Catalina upgrade will not install

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Level 1

32 points

Catalina upgrade will not install

My MacBook is compatible with the update, but after four tries it still "crashes" right at the end, with varying errors appearing once the download is completed (corrupt file, could not complete, couldn't find script, etc.). After that, it allows me to try and download it once again from scratch (it actually begins at 500 megabytes out of 8.1GB).

I already tried:

downloading it both from the App Store and from Apple's website
deleting the "corrupt" file using Terminal
checking if I have enough storage (78GB available)

Any reason why it won't go through? I checked other community posts but nothing helped so far. This is particularly frustrating since I have a rather slow internet connection and it takes hours to download each update.

MacBook Pro 13", macOS 10.14

Posted on Mar 5, 2020 8:45 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

D.I. Johnson

Level 7

23,411 points

Mar 5, 2020 10:13 AM in response to adildalsanto

Before your next attempt at downloading the installer you should boot your Mac in safe mode and let the OS do disk repair, cache clearing and other misc housekeeping. Maybe it'll help, maybe in won't. But it won't hurt.

Booting into Safe Mode…

Use safe mode to isolate issues - Apple Support

What Safe mode does:

Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed
Loads only required kernel extensions
Prevents startup items and login items from opening automatically
Disables user-installed fonts
Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files

Restarting in Safe mode can often eliminate a problem or help identify the cause.

You can verify that you have started in Safe mode by clicking Apple menu  > About This Mac > System Report. Then find >Software< in the left column and look at >Boot Mode: Safe vs Normal< in the right pane.

Note– starting up in Safe mode could take 10 minutes or more. Be patient.

After you have started up in safe mode and logged in to your user account, you can just restart the computer again normally since the jobs and chores of safe mode boot have been done. Then try your installer download again.

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Answer 2

Mar 5, 2020 9:30 AM in response to adildalsanto

adildalsanto wrote:

...

Any reason why it won't go through? I checked other community posts but nothing helped so far. This is particularly frustrating since I have a rather slow internet connection and it takes hours to download each update.

I suspect the internet connection may be your problem. The download seems to work best with faster connections.

Connect your MBP to the internet with an ethernet cable for the fastest speed. Don't use he wi-fi. If you still can't get an uncorrupted download I would try to find a faster internet connection. Maybe offer to buy a friend or relative lunch for their assistance (can't advise a public wi-fi). If you can give that go and see if it helps.

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Answer 3

adildalsanto Author

Level 1

32 points

Mar 5, 2020 10:01 AM in response to D.I. Johnson

Could be it, still it gives me the impression that something else is up. Anyway I'll try, but I don't have access to better Wi-Fi or an ethernet connection (maybe if I buy an adaptor on Amazon but it would take days anyway).

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