CUI CUI CUI error 10.7.3 all apps crashes

Same issue here on an early 2008 Mac Pro. I downloaded the .dgm update file and will try to get it installed. Unfortionately my other Mac is a MacBook Air so I can not use the Target Disk Mode trick to manually re-install the update.

I was bitten by this bug as well on a MacBook Pro. I booted to the Recovery Partition via Command R at bootup. I reinstalled OS X. The system happily went out and installed 10.7.3. Rebooted and everything is as good as new (other than having to reinstall the latest iTunes and AirPort Utility from software update).

So if you don't have a Time Machine backup (I use alternative backup software), it is probably worth just reinstalling from the Recovery Partition and you should be all set. If you haven't installed 10.7.3, I certainly wouldn't from Software Update.

The CUI problem and app crashes were happening to me as well. I have 2 MBPs, one new i7 quad core and one older Core 2 Duo. The update was about 700mb via Software Update on the Core 2 Duo and it did not have the problem. The newer i7 quad core update was 1gb via Software Update and it did have this problem.

Luckily I was able to fix it with the combo update. I downloaded the combo update on the functioning MBP, mounted the other in target disk mode. When I ran the combo update, I selected the disk from the malfunctioning MBP, applied it, and it fixed the problem. I then also applied it to the older Mac just to be safe.

From now on I will be using the combo updater!

I have the exact same problem. My 2010 MacBook Pro updated without a hitch. My 2009 iMac...not so much. None of the applications will open. I'm currently restoring the computer from a Time Machine backup. What a pain.

Being hit with this as well. Pretty brutal - though the first time I've ever experienced something of this magnitude with an OS X update. It leads to some awesome crashes if you have a bunch of apps opening on login.

Since it seems to be a GUI-layer issue only, I'm going to see if I can download and install the combo update over SSH. Hopefully that will save me having to do a time machine restore.

I have the same problem. Talked to tech support. Moved up to top tier. They are discussing with engineering, especially after seeing this forum thread. He's calling me in the morning. If anyone is interested I would be happy to share the results when they come in. Hoping to not have to do a time machine restore but sure am glad I have that possibility.

2011 iMac updated and bombed with CUI errors. Restored to 10.7.2 via TM, and I'm not going back to 10.7.3 until there's official word from Apple that they've fixed it up.

I'm a relatively recent Windows emigrant, and my first 6 months on OS X have been speckled with mishaps like this. Like it or not, Windows 7 is very solid, more consistent, and far more sophisticated than OS X. Note, I did not say more esthetically pleasing, which it is not. Nor does Windows give you a feeling of extension beyond what you're creating yourself. However, Windows 7 is *way* more stable in use, and Microsoft is far more precise with their deliverables.

I'll agree there has been some missteps lately. But I can't agree that windows is more solid. And I was a long time windows user and I fix everyone's windows pcs for them. Everyone I switch over to macs have never been happier.

I upgraded three Mac simultaneously; Mac Mini, iMac, and a MacBook (set to German Language). All systems with the exeption of the MacBook updated successfuly via Software Update. I'm doing a re-install of Lion via the recovery partition on the MacBook right now. Glad to see I wasn't alone.

Same problem here. Very very serious. Late 2010 MacBook air had been running 10.7.2.

What is the best approach to recover? If I use the recovery partition to reinstall Mac os x, will it lose my settings? Is it better to restore from a time machine backup?

I can't believe apple didn't test this better. Lion overall has been very buggy for me. Not that impressive...

The best reply/answer has been Tom's response from earlier, regarding target disk mode. Unfortunately for you, without a Thunderbolt or Firewire port, you're out of luck in this regard.

Your next best option is to do a time machine restore using the Lion Recovey Partition. Hold Command-R or Option after a restart and choose Recovery Partition. Choose the latest pre-10.7.3 back you have. And restore!

Does anyone know how pervasive this problem is? Has Apple officially acknowledged the issue and is working on a fix?

I'm trying to advise my non-technical (i.e., can not handle a manuale update process) friends.

One more complaint, for any Apple folks that read this. I installed 10.6.8 on an extra HDD I had laying around, then proceeded to download the 10.7.3 combo update. Fired it up, and was greeted with an error:

10.7 or later is required.

Surely, this kind of check can be done at the destination select? What's the point of not allowing the upgrade to launch at all, if another partition does contain 10.7?

I've upgraded the 10.6.8 partition to Lion, and am now installing the combo update on my original drive. Looks like that's a working solution for those of us who don't want to take 9 hours to restore from a TimeMachine backup.

I, too, am happier, but only in an emotional sense. I suppose that's worth a lot, but my honeymoon with Apple is coming to a close. I think Apple will always be at least "half-full" for me, meaning that all things considered I prefer it, but there are inconsistent UI behaviors, serious Finder incapabilities, and update consistency and stability issues that give me pause. The biggest daily usage difference between OS X and Windows, other that the Apple ecosystem, is how files are treated. Windows is serious about your filesystem, whereas Apple has always been loose, and of late I dare say antagonistic, towards a file-centric perspective. Their overall approach is highly successful, of course, but unpredictable UI behaviors, overly guided filesystem management, and situations like this CUI problem leave me anxious relative to a system that handles those aspects very well.

Again, I actually am happier, but I chalk it up to the ecosystem, industrial design, and ease of network (non-)configuring.

You shouldn't have to do a Time Machine restore. First, that will take a lot of time, and second, you might have valuable files or data since your last backup. You just need to be able to enter recovery mode somehow (through the recovery partition, an external drive, a Lion USB restore drive) and reinstall the OS. This will take some time, but not nearly as much as a Time Machine restore, and it will get you up to 10.7.3. This worked for me.