1pollard

Q: installing sierra causes macbook pro to lock up before download is completed

I have repeatedly attempted to download Sierra from the App store but the download stops before it reaches 1 gb of download, and my MacBook pro freezes and I have to hold down the start button to shut down.  I have tried to install after a boot into safe mode but had the same problem.  Any suggestions?

OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)

Posted on Oct 2, 2016 6:47 PM

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Q: installing sierra causes macbook pro to lock up before download is completed

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  • by becky_s22,

    becky_s22 becky_s22 Oct 4, 2016 7:10 AM in response to 1pollard
    Community Specialists
    Oct 4, 2016 7:10 AM in response to 1pollard
    Hello 1pollard, 

    Thank you for using Apple Support Communities. 

    I see that you have repeatedly attempted to download macOS Sierra from the App Store, but the download stops before it reaches 1GB and your computer freezes. I can understand wanting to get updated to the new OS as soon as possible. I can assist you with this. 

    You've done some great troubleshooting so far by testing in safe mode. What I'd like you to try now, is to create a new user account on your Mac, and then see if you can download and install the App Store from there. 

    Please see the following article for assistance creating a new user account: How to test an issue in another user account on your Mac

    Please let us know the results. We'll help get you through this and updated. 

    All the best! 
  • by 1pollard,

    1pollard 1pollard Oct 6, 2016 5:17 AM in response to becky_s22
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 6, 2016 5:17 AM in response to becky_s22

    Thank you for your response.  I created another account and made numerous attempts to download Sierra to no avail.  The download usually proceeded until it reached about 3 gb in size and then the MacBook would freeze to the extent that a hard reboot -holding down the start key - was required. 

    Any other suggestions?

  • by norm123,

    norm123 norm123 Oct 6, 2016 8:13 AM in response to 1pollard
    Community Specialists
    Oct 6, 2016 8:13 AM in response to 1pollard

    Thanks for replying and letting us know that trying in a new user didn't work for you. The next step to resolve your issue is to use safe mode to start up your Mac so that it performs certain checks, delete system cache files, verifies your startup disk, and attempts to repair directory issues if needed. Log into your user account and try downloading and installing the macOS Sierra update while in safe mode. You also may want to remove the macOS Sierra installer in the Applications folder to start downloading a new copy.

     


    Try safe mode if your Mac doesn't finish starting up
    Limited graphics performance in OS X recovery or safe mode

     


    Have a great day and thanks for using the Apple Support Communities!

  • by 1pollard,

    1pollard 1pollard Oct 7, 2016 7:52 PM in response to norm123
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 7, 2016 7:52 PM in response to norm123

    Thanks again for your response!  I rebooted in safe mode for the dummy account and downloaded sierra successfully and installed it.  After installation of Sierra none of my applications would open and only bounced in the dock and were noted to be unresponsive in the "force quit" dialog.  After several hours they did however open and run correctly but all operations are noticeably slower than before.  Any suggestions about improving the speed?

  • by jdo_apple,

    jdo_apple jdo_apple Oct 8, 2016 7:04 AM in response to 1pollard
    Community Specialists
    Oct 8, 2016 7:04 AM in response to 1pollard
    Wonderful, glad you were finally able to install the macOS Sierra update. Because of the system wide updates, your Mac maybe running some background process related to the update that will finish soon. If after a couple of hours you still are having issues, test the speed in the other user or try running First Aid on your hard drive with the built in Disk Utility tool, as this can correct simple issues like you're experiencing.


    Disk Utility for Mac: Repair a disk using Disk Utility support.apple.com/kb/PH22243


    Cheers!
  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Oct 8, 2016 7:07 AM in response to 1pollard
    Level 9 (51,146 points)
    Desktops
    Oct 8, 2016 7:07 AM in response to 1pollard

    Immediately after an OS upgrade your Mac has much to do, wait, the speed should improve (it may take a while)