I've noticed a partition or disk or something of that nature called "Update" appearing on my computer. I have no idea what this thing is or what it's doing there. Here are the contents:
What is this drive? It's not appearing in Disk Utility. It says I have the option of safely ejecting it, but should I try doing so? Is this symptomatic of a problem I should be aware of?
MacBook Pro 13″
macOS includes an "Update" volume ever since macOS 10.15 Catalina. With later versions of macOS this APFS volume tended to be hidden by default and has morphed more into an APFS snapshot. The Update volume/snapshot is used by macOS to stage OS updates.
The only time I have ever seen macOS show the "Update" volume/snapshot to a user in the Finder is when an older version of macOS is booted alongside a newer version of macOS. The older OS doesn't know anything about this "Update" volume.....even if the OS does know about it, it may still not understand newer variations to it that a newer version of macOS may utilize. There is a lot of behind the scenes magic being performed by macOS to handle the newer complex boot drives (these layouts seem to change ever so slightly with each new major version of macOS).
If the "Update" volume is mounted under "/System/Volumes", then do not unmount it even if it is possible since macOS expects it to be there. If it is mounted under "/Volumes", then it is Ok to unmount it since it is not associated with the currently booted OS. According to the EtreCheck report you only have a single version of macOS installed to the internal SSD so do not unmount the "Update" volume.
General Rule: Unless you want to understand macOS a bit better, it is best not to go looking into folders outside of those in the "/Users" folder. Everything else belongs to the macOS system and should not be touched.
macOS includes an "Update" volume ever since macOS 10.15 Catalina. With later versions of macOS this APFS volume tended to be hidden by default and has morphed more into an APFS snapshot. The Update volume/snapshot is used by macOS to stage OS updates.
The only time I have ever seen macOS show the "Update" volume/snapshot to a user in the Finder is when an older version of macOS is booted alongside a newer version of macOS. The older OS doesn't know anything about this "Update" volume.....even if the OS does know about it, it may still not understand newer variations to it that a newer version of macOS may utilize. There is a lot of behind the scenes magic being performed by macOS to handle the newer complex boot drives (these layouts seem to change ever so slightly with each new major version of macOS).
If the "Update" volume is mounted under "/System/Volumes", then do not unmount it even if it is possible since macOS expects it to be there. If it is mounted under "/Volumes", then it is Ok to unmount it since it is not associated with the currently booted OS. According to the EtreCheck report you only have a single version of macOS installed to the internal SSD so do not unmount the "Update" volume.
General Rule: Unless you want to understand macOS a bit better, it is best not to go looking into folders outside of those in the "/Users" folder. Everything else belongs to the macOS system and should not be touched.
Please download and run (free) EtreCheck, and share the results to the clipboard. Then open a new reply here, and press the Additional Text button that looks like a printed page, and paste and post the hardware and software configuration report here. From that, we can get a little more detail about what is installed and what is running here.
dggxam1 wrote:
Sequoia 15.2. And I haven't done any OS reinstalments.
The current stable release of Sequoia including bug fixes, security updates is macOS 15.5
Keep your Mac up to date - Apple Support
Keep your Mac up to date - Apple Support
If you are unaware of how system integrity protections were disabled, you'll want to address that.
That's a serious breach of your local software installation, if you yourself did not disable that feature.
macOS 15.2 is getting old. Consider an update to macOS 15.5.
Skype is, AFAIK, gone.
I'd not expect to generally need for the Seagate and LaCie add-on apps. If the HP printer supports AirPrint and if that AirPrint path works for your needs, I'd remove the HP add-ons. I'd remove the add-on anti-malware, as well. This all because this Mac has 8 GB, and the system activity looks like it wants more.
What version of macOS are you running? Did you recently reinstall macOS?
How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support
See also:
A new disk drive (named "update") appeare… - Apple Community
I ran it. Here's the report.
It said I have security protections disabled. I don't know how that happened, but I'll sort it out now.
Update: I reenabled System Integrity Protection, but the "Update" drive is still there.
Sequoia 15.2. And I haven't done any OS reinstalments.
Actually, another update: for some reason, System Integrity Protection wasn't enabled. I'll try again.
I tried re-enabling System Integrity Protections, but for some reason, it doesn't work. I might book an Apple Store appointment to deal with that, but if you have any insights, please let me know.
Disk or volume called "Update" appearing on my computer. Can/Should I eject it?
