Security Update 2019-001 for High Sierra - Mac can't shut down

I just got off the phone with Apple Support and they solved the problem, together with their engineering support team. Here was the solution (quoting directly from the engineering support response):

It appears that the LaunchServices database has a mapping issue. To resolve this issue, please open Terminal and run the following:

sudo find /var/folders -name "*.csstore" -delete; sudo reboot

Like the 2018-001 update, this 2019-001 update failed when my 2017 iMac running High Sierra restarted and it created a log file upon restart. While more time consuming than other options previously stated but similar, I took the follow steps:

1. Used Command (⌘)-R to reinstall High Sierra. That took about 35 minutes on my 2017 iMac.
2. I then downloaded the security update installer 2019-001 from Apple’s website and ran the DMG. That took about 20 minutes to run.
3. That was it.

This is exactly the same process I used with the 2018-001 update. Hard to believe Apple can't do a better job getting these to work.

Have you done a PRAM reset, CMD+Option+p+r...

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379

In fact, do 3 in a row, takes a bit of time.

Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)...

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964

These are among the various remedies I’ve tried previously with no luck.

In any case, I finally threw in the towel and called Apple Support. They settled on a diagnosis that my issue was in software and was system-wide. And that the reboot issue was not present in the recovery partition’s software.

At this point the agent suggested that an OS reinstall from the recovery partition might well solve the problem without fully diagnosing it, and that I could go with either a Mojave upgrade or reinstall High Sierra. I decided on Mojave since I had been planning on that upgrade eventually.

The upgrade went smoothly and I am happy to report that the machine is rebooting properly so far. Nor any showstoppers in terms of third-party software from incompatibilities with the new OS.

From the discussion community’s point of view, this solution affords little insight beyond the rather minimal diagnosis that emerged from the call to Support. But it did make my machine whole again, so I can hardly complain. I’m just happy that I purchased an AppleCare subscription, as this afforded me immediate access to Support.

This same thing has/is happening on many different updates & upgrades.

No standard cure, but...

Have you done a PRAM reset, CMD+Option+p+r...

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379

In fact, do 3 in a row, takes a bit of time.

To those whom have not yet dare install this update I just did with success. Here is what I did.

I am on an old mac pro tower. Made backup of startup drive then...

1) removed all internal drives except startup. Removed all external peripherals

2) Removed any files I could delete from the left over old failed mac install folder (you can't delete locked one but no worries it was fine in end)

3) Rebooted a fresh and ran: sudo find /var/folders -name "*.csstore" -delete; sudo reboot in terminal (note there is a delay at end of this that at first freaked me out. but eventually (ten minutes) it did reboot machine and came back up)

4) Downloaded the 2019-001 security update and ran it locally. Machine rebooted...did install in about 10 minutes and then rebooted and came up as normal with update installed and mac install folder at root level is now gone.

Worked for me. Fingers crossed this is not a new normal for apple with updates on older machines. Hope this info helps someone out there.

My "final" solution was:

1) I deleted everything I could delete in the folder "macOS installer data" which should reside in the top level of your "Macintosh HD" (or however your startup drive is called). You won’t be able to delete the folder inside that installer data folder since they do not belong to your "user", - even if you try to delete them with root privileges. No idea whether this deletion is at all necessary, you may try without, if you like.

2) Download the security update installer 2019-001 from Apple’s website.

3) Restart your Mac holding the options key during startup. Select "Macintosh HD" as the startup device

4) Install the Security update package.

After that, my iMac worked as usual.

I read in another discussion that a Mac Pro should have only 1 drive attached for the installation of that update - so you may need to detach the cables from any other internal drives. I can’t confirm this since I do not have a MacPro.

For me, nothing is working...

The only way is: boot from a backup external clone disk (made with CarbonCopyCloner), intialize and re-clone on internal disk... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'd trust the SystemInformation (Utilities folder).

Perhaps another restart and PRAM reset?

Well, I avoided many of these updates after reading the continued issues with High Sierra and security updates. This is not a practice I've ever done. That said, I decided to upgrade to Mojave and that has gone smoothly and I'm glad I did. It's just a guess, but I'm thinking there might have been something causing in issues in an early update and then it just kept getting used as a base as newer updates were built into it. Regardless, I've always appreciated this forum to get ahead of issues and help solve them.

Yes. Went through lots of cleaning our things and diagnostic testing but the solution was to revert back to high Sierra. This was after finding the hard drive was failing and after that fix still needing to go back to high Sierra.

In previous threads discussing issues with HS security updates, it seems that is the main "solution" that has worked, beyond extensive measures in terminal, etc. Since security updates usually build off of previously updated versions, there has got to me something in one of those updates that keeps getting re-used that's causing issues. There has been enough consistency on these threads to say that there is something going on, for sure. I do plan on updating to Mojave, but wasn't planning to do it so soon.

Same problem with OS High Sierra security update 2019.

My computer is brick walled can only restart it when pressing letter D when restarting. My diagnostic is now that the battery is dead (I have only 51 recharge cycles) and that I have an issue with the System Management Control. My laptop (MacBook Pro 13 inch) is less than 8 months old. Unbelievable. Mac support was a complete waste of time, the guy didn't have a clue what to do (apart for telling me to reinstall the OS). Will try to do what Christianfrommellingen says. will let you know how it tuns out. It looks like the security update wasn't installed the first time it did it.

I am in the middle of a project and this is really frustrating.

Yep! That’s what was happening. It installed the security update after backing up to my time machine, and now the update is showing as ‘installed’.

Bottom line: all is good :)