Paused downloading El Capitan and now it won't start downloading again

I had the same issue. Try doing a pram reset. If you haven't done one- shut your computer down- turn it back on and hold down the command button with the option button while also pressing the p and r key till you hear your mac restart. Then sign out of the app store and sign back in - may fix your problem

Did a pram reset but still get the same problem.

im having same issue tried reset and signing in and out of app store still nothing

i found a way to fix this problem

1> need to go into your HDD and find Applications Folder

2> Search for EL Capitan Download file OS X EL Capitan.appdownload (i used the search at the top of page make sure your only searching the applications folder)

3> you need to delete this file

4> go into launch pad and hold down on a app so that they wiggle and the ✖ is showing above the app

5> delete the corrupt el capitan app

6> go back into app store and restart download

My El Capitan paused and would not restart as well. I tried hard reboot and all the other suggested tricks. Nothing worked until I did this:

For my 2014 MacBook Air--- In the App Store, I clicked on "purchases" and then clicked on OS X Yosemite (which I downloaded on November 12, 2014), it asked if I wanted to load an update that I already had running on my computer. I clicked yes, and voila! OX X El Capitan, which has been paused/frozen all day long, started downloading again. Go figure. of course it says 9 more hours to go.... I tried pausing it for 5 seconds to see if that would lessen the download time to one hour like I read on this forum, but no such luck for me.

Thank you for posting this! It really helped and your directions were great! Gold star!

I can't delete the El Capitan app in Launchpad 😟 Get it wiggling ok, but clicking on the X does nothing. In fact... none of my apps will delete - well I tried a couple I don't use any more.

Any ideas?

Dear nashyp000,

After trying many options finally I tried your suggestion and it finally worked. Many thanks for your help.

Regards

Samir

Seriously? I have no idea what an HDD is. Can someone explain this solution in plain language, please? Thank you.

Okay, so I figured out that HDD is Finder and I was able to follow the instructions from there. Thanks for the solution, but in the future, please use plainer language. We're not all computer experts. 😟

I followed you instructions and it started straight away, thank you.

Thanks for taking the time to post. Very helpful and like others solved my issue. You're a star

Nashypooo has it.

For people like me who are new to Mac and are immigrating from Windows, let me help you find the HDD.

Click on the desktop. Look at the top bar. Go to the Go menu. Head to Computer. Go into the Macintosh drive. Go into the Application Drive. Delete El Capitan.

Go to the Launchpad (the button at the bottom with the rocket on it). Click and hold an app until they wiggle, and click the X over the paused update.

Continue as normal.