Mavericks Install time

Question

Level 1

9 points

Mavericks Install time

Just so folks have an idea of time necessary for the mavericks upgrade - I downloaded and installed mavericks on its first night of release. The actual download time wasn't bad - about 10 minutes at 7.2 MBps (or 57.6 Mbps - darned good speed, considering my service tops out at a nominal 50Mbps - but often gets more, closer to 60Mbps).

My computer is a 2009 dual quad core Mac Pro. 2.26 GHz - not blindingly fast, but hanging in there.

After the download, then the long delay - TWO HOURS of number crunching to finish the install. I was concerned when, with 18 minutes left to complete, my screen went black. I started worrying about conflicts with the 3rd party peripherals attached - but no need. I remembered my energy saving settings put my screen (only) to sleep a bit short of 2 hours. Moving the mouse restored it. However, it went to sleep several more times before the installation was complete. There was no disruption of the install proces, however.

Pay no attention to the estimated times shown in the "time remaining" windows. One early estimate was 26 hours. That finally adjusted - but the times are still wildly inacurate. Inside 18 minutes remaining for the Mavericks completion, each "minute" took 3 to 4 actual minutes to tick off. The final "Less than 1 minute" took 10. But that was no different from earlier OS updates, which were just as bad.

I upgraded iMovie, iPhoto and Aperture after installing Mavericks. The downloads/installation of just those 3 apps took over 2 hours, with speeds in the range of 60 to 700 KBps, likely becaus the App Store was deluged - thee were Safari and other app upgrades out for Lion and Mountain Lion systems too, plus the 3 needed with Mavericks.

I had expected the first startup after the installation would be slow, and it was. What was surprising ws how slow the whole computer was - to the point that I shut down and restarted. It improved, but was still slow. Too tired and way past my bedtime, I shut it down. However, on start today, everything was fine. I don't notice much speed improvement over Mountain Lion - I was looking for some because of Mavericks' allegedly improved memory management. But, I'm running 12 GB of RAM anyway, and have yet to max it out - so likely that isn't a big factor on this machine.

PowerMac, Mac OS X (10.7.1)

Posted on Oct 23, 2013 12:01 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Oct 23, 2013 12:36 PM in response to c warren

Do you have a technical problem?

Or is it just a post about your install experience?

If the latter, it's nice to know, but your experience will probably be the 1 in 1000 that someone else needs to reference from. Otherwise, please stick with any problems you come across.

For reference, speed of your internet ≠ speed of the computer or the upload rate of the server load on the other end.

Reply

Answer 2

c warren Author

Level 1

9 points

Oct 23, 2013 1:31 PM in response to chattphotos

No technical problem - I was simply surprised at the 2 hours to complete the installation, AFTER download, and thought others might like to know what to expect - since nothing Apple puts out provides any info about that.

I thought they might also like to know about the highly erroneous time estimates generated during the installation. Yes, I have seen this for years - but there are likely new users going from Mountain Lion to mavericks who may not have.

I am well aware that the speeds of my internet connection vs the speed of the upload and download speeds at both ends. However, I have spoftware that allows me to monitor the downoad speeds at my end (also my upload speeds). I thought the upload speeds at the App store were great during the Mavericks download - about as fast as my max download capability. It was the large amount of time AFTER the download that was a bit of a surprise.

And, I thought the upload speed from the App store for the other i-Apps was dismal.

If the post helps one in 1000, then that one will probably appreciate it.

Reply

Answer 3

Oct 23, 2013 1:44 PM in response to c warren

Thanks for the info.

I'm one in 1000 who find this useful, for I'm considering upgrading to mavericks and I was wondering just that --the time it would take.

Cheers

Reply

Answer 4

RichBP

Level 1

9 points

Oct 23, 2013 2:01 PM in response to c warren

I guess I would be #2 in a 1000 who appreciates your post. I've been wondering the same thing as keyser.

I've found that the internet, at least in my area, is very slow for everything today. It couldn't be all the people downloading Mavericks could it?

Thanks again.

Reply

Answer 5

DX7

Level 1

10 points

Oct 26, 2013 9:41 AM in response to RichBP

In order to provide a more balanced view;

The initial upgrade estimate for my 2011 MacBook Pro with SSD was 31 minutes.

Instead of taking longer, each on-screen minute was actually less than 60 seconds.

In short, my mavericks upgrade post download took about 15 minutes.

It just goes to show you that the overall time is dependent on individual hardware circumstances.

Reply

Answer 6

c warren Author

Level 1

9 points

Oct 26, 2013 11:00 AM in response to DX7

Since number crunching is involved in the uodate, of course machine speed would be a factor. That's why I specified which mine was.

My brother's 2012 iMac - I don't recall its specifics, except that it had the fastest processor available for the iMac and the Apple SSD/HD combo unit - and his installation, done midday, took 36 minutes.

I mention the time of day for a reason: I don't know if additional downloading is done after the OS10.9 Install app is downloaded, once the install begins. If it is, then load on Apple's servers and you own ISP could be a factor.

Because I used an improper setting in Carbon Copy Cloner when I backed up to my hard drive, not all of the Mavericks files were written properly. Before I found out what I had done wrong, I decided to simply "restore" 10.9 on that drive using the 10.9 Restore I had made on a thumb drive, via the uodated Lion Diskmaker program (yes, it is updated for Mavericks). When I tried that, it invoked the OS 10.9 Install App, but also indicated the "additional downloads" were being performed. That install took about 45 minutes - but it was also unsuccessful. The install via the "restore" thumb drive operates in conjunction Lion Diskmaker - which I am sure is what provided the "additional downloads" message.

Fortunately, I had also kept a copy of the install software on yet another drive. I dumped my entire System and Library files on the target backup HD, and did a fresh install from this 3rd drive, using only the Apple OS10.9 Install App - there was no notice of additional meterial, and the install alone took 36 minutes (which again, does not include the time to download the install app). Including the download time for that from Oct. 22, my total install would likely have taken 46 minutes.

Both of the latter efforts were at midday also - but there is a hint at least that once the download of the Install App is complete, more may still have to be downloaded - and server load on the Apple site could explain the 2 hour time to complete on Oct. 22, despite the very fast initial download of the install app.

The time estimates generated on my machne were still way off.

Reply

Answer 7

Jan 27, 2014 6:24 AM in response to c warren

I am #3 :-)

Reply

Answer 8

Jan 28, 2014 9:43 AM in response to c warren

Count me as #4. It took me several hours for the download. I finally went to bed and it had finished by morning. Then I went to restart the computer to install the update. It told me it'd be 55 minutes. I had NO idea it would take that long and had to stop it so I could head to work. Now at work it's been working on that 55 minutes for about 40 so far and still says it has 21 minutes to go. There should be some warning that it may take an entire day to download and install Mavericks. I expected a few minutes, not several hours.

Reply

Answer 9

Feb 16, 2014 1:54 PM in response to c warren

Add me too. I am seeing this spinning circle on my screen after the download and just when the install starts. I wasn't sure if it was hug or not but it had been 30 minutes so far. Since yo

There are reports it takes a long time I will let it churn.

Adam

Reply

Answer 10

Apr 2, 2014 8:10 PM in response to c warren

Count me as 20 in 1000. I found your post very helpful. I am going through the same thing right now. Chattphotos if you don't have something positive to add don't post and waste our time. Thank you c warren.

Reply

Answer 11

ria_amp

Level 1

9 points

Apr 11, 2014 12:32 PM in response to c warren

Okay now I'm 21 in 1000. I'm doing support for an elderly friend and upgrading her computer. Trying to figure out how long I need to be here. : )

Thanks!

Reply

Answer 12

sri.g

Level 1

0 points

Apr 29, 2014 3:38 PM in response to c warren

I am #22. I want to upgrade to OS mavericks too. Was wondering if its going to be couple of hours or less than an hour? Folks who tried it out any thoughts?

I am using mac book pro - 10.8.5

Reply

Answer 13

May 21, 2014 2:46 PM in response to c warren

# 23 ;-)

I can now tell my boss it will take close to half a day to upgrade his Safari.

Great post!

Reply

Answer 14

Jul 14, 2014 1:56 PM in response to c warren

#24 :-) great post thanks

Reply

Answer 15

Mar 4, 2015 10:02 PM in response to c warren

Yep - very useful information about how long an installation takes. I'm watching the little colour wheel go round and round and wondering if all is ok..

Reply