macOS 10.14.3 Update can't be installed on this disk...

My daughter's Macbook Air (Early 2015) has the same problem. She can't install the combo update.

Instead, I told her to use the Terminal with the command sudo softwareupdate -i -r

Now the update downloaded and installing. It is still in progress. So I can't tell if the update will be successful.

I will advise here if the update fails. No news means the method is successful.

The problem goes beyond 10.14.3 Combo Update for me.

The update cannot be installed via Software Update, Combo Update or Recovery.

The only alternative would be to rebuild the startup disk from scratch. But then again is the disk the issue?

I am running 10.14.2 on a highend iMac (32GB RAM), and boot from an external 1TB SSD.

The SSD is formatted using HFS+ rather than APFS. We had too many problems with APFS in writing very large files, to date.

On the other hand, the 10.14.3 updater installed fine on my MacBook Pro.

Bless your heart. Perhaps it is easier to plug in the equipment and use a 27 inch screen and full size keyboard, than it is to try to search on a little dinky screen and type on a little dinky screen keyboard and read little dinky instructions. Despite all the advancements in the iPhones and tablets, internet searching is still a pain on them. (Yes, I have an iPhone and iPad.)

I know, it's sad but I have no use for a smart phone. On the other hand I do have 4 iPads up to a 12.9" Pro. I don't have any problem searching on the smallest iPad screens but that doesn't mean everyone shouldn't.

I have 3 iPads up to the 11" Pro. Love 'em. Use them all the time. But sometimes web sites don't work right on them, and links and buttons won't work (especially things built with Flash or with panes that don't activate), etc.

The point of the whole original posting is, my Bluetooth got knocked out by the update. My iMac came equipped with a wireless magic keyboard and mouse (both Bluetooth). I really wanted to get them going again, so I could use the iMac with its equipment. Bluetooth would not reappear with restarts and NVRAM reset. To get the Bluetooth going again required an SMC reset. Yes, now that I am not so flustered and have thought about it, this can be done by unplugging the iMac for 15 seconds. However one chooses to make it happen (keystrokes and power buttons, or pulling power plugs), getting the Bluetooth back required an SMC reset. OK? We good?

Yes I have this problem too.

I've downloaded the installer 3 times, to no avail.

On the MacInTouch.com website a poster said that he waited several hours, re-downloaded the installer and it worked for him. Re-downloading the installer did not work for me.

I've never had this problem either, a bit disconcerting that Apple can't be trusted to get an update out correctly and then not fix the problem in a timely fashion.

In my case I tried the combo only when the Software Update failed inexplicably. ("Installation Failed An error occurred while installing the selected updates." Several search hits suggested the combo updater might be a way around the stuck state of the Software Update.

So now it's in some odd state where it can't download the update (again) and doesn't like the update and the combo updater says it can't be installed on this disk.

Standard MBP late 2017 4 TB ports 512 SSD. (AP0512J) Disk Utility says APFS Volume APFS (Encrypted).

Machine purchased just prior to Mojave and has accepted Mojave and subsequent updates fine. Until today.

Had same issue here with the Combo Update on my late 2013 27" iMac. It was downloaded

just a few moments ago so nothing has changed. Using SW Update now. See what happens.

The SW update just finished, but something odd happened. All times in the past, any macOS

update rebooted to the log in. This time it rebooted right to my user account. Seemed odd.

And no, log in is not disabled.

Thanks.

Tried that, been there ... from various update and combo installers to full 10.14.3 installers from the App Store.

None will recognize the disk as either upgradeable or full new installable, nor most of my other disks.

System Preferences> Software Update only works if your Mac is running Mojave on an SSD formatted as APFS.

That is not true.

Mojave and Software Update are fully supported on Macs with normal hard drives or Fusion drives.

Delta updates are from one version to the next,. Such as 10.14.2 to 10.14.3. Combo updates are all the changes from the initial release so for example from 10.14 or 10.14.1 etc to 10.14.3. People run Combo updates sometime hoping it will replace any faulty files.

The delta update is the update that upgrades from 10.14.2 to 10.14.3.

The combo update will update from any previous version of Mojave to 10.14.3.

The combo update install has been recommended at times to fix issues that may have been caused by the application of previous updates.

Software Update does not work with HDs using HFS+

I have Mojave on SSD APFS, gets software updates, and Mojave on HD with HFS+ and software update never receives

update notifications.

The Combo and Delta updates do not install on HDs with HFS+, even though the full installers are able to install on both.

I just tend to think of Fusion drives as SSDs.

I just tend to think of Fusion drives as SSDs.

Of course they aren't.

As far as Software Update or the Combo Update or the Delta Update, there is no reason they should work. Mojave converts all drives to APFS initially so that's what the updaters would be looking for. Running Mojave on HFS+ drives is unsupported.