Once in a while, my upgraded Mac OS X v10.10.x/Yosemite get stuck after its required reboot.

[Ant]

Hello.

I noticed my work's 15" MacBook Pro (Retina; early 2013 model) would get
stuck after doing the required reboots from major upgrades like today's
once in a while. It has happened in the past too, but not always.

It seems to get stuck during its Setup Assistant screen (why?) according
to Command+tab hot keys: I could not access it either. Today's updates
got stuck with App Store. I could quit it, but got a mostly blank
desktop as shown in http://imgur.com/a/AR4Cz (apparently screen
capturing hot keys still work). I tried moving and clicking on
everything with the MBP's trackpad. Same with hot keys. Even forced a
quit, log out, sleep, and wake up. Nothing helped. I had to do a force
reboot. :(

Thank you in advance. :)
--
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In nature there is no evil, only an abundance of horror: the plagues and
the blights and the ants and the maggots." --Isak Dinesen
Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
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\ _ / Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail privately. If credit-
( ) ing, then please kindly use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.

[Jolly Roger]

On 2016-07-18, Ant <ANT...@zimage.com> wrote:
> Hello.
>
> I noticed my work's 15" MacBook Pro (Retina; early 2013 model) would
> get stuck after doing the required reboots from major upgrades like
> today's once in a while. It has happened in the past too, but not
> always.

As you have been told countless times before, more information is needed
about these past issues for anyone to be able to realistically help you.

> It seems to get stuck during its Setup Assistant screen (why?)

More information is required. What options did you choose during the
setup assistant dialogs?

Edit: I notice the screen shot you gave below regarding the App Store
issue shows an error message that says, "Setup Assistant interrupted
restart" with a "Try Again" button. You should include details like this
in your OP. Also, tell us what happened when you clicked "Try Again"?

> according to Command+tab hot keys: I could not access it either.

This is the first I've heard of someone trying to Command-Tab during
installation - not sure what you expected to happen there. Or was this
after you finished installing and logged in? Hard to tell what is going
on due to the severe lack of details.

> Today's updates got stuck with App Store. I could quit it, but got a
> mostly blank desktop as shown in http://imgur.com/a/AR4Cz (apparently
> screen capturing hot keys still work). I tried moving and clicking on
> everything with the MBP's trackpad. Same with hot keys. Even forced a
> quit, log out, sleep, and wake up. Nothing helped. I had to do a force
> reboot. :(

And what happened after the forced reboot?

--
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my ravenous SPAM filter.
I often ignore posts from Google. Use a real news client instead.

JR

[Ant]

In comp.sys.mac.system Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:
> On 2016-07-18, Ant <ANT...@zimage.com> wrote:
> > Hello.
> >
> > I noticed my work's 15" MacBook Pro (Retina; early 2013 model) would
> > get stuck after doing the required reboots from major upgrades like
> > today's once in a while. It has happened in the past too, but not
> > always.

> As you have been told countless times before, more information is needed
> about these past issues for anyone to be able to realistically help you.

> > It seems to get stuck during its Setup Assistant screen (why?)

> More information is required. What options did you choose during the
> setup assistant dialogs?

That's the thing. It never actually showed up until I saw its alt-tab
icon. I can never get that Setup Assistant to show up on my desktop like
I show in my screen (capture/shot)s?

> Edit: I notice the screen shot you gave below regarding the App Store
> issue shows an error message that says, "Setup Assistant interrupted
> restart" with a "Try Again" button. You should include details like this
> in your OP. Also, tell us what happened when you clicked "Try Again"?

It doesn't let me click on either. It just beeps at me. :(

> > according to Command+tab hot keys: I could not access it either.

> This is the first I've heard of someone trying to Command-Tab during
> installation - not sure what you expected to happen there. Or was this
> after you finished installing and logged in? Hard to tell what is going
> on due to the severe lack of details.

This was after upgrading and rebooting today's updates.

> > Today's updates got stuck with App Store. I could quit it, but got a
> > mostly blank desktop as shown in http://imgur.com/a/AR4Cz (apparently
> > screen capturing hot keys still work). I tried moving and clicking on
> > everything with the MBP's trackpad. Same with hot keys. Even forced a
> > quit, log out, sleep, and wake up. Nothing helped. I had to do a force
> > reboot. :(

> And what happened after the forced reboot?

It was back to normal. No Setup Assistant. That is the only way to get
out of it in the past.

[Jolly Roger]

Ant <ANT...@zimage.com> wrote:
> In comp.sys.mac.system Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:
>> On 2016-07-18, Ant <ANT...@zimage.com> wrote:
>
>>> It seems to get stuck during its Setup Assistant screen (why?)
>
>> More information is required. What options did you choose during the
>> setup assistant dialogs?
>
> That's the thing. It never actually showed up until I saw its alt-tab
> icon.

It normally doesn't show up to any significant extent.

> I can never get that Setup Assistant to show up on my desktop like
> I show in my screen (capture/shot)s?

Not sure what you mean since there is no normal desktop when the installer
is running Setup Assistant.

If you want to run Migration Assistant (which is the name of the standalone
app) just launch it from the Applications folder like any other app. It
should show up.

>> Edit: I notice the screen shot you gave below regarding the App Store
>> issue shows an error message that says, "Setup Assistant interrupted
>> restart" with a "Try Again" button. You should include details like this
>> in your OP. Also, tell us what happened when you clicked "Try Again"?
>
> It doesn't let me click on either. It just beeps at me. :(

Sounds like a focus problem. At any rate the fact that you are seeing this
message at all means something is wrong with your system.

What version macOS did you start out with, and which major upgrades have
you installed since then?

Also have you ever installed a combo updater?

>>> according to Command+tab hot keys: I could not access it either.
>
>> This is the first I've heard of someone trying to Command-Tab during
>> installation - not sure what you expected to happen there. Or was this
>> after you finished installing and logged in? Hard to tell what is going
>> on due to the severe lack of details.
>
> This was after upgrading and rebooting today's updates.

After the installer hung, you force rebooted, logged into your account,
then invoked the app switcher (Command-Tab), and Setup Assistant was one of
the listed apps? And you couldn't switch to it with that interface?

[Ant]

In comp.sys.mac.apps Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:
> Ant <ANT...@zimage.com> wrote:
> > In comp.sys.mac.system Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:
> >> On 2016-07-18, Ant <ANT...@zimage.com> wrote:
> >
> >>> It seems to get stuck during its Setup Assistant screen (why?)
> >
> >> More information is required. What options did you choose during the
> >> setup assistant dialogs?
> >
> > That's the thing. It never actually showed up until I saw its alt-tab
> > icon.

> It normally doesn't show up to any significant extent.

> > I can never get that Setup Assistant to show up on my desktop like
> > I show in my screen (capture/shot)s?

> Not sure what you mean since there is no normal desktop when the installer
> is running Setup Assistant.

That explains Finder not being there even though I saw it appear for a
second, but I can't access it.

> If you want to run Migration Assistant (which is the name of the standalone
> app) just launch it from the Applications folder like any other app. It
> should show up.

I never wanted both Assistants. Now, why does Setup Assistant come up
after getting and installing Mac OS X updates? That's weird.

> >> Edit: I notice the screen shot you gave below regarding the App Store
> >> issue shows an error message that says, "Setup Assistant interrupted
> >> restart" with a "Try Again" button. You should include details like this
> >> in your OP. Also, tell us what happened when you clicked "Try Again"?
> >
> > It doesn't let me click on either. It just beeps at me. :(

> Sounds like a focus problem. At any rate the fact that you are seeing this
> message at all means something is wrong with your system.

> What version macOS did you start out with, and which major upgrades have
> you installed since then?

I don't remember what I got from IT people. I know it was Mac OS X
v10.10.x/Yosemite.

> Also have you ever installed a combo updater?

Nope. Just from Mac OS X's App store for its updates. Should I try it
even though it says I have no updates left to get? Is it safe to
reinstall with those updates?

> >>> according to Command+tab hot keys: I could not access it either.
> >
> >> This is the first I've heard of someone trying to Command-Tab during
> >> installation - not sure what you expected to happen there. Or was this
> >> after you finished installing and logged in? Hard to tell what is going
> >> on due to the severe lack of details.
> >
> > This was after upgrading and rebooting today's updates.

> After the installer hung, you force rebooted, logged into your account,
> then invoked the app switcher (Command-Tab), and Setup Assistant was one of
> the listed apps? And you couldn't switch to it with that interface?

Yes sir.

[Jolly Roger]

On 2016-07-19, Ant <ANT...@zimage.com> wrote:
> In comp.sys.mac.apps Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:
>
>> If you want to run Migration Assistant (which is the name of the standalone
>> app) just launch it from the Applications folder like any other app. It
>> should show up.
>
> I never wanted both Assistants. Now, why does Setup Assistant come up
> after getting and installing Mac OS X updates? That's weird.

Not really. Setup Assistant transfers data and settings from an old
system to a new system during installation.

>> What version macOS did you start out with, and which major upgrades have
>> you installed since then?
>
> I don't remember what I got from IT people. I know it was Mac OS X
> v10.10.x/Yosemite.

Ah, sorry. I missed that because you put it only in the subject line.

>> Also have you ever installed a combo updater?
>
> Nope. Just from Mac OS X's App store for its updates. Should I try it
> even though it says I have no updates left to get? Is it safe to
> reinstall with those updates?

Installing a combo updater is very safe, and will often replace / reset
system and cache files that can cause problems if they are corrupt or
malformed for some reason. Whether installing the latest combo update
will help you at all is anyone's guess though. At any rate, doing so
won't hurt anything at all.

>> After the installer hung, you force rebooted, logged into your account,
>> then invoked the app switcher (Command-Tab), and Setup Assistant was one of
>> the listed apps? And you couldn't switch to it with that interface?
>
> Yes sir.

That doesn't make much sense. Why would Setup Assistant launch after you
logged in? Could you be mis-remembering?

[David Empson]

Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:

> On 2016-07-19, Ant <ANT...@zimage.com> wrote:
> > In comp.sys.mac.apps Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:
> >
> >> If you want to run Migration Assistant (which is the name of the standalone
> >> app) just launch it from the Applications folder like any other app. It
> >> should show up.
> >
> > I never wanted both Assistants. Now, why does Setup Assistant come up
> > after getting and installing Mac OS X updates? That's weird.
>
> Not really. Setup Assistant transfers data and settings from an old
> system to a new system during installation.

It is also used to do initial setup of a Mac with a fresh install of OS
X (if not transferring data), _and_ it gets invoked to do minor setup
tasks as part of the post-install step of some minor version updates for
OS X (e.g. signing in to iCloud again, doing automatic post-install
cleanup, with a "Setting up your Mac" window).

I'm a little puzzled why Ant would be seeing Setup Assistant after
installing a _Yosemite_ update that just appeared, because the only such
updates were iTunes, Safari and a security update, none of which should
have required Setup Assistant (I didn't see Setup Assistant when I
installed those updates on two Yosemite systems here, but I did for the
El Capitan 10.11.6 update).

On the other hand, if Ant had finally got around to installing 10.10.5
(nearly a year old) because he was still on 10.10.4 or earlier, then
that probably would have invoked Setup Assistant.

> >> What version macOS did you start out with, and which major upgrades have
> >> you installed since then?
> >
> > I don't remember what I got from IT people. I know it was Mac OS X
> > v10.10.x/Yosemite.

The 'x' is the interesting detail.

Ant - we can find out exactly what you did install as follows:

Apple menu
About This Mac
System Report

(The running application will now be System Information.)

In the left column scroll down and click on Installations under the
Software heading.

In the right panel click on the Install Date column (twice if necessary)
so it is sorted by date with the latest entry at the top.

Look for the names of items installed yesterday.

If you installed something called "OS X Update", that was probably
10.10.5 (it doesn't show the version in the installation list, but you
can find what version is currently running from About This Mac, or from
the top-level Software item in System Report).

Identifying which OS X version you were running prior to that would be
somewhat harder.

If you installed something called "Security Update 2016-004" then that
was the security update released yesterday.

(If you had been running 10.10.4 or earlier, then getting the latest
security update would have required installing 10.10.5 first, which
would have involved a restart, then after the system was up and running,
App Store would offer the latest security update, which requires a
further restart to install.)

> Ah, sorry. I missed that because you put it only in the subject line.
>
> >> Also have you ever installed a combo updater?
> >
> > Nope. Just from Mac OS X's App store for its updates. Should I try it
> > even though it says I have no updates left to get? Is it safe to
> > reinstall with those updates?
>
> Installing a combo updater is very safe, and will often replace / reset
> system and cache files that can cause problems if they are corrupt or
> malformed for some reason. Whether installing the latest combo update
> will help you at all is anyone's guess though. At any rate, doing so
> won't hurt anything at all.
>
> >> After the installer hung, you force rebooted, logged into your account,
> >> then invoked the app switcher (Command-Tab), and Setup Assistant was one of
> >> the listed apps? And you couldn't switch to it with that interface?
> >
> > Yes sir.
>
> That doesn't make much sense. Why would Setup Assistant launch after you
> logged in? Could you be mis-remembering?

That is the normal sequence if Setup Assistant is invoked as part of a
minor update.

The system does a partial shutdown for the bulk of the install, then
restarts, then finishes the install, then asks the user to log in. If
necessary, Setup Assistant then runs to do final steps, after which the
normal login sequence proceeds (Finder, Dock, login items, restore
previously running applications, etc.).

--
David Empson
dem...@actrix.gen.nz

[Jolly Roger]

On 2016-07-20, David Empson <dem...@actrix.gen.nz> wrote:
> Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:
>
>> On 2016-07-19, Ant <ANT...@zimage.com> wrote:
>> > In comp.sys.mac.apps Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:
>> >
>> >> If you want to run Migration Assistant (which is the name of the standalone
>> >> app) just launch it from the Applications folder like any other app. It
>> >> should show up.
>> >
>> > I never wanted both Assistants. Now, why does Setup Assistant come up
>> > after getting and installing Mac OS X updates? That's weird.
>>
>> Not really. Setup Assistant transfers data and settings from an old
>> system to a new system during installation.
>
> It is also used to do initial setup of a Mac with a fresh install of OS
> X (if not transferring data), _and_ it gets invoked to do minor setup
> tasks as part of the post-install step of some minor version updates for
> OS X (e.g. signing in to iCloud again, doing automatic post-install
> cleanup, with a "Setting up your Mac" window).

Right. I didn't want to comment on the post-install stuff since I didn't
have the details handy. Thanks.

[Ant]

In comp.sys.mac.system Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:

It only came up when I did the option+tab to see Finder and Setup
Assistant. I couldn't access them. I will have to wait for the next
updates to see if they return. Or maybe the combo updates reinstall will
reproduce it if I try again?

[Jolly Roger]

On 2016-07-20, Ant <ANT...@zimage.com> wrote:
> In comp.sys.mac.system Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:
>> On 2016-07-19, Ant <ANT...@zimage.com> wrote:
>>> In comp.sys.mac.apps Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:
>
>>>> After the installer hung, you force rebooted, logged into your account,
>>>> then invoked the app switcher (Command-Tab), and Setup Assistant was one of
>>>> the listed apps? And you couldn't switch to it with that interface?
>>>
>>> Yes sir.
>
>> That doesn't make much sense. Why would Setup Assistant launch after you
>> logged in? Could you be mis-remembering?
>
> It only came up when I did the option+tab to see Finder and Setup
> Assistant.

Command-Tab.

> I couldn't access them. I will have to wait for the next updates to
> see if they return. Or maybe the combo updates reinstall will
> reproduce it if I try again?

Hopefully not.

[Ant]

Nope. I always kept them updated every time Apple releases updates. :)

> > >> What version macOS did you start out with, and which major upgrades have
> > >> you installed since then?
> > >
> > > I don't remember what I got from IT people. I know it was Mac OS X
> > > v10.10.x/Yosemite.

> The 'x' is the interesting detail.

> Ant - we can find out exactly what you did install as follows:

> Apple menu
> About This Mac
> System Report

> (The running application will now be System Information.)

> In the left column scroll down and click on Installations under the
> Software heading.

> In the right panel click on the Install Date column (twice if necessary)
> so it is sorted by date with the latest entry at the top.

> Look for the names of items installed yesterday.

Apple's updates from yesterday:

Gatekeeper Configuration Data:

Version: 92
Source: Apple
Install Date: 7/18/16, 1:01 PM

XProtectPlistConfigData:

Version: 1.0
Source: Apple
Install Date: 7/18/16, 1:01 PM

iTunes:

Version: 12.4.2
Source: Apple
Install Date: 7/18/16, 12:55 PM

Safari:

Version: 9.1.2
Source: Apple
Install Date: 7/18/16, 12:55 PM

Security Update 2016-004:

Version: 10.10.5
Source: Apple
Install Date: 7/18/16, 12:55 PM


I also noticed the oldest says "OS X" on 8/3/2015. I assume that is when
IT guy installed it on this MBP. No Apple updates (e.g., Mac OS X
v10.10.5 -- no idea what version IT guy installed though) until I got
this MBP on 8/18/2015. I did many App Store's and third parties'
upgrades (e.g., MS Office) and installations since then.

> If you installed something called "OS X Update", that was probably
> 10.10.5 (it doesn't show the version in the installation list, but you
> can find what version is currently running from About This Mac, or from
> the top-level Software item in System Report).

> Identifying which OS X version you were running prior to that would be
> somewhat harder.

> If you installed something called "Security Update 2016-004" then that
> was the security update released yesterday.

It looks like the first Security Update was 2015-004 on 10/21/2015 12:43
PM PDT.

> (If you had been running 10.10.4 or earlier, then getting the latest
> security update would have required installing 10.10.5 first, which
> would have involved a restart, then after the system was up and running,
> App Store would offer the latest security update, which requires a
> further restart to install.)

> > Ah, sorry. I missed that because you put it only in the subject line.
> >
> > >> Also have you ever installed a combo updater?
> > >
> > > Nope. Just from Mac OS X's App store for its updates. Should I try it
> > > even though it says I have no updates left to get? Is it safe to
> > > reinstall with those updates?
> >
> > Installing a combo updater is very safe, and will often replace / reset
> > system and cache files that can cause problems if they are corrupt or
> > malformed for some reason. Whether installing the latest combo update
> > will help you at all is anyone's guess though. At any rate, doing so
> > won't hurt anything at all.

Do you think I should try the combo updater? If so, then is this the
correct web page with its download link:
https://support.apple.com/kb/dl1832?locale=en_US ? Its post date was
from almost a year ago. :/

> > >> After the installer hung, you force rebooted, logged into your account,
> > >> then invoked the app switcher (Command-Tab), and Setup Assistant was one of
> > >> the listed apps? And you couldn't switch to it with that interface?
> > >
> > > Yes sir.
> >
> > That doesn't make much sense. Why would Setup Assistant launch after you
> > logged in? Could you be mis-remembering?

> That is the normal sequence if Setup Assistant is invoked as part of a
> minor update.

> The system does a partial shutdown for the bulk of the install, then
> restarts, then finishes the install, then asks the user to log in. If
> necessary, Setup Assistant then runs to do final steps, after which the
> normal login sequence proceeds (Finder, Dock, login items, restore
> previously running applications, etc.).

It sounds like it got stuck somewhere here to force me to force reboot
to finish a few times over the year. I hope this didn't break anything.
:O

[Ant]

In comp.sys.mac.system Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:
> On 2016-07-20, Ant <ANT...@zimage.com> wrote:
> > In comp.sys.mac.system Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:
> >> On 2016-07-19, Ant <ANT...@zimage.com> wrote:
> >>> In comp.sys.mac.apps Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:
> >
> >>>> After the installer hung, you force rebooted, logged into your account,
> >>>> then invoked the app switcher (Command-Tab), and Setup Assistant was one of
> >>>> the listed apps? And you couldn't switch to it with that interface?
> >>>
> >>> Yes sir.
> >
> >> That doesn't make much sense. Why would Setup Assistant launch after you
> >> logged in? Could you be mis-remembering?
> >
> > It only came up when I did the option+tab to see Finder and Setup
> > Assistant.

> Command-Tab.

Oops, you're right. ;)

> > I couldn't access them. I will have to wait for the next updates to
> > see if they return. Or maybe the combo updates reinstall will
> > reproduce it if I try again?

> Hopefully not.

OK.

[Ant]

In comp.sys.mac.system Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:

> On 2016-07-19, Ant <ANT...@zimage.com> wrote:
> > In comp.sys.mac.apps Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:
> >
> >> If you want to run Migration Assistant (which is the name of the standalone
> >> app) just launch it from the Applications folder like any other app. It
> >> should show up.
> >
> > I never wanted both Assistants. Now, why does Setup Assistant come up
> > after getting and installing Mac OS X updates? That's weird.

> Not really. Setup Assistant transfers data and settings from an old
> system to a new system during installation.

> >> What version macOS did you start out with, and which major upgrades have
> >> you installed since then?
> >
> > I don't remember what I got from IT people. I know it was Mac OS X
> > v10.10.x/Yosemite.

> Ah, sorry. I missed that because you put it only in the subject line.

> >> Also have you ever installed a combo updater?
> >
> > Nope. Just from Mac OS X's App store for its updates. Should I try it
> > even though it says I have no updates left to get? Is it safe to
> > reinstall with those updates?

> Installing a combo updater is very safe, and will often replace / reset
> system and cache files that can cause problems if they are corrupt or
> malformed for some reason. Whether installing the latest combo update
> will help you at all is anyone's guess though. At any rate, doing so
> won't hurt anything at all.

OK, I downloaded this huge combo update for Mac OS X v10.10.5/Yosemite,
but it wouldn't let me install onto MBP's tiny SSD:
http://i.imgur.com/16rFzG1.gif ... Is 16.21 GB not enough or something?
The web page only says the requirement is Mac OS X v10.10.5. :/

[David Empson]

You can't reinstall the 10.10.5 combo update after having installed one
of the later security updates, because that security update (and
subsequent ones) increased the OS build number, and the resulting system
is too new for the 10.10.5 combo update.

If you really want to reinstall 10.10.5, you'd have to do it using the
full Yosemite 10.10.5 installer (or an earlier minor version followed by
the 10.10.5 combo update), then install the latest security and Safari
updates again.

--
David Empson
dem...@actrix.gen.nz

[Ant]

...

> > > >> Also have you ever installed a combo updater?
> > > >
> > > > Nope. Just from Mac OS X's App store for its updates. Should I try it
> > > > even though it says I have no updates left to get? Is it safe to
> > > > reinstall with those updates?
> >
> > > Installing a combo updater is very safe, and will often replace / reset
> > > system and cache files that can cause problems if they are corrupt or
> > > malformed for some reason. Whether installing the latest combo update
> > > will help you at all is anyone's guess though. At any rate, doing so
> > > won't hurt anything at all.
> >
> > OK, I downloaded this huge combo update for Mac OS X v10.10.5/Yosemite,
> > but it wouldn't let me install onto MBP's tiny SSD:
> > http://i.imgur.com/16rFzG1.gif ... Is 16.21 GB not enough or something?
> > The web page only says the requirement is Mac OS X v10.10.5. :/

> You can't reinstall the 10.10.5 combo update after having installed one
> of the later security updates, because that security update (and
> subsequent ones) increased the OS build number, and the resulting system
> is too new for the 10.10.5 combo update.

> If you really want to reinstall 10.10.5, you'd have to do it using the
> full Yosemite 10.10.5 installer (or an earlier minor version followed by
> the 10.10.5 combo update), then install the latest security and Safari
> updates again.

Oh. No wonder. Bah, why were people telling to try it? Sheesh. :P

[Jolly Roger]

On 2016-07-23, Ant <ANT...@zimage.com> wrote:
> ...
>>>>>> Also have you ever installed a combo updater?
>>>>>
>>>>> Nope. Just from Mac OS X's App store for its updates. Should I try it
>>>>> even though it says I have no updates left to get? Is it safe to
>>>>> reinstall with those updates?
>>>
>>>> Installing a combo updater is very safe, and will often replace / reset
>>>> system and cache files that can cause problems if they are corrupt or
>>>> malformed for some reason. Whether installing the latest combo update
>>>> will help you at all is anyone's guess though. At any rate, doing so
>>>> won't hurt anything at all.
>>>
>>> OK, I downloaded this huge combo update for Mac OS X v10.10.5/Yosemite,
>>> but it wouldn't let me install onto MBP's tiny SSD:
>>> http://i.imgur.com/16rFzG1.gif ... Is 16.21 GB not enough or something?
>>> The web page only says the requirement is Mac OS X v10.10.5. :/
>
>> You can't reinstall the 10.10.5 combo update after having installed one
>> of the later security updates, because that security update (and
>> subsequent ones) increased the OS build number, and the resulting system
>> is too new for the 10.10.5 combo update.
>
>> If you really want to reinstall 10.10.5, you'd have to do it using the
>> full Yosemite 10.10.5 installer (or an earlier minor version followed by
>> the 10.10.5 combo update), then install the latest security and Safari
>> updates again.
>
> Oh. No wonder. Bah, why were people telling to try it? Sheesh. :P

Because it often works. Like I said, installing the latest combo update

will often replace / reset system and cache files that can cause

problems if they are corrupt.

[Jolly Roger]

On 2016-07-23, David Empson <dem...@actrix.gen.nz> wrote:

> Ant <ANT...@zimage.com> wrote:
>
>> OK, I downloaded this huge combo update for Mac OS X v10.10.5/Yosemite,
>> but it wouldn't let me install onto MBP's tiny SSD:
>> http://i.imgur.com/16rFzG1.gif ... Is 16.21 GB not enough or something?
>> The web page only says the requirement is Mac OS X v10.10.5. :/
>
> You can't reinstall the 10.10.5 combo update after having installed one
> of the later security updates, because that security update (and
> subsequent ones) increased the OS build number, and the resulting system
> is too new for the 10.10.5 combo update.

I wonder how long that has been the case. I don't recall ever not being
able to install a combo update; but then I haven't needed to do it very
often in the past either.

[Lewis]

In message <yPGdne3GcILxUQ7K...@earthlink.com>

Ant <ANT...@zimage.com> wrote:
> ...
>> > > >> Also have you ever installed a combo updater?
>> > > >
>> > > > Nope. Just from Mac OS X's App store for its updates. Should I try it
>> > > > even though it says I have no updates left to get? Is it safe to
>> > > > reinstall with those updates?
>> >
>> > > Installing a combo updater is very safe, and will often replace / reset
>> > > system and cache files that can cause problems if they are corrupt or
>> > > malformed for some reason. Whether installing the latest combo update
>> > > will help you at all is anyone's guess though. At any rate, doing so
>> > > won't hurt anything at all.
>> >
>> > OK, I downloaded this huge combo update for Mac OS X v10.10.5/Yosemite,
>> > but it wouldn't let me install onto MBP's tiny SSD:
>> > http://i.imgur.com/16rFzG1.gif ... Is 16.21 GB not enough or something?
>> > The web page only says the requirement is Mac OS X v10.10.5. :/

>> You can't reinstall the 10.10.5 combo update after having installed one
>> of the later security updates, because that security update (and
>> subsequent ones) increased the OS build number, and the resulting system
>> is too new for the 10.10.5 combo update.

>> If you really want to reinstall 10.10.5, you'd have to do it using the
>> full Yosemite 10.10.5 installer (or an earlier minor version followed by
>> the 10.10.5 combo update), then install the latest security and Safari
>> updates again.

> Oh. No wonder. Bah, why were people telling to try it? Sheesh. :P

"Use the Combo Updater" is a bit ot pseudo-lore along the lines of
"reset the PRAM". It is oft given advice that is *nearly* always
useless.

--
Commander: "Seems odd you'd name your ship after a battle you were on
the wrong side of."

Mal: "May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the
wrong one."

[David Empson]

Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:

> On 2016-07-23, David Empson <dem...@actrix.gen.nz> wrote:
> > Ant <ANT...@zimage.com> wrote:
> >
> >> OK, I downloaded this huge combo update for Mac OS X v10.10.5/Yosemite,
> >> but it wouldn't let me install onto MBP's tiny SSD:
> >> http://i.imgur.com/16rFzG1.gif ... Is 16.21 GB not enough or something?
> >> The web page only says the requirement is Mac OS X v10.10.5. :/
> >
> > You can't reinstall the 10.10.5 combo update after having installed one
> > of the later security updates, because that security update (and
> > subsequent ones) increased the OS build number, and the resulting system
> > is too new for the 10.10.5 combo update.
>
> I wonder how long that has been the case. I don't recall ever not being
> able to install a combo update; but then I haven't needed to do it very
> often in the past either.

I remember investigating it a while ago when someone reported they
couldn't reinstall a combo update.

Found it: I posted about it 6 months ago in uk.comp.sys.mac (after
having commented about the same issue on Macintouch.com, in that case in
reference to 10.8.5).

The uk.c.s.m thread title was "Install 10.10.5 Combined update on
10.10.5". My two posts with the details had these message IDs:

<1mgpefp.67t5l5eirj6xN%dem...@actrix.gen.nz>
<1mgsbt6.1wpqwmd86avtbN%dem...@actrix.gen.nz>

This is what I wrote in the second post:

10.9.5 (Mavericks) and 10.10.5 (Yosemite) have the same pattern: the
final combo update won't allow installation on anything newer than its
own build.

For Yosemite, the first security update after 10.10.5 incremented the
system build (to 14F1021), so any post-10.10.5 security updates will
prevent the 10.10.5 combo update being reinstalled.

For Mavericks, the third security update after 10.9.5 (2015-002) was the
first one to increase the system build (to 13F066), so that and
subsequent security updates prevent the 10.9.5 combo update being
installed.

10.8.5 (Mountain Lion) has a fairly large window: it is build 12F45 but
will allow installation on anything up to build 12F1999. The seventh
security update after 10.8.5 (2015-002) was the first to increase the
system build (to 12F2501), so that and subsequent security updates
prevent the 10.8.5 combo update being installed.

Going back to Lion and Snow Leopard, their final security updates didn't
change the system build, so their final combo update can still be
reinstalled.

The fact that this "can't reinstall combo update" happened at the same
time for Mavericks and Mountain Lion, and Yosemite immediately followed
the same pattern with its first security update makes it look like a
policy change rather than a technical reason.

[end quote]

Based on those security updates, it looks like Apple made a policy
change in March 2015.

I expect the reason for the policy change is that security updates may
add files which didn't exist in the final combo update, or possibly
replace files that were not modified after the original release of the
OS. Therefore reinstalling the combo update after a later security
update would result in a system which still included some newer files,
which could have unexpected implications.

At a minimum, it means the system build number wouldn't match the
expected set of installed files, depending on the install/reinstall
sequence used.

--
David Empson
dem...@actrix.gen.nz

[Jolly Roger]

It's not useless for the specific case I mentioned: that files installed by
the update are corrupt.

[Lewis]

In message <dviplo...@mid.individual.net>

Sure, but the last time that happened to me was one of the 10.5 updates,
and even before that it was not something that happened with any
frequency.

--
If there's a bustle in your hedgerow don't be alarmed now.

[Jolly Roger]

You are the only one here talking about frequency. I haven't seen anyone
suggest doing this more than just once in this thread, and I rarely see
combo updates mentioned online. Where's the pseudo-lore?

[Jolly Roger]

Thanks for that detail. That explains why I haven't encountered the
issue since I haven't needed to use a combo update recently. I can
understand there are likely valid reasons for the change, but I dislike
that it makes things harder for anyone wanting to use the combo updates.
: (

[Lewis]

In message <dvjtis...@mid.individual.net>

It's a frequent recommendation for "I don't know what's wrong" and it is
also something that a lot of people do because they were told 10 years
ago to do it, so they always install the combo updaters. It is very
similar to "zap the pram" suggestions.

--
NO ONE WANTS TO HEAR FROM MY ARMPITS Bart chalkboard Ep. 3F01