The excitement of installing a new version of macOS, especially if its a High Sierra 10.13, is only tempered by the possibility of it not working properly or not being compatible with the apps you use most.
Nov 18, 2020 On an Intel-based Mac that previously used macOS Sierra 10.12.4 or later, you can use Shift-Option-Command-R at startup to install the macOS that came with your Mac, or the closest version still available. Reinstall macOS from the App Store instead of using macOS Recovery. To automatically install macOS updates, select “Automatically keep my Mac up to date.” To set advanced update options, click Advanced, then do any of the following: To have your Mac check for updates automatically, select “Check for updates.” To have your Mac download updates without asking, select “Download new updates when available.”. MacOS Sierra; OS X El Capitan. It only means that the installer won't run on that system version. And five external displays from the M1 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, with the aid of. This app is just fine on mobile platforms. My brand new Macbook Pro with 8GB of RAM was running the fan like crazy and couldn't even keep websites loaded. I checked the wifi, closed and reloaded tabs, did updates, etc. Nothing helped, and I was feeling like a I might have a serious problem.
Before you begin upgrade to macOS make a bootable backup
If you haven’t started the process of upgrading yet, check if the Mac is compatible with macOS High Sierra and make a bootable backup.
Do it now, before you do anything else. If things go disastrously wrong at least you’ll be able to boot from macOS’ Recovery partition and migrate all your data back to your Mac. You can use any backup tool you like – Apple obviously favours Time Machine, but you don’t have to use it. You can use, for example, Get Backup Pro, which comes with your Setapp subscription. Don’t have a Setapp subscription? Click here to sign up.
Common macOS High Sierra problems
While most new versions of macOS are relatively problem-free, it’s not unknown for users to have issues – particularly with a beta or .0 release. Thankfully most are easy to resolve. Here’s how to fix the most common High Sierra issues.
High Sierra installer won’t download
If you’re trying to download the macOS High Sierra installer, you’ll need to have signed up to App Store. If you’ve done that, and managed to start the downloading process only for it to fail, force quit the App Store app.
- Press Cmd-Alt-Esc or go to the Apple menu and choose Force Quit.
- Select the App Store app and confirm you want to force quit.
- Re-launch the App Store and try downloading again.
macOS High Sierra won’t install
If the download completes successfully but the installation doesn’t finish, force quit the installer using the same procedure as above.
- Restart your Mac
- Launch the App Store app and go to the Purchases tab.
- Find macOS High Sierra and click Install.
If that doesn’t work, try deleting the downloaded installer (it’s in your Applications folder) using CleanMyMac and download it again.
If you have a copy of macOS Server in your applications folder, that may be the root of the problem. Delete it and try again.
Getting the rainbow wheel every few seconds after upgrade
Check console.app and if you’re getting errors from sandboxd and hidd (IOKit), your problem is a third party software. It’s probably because it wasn’t supported by the new APFS file system. It tries to repeatedly update causing your Mac laptop to be stuck in an endless loop. To fix this issue, just find and remove this app and everything will be fine.
What if macOS High Sierra stops responding?
If your Mac hangs and you can’t do anything at all, wait up to half an hour to see if that helps. If not, force your Mac to restart by holding down the power button and waiting for it to shutdown and then start again.
Fix macOS problems
A top-notch selection of tools for fixing High Sierra issues. Try what works for you the best, free of charge.
macOS 10.13 High Sierra keeps logging out
In case you’re getting tired of you new OS kicking you out of your account on random occasions, there’s a chance it’s pretty easy to turn it off. For instance, there is a setting in your Security & Privacy menu that is responsible for that.
- Go to Security & Privacy > Advanced and find the box saying “Log out after… minutes of inactivity.”
- Uncheck it.
You can go even further and turn off the need to enter your password every time you open your Mac or turn it on. In the same Security menu find General settings and uncheck another box, the one saying “Require password after sleep or screen saver begins.” As you can tell, though, that it not the most secure option, especially if it’s your work computer or if you can expect other people getting a hold of it.
If the problem occurs when you’re using Chrome browser, disable the hardware acceleration feature: look for Advanced menu in its settings and turn off hardware acceleration.
How to fix USB devices not recognized on High Sierra
It’s not a nice thing to find out after getting a brand new system, but some Macs have been struggling with USB devices after the upgrade. If your Mac is one of them and refuses to see or read USB drives, external drives, and so on, try resetting SMC.
We’ve explained earlier in the article how to do it, but here’s brief instruction. For all laptop Macs like MacBook, MacBook Pro, and Air, simply turn it off and then on again, while holding Shift + Control + Option and the Power button for 10 seconds.
For iMac, Mac mini, Mac Pro, and Xserve, You start my turning off your Mac and then unplug the power cord. Chill for about 15 seconds. Look out of the window or something. Plug the cord back in, wait a couple of seconds and turn your Mac on.
If the problem remains, you can try to reinstall High Sierra or consult with customer support at Apple.
Security issues in High Sierra: Password Stealing
The only known and relatively famous security issue with the latest macOS is the password stealing code created by security researcher Patrick Wardle. Long story short, he showed that if he wanted to (and you allowed him by installing his malicious code on your Mac), he could extract your passwords from Keychain without having your master password for the system.
If you look into it, it all boils down to “Don’t get into white vans with strangers and don’t install suspicious software from shady developers on your Mac.” Basic safety precautions. Make sure you visit the developer’s website, make sure you install signed apps from trusted sources. That’s about it.
To check your safety settings, go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General and see if ‘App Store and Identified’ developers is selected.
Meanwhile, Apple is reportedly working hard on patching up the breach.
How to fix Mac running slow on macOS High Sierra
In case you’ve just upgraded to the new macOS and your Mac runs slower than it used to, worry not. It’s common and it’s not exactly an issue. The thing is that your Mac is reindexing a bunch of files while running a new system and it slows down its productivity and performance.
For 12-24 hours your Mac could experience these trouble and they are still within the range of normal behavior. If your Mac is running slow a few days after the upgrade, try some Mac-optimizing utilities to fix it. For instance, there is an app called CleanMyMac that can remove system junk and speed up your Mac. It’s a Mac cleaner with a set of handy utilities, some of which might come in handy.
For instance, one of the reasons for your Mac slowing down could be that some apps hog too much RAM. To see if this is the problem, try opening Activity Monitor and see which apps take to much processing power. If some of them seem to be exceedingly greedy and you’re pretty sure that’s not how it’s supposed to be, you can reset them.
To fix RAM-consuming apps, use the special module in the CleanMyMac app that we mentioned earlier, Uninstaller. Simply open CleanMyMac, go to Uninstaller, find the app in question and click Reset. The app will then lose its preferences and stored info and roll back to default settings. It’s basically like reinstalling it but without the hassle.
If your Mac goes all the way and becomes completely unresponsive or even needs rebooting, follow the instruction in our guide on how to speed up a slow Mac after installing macOS.
Fix problems with apps compability
With every macOS upgrade there are older versions of apps that are no longer supported by their developers. One casualty of High Sierra is Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac. Microsoft has said that it will not offer support for it running on new macOS and it’s likely you’ll have problems with it. The only solution is to upgrade to Office 2016.
For other apps, upgrade them and check the developer’s website for details of High Sierra support. Even if an app doesn’t work with the new version of the new OS, it’s possible its developer is still working on support and it will work by the time macOS ships.
If you want to delete an app – perhaps because you’ve replaced it with a newer version – use CleanMyMac Uninstaller to make sure you delete all the files associated with the app.
Display issues on High Sierra
A few things can go wrong with your Mac’s display after the upgrade, so let’s see what can be done when they occur. You might experience troubles waking your Mac from sleep, when the display just never comes live or it does, but minutes after you’ve jammed every key on the keyboard.
Then you might also experience flickering of certain images while browsing the web. The last issue is a grey screen or a blue screen that signal something going pretty wrong with the whole Mac-to-display connection.
What you need to do to fix it is resetting your NVRAM. It’s that kind of memory that unlike regular RAM is non-volitile which means it keeps info when your Mac is turned off. That’s why simply turning it off and on again won’t help. Anyway, it’s a quick fix.
- Turn your Mac off and when you turn it back on, hold Command+Option+P+R while it’s booting. You will either see your screen blink twice or hear a two chimes.
- After that you need to have your System Management Controller reset also.
- Turn your Mac off again and press and hold Shift + Control + Option and the Power button for 10-15 seconds.
That should do it.
Fix Wi-Fi problems
One of the issues that has been reported the macOS High Sierra is with wifi signals. To analyse your wifi network after installation, use WiFi Explorer or NetSpot, both available in Setapp. Both these tools map the wifi networks within range of your Mac and identify areas where signals are either strong or weak. By using one of these apps, you should be able to tell if your Mac is having wifi problems.
If you can’t identify a problem and can’t connect to a network, try switching wifi off in the Finder menu bar, waiting 30 seconds and switching it back on again.
Bluetooth issues on macOS 10.13
Not much has been reported about Bluetooth issues on macOS High Sierra at the moment. However, there’s always one infallible piece of advice to give: re-pair your device. Find the Bluetooth icon in the upper right corner and open its preferences. If you can’t see it there, go to System Preferences and find Bluetooth menu.
Hover on the device in question and click the X-mark next to it. This not just disconnects the device, but removes it entirely from the list until you pair it back. To restore the device, set it into the painting mode and when it shows up in the list below, click “Pair.”
My Macbook Air Won't Let Me Download Macos Sierra On A Windows 10
macOS High Sierra battery problems
Ramping up performance and adding new features while avoiding putting more strain on a battery is tough. So don’t be surprised if your Mac’s battery (if it’s a laptop) doesn’t last as long after upgrading. Use iStat Menus, available in Setapp, to monitor battery life – as well as CPU usage, fan speeds, temperatures and a host of other data. That way you’ll be able to tell if your battery really is performing less well after upgrading.
Your Mac use more power when it’s processor is under stress – partly because it generates heat which needs fans to cool it. So quit any apps that are hogging processor cycles if you’re not using them. You should also update apps to their most recent versions, and could turn down your screen’s brightness and move somewhere cooler if you’re sitting somewhere that’s particularly hot.
If your Mac’s battery hasn’t been its best self since the upgrade, try checking where the problem is. Open Activity Monitor > Energy and see which apps take up the most. Browsers and rendering software is expected to be energy-heavy, so that’s normal.
But if you’re seeing some minor applications you rarely use taking up a chunk, consider uninstalling them. You can use the specially-made CleanMyMac's Uninstaller for the job, because just dragging an app to the trash doesn’t uninstall it fully.
No Mail notifications in macOS High Sierra
In case you either see mail notification for less then a second or don’t see it at all, there might be a problem with settings. Try checking if you have the notifications turned on in System Preferences > Notifications. Does you alert style say “Banner”? If it does but the problem remains, change the alert style from 'Banner' to 'Alert' or 'None'. After that you can switch it to 'Banner' again and from now on it should work fine.
APFS compatibility issue with games and Unity engine
This part is for gamers only. If any of these names ring a bell for you, don’t rush to upgrade: 'Cities: Skylines', 'Civilization V', 'Team Fortress 2,' 'Half-Life 2,' and 'Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.'
Developers of these games and of the Unity engine, joined by threads on Reddit and Steam, have all voiced concerns about the APFS system and its compatibility with the main game engine and graphic controls. So, before you upgrade, hit Reddit or Google and find out if these troubles have been resolved.
If all else fails
If a force restart doesn’t work and you can’t get your Mac to run the new OS at all, the next step is to try repairing the disk on which it’s installed.
- Restart your Mac while holding downs cmd+R to boot in recovery mode.
- When it’s booted, choose Disk Utilities from the macOS Utilities menu.
- Click Repair Disk to to fix any problems on the disk.
- When it’s done, restart your Mac normally.
If that doesn’t work, you’ll need to reinstall macOS.
- Plug in the hard drive on which you made the bootable backup and select it as your Mac’s Startup Disk in System Preferences.
- Re-boot while holding down cmd+R.
- When the macOS Utilities menu appears, choose Disk Utilities and use it to erase you Mac’s main drive.
When it’s done, choose Reinstall macOS and select your Mac’s main drive as the destination. Wait for High Sierra to install and restart. When you see the Setup Assistant, choose the option to migrate data from another disk and choose the external disk as the source.
My Macbook Air Wont Let Me Download Macos Sierra 10.12
These might also interest you:
Setapp lives on Mac and iOS. Please come back from another device.
Meantime, prepare for all the awesome things you can do with Setapp.
Read onSign Up
Setapp uses cookies to personalize your experience on our website. By continuing to use this site, you agree to our cookie policy.
Apple’s latest macOS, Catalina, has just been released to the public last October 7, 2019 and you can now install it on your Mac, as long as your device meets the hardware requirements. First revealed during the WWDC 2019 conference in San Jose, California, macOS Catalina introduces some new exciting features and functionalities.
As we say goodbye to iTunes, macOS Catalina brings in new apps and features to the table, including Apple Music, Podcasts Books, and TV. Another major feature is Sidecar, which can turn your iPad into another display. For ordinary users, this means getting a secondary display for free. For developers, on the other hand, this secondary screen can be used as a drawing tablet using supported apps.
With the release of macOS Catalina 10.15, a lot of Mac users are enthusiastic to install the newest Mac operating system. Just like the previous versions of macOS, some were able to upgrade without a hitch, but several users encountered various issues during downloading and installation of the update.
Some users experienced slow downloading of the update, while others got error messages when installing Catalina, including:
- Storage system verify or repair failed
- This copy of the Install application can’t be verified. It may have been corrupted or tampered with during downloading.
- An error occurred while preparing the installation. Try running again.
- Copy of install macOS application is damaged and can’t be used to install macOS.
- There is not enough free space on the selected volume.
This guide will give you a detailed rundown of the most common macOS Catalina installation and update errors encountered by Mac users when upgrading or installing macOS Catalina, along with the instructions on how to deal with these hiccups.
Why macOS Catalina Won’t Install
Various problems can occur during the installation of macOS Catalina. If the installation won’t start, seems to freeze midway , or never seems to complete, then it means that there must be something wrong somewhere.
The first main reason why users can’t install macOS Catalina is compatibility problem. If your Mac doesn’t support macOS Catalina, you won’t be able to proceed with the installation. You need a fairly recent Mac to be able to run macOS Catalina. Here are the Mac models that support the newest macOS:
- MacBook (2015) and later
- MacBook Air (2012) and later
- MacBook Pro (2012) and later
- Mac Mini (2012) and later
- iMac (2012) and later
- iMac Pro (2017) and later
- Mac Pro (2013) and later
If your device is not on this list, then you’re sure to run into problems when installing Catalina.
Another thing you need to check before installation is your available storage space. You will need around 6.5 GB just to download the installer. Once you’ve downloaded it, the amount of space you will need during the installation depends on whether you’re doing a clean install or an upgrade.
A clean install will eat up around 20 GB of storage. On top of that, you have to make room for apps, user data, and user updates. An upgrade install, on the other hand, will only take up 6.5 GB of space for the installer, plus some installation files that the installer will copy to your startup drive.
If you’re tight on storage space, you should consider removing unneeded apps and files on your Mac. You can uninstall the apps one by one, and delete cache files and data using Outbyte MacRepair. Make sure you have at least 25 GB of free space to be able to install macOS Catalina successfully.
My Macbook Air Won't Let Me Download Macos Sierra A 10 13
Aside from compatibility issues and insufficient storage, poor internet connection, incomplete or corrupted installation files, hard disk problems, and faulty software can also cause issues during the installation of macOS Catalina.
Installation Checklist for macOS Catalina
Before proceeding with the installation, it is necessary to spend some time ticking off the checklist below. These steps will not only prevent errors from happening, but also ensure that your data remains safe in case something goes wrong.
- Back up your Mac, especially your iTunes media library since Catalina will no longer have iTunes.
- Take note of the 32-bit apps on your Mac . You will need to update them to the 64-bit version after upgrading, or find an alternative for them.
- Delete old Install macOS files from your Applications folder. These old macOS installation files may cause error during the upgrade.
- Remove all external drives and accessories.
- Plug in your Mac’s power adapter.
- Connect to a stable Wi-Fi network.
Once you’ve completed these steps, you can now proceed with the upgrade.
How to Upgrade to macOS Catalina
The easiest way to download and install macOS Catalina is through the App Store on your Mac. Just open the App Store and search for macOS Catalina. Click the install button to start downloading, then click Continue.
You can also visit the macOS Catalina website and download the installer from there. The installer will be downloaded to the Applications folder on your Mac. Once downloaded, the installer will open by itself. Just follow the onscreen instructions to proceed with the installation. You might be asked to log in using your admin username and password during the process.
As long as your device is compatible with Catalina and you’ve followed the instructions, you’ll be able to successfully install the new macOS on your Mac. But if you encounter any error during the download or installation, refer to our guide below to sort out the issue.
How to Fix Common Download Errors for macOS Catalina
Downloading the installer is the first step of the installation process. The installer takes up 6.5GB of storage, but you will need more space to be able to run the new macOS smoothly. If you have Automatic Updates enabled, the installer might already be downloaded on your device.
![Let Let](/uploads/1/1/9/6/119635310/526017611.jpg)
If the installer has not yet been downloaded, go to the Apple menu > System Preferences > Software Update to download Catalina.
If the downloading process gets stuck or is taking a long time to complete, here’s what you can do:
- Go to the Apple Server status website and check if the macOS Software Update‘s button is green. If not, then there’s probably some issues with the website, so you might need to try upgrading some other time.
- If the macOS Software Update is green, but you’re still having download problems, check your internet connection. Consider switching to a wired internet connection if possible.
- If the download is stuck for a long time, cancel it by clicking the X button.
- Switch to a different DNS server and retry the download again.
It might take a few attempts for the downloading to be successful, especially in the early days of the release of the update.
How to Fix Errors When Preparing for the Installation of macOS Catalina
Once you have successfully downloaded the installer to your device, the system then prepares your Mac for the installation process. There are users who encountered errors during this stage and came across the Error occurred preparing the installation. Try running the applicationagain message.
The first thing you need to do when you encounter this error is to reboot your Mac. You might need to restart your system a couple of times to deal with this problem. If the error doesn’t go away after rebooting, here are some steps you can try:
Check Your Mac’s System Date and Time.
An incorrect system time usually gets in the way of a lot of system processes, including updates. To make sure your Mac’s date and time are correct, follow the instructions below:
- Go to the Apple menu > System Preferences > Date & Time.
- Tick off Set Date and Time Automatically.
- If the option is already checked, uncheck it then reboot your Mac.
- Go back to the Date and Time panel and check the option again.
- Next, try re-installing macOS Catalina.
Re-Download the Installer.
If the step above did not work, you might have to delete the macOS Catalina installer on your Applications folder. Find the Install macOS file in the Applications folder and move it to the Trash. Empty the Trash and reboot. Once your Mac restarts, try downloading the installer and then run the install process again.
Delete the Installinfo.plist File.
If you encounter the Copy of install macOS application is damaged and cant be used to install macOS error during the preparation of the installation, the best workaround is to delete the installinfo.plist from the installer package, then try re-installing.
To delete the installinfo.plist file, check out the steps below:
- Go to the Applications folder and look for the installer package for macOS Catalina. It is usually named Install macOS.
- Right-click on the file and select Show Package Contents.
- Click on Contents > SharedSupport.
- Delete the Installlnfo.plist inside the folder.
- Type in your admin password to confirm the action.
- Click on the installer to run it again.
How to Fix Catalina Installation Errors on Mac
![My macbook air won My macbook air won](/uploads/1/1/9/6/119635310/647731662.jpg)
My Macbook Air Won't Let Me Download Macos Sierra A 10 12 2 Image File
After preparing your Mac, the system then proceeds to the installation process. There are different errors you might encounter at this stage, so you need to take note of the error message and at which stage it happened.
Here are some of the errors you may encounter during the installation process.
Stuck at Setting Up Screen
When you’ve been stuck with the Setting up your Mac message for several hours or you encounter the dreaded spinning wheel, the best way to deal with this is to restart your device. Press the power button to shut down your Mac, then press it again to reboot.
Storage Space Problems
If you failed to optimize your storage space before the installation, you might come across errors related to insufficient storage space. You might see the macOS Could not be installed, the target disk is too small message or the There is not enough free space on the selected volume error.
This happens because you do not have enough space on your Mac. Free up some storage first before proceeding with the installation. You might need around 20GB to 25GB of space for macOS Catalina to run efficiently on your Mac.
Network Access Error
If you see a Code=551 error anytime during the installation process, you need to check your network settings. This error happens to devices with overactive firewall or those installed with third-party security software, such as VPN and antivirus. If this happens, disable this software first before trying to reinstall macOS Catalina.
Installation Doesn’t Complete
My Macbook Air Won't Let Me Update Software
Sometimes, your Mac gets stuck with the x minutes remaining screen during the installation. When you encounter this problem, click the X button to exit the installation process and check your console logs. It is possible that your user account is corrupted, preventing your system from completing the installation process.
The only way to deal with this is to create another admin user account and install macOS Catalina using that account.
Mac Fails to Start After Update
You might think that everything is over once you finish the installation process and your Mac restarts. But sometimes, errors can still happen even after the installation has been completed. Some users reported getting stuck with a black screen, while others encounter the spinning wheel during the restart following the update.
This error is usually caused by incompatible or corrupted kext files. Kext or Kernel Extension files are the drivers for macOS. To check whether kext files are causing the error, move all of them out of your Extensions folder before rebooting your Mac.
To move your kext files, follow the steps below:
- Boot your Mac into Safe Mode by holding down the Shift key until you see the Apple logo.
- Open Terminal under the Utilities folder, then copy-paste the following command:
mkdir ~/Extensions-Backup && sudo mv /Library/Extensions/* ~/Extensions-Backup/
Once done, restart your Mac in normal mode and see if it goes through.
If All Else Fails, Do a Fresh Install.
If you’re still having issues despite following the guide above, you may need to do a fresh install of macOS Catalina. To do this:
- Shut down your Mac.
- Press Power + Command + R keys to bring up the macOS Utilities screen .
- Click Reinstall macOS.
- Select Disk Utility > Erase HDD.
- Install the macOS Catalina from here.
Remember that erasing your HDD will delete all of your files and settings, so make sure you have a backup before doing a fresh install. This should hopefully take care of common macOS Catalina installation problems.
If you’re running into errors and your system is suspiciously slow, your computer needs some maintenance work. Download Outbyte PC Repair for Windows, Outbyte Antivirus for Windows, or Outbyte MacRepair for macOS to resolve common computer performance issues. Fix computer troubles by downloading the compatible tool for your device.
See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy Policy.
See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy Policy.