Apr 15, 2016  I understand you wish to play the Arena game which is 32-bit compatible on your 64-bit Windows 10. Please be informed, most 32-bit games or application run well on 64-bit Windows. This might differ in some cases though.

When macOS Mojave was announced, Apple warned that it would be the last version of macOS that would support older 32-bit apps. Apple has been phasing out 32-bit apps for the last 10 years and is now ready to take the final step, even if Mac users may not be ready to lose access to older apps.

With the release of macOS Catalina, 32-bit app support is no longer available, which means many of your older apps will no longer work if they haven't been updated to 64-bit.

32-bit vs. 64-bit

32-bit apps date back to a time when there were 32-bit processors and 32-bit operating systems, but are now outdated. Apple has long since transitioned to 64-bit processors and macOS has been 64-bit since the launch of Snow Leopard in 2009.

Compared to 32-bit apps, 64-bit apps can take advantage of more memory and offer faster system performance. Apple technologies like Metal only work with 64-bit apps, and for Apple to ensure that Mac apps include all of the latest advancements and optimizations, support for 32-bit needs to end. In the simplest terms, 32-bit apps are inefficient.

32-bit apps can run on a 64-bit system as they've been doing for years, but Apple wants to get rid of outdated apps to make sure everything that runs on the Mac is properly optimized and isn't an unnecessary drain on system resources.

Previous Warnings

Apple started warning Mac users about plans to end support for 32-bit apps back with macOS High Sierra. In High Sierra, users started getting warnings about a 32-bit app's future incompatibility with macOS.

A similar message was available in macOS Mojave, and if you opened up a 32-bit app while running Mojave, you saw an alert letting you know a specific app wouldn't work with future versions of macOS unless it was updated.

Alerts re-appeared every 30 days when launching an app, with Apple aiming to make sure customers would not be caught unaware when a 32-bit app stopped working in the future, so you should already know if one of your frequently used apps hasn't been upgraded to 64-bit.

Upon updating to ‌macOS Catalina‌, you'll be shown a list of 32-bit apps that no longer work on your system.

How to Check if an App is 32-Bit or 64-Bit in macOS Mojave

To determine whether an app is 64-bit or 32-bit and to see if there are 32-bit apps installed on your machine before upgrading to ‌macOS Catalina‌, follow these steps:

1. Click the Apple symbol () in the menu bar on your Mac's desktop.
2. Click on About This Mac.
3. Choose 'System Report' at the bottom of the window.
4. Scroll down to the Software list on the sidebar.
5. Select Legacy Software.'

Anything in the list of Legacy Software applications is a 32-bit app and will not work when upgrading to ‌macOS Catalina‌.

If Legacy Software isn't an option in the sidebar, select the Applications option and then check the list of apps at the right. The column that's labeled 64-bit will show a 'No' listing for apps that are 32-bit.

How to Prepare to Update to ‌macOS Catalina‌

The first step is to make sure there aren't already available updates for apps that you have on your system, which you can generally do by updating through the Mac App Store for ‌Mac App Store‌ apps.

Apps outside of the ‌Mac App Store‌ use other update methods that can vary by app, but for many, you can click on the app's name in the menu bar and choose the 'Check for Updates' option. Some other apps have more hidden update methods, so if you do have a 32-bit app, make sure to Google how to update it to be sure there's not already new software available.

After ensuring you've updated everything you're able to update, you can contact developers and ask them to update their apps, but if that doesn't pan out, the only other solution is to start the search for an alternative app if you're committed to upgrading to ‌macOS Catalina‌ or have already done so.

32-Bit App Warnings When Installing Catalina

When upgrading to ‌macOS Catalina‌, the installer will show a list of recently used apps that are 32-bit so you know what to expect before installing.

After viewing this list, you can choose to either cancel or continue with the installation.

‌macOS Catalina‌ also shows a stop symbol over the icon of 32-bit apps in the Finder, so you know that the app isn't going to open.

Aperture

With the release of ‌macOS Catalina‌, Aperture is going to stop working. Apple warned Aperture users in April 2019 that the software won't run in future versions of macOS, starting with ‌macOS Catalina‌.

If you're an Aperture user, you'll have to transition to alternate photo editing and management software, such as Adobe's Lightroom. Aperture is not 32-bit, but Apple is phasing it out all the same.

Affected Media Formats

Certain media files that use older formats and codecs are also not compatible with macOS after macOS Mojave due to the 64-bit transition, and you will need to convert some iMovie and Final Cut Pro X libraries. Incompatible media files were created using codecs that rely on QuickTime 7, and while macOS Mojave has QuickTime 7 frameworks, future versions of macOS will not.

Apple has a full list of media formats that are going to be affected by the transition available in a support document.

Continuing to Use 32-Bit Apps

In macOS Mojave and earlier versions of macOS like High Sierra, you can continue to use your 32-bit apps. If you have a 32-bit app that you absolutely depend on, you're going to want to think twice before upgrading to ‌macOS Catalina‌.

Guide Feedback

Have questions about the end of support for 32-bit apps or want to offer feedback on this guide? Send us an email here.

Apart from dealing with written work documents day-to-day, what do we spend the most time on while using a computer? Watching videos! From small funny skits during breaks to binging a whole series over the weekend, videos play a truly indispensable role in our lives.

So if YouTube is not working on Mac or films in MP4 aren't playing, we feel helpless — where did all the entertainment go? But don’t worry, this handy guide will lead you through all the potential solutions to your video problems. Let’s get going!

Why videos don’t work as they should

The web is getting more and more complicated every year. Instead of straightforward HTML and CSS with a smidgen of interactive JavaScript, we now get websites that are automatically generated and often full of intrusive scripts that want to record every action we take.

On the other side, the rise of ad blockers has led to parts of the web not working as they should, due to blocking pop-ups, useful interactions, and so on.

When you find videos not playing on Mac — here’s your step-by-step reference checklist.

1. Enable JavaScript in your browser

If you’ve noticed your YouTube not working on Safari or Firefox or Chrome, the first thing to check is whether you’ve disabled JavaScript in the past.

JavaScript is the language of all the interactions within your browser and hence especially critical in video playback.

To enable JavaScript in Safari:

1. Go to Safari ➙ Preferences in the menu bar (or use ⌘ + ,).
2. Navigate to the Security tab.
3. Check the box next to Enable JavaScript.

Other browsers, like Firefox and Chrome, have similar options within their settings.

2. Check your browser extensions

Another cause for the problem could be one of your browser extensions either misbehaving or intentionally blocking the videos.

If you haven’t checked your extensions in a while, it’s a good time to do so. In Safari:

1. Open up Preferences once again.
2. Navigate to the Extensions tab.
3. Disable all the extensions.
4. Restart Safari and see if YouTube works.

In case the problem is fixed, we now know it has something to do with your extensions. Repeat the process but enable extensions one by one to isolate what’s causing all the trouble. Then either keep the extension turned off when you watch videos or contact its developers for an update.

Mac Games For Catalina

In my case, an ad blocker is often to blame, so I often go into its settings to fine-tune the blocking even more or keep it disabled for some time.

3. Reinstall Adobe Flash Player

Run 32 Bit Apps On Catalina

Even though most of the web, including YouTube, have moved to HTML5 and the need for Flash is decreasing every year, it might be that you’re still trying to view a Flash-based video while your Flash Player is outdated or corrupted.

Note: Adobe Flash Player is a 32-bit app and won’t work on macOS Catalina. So skip this step if you’re running the latest version of Mac.

First, uninstall your existing Flash Player by going to your Applications (shortcut ⌘ + Shift + A), finding the Flash folder, and running the uninstaller.

Then, go to get.adobe.com/flashplayer and download the latest version of Adobe Flash Player. Proceed to your Downloads folder to actually install the software.

If the problem really was in malfunctioning Adobe Flash, it should now be resolved.

4. Clear browser cache

When you make some changes to your browser, they often won’t register right away, since most of the websites you visited have already been cached (saved locally).

To force-refresh those websites, you need to clear your browser’s cache files. Here’s how to do that in Safari:

1. Go to Safari ➙ Preferences.
2. Navigate to Advanced and check “Show Develop menu in menu bar”.
3. Select the Develop menu and pick Empty Caches (shortcut Option + ⌘ + E)
4. Restart Safari.

In the case of Chrome and Firefox, you can clear browser cache in regular settings. Any glitches with the websites themselves should now be gone.

5. Resolve internal Mac errors

If none of the above helped your YouTube problem in Safari, you need to employ some heavy artillery. In particular, CleanMyMac X.

CleanMyMac X is by far the best Mac optimization software on the market. It scans your Mac completely for any inconsistencies and offers you an automatic, one-click way to fix them all at once.

For example, using System Junk scan with CleanMyMac X, you can get rid of unneeded user cache files, system log files, broken login items, and much more. My most recent scan has resulted in more than 15 GB of files that take a toll on my Mac’s CPU but give nothing in return.

Here’s how to scan your system for junk with CleanMyMac X:

1. Download the free edition of the app.
2. In the sidebar, select System Junk ➙ Scan.
3. Click Review Details.
4. Check everything you don’t need and hit Clean.

Now your Mac should essentially feel brand new, with all the extra fluff long gone. Hopefully, it also resolves the video issues. If not, there’s one last thing you can do before scheduling an appointment at the Apple Store’s Genius Bar — check your Mac for malware.

6. Bonus: Scan your Mac for malware

In the 90s, our greatest fear was to encounter a virus. Today, all kinds of malware — adware, spyware, ransomware — are hiding all around the web, especially they are present in software downloads.

So it might be possible that your Adobe Flash Player download was infected. But it’s not the end of the world yet! Even here, CleanMyMac X has got your back:

1. Download the free edition of CleanMyMac X (if you haven’t already done so).
2. Navigate to Malware Removal in the sidebar, under the Protection section.
3. Click Scan.
4. Remove any malware found.

Catalina 64 Bit

Finally, you have a complete guide to solving the videos not playing on the Mac problem. Just follow the steps and there’s a 99% chance the issue will be resolved. In fact, you can skip most of the steps safely and handle the problem using CleanMyMac X right away, saving yourself quite a bit of time and stress. Less than a minute later, the video resumes!