macOS Security Update 2020-05 (Sept. 24) Mojave Disables TotalSpaces2

This is probably an issue with the Security Update, but I’m posting it here just in case it bites someone else. I’m running 10.14.6 on a 2017 MacBook Pro and today I saw a notice that Apple had released a new security update. As I normally do, I chose to install it, but when the computer rebooted, the first thing to tip me off that things were odd was TotalSpace2 informing me it did not install, and to check to make sure it had Dock access. I did verified that it did indeed, have said access. But then the Dock crashed. And crashed. And crashed. Open apps through the menu also showed weirdness, in that the menu bar would not update with the App’s menus. Ugh. I found a .dmg of the update and applied it again, but no improvement. I’m now backing up my Mac and will (reluctantly) upgrade to Catalina. The good thing I know about TotalSpaces2 is that it runs on 10.15 as well. This is an indispensable tool for me! Thanks.

As a follow up to my post, above. I’ve disabled TotalSpaces2 from automatic startup, and the Mac now behaves in -almost- a regular fashion. I do notice that preferences that change the nature of the UI (Dock, Mission Control) still seem to whack the machine. I’d like to believe there’s a corrupted preference file, but until I get some response from Apple Support, I’m at a loss.

I really miss TotalSpaces. It’s one of the few indispensable programs I run.

My final post on this topic (I hope). I wound up doing a re-install of Mojave from Recovery Mode, and then TotalSpaces2 came up as expected. My Dock, Mission Control are back to normal, and another affect I’d noticed but hadn’t registered, is my RAM usage went down. I have 16GB on my MacBook Pro, and after the Security Update, RAM usage (app memory) was hovering at over 10GB. Now, with my browser open and my email app running and a couple of other programs, I’m still seeing 5.54GB of free RAM.

So, this is a warning to those running Mojave (10.14.6) or High Sierra (the same update applies to both) – be very cautious. MacRumors and Apple’s support forums both have reports of problems. After all these years of stable and reliable code, Apple seems now to be suffering from “bit bloat.” I’lll check first before installing any upgrades. And none of my Macs is set to auto-update. YMMV.