Tommyweather
Level 1 (16 points)
Mac OS X

Q: Can't upgrade to OS Sierra

everytime I try to upgrade my MacBook Pro it says an internal error has prevented the update from occurring. I've tried everything I can think of. Installing the previous operating system and trying again resetting the NVRAM I'm stumped As to what possibly could be preventing the install from competing successfuly. And guidance would be greatly appreciated.

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X El Capitan (10.11.6)

Posted on Sep 23, 2016 11:17 PM

by brenden dv,Solvedanswer
brenden dv brenden dv
Community Specialists
A:

Hi Tommyweather,

 

Thanks for posting in the Apple Support Community! I understand you're unable to update your MacBook Pro to macOS Sierra because you're getting an internal error. I always like to make sure I keep my Mac up to date with the latest software, so I can understand wanting to make sure you're able to update your Mac too. I'm happy to offer some suggestions.

 

Before going through any troubleshooting steps, I recommend to backup your data using Time Machine. The steps that I'm going to recommend shouldn't erase any of your data but it's always a great idea to make sure your data is safe.

Use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac

 

The next thing that I recommend doing is trying to repair your hard drive using disk utility. It's possible an error on the hard drive could cause the error you're getting. You can use the following section of this article for help with that:

Try Disk Utility

Use these steps to use the Disk Utility app to verify or repair a disk.

  1. If you're using OS X Lion or later, start the computer from Recovery System or Internet Recovery. If you're using an older version of OS X and your computer came with a Mac OS X Install disc, insert the installation disc and restart the computer while holding the C key instead.
  2. When your computer finishes starting up, choose Disk Utility from the Utilities window, or from the Installer menu if you're started from an installation disc.
  3. Click the First Aid tab.
  4. Click the disclosure triangle to the left of the hard drive icon to display the names of your hard disk volumes and partitions.
  5. Select your Startup Disk (usually named "Macintosh HD").
  6. Click Repair. Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk.

Tip: With Mac OS X v10.6 and earlier, always start up your computer from an Install or Restore disc when using Disk Utility to verify or repair your startup volume. Otherwise, you might see some disk error messages.

Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck

 

Once you've confirmed that your hard disk is working normally, try installing the update again. If you're still running in to an error, reply back and let us know during which part of the installation you're seeing that error. 

 

Cheers! 

Posted on Sep 25, 2016 9:20 AM

Close
Tommyweather

Q: Can't upgrade to OS Sierra

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by brenden dv,Solvedanswer

    brenden dv brenden dv Sep 25, 2016 9:20 AM in response to Tommyweather
    Community Specialists
    Sep 25, 2016 9:20 AM in response to Tommyweather

    Hi Tommyweather,

     

    Thanks for posting in the Apple Support Community! I understand you're unable to update your MacBook Pro to macOS Sierra because you're getting an internal error. I always like to make sure I keep my Mac up to date with the latest software, so I can understand wanting to make sure you're able to update your Mac too. I'm happy to offer some suggestions.

     

    Before going through any troubleshooting steps, I recommend to backup your data using Time Machine. The steps that I'm going to recommend shouldn't erase any of your data but it's always a great idea to make sure your data is safe.

    Use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac

     

    The next thing that I recommend doing is trying to repair your hard drive using disk utility. It's possible an error on the hard drive could cause the error you're getting. You can use the following section of this article for help with that:

    Try Disk Utility

    Use these steps to use the Disk Utility app to verify or repair a disk.

    1. If you're using OS X Lion or later, start the computer from Recovery System or Internet Recovery. If you're using an older version of OS X and your computer came with a Mac OS X Install disc, insert the installation disc and restart the computer while holding the C key instead.
    2. When your computer finishes starting up, choose Disk Utility from the Utilities window, or from the Installer menu if you're started from an installation disc.
    3. Click the First Aid tab.
    4. Click the disclosure triangle to the left of the hard drive icon to display the names of your hard disk volumes and partitions.
    5. Select your Startup Disk (usually named "Macintosh HD").
    6. Click Repair. Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk.

    Tip: With Mac OS X v10.6 and earlier, always start up your computer from an Install or Restore disc when using Disk Utility to verify or repair your startup volume. Otherwise, you might see some disk error messages.

    Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck

     

    Once you've confirmed that your hard disk is working normally, try installing the update again. If you're still running in to an error, reply back and let us know during which part of the installation you're seeing that error. 

     

    Cheers! 

  • by allertonm,

    allertonm allertonm Sep 25, 2016 1:21 PM in response to brenden dv
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 25, 2016 1:21 PM in response to brenden dv

    Not the OP but also suffering from the same problem as described over in this thread: Re: macOS Sierra installation (from El Capitan) fails with "Internal error" message

     

    One of the things I did try during my second installation attempt was using Disk First Aid from the recovery partition exactly as described here. It did not resolve the problem.

  • by Tommyweather,

    Tommyweather Tommyweather Sep 25, 2016 1:53 PM in response to allertonm
    Level 1 (16 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 25, 2016 1:53 PM in response to allertonm

    Do you have a symbol of any sort in the name of your hard drive?  I had a & sign and that i removed which also may have done the trick.

  • by allertonm,

    allertonm allertonm Sep 25, 2016 2:37 PM in response to Tommyweather
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 25, 2016 2:37 PM in response to Tommyweather

    Interestingly enough, yes I do. I have an SSD boot drive called "OS & Apps". This might be worth a third attempt...

  • by Daniel Ebeck,

    Daniel Ebeck Daniel Ebeck Sep 25, 2016 2:40 PM in response to Tommyweather
    Level 4 (1,714 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 25, 2016 2:40 PM in response to Tommyweather

    Good point! UNIX dislikes some characters in filenames. Try to avoid using punctuation and symbols as much as possible.

  • by allertonm,

    allertonm allertonm Sep 25, 2016 3:19 PM in response to allertonm
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 25, 2016 3:19 PM in response to allertonm

    And guess what, that's it. Renamed "OS & Apps" to "Startup" and the install succeeds. Thanks very much!

     

    Regarding Unix & filenames, Unix is actually very tolerant of symbols, as is OSX and there is no legitimate reason this should be a problem. The problem here is likely missing quoting or escaping in a shell script executed during the install - as characters like & have special meaning to the shell.

  • by Jckannon22,

    Jckannon22 Jckannon22 Sep 25, 2016 3:29 PM in response to Tommyweather
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 25, 2016 3:29 PM in response to Tommyweather

    Hello!

     

    I have a Macbook Pro Mid 2010, for the past weeks its been asking me about Upgrade to Sierra, one night I close the Mac and on the next day BOOM Thanks apple, now my notebook wont complete the upgrade that I never ask or agreed and it wont go back to the OS X El Capitan.

     

    If anyone know how to fix this without losing all my information please, since Im not in the US now I cant take it to an Apple store, and when I use system utilities it wont download the OS X El Capitan.

     

    Any help please.IMG 1502.JPG

  • by Keena_A,

    Keena_A Keena_A Sep 29, 2016 9:08 AM in response to Tommyweather
    Level 1 (9 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 29, 2016 9:08 AM in response to Tommyweather

    What year is your MacBook Pro? See compatibility chart from Apple's keynote.

    It needs to be 2010 or later.

     

    macos-sierra-macbook-pro-air-imac-mac-mini-compatibility-list.jpg