The mac app store has stop recognizing installed updates. It lists the same updates available for update even after they have been installed.

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The mac app store has stop recognizing installed updates. It lists the same updates available for update even after they have been installed.

Starting in September of this year, the mac store instance on my macbook pro has stop recognizing that I have installed updates. It keeps listing the same updates available for update. Yes I have tried:

Rebooting.

Examined the "about" of the installed version vs. the version available for update

Swearing at the mac

Eating a balanced diet and getting lots of sleep and exercise

Only thing I can think of is I have spotlight search as disabled as I can make it. Don't know if it has hooks into the update process.

Anyone have any ideas?

MacBook Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.5)

Posted on Oct 16, 2015 6:02 AM

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Answer 1

Eau Rouge

Level 8

42,656 points

Oct 17, 2015 1:24 AM in response to Mariner923

spotlight is used to notify the App Store of what is installed.

You could also go to About This Mac then System Report and then Installations just to check that the updates have in deed been installed.

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Answer 2

Mariner923 Author

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Oct 17, 2015 3:47 AM in response to Eau Rouge

Thanks for the reply. The system report shows the updates installed correctly. Spotlight is probably the only part of the mac experience I have a problem with, it's a massive invasion of privacy. Are you sure it has a role in this because I disabled spotlight as much as I could a while back and have successfully installed updates after that without the current behaviour?

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Answer 3

Eau Rouge

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Oct 17, 2015 4:10 AM in response to Mariner923

Why do you think Spotlight is an invasion of privacy.

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Answer 4

Mariner923 Author

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Oct 17, 2015 4:23 AM in response to Eau Rouge

Any search query you enter is sent to apple and then shared with bing and whoever else. There are features in place to remove the personal identifiers but your location plus your search term is your activity indexed and you located. I know that far more malevolent entities are doing far more nefarious and invasive things but the forced opt-in by apple with this feature really gets my back up.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/10/20/apple_spotlight_privacy_qualms/

http://searchengineland.com/apple-capturing-spotlight-search-query-data-sharing- bing-206202

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Answer 5

Eau Rouge

Level 8

42,656 points

Oct 17, 2015 5:39 AM in response to Mariner923

you can turn it off in system prefs > allow spotlight suggestions .......

you are being watched all the time

nice shirt by the way.

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Answer 6

Quackser

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Oct 17, 2015 8:49 AM in response to Eau Rouge

Don't often laugh out load. Thanks you guys... .

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Answer 7

Quackser

Level 1

5 points

Oct 17, 2015 8:53 AM in response to Quackser

It's a fine line between your computer keeping track of you and helping by offering relevant suggestions and your data being sucked into the cloud for monetization by other companies. Apple has your back on this. Check out Steve Jobs talking at the D8 conference on YouTube. Apple has their business model focused on making your life easier not on monetizing your data. They are very clear on this. And yes, I trust them.

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Answer 8

Quackser

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5 points

Oct 17, 2015 9:02 AM in response to Quackser

...I don't think Apple would be working with Microsoft if they couldn't guarantee their clients' privacy. Think of the history of trust issues that Apple has with Microsoft. They aren't being that specific because to do so would be to give competitors too much insider information. Apple's not stupid, they don't trust anyone outside their bubble.

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Answer 9

Gandrewb

Level 1

1 points

Oct 18, 2015 8:19 AM in response to Mariner923

I have been having the same issue for a while also. Seems to only occur with Apple apps such as Numbers, Pages and Keynote.

Seems that the App store installs at least two instances of the apps.

Have this problem on my iMac and my Macbook Pro. My wife iMac however works fine. All running El Capitan.

Thanks for your post and I would definitely like to know what is going on.

Thanks,

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Answer 10

mitra12

Level 1

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Oct 18, 2015 6:00 PM in response to Gandrewb

Hi. Yes I've been having the same problems for months now on my Mac Pro (2008), and sometimes even on my MacBook Pro (2015).

It's always the combined "Apple" updates (system updates, printer updates and camera raw updates) that doesn't work.

I really wish Apple would fix this, because the last few OS updates forced me to make a USB-drive installer to make them work… So if anyone at Apple reads this: Please help us! … Thanks! 😉

PS.: On a sidenote, it would be great if the Norwegian version of OS X could recognize that my Mac Pro is a Mac Pro and not a MacBook Pro, and that my MacBook Pro (2015) is the 2015 version and not the 2014 version… Details, sure, but Apple supposedly care about the details, so after years of getting these details wrong, please fix. 🙂

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Answer 11

mitra12

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Oct 18, 2015 6:12 PM in response to mitra12

This is what the console tells me:

19.10.2015 03.09.06,000 kernel[0]: Sandbox: softwareupdated(475) deny(1) file-write-create /private/var/folders/zz/zyxvpxvq6csfxvn_n00000s0000068/C/com.apple.SoftwareUpda te.SUUpdateServiceDaemon.state.sb-2f82ac6a-f4S3Aq

19.10.2015 03.09.06,000 kernel[0]: Sandbox: softwareupdated(475) deny(1) file-write-create /private/var/folders/zz/zyxvpxvq6csfxvn_n00000s0000068/C/com.apple.SoftwareUpda te.SUUpdateServiceDaemon.state.sb-2f82ac6a-n47QVZ

19.10.2015 03.09.20,000 kernel[0]: Sandbox: softwareupdated(475) deny(1) file-write-create /private/var/folders/zz/zyxvpxvq6csfxvn_n00000s0000068/C/com.apple.SoftwareUpda te.SUUpdateServiceDaemon.state.sb-2f82ac6a-umj6s8

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Answer 12

Mariner923 Author

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Oct 19, 2015 4:02 AM in response to Mariner923

Ok, so in my case it did appear to be related to spotlight search. I had used a command line approach to disable spotlight search which essentially stopped it from loading at all. This also borked search in mail and finder (I don't rely on search much). Re-enabling it has resolved the issue with updates not registering as having been applied although they were.

I found some less brute force approaches to nerfing spotlight search here, I especially like the .noindex folder trick.

http://www.tekrevue.com/tip/three-ways-to-prevent-spotlight-from-indexing-items- on-your-mac/

@Quackser, I work in the software industry. What Apple has set up is completely them monetizing my data. My web searches, ok fair game it's a public domain like this forum post. My hard drive, totally off limits as far as I am concerned including documents I have have from clients where I am under an NDA. Last I checked Apple is not signing my NDAs as a "3rd party vendor".

My take on it is this: With this feature, Apple has entered me into a transaction where in exchange for something I don't want and didn't ask for, I am forced to give up something I don't want to relinquish.

@mirta12 and @Gandrewb, in looking for answers,I came across one discussion thread on a forum that suggested that if you have multiple machines using the same account, if you update application A on one machine but not on machine B there were conditions under which it could show as needing update on both machines. I don't know if you have tried updating both machines for the same app to see if it goes away? I'm going to guess you probably have. I hope you both find your answers soon.

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Answer 13

mitra12

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Oct 19, 2015 4:50 AM in response to Mariner923

@Mariner923: Great to hear it got solved for you! 🙂

My problem and I believe Gandrewb's problem is a little bit different, but I found the solution today (for me at least) here!:

cannot install updates from app store

The solution in the linked thread worked for me, but only after I restarted the machine. So basically throw away the "zz"- folder and do a restart:

Thanks to Linc Davis:

Back up all data before proceeding.

Triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:

/var/folders/zz

Right-click or control-click the highlighted line and select

Services ▹ Reveal in Finder (or just Reveal)

from the contextual menu.* A folder should open with an item selected. Move the selected item to the Trash. You may be prompted for your administrator login password. Restart the computer and empty the Trash.

*If you don't see the contextual menu item, copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. In the Finder, select

Go ▹ Go to Folder...

from the menu bar and paste into the box that opens by pressing command-V. You won't see what you pasted because a line break is included. Press return.

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Answer 14

mitra12

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Oct 19, 2015 5:28 AM in response to mitra12

Hmm… Not sure if you should delete the entire "zz" -folder. I'm having a problem with a folder that I'm unable to delete and unable basically do anything with, can't even put it back in the "zz" folder… So, don't throw this one away:

If anyone knows what to do with it, please let me know… 😕

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Answer 15

mitra12

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Oct 19, 2015 7:17 AM in response to mitra12

After trying everything, terminal commands and all, I finally got rid of it by transferring the folder to another user account and then deleting that account! 😁

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