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MacBook froze installing macOS High Sierra 10.13.3 Update

I've had a gray screen/apple and progress bar showing 1/8th completion for 3hrs. And to top off the afternoon, Apple phone support just disconnected after holding for 30mins...grr...but prior to the hold, she was concerned that I wasn't seeing the customary countdown timer that's visible with some Apple updates. I told her, as best as I could recall, it wasn't common to see timers for the majority of the Apple prompted updates on my MacBook Pro (2000 17") and iMac 2013. Unfortunately...she was troubled and had to put me on hold for 30min 'to see if there was something that could be done' - until the dreaded - click. Surely, she'll call back because she asked for a tele# 'in case we get disconnected'....not.:( And while I was on hold with Support, I installed the macOS High Sierra 10.13.3 Update on my iMac. It restarted w/ the gray screen & apple, then zipped through the progress bar - and once again NO timer. The only problem - I didn't write down my Apple telephone support case # before I shutdown Safari for the Update...ugh. Soooo...is it as bad as the rep suggested...and would you recommend I try another bite at the phone support apple??? Or could it be as simple as shutting my old girl down and waiting 30 seconds? For now...the fan has also been running for a few hours and won't shut down.:( Appreciate any assistance....THANKS!

MacBook Pro, iOS 4, MacBook Pro, Ipod Touch 4. iPhone 4 Verizon

Posted on Mar 1, 2018 2:39 PM

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Mar 1, 2018 2:57 PM in response to 3Trievs

Press and hold down the Power button until the computer shuts down.


A Troubleshooting Protocol to Identify Problems or Fix macOS El Capitan or Later

You should try each, one at a time, then test to see if the problem is fixed before going on to the next.


Be sure to backup your files before proceeding if possible.


  1. Wait 30 seconds, restart the computer.
  2. Disconnect all third-party peripherals and remove any support software like drivers and plug-ins.
  3. Resetting your Mac’s PRAM and NVRAM
  4. Reset the System Management Controller (SMC)
  5. Start the computer in Safe Mode, then restart normally. This is slower than a standard startup.
  6. Repair the disk by booting from the Recovery HD. Immediately after the chime hold down the Command and R keys until the Utility Menu appears. Choose Disk Utility and click on the Continue button. Select the indented (usually, Macintosh HD) volume entry from the side list. Click on the First Aid button in the toolbar. Wait for the Done button to appear. Quit Disk Utility and return to the Utility Menu. Restart the computer from the Apple Menu.
  7. Create a New User Account Open Users & Groups preferences. Click on the lock icon and enter your Admin password when prompted. On the left under Current User click on the Add [+] button under Login Options. Setup a new Admin user account. Upon completion log out of your current account then log into the new account. If your problems cease, then consider switching to the new account and transferring your files to it - Transferring files from one User Account to another.
  8. Download and install the OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 Combo Update or 10.12.6 Combo Update or Download macOS High Sierra 10.13.3 Combo Update as needed.
  9. Reinstall OS X by booting from the Recovery HD using the Command and R keys. When the Utility Menu appears select Reinstall OS X then click on the Continue button.
  10. Erase and Install OS X Restart the computer. Immediately after the chime hold down the Command and R keys until the Apple logo appears. When the Utility Menu appears:
  1. Select Disk Utility from the Utility Menu and click on Continue button.
  2. When Disk Utility loads select the drive (out-dented entry) from the Device list.
  3. Click on the Erase icon in Disk Utility's toolbar. A panel will drop down.
  4. Set the Format type to APFS (for SSDs only) or Mac OS Extended (Journaled.)
  5. Click on the Apply button, then wait for the Done button to activate and click on it.
  6. Quit Disk Utility and return to the Utility Menu.
  7. Select Reinstall OS X and click on the Continue button.

MacBook froze installing macOS High Sierra 10.13.3 Update

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