Forced update, no warning

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Level 1

4 points

Forced update, no warning

I was using a Mac Pro late 2013 model when it rebooted and updated without warning. After the update it's on Catalina 10.15.7 and this is the software update screen from system preferences:

and clicking on Advanced produces this:

It updated at 16:45, not in the middle of the night, and it didn't give me any warning so I had no chance to save files before it rebooted. Why is it automatically updating when the settings are as you see? I realize most of the apps on the Mac will allow me to recover unsaved files, but I'm using it to connect to other machines via ssh and when ssh connections drop without warning I don't get those benefits.

When this happened about 10 days previously, I remember I was working in the terminal and I tried to highlight some text, and the mouse cursor disappeared. I thought my bluetooth connection had a problem and tried to regain the mouse cursor for the next 3-4 seconds and then the screen went black.

I want to stress that the settings you see above are immediately after a forced update. Surely the update didn't switch off automatic updates.

Mac Pro

Posted on Sep 23, 2021 3:54 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Eau Rouge

Level 8

42,656 points

Sep 24, 2021 12:32 AM in response to WiPenguin

What OS was your mac running before it went to macOS Catalina 10.15.7,

or was it running an earlier version of macOS Catalina and updated to 10.15.7.

If you were running an older OS and it upgraded, it would upgrade to macOS Big Sur and not Catalina.

In my System Preferences> Software Update I too have Automatically keep my Mac up to date switched off.

From the Advanced button I have this set up.

Any mac regardless of these settings should not automatically upgrade from an older OS to a newer OS without

instruction by the owner/ administrator. But can of course be set to automatically install updates such as Security Updates,

Safari updates and incremental OS version updates, not a good idea.

The fact your mac may have done this without instruction leads me to think that the system preferences preference file may

be corrupt.

Click once on your Desktop and click on Go in the menubar.

Select Go To Folder and enter the following text,

~/Library/Preferences

press Go.

A new Finder window will open with the Preferences folder highlighted.

Open Preferences and look for

com.apple.systempreferences.plist

there should only be one,

sometimes if the file is corrupt you may see another one with a random alphanumeric extension after the .plist extension.

com.apple.systempreferences.com.plist.A234JHY or something similar

if you do see something like that you should move it to the Trash, empty the Trash and restart your mac.

If you suspect the first com.apple.systempreferences.plist file is corrupt (check the date of it, if it is an unusual date

this could be an indicator of corruption) you can move that to the Trash, empty the Trash and restart.

The file is automatically regenerated on startup, you may however have to go back into System Preferences

and set your preferences again.

.

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Answer 2

Eau Rouge

Level 8

42,656 points

Sep 25, 2021 7:56 PM in response to WiPenguin

What are you getting angry for, I'm only trying to help you out.

And I didn't choose to assume you are an idiot, that's not a very nice thing to say

to someone who has taken the time to respond to your request.

Part of the process of installing incremental version updates to the OS or installing Security Updates

is the mac restarting and it is for that very reason you should not have the mac set to

automatically update. Too many people have lost data due to this.

I agree that if the mac is set up this way then it should give you notice that it is going to reboot.

If you want to tell Apple about your experience then do so:

https://www.apple.com/feedback/macos.html

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Answer 3

WiPenguin Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 28, 2021 9:37 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

I am certain it installed an update. When there is a kernel panic, after the restart I get a pop-up window with a message that there was a problem and an option to send diagnostic information to Apple. After I was thrown off for the update to be installed, I did not get that message. But you are right that a kernel panic might have been involved. I also imagine that if there was a kernel panic and the system was set to automatically update and an update was available, then the system might take the opportunity of the kernel panic to install the update. Now someone has said that the system will install updates automatically if you only have checked the boxes "Check for updates" and "Download new updates when available", even if none of the "Install" boxes are checked. So if that is true, maybe what happened makes sense, although if that is true I don't understand why Apple gives us the "Install" checkboxes on the "Advanced" popup for System Update.

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Answer 4

Eau Rouge

Level 8

42,656 points

Sep 25, 2021 6:55 PM in response to WiPenguin

Ok so it updated from an older version of macOS Catalina to a the latest/ last version of macOS Catalina 10.15.7.

Even though you have unchecked the Automatically keep my mac up to date box in

System Preferences> Software Update you have in fact opted in the Advanced panel to

check the box next to Download new updates when they become available.

So the mac was only doing what you had asked it to do.

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Answer 5

WiPenguin Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 24, 2021 2:56 PM in response to Eau Rouge

It was on a prior version of Catalina before the update.

This a screenshot of part of a Terminal:

So none of the additional com.apple.systempreferences.plist files that you suggested. The time most likely corresponds to when I made further changes to System Preferences to try to disable these updates which are done without notice or warning while I am in the middle of working on the computer.

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Answer 6

WiPenguin Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 25, 2021 7:22 PM in response to Eau Rouge

You could have told me that the first time. I understand the difference between upgrade and update, even though you choose to assume I'm an idiot. Besides, I'm not complaining about downloading updates, I'm complaining about the computer shutting down and rebooting while I am working at the computer without giving me any sort of prompt. I am looking at the screen when it goes black. I am using the mouse or typing on the keyboard less than 30 seconds before the screen goes black. And I have none of the "install" boxes checked.

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Answer 7

WiPenguin Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 27, 2021 12:05 PM in response to Eau Rouge

I'm angry because my computer is restarting while I'm using it and not giving me any warning. You did choose to assume that I didn't know what I was talking about when I said the computer updated. You assumed that I meant it was upgrading. You wrote "But can of course be set to automatically install updates such as Security Updates, Safari updates and incremental OS version updates, not a good idea." That makes no sense because you've shown that your Mac is set to automatically install security updates. You are telling me that by checking "Download updates" I'm telling the computer to install updates, even though all of the "install" boxes are unchecked. And you've chosen the most dangerous curve on the F1 calendar as your screen name. Or maybe change it to the name of the corner at Suzuka where Jules Bianchi was killed.

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Answer 8

Sep 27, 2021 5:54 PM in response to WiPenguin

are you certain it did not just kernel panic, rather than throw you off to install an update?

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Forced update, no warning

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