Dec 16, 2020 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions

I'm trying to update macOS from High Sierra 10.13.6 and as soon as I accept the terms of the update a box comes up that says Checking '(null)'. It's been 'checking' for 30 min for both newest Catalina and Big Sur. Nothing is happening (i'm a rookie at mac). I found a temporary workaround that worked for me.I logged into my discord from a separate device, started a voice chat, and quit the discord app on my Mac. Stayed in the voice chat on the other device, and logged back in on the Mac. Went to voice settings and set it to 'press to talk'- it stopped freaking out for the time being.

Use Terminal for Checking macOS app Store Updates The terminal is not for the faint of heart but the courageous. So, use this method with caution and only if you feel comfortable. And remember that all terminal commands require administrator privileges and you must know and enter your admin password. Mac users may find that a system update, installer, or package (pkg) can get completely stuck in a verification sequence, with a pop-up alert that says “Verifying ‘name.pkg’” while showing the Gatekeeper icon and a progress bar that never updates.

Part One: Introduction

Part Two: Why Can't I Update My Mac?

Part Three: How Do I Update My Operating System on My Mac?

Part Four: What Do I Do If My Mac Won't Update?

Part Five: Recover Your Data

Have you ever found yourself staring at a computer screen, clutching your head in your hands, and asking the question, 'Why won't my Mac update?'

Computer trouble is always frustrating, and even more so with Macs because, to be frank, things don't go wrong very often on a Mac. It gets easy to expect that nothing ever will.

But if you find yourself staring down a computer that just will not work right, don't worry. There are ways to fix a corrupted Mac OS update. Read on to learn the symptoms of a corrupted update and what you can do about it.

Why Won't My Mac Update?

You might see these problems or errors when you're trying to update your Mac. Here's what's causing them.

Symptoms and Error Messages

If you have a problem with your Mac's latest update, chances are the problems are going to show up when you try to boot up the computer. You may get a message that reads 'A critical software update is required for your Mac, but an error was encountered while installing this update. Your Mac can't be used until this update is installed.'

You could also start getting a screen with a black background and white text in four languages. The text will read, 'You need to restart your computer. Hold down the Power button for several seconds, or press the Restart button.'

In some cases, your Mac won't even get as far as booting up long enough to get you an error message. Some update problems can be so severe that your system won't boot up at all, even if you know the computer is plugged in and working fine.

More commonly, you may see a system that begins to boot and then crashes. Your Mac may get stuck on a blue or gray screen and refuse to move from there. Or you may get a flashing question mark on your screen.

Causes of the Problem

Oftentimes if your Mac runs into an issue with an update, it's because the update process was interrupted somehow. Maybe you lost power or lost patience and unplugged the computer partway through the process. If a laptop battery died or you tried to turn a system off before it finished updating, it can land the computer in a sort of limbo between updated and running an update.

Imagine if you and a friend were driving down a highway you know when you fell asleep. Once you woke up, you were on a stretch of road you didn't recognize, and you didn't know how to get back home or to your destination.

That's the state your computer finds itself in when an update is interrupted – as long as it's got power during the update, it knows where it is on the road, but as soon as it goes to sleep, it's lost the way.

If your computer won't boot up or boots and then crashes, you may be dealing with a problem called a kernel panic. This is where your computer runs into a critical problem when it tries to turn on. Its response to hitting critical problems is to try to start fresh, so it reboots, but if the problem is with the system, it can get stuck in an endless loop of reboots and crashes.

There are a ton of things that can cause a kernel panic, including installing new apps or not getting them installed in the right folder. You may have outdated drivers or plugins or apps that conflict with each other. There may also be some hardware issues or broken disk permissions.

How Do I Update My Operating System on My Mac?

We'll guide you through running updates on your Mac, whether it's old or new.

Normal Updates

So before we dive into troubleshooting, let's talk about how you update a Mac under normal circumstances. First open the System Preferences app, which should be under an icon in your dock that looks like a gear inside a silver box. You can also click the apple symbol at the top left of your screen and choose 'System Preferences.'

If you're up to date on your software, you should have a 'Software Update' option under System Preferences. When you click this, it will check for updates to your operating system. If it finds any updates, it will give you information about what they are and give you the option to 'Update Now.'

You can also choose to have your Mac automatically run any updates that come through. This will save you having to check every so often on whether your system has any updates waiting. It can also help fend off problems before they start since it will prevent kernel panics over outdated drivers and the like.

Earlier OS Versions

If you aren't up to date on your operating system, you'll have to go through a couple of extra steps to update your computer. You'll still start in System Preferences, but this time you'll go to the App Store icon. You can also open the App Store app from your launchpad; the Icon looks like a white A made of a pencil and a paintbrush on a blue background.

In the App Store, navigate to the 'Updates' section of the top menu bar. This will be on the right side of the menu bar next to 'Categories' and 'Purchased.' You'll be able to check here for new updates both to apps and to your operating system and run them if they come up.

You may notice that you have a few incompatible app updates listed. More than likely this is because you haven't updated your operating system software in a long time. There may be some apps that have new updates that are not compatible with your current operating system.

The Latest Version

The latest version of the Mac OS is version 10.15, or Catalina. This version is set to release on October 4, 2019, though it has been out on a beta testing basis for a while now. You can check if your computer is running this version yet by clicking the apple icon at the top left of your screen and selecting 'About This Mac.'

There are two sides to the question of whether to update your Mac; will you get all the cool new features, or will you just wind up with a computer that no longer works the way you need it to?

In general, if your computer was made in the last five years, it's a good idea to run the update. But if your computer is more than five years old, it's best to stick with what works for you.

Updating Old Systems

So what if you do still have some of those older operating systems running on your computer? It depends a lot on which computer you're running, but almost all of them will still support Sierra. Only newer machines will support Mojave and Catalina, and nothing above a 2015 Retina will still run El Capitan or the older operating systems.

You may be wondering what to do with the 'Install Mac OS Mojave' app you have leftover after your 10.14 update. You can delete this app with no problem; that's the installer, and it doesn't serve any purpose once the OS is installed. You can go to 'Applications' in Finder, drag the app to the trash can, and clear the trash can to get rid of it.

What Do I Do If My Mac Won't Update?

There are some steps you can take to get your Mac updated even if it seems stuck.

Install in Safe Mode

If you can't get your Mac to update properly, the first thing to do is try to run the update in Safe Mode. Safe Mode is a diagnostic mode that you find in both Windows and Mac operating systems. It prevents some of the usual background processes from running, which can make it easier to sniff out bugs on a PC and can keep your computer from loading some of the programs that may be causing it problems during booting on a Mac.

The easiest way to boot into Safe Mode on a Mac is to hold down the shift k

Discord Stuck Checking For Updates On Mac Os Sierra