SOFTWARE UPDATE WONT INSTALL

Welcome to Apple Discussions!

It would probably help to download the combo update from Apple and then try to install that:

http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1324

Before installing, make sure you:
1. Have a fresh backup
2. Repair permissions
3. Unplug all peripherals except keyboard and mouse.
4. After install, repair permissions again.

And, please, do not type in all caps - we would appreciate it; it is considered shouting.

Ana,

Welcome to the Apple Support Discussions.

First a training, please don't type in all caps, that is considered shouting which I'm sure wasn't your intent.

However to answer your question it appears a file or files in the latest software update was corrupted so it probably won't install. If you have a high speed internet connection your download shouldn't take much longer than 15-20 minutes. My recommendation is to retry using the Combo update located right here. This will overwrite whatever was downloaded and should solve your problem. Please post back with your results.

Roger

Are you sure we're talking about the same update? 10.6.5 didn't come out until about 3 weeks ago or so - not in June.

As Barbara mentioned 10.6.5 was released on November 10th, Apple releases OS X updates periodically, many people here think it's wise to use the combo updates. The combo updates almost always come out the same day as the regular updates and are more comprehensive. The comprehensiveness is really for people than may have skipped an update (for example going from 10.6.3 directly to 10.6.5) but it doesn't hurt at all to use this update if you get every update either.

Well, now that you have the 10.6.5 downloaded, follow the suggestions above with the installation.

As for not being able to download anything through Software Update, I'd try the following:

Go to Users -> Library -> Preferences and drag the following to the trash: com.apple.SoftwareUpdate.plist. Do not empty trash yet. Restart computer and see if it works properly now; if so, empty trash (Software Update will have created a new preference file after being launched).

And for what it's worth, DSL (or cable for that matter) may not be as fast as they all claim; note that their claims always say "speeds UP TO...". A friend of mine has DSL and it is sometimes painfully slow.

In addition to Barbara's advice on DSL, go to Speedtest.net and test your download speed. Where I'm at right now is 23MBS. Every area will be different and there are different levels of high speed internet. That is something you can check with your ISP if you desire.