"To install macOS High Sierra, a firmware update is required."

I have the same issue. Tried it like 5 times. I don't see any gray screen with apple logo though the screen is blank for like 5 minutes after the power light starts to flash and long tone afterwards. After that the I get the login screen and same message.

bottom line, we have old products apple does not care about.

I had to reboot and install CS4 and too many albums last nite for 5 hours which is waste if time.

what took air drop 3 seconds to do Monday AM took 9 minutes now, and rejected the function.

I'm trough with apple, I'm sticking to what I have now and cancel buying an new iPad Pro, Apple TV and that ihome music device.

so I gave up at least Sierra works on the MBAm high on the Mac mini-life is okay Mac wise. but I has to re-install many CD because iTunes did not recognize them.

then my network was acting strange, the airport was going in and out of range.

I was advice to use a cleaner, so today I ran a maccleanner, which cleaned the Mac mini, which is must faster, no spinning ball-than I ran the cleaner on the MBA and sure enough cleaned out and set my airport better!

I rolled the dice, and reinstalled high Sierra on my MBA, which worked, after a week of trying.

finally everything is smooth as before all this annoying upgrades

shame on apple for having us go through this, and still will not ever upgrade or buy anything from them again!

I have the exact same computer, Mac Pro mid 2010. I currently have no OS installed on it so I created a bootable USB drive using the High Sierra installer that I downloaded from my MacBook mid 2010, I then booted to the installer and then chose the drive I wanted to install on, but directly after that I was greeted with the exact same message, but for me the 'Shut Down' button is grayed out so I can't select it. To get around that I used the 'Shut Down' from the drop down menu in the top left of the screen that you get from clicking the Apple logo. I followed the instructions and held the power button until I heard the long beep, after that it the Apple logo appeared along with the loading bar, once that completed it booted back into the installer and I got the exact same message.... I did this two more times and still no luck. At first I thought I was all alone on this issue, but I see it now that others have it too. Hopefully a solution will come soon.

Best of luck!

It could be that the firmware update process included with the High Sierra installer is buggy. You might try doing the firmware update separately by going here: About EFI and SMC firmware updates for Intel-based Mac computers - Apple Support

Read the message on the screen.

You shutdown

Then, restart by holding down the power button until the light flashes or you hear a long tone.

The firmware update has already been downloaded and is waiting for you to install it by following the onscreen directions.

my MBA 2010 has the same results, so I gave up after 6 tries,

HS is running on my Mac mini 2014 so I think they are prejudice due t we have absolute machines.

I love how next week and beyond everytime I turn on my MBA the will insist I upgrade!

Then it sounds like it is either not completing the firmware update, or the installer isn't recognizing that it has been installed.

You might want to take it to a Genius Bar or call AppleCare.

They might post a standalone Firmware update, but nobody here would know.

my MBA 2010 has the same results, so I gave up after 6 tries,

HS is running on my Mac mini 2014 so I think they are prejudice due t we have absolute machines.

I installed the Firmware update and HS on my 2010 MBP.

I have followed the on screen instructions and the firmware update opens the cd-rom drive. I don't have a cd-rom with the firmware update on it. When I close the cd-rom drive with nothing in it and wait for the firmware update to load nothing happens. And I let it sit for 12 hour, still nothing happened.

It's not asking for a disc. I don't know why the drive opens.

Unless you get a blinking light or long tone, then the update isn't attempting to install. Anything else you see has nothing to do with the firmware update.

Well, when I did shut down by using the drop down menu it did seem like it applied the update since I heard the tone and everything, but maybe not. Weird thing is though, it simply won't let me click the shut down button thats inside the window. Also when I do click the shut down button thats in the window, the little spinning ball appears and then nothing happens, I've given it quite awhile too and it just never did anything.

bottom line, we have old products apple does not care about.

I had to reboot and install CS4 and too many albums last nite for 5 hours which is waste if time.

what took air drop 3 seconds to do Monday AM took 9 minutes now, and rejected the function.

I'm trough with apple, I'm sticking to what I have now and cancel buying an new iPad Pro, Apple TV and that ihome music device.

Big_Smoke1992 wrote:

I have the exact same computer, Mac Pro mid 2010. I currently have no OS installed on it so I created a bootable USB drive using the High Sierra installer that I downloaded from my MacBook mid 2010, I then booted to the installer and then chose the drive I wanted to install on, but directly after that I was greeted with the exact same message, but for me the 'Shut Down' button is grayed out so I can't select it.

That is the basic reason for your problem; the firmware update will only be performed if you shut down by clicking the button in the installer, and will not occur if you shut down the computer via the menu bar option.

If the option is greyed out in the installer, there must be some reason, like third-party hardware, that it thinks the install cannot take place.

Do you have any special hardware installed?

Anything from third party processor boards to third party graphics cards to third party SSD cards.

There is something that is causing the installer to not allow you the Shut Down button as an option, the question is what.

It could also be that some routine is not quiescing, but that would also prevent the menu bar Shut Down from working.