RESOLVED: macOS Driver bug in 10.15.7 - TD will not run on some GPUs

This is a general PSA, the latest security update for macOS 10.15 which is 10.15.7 has a newly introduced driver bug that will keep TouchDesigner from starting. If you are on 10.15, we recommend updating to macOS 11 to run TouchDesigner with all security updates.

The other option is not updating to 10.15.7 but that means not applying a security update which we can not recommend.

We have reported the bug to Apple but as 10.15 is an old OS now and only getting security updates, we do not foresee them rolling out a fix any time soon.

P.S. So far all reports seem to come from older Intel HD4000 GPUs, if you have this problem we’d love to hear your system specs.

hi @ben - I’ve encountered the issue you describe here, on a MBP 9.2 running macOS 10.15.7. Where can I send the system specs to?

Thanks @ns.dos, I looked up MacBookPro9,2 and it is using an Intel HD4000 as the GPU, so that’s the problem.

Would running an older build of Touch Designer get around the problem? Upgrading to Big Sur isn’t an option on 9,2.

It is possible, but we don’t have a mac with this GPU to do the testing and fine out.

To try this yourself, you can start by trying the latest build from each of the previous years here: Releases | Derivative

If you do find a year that works, we would love to know as quite a few people have reported this problem with the same hardware spec as you.

Just a few days ago, Dec 13 2021, they issues a security update with a number of fixes, including fixes for graphics driver and Intel GPUs. We recommend those affected try the new update and see if it solves the problem.