10.6.8 Combo Install taking a long time

Question

10.6.8 Combo Install taking a long time

A1212 MacBook Pro, 2.33 Ghz CoreDuo, 2GB mem, came with 10.4.11; used a Snow Leopard Install disc to install 10.6.3; then I downloaded the 10.6.8 Combo update from Apple's website and thought I had succesully ran the install for that. Then it told me to manually reboot to complete install, so I did. That was 5 hours ago, and all I've seen on my screen since is the apple logo with the little circley thing that indicates that it's busy thinking. What gives?

Mac OS X (10.6.3), Model A1212

Posted on Jan 17, 2013 6:02 AM

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Answer 1

sig

Level 8

35,862 points

Jan 17, 2013 6:28 AM in response to TheRealJTweet

That's to long. I would power down by holding down the power button. Then power it back up. Post your results.

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Answer 2

Jan 17, 2013 7:21 AM in response to sig

Same thing. I considered entering the boot menu by holding Apple Button +S, but I'm not sure what I would do from there to help the situation.

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Answer 3

sig

Level 8

35,862 points

Jan 17, 2013 7:54 AM in response to TheRealJTweet

Boot menu is option key. Where did you get the SL 10.6.3 disk from?

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Answer 4

Jan 17, 2013 8:41 AM in response to sig

What I've done for the time being, Sig, is I shut down the MBP, restarted it while holding down "Option", and reinstalled 10.6.3 from disc. I fully intend to uprgrade to the most recent OS that my MBP can possibly handle (I'd like at least 10.6.8 but if I can push for OS X Lion I'd like that instead). I will use 10.6.3 until I can figure out how to successfully upgrade without further issues like the reboot-hang I just experienced downloading the 10.6.8 Combo Update. Any suggestions for when I do go to upgrade? Why the hang?

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Answer 5

Jan 17, 2013 8:47 AM in response to TheRealJTweet

The disc is a 10.6.3 that I got from a friend. 10.6.3 works perfectly; I simply wanted to upgrade to a later OS to take advantage of the latest and greatest products possible (the latest Adobe CS5, etc.)

The 10.6.8 download came direct from Apple's website (http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1399)

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Answer 6

Courcoul

Level 6

18,558 points

Jan 17, 2013 9:03 AM in response to TheRealJTweet

One possible recovery path I can think of is to reinstall 10.6.3 all over again from the DVD. When done and it boots up normally, restart again with the SL DVD and run the Disk Utility found in the menus. With it do a Repair Disk on the internal drive, redo if any errors pop up. Restart and reset the PRAM along the way by holding down the Option Command P R keys prior to the chime, let it cycle thru at least three chimes before releasing the keys. Then let it start up normally onto the internal drive, run its Disk Utility amd do a Repair Disl Permissions. Only then apply the 10.6.8 Update Combo. When it restarts, note it will restart twice by itself in short succession (at least that what it did on the Macs I upgraded). When it finally comes up, run Disk Utility again and do a last Repair Disk Permissions.

All this ensures that the drive has no hardware issues, and that all file permissions are ok.

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Answer 7

sig

Level 8

35,862 points

Jan 17, 2013 9:21 AM in response to TheRealJTweet

Hopefully it is a retail disk, however you are violating the SLA.

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Answer 8

Jan 17, 2013 9:31 AM in response to sig

^I will neither confirm nor deny, Sig; I can say that I am purchasing Lion. Courcoul, thank you very much for the thorough suggestion; I will try it tonight when I get home and I will post my results here.

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Answer 9

Jan 18, 2013 8:29 AM in response to Courcoul

Running 10.6.8 now! 😀 Thanks!

Gonna purchase 10.7 Lion from the Mac App store; although I have a feeling it would be wise to purchase another stick of RAM first to achieve the 3GB max that my model is capable of. Off to Best Buy we go!

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Answer 10

Courcoul

Level 6

18,558 points

Jan 18, 2013 8:57 AM in response to TheRealJTweet

By ALL means! Trying to run the big 64-bit cats on anything less than 4GB sounds like a wild crapshoot, so good luck. Especially since all you'll find is the hillside version of the kitty, Apple only sells the latest OS by default. Be sure it fits: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5444

You may also want to peruse this thread so you only suffer thru the download once: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4713263?tstart=30

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