my Imac is stuck on 'checking for updates' and I cant get it to move forward. How do I fix this? I have tried restarting and turning off and on.

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Rosiris Author

Level 1

4 points

my Imac is stuck on 'checking for updates' and I cant get it to move forward. How do I fix this? I have tried restarting and turning off and on.

How do I move on from Checking for Updates?

iMac 21.5″, macOS 11.6

Posted on Sep 6, 2022 9:14 PM

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Answer 1

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TheLittles

Level 10

195,352 points

Sep 6, 2022 9:24 PM in response to Rosiris

Rosiris Said:

"my Imac is stuck on 'checking for updates' and I cant get it to move forward. How do I fix this? I have tried restarting and turning off and on. How do I move on from Checking for Update?"

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Troubleshooting a Frozen macOS Update:

Learn from This:

First off, learn from this, knowing to always backup your Mac every so often, so that you a have something to restore your Mac from, for instances such as this.

So, Three Things...

A. Updating in Safe Mode:

(Hold Down: the shift key upon boot). In Safe Mode, login items do not load at log in, certain System Preferences are set aside, and damages system files (caches) are fixed.

B. Re-Mount the Drive:

Boot into Recovery Mode (Intel or Silicon) . Then, using Disk Utility, see if the Hard Drive is seem. If it is, then see if you need to click the “Mount’ button for it. Try rebooting once more. If of no success, then click unmount button, and then the mount button. Try rebooting once more.

C. If Neither of the Above Works...

Reinstall the macOS:

Go Here: How to Reinstall macOS from macOS Recovery - Apple Support. Important: Be certain to create a backup of your Mac prior to all of this. That way, you can have something to restore from the Mac from, should anything go wrong with the reinstall. Once reinstalled, try this once more.

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Answer 2

Rosiris Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 12, 2022 5:19 AM in response to TheLittles

Hello TheLittles, Thank you for your swift reply. I totally understand the need for backup. But your message made me realise I hadn't done one for several months. Thank you for that. Not only was backup done, but also weeding out files no longer necessary in previous backups.

The problem I sought help with was that my iMac could not get past the ;checking for updates' stage. It just hung there perpetually. All other functions were operating as normal.

Normally every time I booted up I would get an annoying (to me) reminder to upgrade from Big sur to Monterey.

I tend to resist major updates (especially from Microsoft) as usually the simple operations that I use no longer operate properly and/or they have been moved to a counterintuitive location. and I have to waste time trying to find the things I usually use. So I would always dismiss the demand from the system that I upgrade. Finally I decided to bite the bullet to upgrade to Monterey and the system refused to allow me (probably in a huff from my constant rejections)

Taking your advice I shut down my iMac and rebooted it successfully in 'safe' mode. Something I hadn't tried before.

As my Mac progressed through the bootup in safe mode, I was delighted (rather than annoyed) to see that reminder pop up again. This meant I was able to access the update function as normal.

I did attempt your step B but could not find the Recovery mode and mount drive function you described. However, whatever was blocking access to the update function was removed by being in the safe mode and I proceeded to upgrade to Monterey..

This was done successfully, and all seems well within my iMac world.

Thank you for your prompt attention and clear instructions

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Answer 3

TheLittles

Level 10

195,352 points

Sep 12, 2022 2:29 PM in response to Rosiris

Rosiris Said:

"my Imac is stuck on 'checking for updates' and I cant get it to move forward.[…]: […]whatever was blocking access to the update function was removed by being in the safe mode and I proceeded to upgrade to Monterey.. This was done successfully, and all seems well within my iMac world. Thank you for you prompt attention and clear instructions“

———-

You are most welcome. And thank you too for you complements.

Troubleshooting a Frozen macOS Update: Why the Error and About the Fix?:

It was probably some caches getting in the way (temporary files created to make thing run quicker and smoother). As I said: In Safe Mode, login items do not load at log in, certain System Preferences are set aside, and damages system files (caches) are fixed.

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Answer 4

Rosiris Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 6, 2022 9:20 PM in response to Rosiris

I thought I would try downloading Monterey from the Apple store because my iMac had kept sending me reminders to upgrade to this software... now it is hung on 'finding software'

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my Imac is stuck on 'checking for updates' and I cant get it to move forward. How do I fix this? I have tried restarting and turning off and on.

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