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Update failing at unpacking "essentials.pkg"

Last week I updated my mid 2010 Macbook Pro to the OS X 10.10 beta without any problem. Today i tried to updat my mid 2011 27" iMac to 10.10 and it gave the error: unable to unpack essentials.pkg, restart and try again. No mather how many times I try it it doesn't work. This was the same when I tried to install the beta on the iMac a few days ago. it took me 24 hours to restore it back to its state, because using time machine restore doesn't directly from this point doesn't work ether.

At first I thought it might be because I tried to install it to an external thunderbolt ssd, but after trying to install it to the internal hard drive it just "downloaded the extra components" and when it should be rebooting it just went back to the default OS X recovery screen.

I also tried making an external installer drive but after holding option key and selecting the usb with the installer on it, it loads and after a while it shows the big no data found logo.

Anyone got any ideas or even the solution?

are there more people with this problem?

let me know,

thanks in advanced!

Posted on Oct 16, 2014 4:25 PM

49 replies

Sep 13, 2015 9:39 PM in response to Mr.Ash

Yes, I too am still patiently(?) and frustratedly waiting to upgrade my quadcore iMac from Mavericks to Yosemite. Waiting for an upgrade solution. No one, from Apple...to sea to shining sea,...has prescribed the right antidote to what seems to be a problem that Apple is at a minimum ignoring and at a maximum has built in to require the purchase of new iMac computers. I am, as I'm sure Mr. Jobs is, sorely disappointed by Apple having dropped the ball on this one.

Oct 10, 2015 6:35 AM in response to hknobbe

In my case, first time installation failed with the same error message as everyone else. During the 2nd try, I noticed my MBP (2012 model with non-Apple memory) was extremely hot. After turning on laptop cooler, installation was then successful. Hard to believe the problem was actually that installation caused memory overheat - could be worse on non-Apple memory.

Oct 10, 2015 4:59 PM in response to hknobbe

Circuitously back at "update failing at 'unpacking essentials.pkg' "...

I thought I'd post this for the record.

This year was an identical duplication of last year.

I have two 21-inch iMacs running side by side.

The oldest is a Late 2009 intel core2duo processor, with 16gb of ram I bought and installed/upgraded myself soon after purchase. It seamlessly upgraded to Yosemite last year and seamlessly upgraded to El Capitan on this last Sept 30 or Oct 1. First try, no hesitations, no flinching at new/non-native 16gb of ram.

Then there is my newest one, a Mid 2011 intel quadcore-i5 processor, with 16gb of ram I bought and installed/upgraded myself soon after purchase. It would not upgrade to Yosemite last year. I scrambled and scrounged around and found the original two 2gb sticks of ram, removed the new 4 x 4gb, and put in the old 2 x 2gb sticks of ram. Yosemite installed. IMac ran exceeding hot. Safari crashed, not-infrequently then increased to very-frequently, before I replaced the 2x2gb ram and after I replaced with the 4 x 4gb. Went back to Mavericks...and ran like a top. That was a year ago.

So this year I had high hopes for my newer iMac, Apple-Inc, apple products in general, and apple employees and R&D in general.

Mid 2011 hung up installing El Capitan at precisely the same point. Precisely the same code mentioned in this thread, ad infinitum.

I'm not getting any younger nor any less grey.....so back to earlier time machine version of Mavericks. My more expensive, higher spec, newer iMac...is yes,...running cool and stable on Mavericks yet again.

I don't mean to sound defeated or settling with "less". That is so absolutely not the person I am.

So...here we are again...circuitously back at "update failing at 'unpacking essentials.pkg' "...

Oct 10, 2015 5:40 PM in response to hknobbe

Link to reddit conversations on same phenomenon :

https://www.reddit.com/r/osx/comments/396cwx/help_cant_install_el_cap_due_to_err or_extracting/

Update failing at unpacking "essentials.pkg"