Security-Update 2015-002: restart problem

Take each of these steps that you haven't already tried. Stop when the problem is resolved.

To restart an unresponsive computer, press and hold the power button for a few seconds until the power shuts off, then release, wait a few more seconds, and press it again briefly.

Step 1

The first step in dealing with a startup failure is to secure the data. If you want to preserve the contents of the startup drive, and you don't already have at least one current backup, you must try to back up now, before you do anything else. It may or may not be possible. If you don't care about the data that has changed since the last backup, you can skip this step.

There are several ways to back up a Mac that is unable to start. You need an external hard drive to hold the backup data.

a. Start up from the Recovery partition, or from a local Time Machine backup volume (option key at startup.) When the OS X Utilities screen appears, launch Disk Utility and follow the instructions in this support article, under “Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility.” The article refers to starting up from a DVD, but the procedure in Recovery mode is the same. You don't need a DVD if you're running OS X 10.7 or later.

b. If Step 1a fails because of disk errors, and no other Mac is available, then you may be able to salvage some of your files by copying them in the Finder. If you already have an external drive with OS X installed, start up from it. Otherwise, if you have Internet access, follow the instructions on this page to prepare the external drive and install OS X on it. You'll use the Recovery installer, rather than downloading it from the App Store.

c. If you have access to a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, start the non-working Mac in target disk mode. Use the working Mac to copy the data to another drive. This technique won't work with USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.

d. If the internal drive of the non-working Mac is user-replaceable, remove it and mount it in an external enclosure or drive dock. Use another Mac to copy the data.

Step 2

If the startup process stops at a blank gray screen with no Apple logo or spinning "daisy wheel," then the startup volume may be full. If you had previously seen warnings of low disk space, this is almost certainly the case. You might be able to start up in safe mode even though you can't start up normally. Otherwise, start up from an external drive, or else use the technique in Step 1b, 1c, or 1d to mount the internal drive and delete some files. According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB of available space on the startup volume (as shown in the Finder Info window) for normal operation.

Step 3

Sometimes a startup failure can be resolved by resetting the NVRAM.

Step 4

If a desktop Mac hangs at a plain gray screen with a movable cursor, the keyboard may not be recognized. Press and hold the button on the side of an Apple wireless keyboard to make it discoverable. If need be, replace or recharge the batteries. If you're using a USB keyboard connected to a hub, connect it to a built-in port.

Step 5

If there's a built-in optical drive, a disc may be stuck in it. Follow these instructions to eject it.

Step 6

Press and hold the power button until the power shuts off. Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed to start up, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Use a different keyboard and/or mouse, if those devices are wired. If you can start up now, one of the devices you disconnected, or a combination of them, is causing the problem. Finding out which one is a process of elimination.

Step 7

If you've started from an external storage device, make sure that the internal startup volume is selected in the Startup Disk pane of System Preferences.

Start up in safe mode. Note: If FileVault is enabled in OS X 10.9 or earlier, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Post for further instructions.

Safe mode is much slower to start and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs.

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

When you start up in safe mode, it's normal to see a dark gray progress bar on a light gray background. If the progress bar gets stuck for more than a few minutes, or if the system shuts down automatically while the progress bar is displayed, the startup volume is corrupt and the drive is probably malfunctioning. In that case, go to Step 11. If you ever have another problem with the drive, replace it immediately.

If you can start and log in in safe mode, empty the Trash, and then open the Finder Info window on the startup volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name.) Check that you have at least 9 GB of available space, as shown in the window. If you don't, copy as many files as necessary to another volume (not another folder on the same volume) and delete the originals. Deletion isn't complete until you empty the Trash again. Do this until the available space is more than 9 GB. Then restart as usual (i.e., not in safe mode.)

If the startup process hangs again, the problem is likely caused by a third-party system modification that you installed. Post for further instructions.

Step 8

Launch Disk Utility in Recovery mode (see Step 1.) Select the startup volume, then run Repair Disk. If any problems are found, repeat until clear. If Disk Utility reports that the volume can't be repaired, the drive has malfunctioned and should be replaced. You might choose to tolerate one such malfunction in the life of the drive. In that case, erase the volume and restore from a backup. If the same thing ever happens again, replace the drive immediately.

This is one of the rare situations in which you should also run Repair Permissions, ignoring the false warnings it may produce. Look for the line "Permissions repair complete" at the end of the output. Then restart as usual.

Step 9

If the startup device is an aftermarket SSD, it may need a firmware update and/or a forced "garbage collection." Instructions for doing this with a Crucial-branded SSD were posted here. Some of those instructions may apply to other brands of SSD, but you should check with the vendor's tech support.

Step 10

Reinstall the OS. If the Mac was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade.

Step 11

Do as in Step 9, but this time erase the startup volume in Disk Utility before installing. The system should automatically restart into the Setup Assistant. Follow the prompts to transfer the data from a Time Machine or other backup.

Step 12

This step applies only to models that have a logic-board ("PRAM") battery: all Mac Pro's and some others (not current models.) Both desktop and portable Macs used to have such a battery. The logic-board battery, if there is one, is separate from the main battery of a portable. A dead logic-board battery can cause a startup failure. Typically the failure will be preceded by loss of the settings for the startup disk and system clock. See the user manual for replacement instructions. You may have to take the machine to a service provider to have the battery replaced.

Step 13

If you get this far, you're probably dealing with a hardware fault. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store, or go to another authorized service provider.

Having the same issue on two different machines. 2010 MacBook Pro and 2008 MacBook, both with solid state drives. Installed Yosemite Security Update 2015-002, the computer asked to restart, and then both machines failed to boot. Just a solid gray "no sign" (circle with the line through it). Could the after-market SSDs have something to do with it? They are both fairly new SSDs, and I did try Step 9 on Linc Davis's post above.

I encountered the same problem. Since the update: there's always the progress bar at startup screen; my dock keeps disappearing and won't pop back up; my mouse never highlights my selection, and so on. Here's what I did:

1. Rebooted my mac holding the cmd+r keys.

2. Selected Disk Utility

3. Repaired my disk permissions.

Since then, the update has been running smoothly. I'm not 100% sure about this, but I didn't sync my keychain with my iCloud, or whatever, after the update. I don't want anything to do with the cloud. So I guess it screwed up all the permissions.

I don't know if you actually need to go to recovery mode to fix this problem. Maybe you just need to go directly to disk utility. You should give it a try.

I had exactly the same problem, running 10.10.2 on a non apple ssd. After the security update my Mac Pro wouldn't boot and I ended up reinstalling. Needless to say I won't be using the security update any time soon!

I did try repairing permissions etc, but no go.

Yeah, I restarted my computer this morning and the problem is still there.

Apple really needs to do something fast.

Please see this very similar thread:

Software update is stuck

Finally broke down and decided to wipe/reinstall as well. Thankfully Disk Utility let me create an image of the old OS X install. After I got it working, I did try installing the 2015-002 security update again. It downloaded, installed, and restarted without any problems on both of the machines. Bizarre.

Perusing the forums, it looks like 2015-002 was a major update that broke a lot of things for a lot of people. Would really appreciate some kind of response from Apple. All the smaller problems with Yosemite were aggravating enough before this.

I had the same issue. Simply hit CMD+R on boot to go into the Recovery partition. Then ran an install of Yosemite on top of the old one. System came back online exactly as I'd left it.

Annoying but no data lost.

I'm having the same problem. I installed this update on 3 10 and I have been having the same problem since. I have literally spent days trying to fix this issue. Very frustrating.

I've already ran an install of Yosemite on top of the old one and that has not fixed my issue.

I've tried to verify permissions in the recovery partition, but for some reason, my HD is NOT showing up in the box where it says: Volume containing user acct. It's blank, so I can not reset my password nor can I verify permissions.

I've also tried the diagnostic test, but I can't get to the screen. I hold down the D key, but the password option appears instead.

So any help or ideas as to why my HD is not showing up in recovery mode, or any other help will be greatly appreciated.

The closest Apple store is 2 hours away, and honestly, having to pay to fix a problem that was created with a supposedly innocuous update doesn't sit right me.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Yes, had the same problem on 10.9.5 mac air late 2013 model

- NO HW aftermarket changes

- 117GB FREE

- running smoothly with no crashes and no problems at all

- installed Parallels and Paragon NTFS (please don't start telling me about these causing problems, because they are not:))

- installed AX USB driver since the one from Apple is utterly useless for any remote debugging (and NO don't even start:))

- used for sw development

- clicked 'Install' button

- beeing asked to restart

- machine restarted installed update

- install supposedly 'successful'

- restart and grey screen spinning wheel forever

This is a total disaster which can only be tolerated when it comes to free or very cheap stuff.

- single user boot worked

- no repair of any kind (by booting from recovery partition and external drive) helped to make a difference

- finally got rid of the sloppy update, or whatever it is, and guess what that machine is running smoothly as before

So I guess it's time for Apple drop this 'aftermarket_and_3rd_party_stuff causing problems rhetoric. It's ridiculous. Instead it should focus on delivering stuff that don't make very expensive computers ready for trash bin.

Apollo, like you I reverted back prior to SecUpdate2015-002 to fix my Mac. You can find my post by searching for "Keyboard, keypad glitch".

I would like to eventually apply the SecUpdate but don't know how long to wait to try again.

Will Apple let us know or publish a fixed SecUpdate?

The day after my first reply to you, Apple released Security Update 2015-004. This fixed my issue. I have now gone back to Yosemite 10.3 without those nasty glitches.