Anyone else having trouble downloading Xcode?

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Anyone else having trouble downloading Xcode?

Hi all,

I'm having trouble downloading Xcode 5.0.2 today.

Background - I'm very new to the Apple/Mac ecosystem but I'm also a software engineer so not clueless about technology generally. Yesterday I bought a 13" Macbook Pro Retina and applied all the updates that the App store suggested. Today I decided I wanted to install Fink so I could access a lot of Unix/Linux-y tools I'm familiar with, the first step is to install Xcode.

I tried running xcode-select --install to install the command line tools but that fails shortly after the license agreement with the message "Can't install the software because it is not currently available from the Software Update server."

So instead I decided to try installing the full Xcode. After going through the app store, the download starts through Launchpad and quite quickly gets to 156.8MB, then stalls. After a while it might go up to 157, but then it goes back down to 155, 156.2.... not making any sense. After about two hours I get a message saying download failed. I've tried this twice. I've also tried pausing and restarting the download, deleting the application while it's in progress then rebooting, installing something else (Evernote, which worked fine), but always the same result.

Am I doing something wrong? Has anyone else tried this today? Is there some buffer/temp file I could try flushing before giving it another go? Help?

Thanks in advance,

David Hicks.

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mavericks (10.9), Xcode

Posted on Nov 19, 2013 6:23 AM

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Answer 1

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Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Nov 19, 2013 10:49 AM in response to davidhicks

Please read this whole message before doing anything.

This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.

Step 1

The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account.

Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.”

While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your personal files or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.

Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem?

After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.

*Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.

Step 2

The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of certain system caches.

Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Boot in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem. Note: If FileVault is enabled on some models, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.

Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal boot may also be somewhat slow.

The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.

Test while in safe mode. Same problem?

After testing, reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of steps 1 and 2.

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Answer 2

davidhicks Author

Level 1

0 points

Nov 20, 2013 2:56 AM in response to Linc Davis

Thanks for the detailed reply there, I went through both of those processes -

1. Guest account - same results* as before with both command line and store download

2. Safe boot (I saw the red "Safe Boot" on startup) with only the power cable attached - same results as before

After tests - same result as before

*same results meaning that the command line failed and download stalled, I didn't have time to wait for two hours for timeout again.

So I started to think, and the one constant is the network. I paused download, tethered to my phone and then unpaused. It works. Similarly if I set up an encrypted tunnel to my home server using ssh and set it up as a proxy, the download continues. There's something deeply odd going on with the networking. What's really weird is that if I use the proxy to get past the "danger zone" at 155-157MB download, pause the download and start it again without the proxy it (so far) seems to be fine. (edit: No, it stops again around 205MB, I'm going to do the whole thing over the proxy)

Either way this specific problem is solved. It must just be something weird about the network here.

Thanks for your help,

David.

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