Upgrade to Catalina stuck on Estimating time remaining

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Level 1

9 points

Upgrade to Catalina stuck on Estimating time remaining

I downloaded Catalina on my 2015 MacBook Air and began installation 8 hours ago. It is stuck: the white bar is about a quarter of the way across, over the a in Estimating. It’s been there for 6 hours at least. I’ve restarted, both in normal and safe modes, but it always goes back to the same place. I’ve read several other threads on this site, but no one has suggested a fix that works. I’m ready to give up and buy a replacement laptop on EBay. Any better suggestions?

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 10.13

Posted on May 3, 2023 10:12 AM

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Answer 1

clivechaf Author

Level 1

9 points

May 4, 2023 3:29 AM in response to clivechaf

Quick update: I went back and used the Option Command R recovery and it has allowed me to install Monterey. I’m waiting now to see if the installation goes ok.

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Answer 2

May 3, 2023 7:02 PM in response to clivechaf

Boot the Mac in Recovery mode and try to reinstall macOS once again from there.

For guidance, please see: How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support

Press the power button on your Mac to turn it on, then release the power button and immediately press and hold both the Command (⌘) key and R key until you see an Apple logo or spinning globe.

If you use Option-Command-R during startup, you might be offered the latest macOS that is compatible with your Mac. Use this method if you can't install macOS successfully after pressing Command-R during startup.

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Answer 3

clivechaf Author

Level 1

9 points

May 4, 2023 7:31 AM in response to clivechaf

So I managed to get Monterey downloaded (I think) but it is now stuck at Transfer information to this Mac. I have selected From a Mac, Time Machine backup… on the previous page (Migration Assistant), but on the Transfer information page there is a blank underneath Select a Mac, Time Machine backup or other startup disk to transfer its information to this Mac. And below that is a spinning wheel next to Looking for other sources. I have the external drive with the Time Machine backup on it plugged into my USB port, but no way to select it. What do you suggest?

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Answer 4

clivechaf Author

Level 1

9 points

May 4, 2023 12:21 PM in response to clivechaf

This time, after running disk utility on the external drive, it came up with the drive’s icon, so I selected it and it asked me to select what I wanted to transfer onto the computer. But then it came up with a screen saying the OS was installed on a FileVault system and a password was needed to add a user. I have never used FileVault, so I entered the password I use after a restart or shutdown. But then I just got spinning wheel. So I’ve had to restart again

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Answer 5

clivechaf Author

Level 1

9 points

May 5, 2023 2:41 AM in response to clivechaf

Ok, we’re at the last chance saloon here. The computer is stuck in a loop. I’ve tried a recovery reboot again, signed in with my Apple ID, and a message flashes briefly on the screen about a FileVault key being sent…, but then the message disappears and is replaced by There are no users on this volume to recover. The only options are Previous and Restart. Both lead back into the same loop again. If I can’t get it working by this afternoon it’s off to the dump and I have to buy a new laptop. This is ludicrous.

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Answer 6

VikingOSX

Level 10

122,304 points

May 4, 2023 8:48 AM in response to clivechaf

If you are installing Catalina on a 4GB RAM 2013 Air, then it will be slower than the second coming and that estimated Time Remaining value is simply a test of your patience. It will probably finish on its own, just well outside of your time expectation.

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Answer 7

clivechaf Author

Level 1

9 points

May 4, 2023 2:48 AM in response to D.I. Johnson

Thanks D.I. I managed to get to the recovery screen but when I try to re-install High Sierra (the OS I was using and the only one offered in recovery) I get the message The recovery server could not be contacted. WiFi is in and connected, so not sure what the problem is. Maybe High Sierra is no longer supported?

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Answer 8

May 4, 2023 7:57 AM in response to clivechaf

If Migration Assistant has hung, all you can do is press the power button until the Mac shuts down and then restart it.

If you have not already, you may have to first complete the set up of Monterey without the migration of data. Once the Mac is bootable to the login screen and then into the user account, you can then launch Disk Utility and run the First Aid routine on that external TM backup drive. There may be some sort of directory damage that needs to be addressed.

With that done, you can attempt the transfer of data once again by launching Migration Assistant again.

Do you have another Mac available to you? Can it see the TM backup drive if you connect it?

Just looking for some confirmation that the drive and cable are okay.

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Answer 9

clivechaf Author

Level 1

9 points

May 4, 2023 9:17 AM in response to D.I. Johnson

Had to restart. But it just went back to the same place and hung. I’ve connected the external drive to another Mac and it recognises it no problem. I noticed that I had previously migrated my photo library to the same drive and I remember seeing that that was a no-no when I did the Time Machine backup yesterday. Could that be the culprit? I’m moving it off the external drive just in case. When I’m done I’ll try disk utility first aid on the external drive and then reconnect it to the other Mac and see if Migration Assistant will work. I’m not sure if Monterey finished loading because it automatically takes me to the sequence of panes starting with Select your country.

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Answer 10

clivechaf Author

Level 1

9 points

May 4, 2023 12:28 PM in response to clivechaf

And the same thing happened again. Asked for a FileVault password. I decided not to put anything in the box this time, since I’ve never set a FileVault password, but I just got the ever-spinning wheel. Where to now?

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Answer 11

clivechaf Author

Level 1

9 points

May 4, 2023 9:19 AM in response to VikingOSX

Well, it hadn’t moved in 18 hours and Monterey appears to have loaded in about 3.

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Answer 12

clivechaf Author

Level 1

9 points

May 4, 2023 10:04 AM in response to clivechaf

Couldn’t offload photo library from the external drive because not enough room on the Mac I was moving it to. So I’m running disk utility first aid on the external drive now

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