There are tons of people out there who will update at the drop of a hat (unflatteringly referred to as "guinea pigs"). And you can pretty much bank on many such people to post about their experiences with updates on forums (like this one). So it's from their reports that you can learn about the behavior of their systems post-update; from there, you can make a decision. But you have to read many such reports in order to make the best, educated decision. Remember, Logic is a complex program, so one person updating and reporting that "everything's fine" may not be using features that another person uses and which they find to be buggy after updating. HTH, Ski

Ski wrote: [i]A less complicated way, but one which involves more expense, is to get a separate hard drive onto which you'll use CCC to copy your existing system drive. Then, boot from that disk and update that system. If you don't like the performance of the update then all you have to do is switch back to booting from your regular system drive.[/i] This is what I do for OS, App and Plug-in updates. They all get a THOROUGH test drive...several times around the block...and a few long-distance trips on this "sandbox" hard drive. In addition, I always make a copy of the Logic application before updating it on my regular system drive.

I'd echo what Ski says - make backups and definitely CLONE your system! Also, agree with redlogic. I updated to 9.1.5 and simply went into my Applications folder before hand, right-clicked on the Logic application and chose "Duplicate." Once done I renamed the duplicate as "Logic 9.1.4". The Logic updater basically updates the original Logic.app file and leaves your backup alone. So you can roll back a version if needed. Hope that helps Rounik

Thanks for the great advice and the time and thought spent on the replies. Especially Ski, that's great wisdom to pass on Cheers