OS X Lion Server hangs on install ("authenticating")

After 3 hours with 3 different AppleCare reps (all very nice and competent), the best solutions that could be arrived at were:

* do a complete reinstall of the entire system (require erasing the boot drive cleanly as the recovery partition can't install over a server installation). Great. Just how I like to spend a weekend evening....

OR

* do nothing if the computer works fine as a client.... but who knows what will happen when updates become available????

Very unsatisfying, especially if I'd have to pay a third time to download Lion(!)......

This is not an answer nor solution. In my case I just connected Ethernet and the problem was solved. It is a very bad to advice to make a complete reinstal.

The only thing that has to happen is to fix the install en download in the appstor, a solution which had to be made bij Apple.

I hope that in the meanwhile Apple give you a refund in the Appstore?

Alex

The biggest pain in a reinstall is entering software license numbers for 20 or so products....

No refund yet from the big A....

Hey to anybody who is still expiriencing the authenticating issue,

this is due to servermgrd not binding to the right port, to solve this you have to ask it to explicitly bind to regular and SSL ports by creating a plist called com.apple.servermgrd.plist in /Library/Preferences containing the following,

http://pastebin.com/HWnJCh4d

then go to a terminal window and type sudo killall servermgrd and run this twice,

then run server.app again and it should work this time,

let me know if this works

-Kevin Demandel

It's work but not complete. I can Install but ...

PLS HELP ME! i Cant download Lion When the download is Almost finished at the last Six Minutes it gives me an error,That is "The application could not be downloaded" PLS HELP! i use Canadian store and i am downloading it in Bangladesh

works for me too... however, still can't complete the installation...

Thanks everyone for your posts on this problem. I have been working with all of the suggested fixes, except for wiping the Boot Drive and reinstalling the whole deal.

I believe I caused the problem when I changed the computer name/server name a few days after the first install of Server. The first install worked fine.. great actually. I changed the computer name using the Lion Server App, so I did not get under the hood and play with the wires. All legit commands through the Server App.

It seems that there is no way to uninstall the Server App completely. Has anyone heard this directly from Apple Care? I am going to call them and see what progreaa I may make, but this appears to be a bad dead-end.

I need a server badly as my business just took off and I have to manage shared stuff. Hey Ochiehchen- can you describe what happens or what you mean by "still can't complete the installation?

Thanks!

After doing the above referenced fix, I now get a progress bar during the configuring services box, but after a short time get an error message that shows

I've rerun the fix several times and continue to get this error.

Any ideas?

@Defense I was just going to re-run the installation again and found that @PJ Prof already replied with the exact screen shot for the error message that I was getting. Please refer to his post. I already time machine'd back two days ago before I install the Lion Server!

Thanks Ochie!

I appreciate your post and info- FOrtunately, I have time machined everything. Last evening, I wiped the disk and restored from Time MAchine. Problem stays the same. I will have a look at PL Prof's stuff and post a comment on the results.

Best regards-

I get the same error as @PJ Prof. Any news on how to fix the problem?

Thanks

Hi Everyone.....

Well, I am about ready to blow my brains out on this one. I have tried every suggestion and have even doen a clean install of Lion, followed by a clean install of Lion Server on as erased Journaled and verified hard drive. The new installation results in error messages identical to what PJ Prof posts.

I have dounloaded the Server Tools for OS .7, which let me into the administration fo the server, but I have not found a way to get this past the "Authenticating" problem, or the error messages. The server tools do no set the server up, so I am still nowhere with that. Why does the clean install on a clean hd result in error messages?

This will be my question for Apple Support, when I can get them on the phone...

I will keep you posted.

I think I found a work around. When runing lion server app for first time, If it hangs at authenticating than let be there for about two min and than go to manage server beside apple logo in the upper right corner. go to connect to server, and over there select local server. another window just like previous one will one and finish the remaining work. one's that's compelete you have to force quit the server app and restart the server app and you will be in. It's not a solution which apple should have provided by now but it's just a work around. Hope it's helpfull to you.