Failed to initialize: failed to install kernel driver

Hello,

I get the same error since upgrading to Sonoma when using the old version of Seadrive (2.0.26), so I can understand your frustration.

Seadrive requires a kernel extension that is no longer allowed to be installed under Sonoma for security reasons.

I'm sure HWTech meant well, but didn't understand that Seadrive is not for mounting an external hard drive, etc., but for mounting a NAS drive.

Please try the new version 3.0.6 of Seadrive, even if it is still in beta.

It starts a little differently than the old version, but otherwise works very well.

Sonoma is very good, I would not downgrade because of the one app.

Have you checked if there is a newer version of the SeaDrive software which is compatible with Sonoma?

What is the exact model of your Mac? You can get this information by clicking the Apple menu and selecting "About This Mac". With an Apple Silicon Mac you need to check the Startup Security Settings to make sure that you are reducing system security to allow the third party driver (aka extension)....perhaps that setting got changed or reset with the upgrade.

Are you using this software to take advantage of the external drive's built-in hardware encryption? If not, then there is no reason to use the third party proprietary software from the drive manufacturer since you can just use macOS to manage the external drive. It would require erasing the external drive in order to use a different file system such as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) or APFS if the drive is only used with a Mac, or by using exFAT if the drive is shared with a Windows computer. Most contributors on these forums try to minimize the software which installs drivers and extensions because they typically will have issues when updating/upgrading the OS, or they can interfere with the normal operation of macOS.

FYI, it is usually best to check that all your third party software is compatible with a new major version of macOS before upgrading to the new OS. Sometimes it may take the manufacturer/developer months before they have a compatible version of their software, or they may never do so. It is one reason I try to hold off on major OS upgrades so that my software will be working by the time I upgrade the OS.

Continued:

Now I have made the update and can not work since then.

How can I restore my old mcOS?

Sonoma does me no good if I can not work.

My suggestion above is the easiest & best solution long term.

However, if you are using the SeaDrive software to handle the external drive's built-in hardware encryption feature, then downgrading is the best option since it is hard to say when or even if the software will be updated to work with Sonoma.

To downgrade to the previous OS, you will need to create a bootable macOS USB installer for the previous OS by using the information in this Apple article:

Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support

If you have a 2018-2020 Intel Mac, then you will first need to modify the Mac's security settings to allow booting from an external drive by using the instructions in this Apple article (not sure about Apple Silicon Macs):

About Startup Security Utility on a Mac with the Apple T2 Security Chip - Apple Support

Once booted to the macOS installer you will need to launch Disk Utility to erase the disk by using the information in this Apple article (refer to the second section titled "Use Disk Utility to erase your Mac"....works for both Intel & Apple Silicon Macs):

Use Disk Utility to erase a Mac with Apple silicon - Apple Support

After successfully erasing the disk, you will quit Disk Utility and select the "Reinstall macOS" option.

After macOS has been installed, you will be given an option during first boot to the old OS to restore from a Time Machine backup.....just make sure to select a backup you made prior to upgrading to Sonoma or you may encounter compatibility issues. If you have new or updated files stored only on a Sonoma Time Machine backup, then you will need to manually transfer those files from the backup....I'm not entirely sure how this is achieved since I don't use Time Machine, but it may be accessible by launching the Time Machine app and navigating to those files, or perhaps you can do so by navigating to the parent folder on the internal drive using Finder and right-clicking (or Control-clicking) to see an option is provided to restore or navigate a Time Machine backup. If you have TM questions, then some other more knowledgeable contributor will need to assist you.

If you are using some other third party backup method, then make sure you are only retrieving your data files from the backup. Only restore apps & settings if they are from a backup of the previous OS.

If you restore from a Sonoma backup, you may bring back apps or configuration settings which are unknown to the older OS.

Definitely make sure you have a good backup before downgrading the OS. You want to make sure you have copies of any new or updated changes to files since the upgrade to Sonoma.

So while downgrading to the previous OS is possible, it is not necessarily easy so you can see why getting rid of the SeaDrive software is the easiest & best option, but the choice is definitely yours.

OstBlogger wrote:

there is no new SeaDrive software.

SeaDrive has always worked perfectly until the update to Sonoma.

Why are you using this SeaDrive software? To use the external drive's built-in hardware encryption, or to be able to write to an NTFS volume?

If the external Seagate drive is using the NTFS file system, then the easiest fix is to erase this external drive to utilize a file system which macOS can handle on its own without resorting to third party software like SeaDrive, then restoring the data from a backup

Using Disk Utility to erase the drive as GUID partition and exFAT would allow both macOS & Windows systems to share this drive. If the drive is only used with other Macs, then you can erase it as GUID partition and either MacOS Extended (Journaled) or APFS depending on whether an older Mac running macOS 10.12 or earlier needs to access the drive, or if only macOS 10.13 needs to access the drive. If this Seagate drive is a hard drive, then MacOS Extended (Journaled) is best....or exFAT if the drive is shared with Windows. If the Seagate drive is an SSD, then any of these three file systems can be used (APFS is the newest Mac only file system which is optimized to work with an SSD, but some people still prefer using MacOS Extended).

Erasing the drive will destroy all data on the drive so make sure you have a good backup of this external drive.

After erasing the Seagate drive to use MacOS Extended (Journaled), APFS, or exFAT, then you can uninstall the SeaDrive software by following the developer's instructions. Uninstalling this SeaDrive software resolve this error for you and your system should run a bit better and be less prone to unexpected crashes after an OS update or upgrade.

If you are using the SeaDrive software to manage hardware encryption, then make sure to disable the hardware encryption feature before uninstall the software. There are other software based alternatives which can encrypt the data on an external drive if necessary. If you want to continue using the drive's built-in hardware encryption, then you must either wait for an update to the software or you will need to downgrade to the previous OS.

Please have a look here, at the bottom right you will find the download link to version 3.0.6 (beta):

https://www.seafile.com/en/download/

OstBlogger wrote:

I updated my MacBook to mcOS Sonoma and since then when I open SeaDrive I get the error message "Failed to initialize: failed to install kernel driver"

Is this "SeaDrive" internal boot drive or an external data only drive...?

there is a German community if it servers you better:

Offizielle Apple Support Community

Apple Support Communities - German