Preliminary Precautions

Grab a coffee, do some other work, run some errands, do whatever you need to do to burn some time and let your Mac do its thing.

Big system updates sometimes take a whole lot of time! If you are positive that the install is indeed frozen, you will want to take the following steps, and the following steps consecutively after this step, until the issue is resolved. Instead of trying to fix the existing hiccup, we would be effectively starting over with the update. Hopefully these steps were able to get you back on track.

If not, you are advised to contact Apple Support for a further look. As stated, these hiccups rarely do happen, but when they do it is nice to know that macOS includes features capable of working them out. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Waiting to see if will work. Option 1 worked! Put it in Safe Mode. Trying to update iTunes to Did as you explained. You've decided to leave a comment. That's fantastic! Check out our comment policy here. Let's have a personal and meaningful conversation.

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Mac Screen Goes Black? Here's Why and How

And we also made sure that the option selected beside Cache was All Content. With these changes in place the download was complete in half an hour rather than the 10 hours initially anticipated.

Drive permission issues are likely causing the problem

When Apple releases a new macOS update a lot of people will rush to grab it, which can cause problems with Apple's servers. So your first port of call could be to check the System Status page and check macOS Software Update to see if there are any known issues. You might find that things are quicker if you move from a WiFi to a wired connection. If you have a Ethernet cable and the necessary adaptor if your Mac only has a USB-C port, plug yourself directly into the hub.

Your download will be much faster over a wired connection. Read more: How to fix WiFi problems on Mac. You might be able to cancel the download, but the method will depend on what version of macOS you have installed. If you want to stop the download, you can click on the x that appears beside the bar that shows the download progress, as shown in the screenshot below. When you do so you should see the option to Cancel the download. Having cancelled the download you should be able to start it again, hopefully without any problems this time.

Black screen during mojave installation

If you are on Mojave you might think you have to stick to downloading the new software via Software Update, but you can still grab the download via the Mac App Store. Click on this link to be taken to the Catalina section of the Mac App Store. We attempted to download Catalina from the Mac App Store but that time we were confronted by a message that the requested version of macOS couldn't be found. If you're having problems downloading a point update not a complete new version via Software Update or Mac App Store, you can use Apple's website instead. You can find the latest macOS updates here.

To find any software update on the site, just search for it. Generally, if there's a problem with your software installation it will get stuck on the updating screen, showing an Apple logo with a status bar showing the progress as the software is loading. There may be what people refer to as a 'spinning beach ball'. Alternatively, you may see a white, grey or black screen. On many Macs the screen may be so dark that you might not even be able to tell if the Mac is turned on. However, you want to be absolutely sure that the installation isn't still running in the background because forcibly rebooting the Mac during an installation will interrupt the installation process and potentially cause you to lose data.

It's one reason why it's recommended that you back up your Mac before you install new software. Alternatively, you might find that your Mac gets stuck in the installer with a message that "macOS could not be installed on your computer".

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When we clicked Restart the same thing happened, in the end, the only way we were able to fix it was by starting in Safe Mode and downloading the installer again. Find out exactly what we did below. If your Mac appears to have frozen during the install, it's worth listening to your Mac for signs of life - you may be able to hear whiring - and following the below advice. Before you conclude that your Mac has frozen during the installation, you need to be aware of the following.

Sometimes updating the software on a Mac can take a Very. You may be confronted by what looks like a frozen update, but if you leave it for a few hours it could finally get to the end of its task. Sometimes it's worth leaving the Mac overnight to finish the job it's started. Sometimes updates can take 16 hours or more - especially on the days when Apple releases a new version of its Mac operating system.

Remember, the progress bar you see during installation is just a best guess at how long it will take.

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In our experience one minute it tells us there will be a two-hour wait, then 45 minutes, then an hour, before jumping down to 20 minutes. Sometimes things get slowed down because the Mac is taking a while to install one file behind the scenes and that's thrown the whole update time prediction out the window. The Mac might have been stuck on 20 minutes remaining for the past two hours, but this doesn't necessarily mean it's not busy trying to install the software. This brings up additional information and more details about the amount of time still remaining for the install.

It may give you a better indication of what files are being installed and the amount of time left. One key thing to remember: Apple indicates how much time is apparently left for an installation If you're positive that the Mac isn't still working on updating your software then run through the following steps:. If the Log screen shows that nothing is happening move on to the next step. As we mentioned earlier, Apple hosts software on its website , so you can download it from there if you are having problems with the usual method.

There's good reason to get your software from Apple's website if you're encountering problems: the version of the software available from Software Update or the Mac App Store will only include the files necessary to update your Mac. If you go to Apple's support website you can find a Combo updater which includes all the files required to update the macOS. This version of the update will replace all the system files and thereby ensure the update is complete.


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