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"Preparing macOS Monterey 12.2.1" freezes at 15 minute remain point

Trying to upgrade iMac with 8gb memory & plenty of disk space. Get to the "Preparing macOS Monterey 12.2.2" point with 15 minutes remaining and upgrade freezes. Help!

iMac Pro

Posted on Feb 16, 2022 3:45 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Feb 16, 2022 4:13 PM

What is your current macOS version? If you're skipping an upgrade version, you might want to do an incremental, sequential upgrade. In this case, your current macOS version must be 12.2 to do a sequential update to the 12.2.1 version.


If your current macOS version is 12.2, then you may need to reinstall your macOS via recovery mode. Make sure that you have a Time Machine backup of your device before doing so. Please see the articles below for reference.


Back up your Mac with Time Machine - Apple Support


How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support


5 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Feb 16, 2022 4:13 PM in response to Elindra

What is your current macOS version? If you're skipping an upgrade version, you might want to do an incremental, sequential upgrade. In this case, your current macOS version must be 12.2 to do a sequential update to the 12.2.1 version.


If your current macOS version is 12.2, then you may need to reinstall your macOS via recovery mode. Make sure that you have a Time Machine backup of your device before doing so. Please see the articles below for reference.


Back up your Mac with Time Machine - Apple Support


How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support


Feb 17, 2022 12:56 AM in response to Elindra

I agree with the previous poster recommendations. Here are some other points/recommendations


Also uninstall any antivirus and "cleaning" apps before trying installing again.


Further, you need an Apple disk installed to upgrade to Monterey since the upgrade includes an update to the Mac's firmware. That update looks for an Apple disk and write to the dick to do the firmware update. The install will terminate or freeze if no Apple disk.


Try booting to Safe Mode. That boot up takes minutes and clears caches and other things that may resolve your problem.

Delete the existing Monterey installer that should be in your Applications folder. Then redownoad the installer and try installer when n safe made.

How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support

A lot of times just boot to Safe Mode followed by normal boot resolves problems.

Feb 23, 2022 3:35 PM in response to tsunamie7

Have you tried the steps provided earlier? You might want to provide more details about any error messages or what you are seeing/experiencing along the way.


*** !!! Try the steps provided above first.


If you still cannot continue, follow the article to the dot below.


How to repair a Mac disk with Disk Utility - Apple Support


Once you're done with the above steps, exit Disk Utility, back on to Recovery Mode, then reinstall macOS.

"Preparing macOS Monterey 12.2.1" freezes at 15 minute remain point

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