Q: OSX Mavericks - "An Error occurred while preparing the installation.  Try running this application again."

It would be useful if you posted what you learned here.

Could you please post the fix here?

A lot of us are having this issue so it would be realy helpful if you could post it.

Aside from the things apple told me from updating all apps in Mac App Store, checking Disk, verifying, reparing, smc, pram, etc. All of these still led me to same error, their last advise was installing in "Safe Boot"

So I tried that and magically the install get through.

I'm not sure if any other thing were relevant, but try going to safe boot and install.

I had this issue - making me go crazzzy.

Anyway I got round it by setting the correct date and time in Terminal and then re-running the install.

It has got me past the Error message and I'm currently 'About 38 minutes remaining' in my Mavericks download...!!!!

See this vid for more details

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cf4TzZt24-M

Fingers crossed it works!

UPDATE: This worked for me 

LasdaVegas wrote:

 

I got round it by setting the correct date and time in Terminal and then re-running the install.

How old is your Mac?  Had you had any other problems with it not keeping the correct date?

Mid-late 2009 MBP - no probs whatsoever until I tried to install Mavericks.

After a failed install (or two I had to do a clean install - after cloning my HardDrive to an external HDD).

After the clean install I kept getting the "Error occured while preparing the instllation...." message. I guess the clock had been reset somehow and this was confusing the app store request for the Mavericks download.

Resetting the time and date via terminal did it for me and I know have a booting MBP running Mavericks.

LasdaVegas wrote:

 

Mid-late 2009 MBP

I'd think that the battery that maintains the internal clock would last that long.

I guess it will remain a mystery.

> set the correct time in the terminal...

This worked perfectly! Thanks!

This is the solution! Thank-you LasdaVegas!

No probs - glad it helped, it drove me crackers (and the genius bar who failed)!!!

Nice one! I haven't tried your remedy yet, but I'm curious as to whether the time and date were wrong? Was it that the time and date were slightly out, or is it just the process of setting them that seems to cure the issue? Normally the date is set via the internet, so I'm just curious about it! I need to get out more!

Thanks in ant...

Cheers

Chris

Yes the clock was wrong. Probably because the computer had sat unused and unplugged since May. I upgraded to a MBP Retina. The plan was to reformat the old one for my wife but I wanted to make sure I had all the files I expected to have copied to the new machine. Then I got busy, busy, busy and some months had passed.

Anyway, it is now up and running Mavericks.

I had the same exact message/situation... and I solved my problem!!

1. Create a new Admin account

2. Install from there

Finally after weeks and weeks of trying everything NVRAM/PRAM, opening packages, disk utility, blah, blah... it looks like it was a conflicting application that prevented the installation....

Gerardo

I forgot to mention that I used the same Installation file as before on the applications folder... didn't even have to download it again :-)  I can't believe I struggled with this for weeks and finally was this simple... anyway, happy with Mavericks, way to go.