Installing a new version of the macOS is not as difficult as you might think. More often than not, your Mac will tell you if there is an available update via popup notifications. In some cases, the update will be downloaded directly on your Mac. It'll just wait for you to initiate the installation process. Though it rarely happens, there are times when the entire macOS update installation process gets stuck or frozen. If you get caught in such situation, fear not because we made this guide to help you get through, but before we proceed with the steps you have to take, allow us to enumerate the possible reasons why your macOS update installation is stuck.
One of the most common causes of a grey screen issue is a bad peripheral or its cable. A bad peripheral can make its associated driver software stuck in loop while it waits for the peripheral to respond to a command and thus can prevent a Mac from starting up, and cause it to stuck. Check if your Mac is really stuck or frozen. For you to be able to conclude if your Mac is stuck or frozen during the installation process, you have to check a few things. There are times when the update takes very, very long that you might be forced to believe that the macOS update installation is stuck. Dark mode was introduced with macOS Mojave (10.14) and released in the fall of 2018. Macs using older versions of macOS or OS X like High Sierra and Sierra are unfortunately not able to use dark mode but can enable a dark menu bar and dock. Enabling or disabling dark mode can be done via the Mac. After that, you will see another window, Name and operating system, for that you need to type the name of Virtual machine. As I have typed macOS 10.14 Mojave and select the Machine folder. I recommend you to select Drive C for installation. When you are typing Mac automatically the Type for macOS will select and Version Mac OS X (64-Bit).
Why macOS Installation is Stuck
There are many possible reasons why the macOS update installation is interrupted. One is that the power may have been cut off in the middle of the update. Another reason is that there might be no sufficient space on your Mac or there are other hardware issues with your Mac that need to be checked and fixed before updating. Hence, it is always a great idea to run a system check before performing an OS update on your Mac.
Why the macOS Update Can't Be Downloaded
Now, if your Mac can't download the update, here are a few things you should try:
1. Check the server of Apple.
Often, when Apple releases a new update, many people will want to download it, which causes issues with Apple's servers. So, the first thing you have to do if you ever want to try downloading the update is to check the System Status page of Apple to know if there are any known issues with the macOS software update.
Pro Tip: Scan your Mac for performance issues, junk files, harmful apps, and security threats
that can cause system issues or slow performance.
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2. Connect to the Internet via a wired connection.
Sometimes, downloading becomes faster if you connect to the Internet via wired connection than a WiFi.
3. Try to cancel the macOS update download.
There are times when the solution to a stuck macOS update can be found on the Mac App Store. First, you have to find the software update you are downloading. Next, press the Option or the ALT key. At this point, you should see an option that allows you to cancel your download. If you cancel the macOS update download, you can start over again. By attempting to restart the download, hopefully, no problems will be encountered.
Stuck In The Dark Mac Os 11
4. Download the update from Apple's support website.
If you are having problems downloading the macOS update from the Mac App Store, you may go to Apple's website instead. Go here if you want to stay in the loop for any software update for your Mac.
How to Know if the macOS Update Installation Has Stalled
In most cases, if there is a problem with the installation process, your screen will display an Apple logo with a status bar indicating the progress of the software. And then, there is this little graphics that people call the 'spinning beach ball.' Often times, you may also see a grey, white, or black screen. For some Macs, the screen becomes so dark that one might not be able to tell if it is switched on or not. Before you force reboot your Mac due to a frozen macOS update installation, be sure the installation is no longer running in the background. Otherwise, you might lose all your valuable data. Better yet, check out the handy tips we have for you below:
1. Check if your Mac is really stuck or frozen.
For you to be able to conclude if your Mac is stuck or frozen during the installation process, you have to check a few things. There are times when the update takes very, very long that you might be forced to believe that the macOS update installation is stuck. If you give it a few more hours, it might end up completing the update. To avoid being caught in situations like this, it is better to perform the upgrade at night, so you can just leave your Mac overnight to get the task completed.
Believe it or not, updates may often take 16 hours or more to complete. This is especially true if Apple has just released the latest version of their Mac OS. Take note that the progress bar will only give you a rough estimate on how long the installation will take. Usually, it will initially show that the process will only be a two-hour wait. Eventually, it will add 30 minutes, another hour, before it finally jumps down to 15 minutes. Just be patient and give your Mac enough time since it is doing its best to try and install the update as quickly as possible.
2. Check the Log to know if your Mac is still installing the update.
To check the Log, just press Command + L. You should then see all critical information and details regarding the amount of time needed for the installation. It may also give you an idea about the files that are being installed and the remaining time left.
3. Be patient and wait.
If you think that the installation is not stuck, have patience and wait for the process to be completed.
How to Fix a Frozen macOS Update
Now, if you are sure that your Mac is not responding to the macOS update installation, then we recommend you follow the steps below:
1. Shut down your Mac. Wait a couple more seconds before restarting it.
First, press and hold the power button to switch off your Mac. Give it time to cool down before restarting it again.
2. Check the Mac App Store and inspect Updates.
If you were installing an app when the update installation got stuck, go to the Mac App Store and hit Updates. Here, you will see the updates or installation processes that have been paused or stopped. The turing track mac os.
3. Check if files are being installed by showing the Log screen.
Once the progress bar appears, press the Command + L keys to ensure the files required for the installation of the update are there. If the Log screen tells you that nothing is happening, proceed to the next step.
4. Install the Combo updater.
We mentioned that the Mac App Store is not the only place to find a macOS update. Apple also hosts a macOS update on their website. So, you can try to download from there. We highly recommend getting your OS update from Apple's website if you are having problems with the installation. Why? That is because the version available on Mac App Store often contains only the files required to update your Mac.
If you get the OS update from Apple's website, you can download the Combo updater, which already includes all the files needed to update your Mac and its OS. The version you can download from Apple's website can replace all your system files, ensuring a successful update.
5. Perform the installation in Safe Mode.
Running your Mac in Safe Mode while performing the OS update sometimes helps prevent problems with the installation. To start your Mac in Safe Mode, press the power button while you hold down the shift key. Next, go to the Mac App Store and start updating your apps. Avoid the circle mac os. Finally, reboot your computer.
6. Clear valuable storage space.
If the installation doesn't push through because there is no sufficient storage space available, then you might need to delete unwanted files and trash on your Mac. You can use tools like Outbyte MacRepair for this.
7. Reset your NVRAM.
If running your Mac in Safe Mode does not solve the problem, try restarting your Mac and holding down the following keys: Command, Option, P, and R. Doing this will reset your NVRAM. After that, wait for your Mac to restart. Check if it resumes with the update installation.
8. Run your Mac in Recovery Mode and attempt to reinstall macOS.
Your final resort is to restart your Mac in Recovery Mode. To do that, hold down the Command + R keys during startup. You will then be presented with some options. You may recover your Mac from your most recent Time Machine backup. You may also perform a quick disk repair. However, we suggest you select the Install New OS option.
Choosing the Install New OS option will overwrite any problematic files with the correct ones. Unfortunately, this won't include the most recent version of the OS. So, you might need to check and apply any latest software updates manually.
9. Install the newest macOS update from an external drive.
If you still experience problems with installing the macOS update, try installing the upgrade from an external drive.
10. Make it a habit of running Disk Utility after the update.
Just because the update installation is completed does not mean you have nothing left to do. We recommend that you run Disk Utility to ensure there are no other issues that can cause problems in the future.
Conclusion
We hope that this guide helped you fix your problems with a stuck macOS update. The key here is just to have patience. Give your Mac enough time to complete the installation. If all else fails, then you might have to find some quick fixes and solutions, which we believe we have also given above.
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You have encountered a severe problem. That is your Mac stuck on the loading screen for a long time, usually after a recent macOS like macOS Big Sur update or macOS reinstallation.
Spooky and cesar. You may regard such a long boot process as a slow startup of your Mac and wait for hours. But the sluggish progress bar still remains on the screen without any change.
In fact, your Mac won't turn on at all and froze on startup. All the documents, photos, videos, etc. on Mac are in danger of loss. Rescuing data from your Mac is a primary task before fixing the issue - Mac stuck on the loading screen with Apple logo on startup.
- Restart your Mac
- Boot your Mac in Safe Mode
- Reset NVRAM/PRAM
- Reset the SMC
- Repair the startup disk
- Reinstall macOS
- Restore macOS with local APFS snapshot
Rescue data from MacBook/iMac stuck on loading screen
Save your important files now! Watch this video to rescue your data from Mac that can't boot past loading bar:
Tutorial to rescue your files with iBoysoft Data Recovery Software for Mac:
- Start your Mac and press Option + Command + R key combinations until you see the spinning globe.
- Make your Mac connected to the Internet all the time. You will see the spinning globe instead of the apple logo.
- Open Terminal from Utilities drop-down menu.
- Run the following command and it will launch iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac in macOS Recovery mode.
If the above command doesn't work, try solution 2 at: How to run iBoysoft Data Recovery in macOS recovery mode?
Then, you can use iBoysoft Mac Data Recovery to scan, preview, and recover data from your Mac within a few clicks. If you think the above steps are complicated, why not watch video above instead?
How to fix Mac stuck on loading screen?
Whatever, when your Mac like iMac or MacBook stuck on the loading screen, you can try the 7 available solutions below.
Or you are one of the users as below whose Mac crashes during boot. Even though your Mac stuck on login screen or your Mac won't boot past the Apple logo. These fixes are also applicable.
- My iMac progress bar stuck at 100% after installing macOS Catalina. How to fix?
- MacBook Pro stuck on loading screen with Apple logo. Any suggestions? (running macOS Big Sur).
- MacBook won't load after a macOS update. Help!
- My MacBook Air stuck on loading screen (fully loaded progress bar) for one hour! Any help is appreciated!
Solution 1: Restart your Mac
Whenever you encounter the boot problem, you can try rebooting Mac. This way is easy and sometimes works.
When your Mac, like MacBook Pro, is stuck on loading screen, you can press and hold the power button for a few seconds to turn off the Mac. Then, disconnect all peripheral devices from your Mac. This will isolate the problem caused by peripheral devices and leave the Mac alone.
After a few minutes, press the power button to restart the Mac again.
Solution 2: Boot your Mac in Safe Mode
Mac stuck on Apple logo with loading bar could be caused by software conflict or incompatibility. So, to confirm it, you can boot the Mac into Safe Mode.
A safe boot will prevent your Mac from launching unnecessary programs and login items at startup. It also does a basic check of your startup disk and may solve the slow startup issue of your Mac.
To boot your Intel-based Mac into Safe Mode:
- 1. Force your Mac to shut down.
- 2. Press and hold the Shift key while tapping the power button to start your computer.
- 3. Release the Shift key until you see the Apple logo and loading screen.
To boot your Apple M1 Mac like M1 iMac into Safe Mode:
- 1. Shut down your Mac and wait for seconds.
- 2. Press and hold the power button until the startup disks and Options appear on the screen.
- 3. Press and hold the Shift key, then click Continue in Safe Mode.
If your Mac boots past the loading bar and enter Safe Mode successfully, it's surely the software or firmware conflict. Find out the conflicting program or software, usually the recently installed third-party software, and then uninstall it.
Next, you can simply reboot your Mac and find that the Mac stuck on the loading bar issue is fixed.
Solution 3: Reset NVRAM/PRAM
PRAM or NVRAM is a non-volatile random access memory. It is used to store system settings on Mac, including startup disk selection and recent kernel panic information. So, when Mac won't boot after macOS update but Mac progress bar stuck at 100%, resetting NVRAM/PRAM might help.
To reset NVRAM/PRAM, you can simply restart your Mac and simultaneously press Command + Option+ P + R keys. If you have an M1 Mac, you don't need to reset NVRAM. Because it is automatically run test and reset on startup if needed.
Solution 4: Reset the SMC
SMC (System Management Controller) is used to control a number of Mac core functions, including sudden motion sensor and thermal management. Typically, when Mac freezes on startup or stuck on loading bar, SMC reset helps to resolve such unresponsive issues related to power and hardware.
To reset the SMC on a Mac computer stops loading halfway, follow the way below. Note that there is no SMC on M1 Mac.
1. Reset SMC when MacBook Air and MacBook Pro stuck on loading screen
- 1. Force shut down the Mac that is frozen on loading screen.
- 2. Press Shift + Control + Option on your keyboard and press the power button at the same time.
- 3. Hold these keys for 10 seconds and then release the keys.
- 4. Press the power button again to turn on your Mac.
2. Reset SMC when Mac Mini, Mac Pro and iMac stuck on loading screen
- 1. Shut down your Mac and then unplug a power cord.
- 3. Wait 15 seconds. Then, plug the power cord in.
- 5. Wait several seconds and turn on your computer by pressing the power button.
Solution 5: Repair startup disk in macOS Recovery mode
Sometimes, the Mac stuck on the progress bar because the startup disk is corrupted. Fortunately, you can use First Aid, a built-in disk repair tool on your Mac, to fix the errors on the startup disk that cause the Mac stuck on the Apple logo with a loading bar.
Firstly, boot your Mac into macOS Recovery mode:
- Press and hold the Command + R keys when rebooting your Mac.
- Release the keys until you see a spinning globe or Apple logo on screen.
After booting into Mac Recovery mode, choose Disk Utility. Select the startup disk and click First Aid in the Disk Utility window. Next, click Run to check and repair the startup disk. Journey with the ghost mac os.
If First Aid successfully found the errors and repaired them, you can restart your Mac quickly without a slow startup. Disk Utility helps Mac boot up, and your Mac desktop or MacBook won't be frozen on the startup screen this time.
Solution 6: Reformat the startup disk and reinstall macOS
If you can't fix the Mac that stuck on the loading screen with First Aid, the startup disk is critically corrupted. In this case, you need to erase the startup disk in macOS Recovery mode. Disk erasure will reformat the hard drive with a new file system. And then, you can reinstall the macOS.
This usually will fix this issue. However, disk erasure will wipe all your files off the drive. So, if you have important files on this Mac, you should first rescue data from the Mac that stuck on the loading bar. It's necessary especially if you don't have any backup.
After data recovery, you can proceed with reformatting the Mac hard drive.
1. Reformat the corrupted startup drive
- 1. Restart your Mac into macOS Recovery mode.
- 2. Select Disk Utility from the macOS Utilities menu and click Continue.
- 3. Select the Mac hard drive (often named Macintosh HD or Apple SSD) from the left sidebar.
- 4. After clicking Erase on the top, you need to name it as Macintosh HD, and then give it a scheme and format.
- 5. Click Erase to confirm this operation, and then wait it to complete.
Now, you have an empty but workable Mac hard drive.
2. Reinstall macOS in macOS Recovery mode
After erasing the Mac internal hard drive, you can continue to reinstall a new macOS in macOS Recovery mode. Click the Reinstall macOS utility in macOS Recovery mode and then follow the instructions to reinstall the operating system.
Hopefully, it fixes the Mac that stuck on the progress bar at startup.
Solution 7: Downgrade macOS
It's inevitable that a macOS update is not compatible with your Machine. For example, your Mac stuck on the Apple logo when you proceed or finish the macOS Big Sur update. The updated macOS Big Sur software is not compatible with MacBook Air before 2013.
To make the Mac boot past the progress bar and won't stick on the loading screen anymore, you can revert it to the previous state. Bay area traffic: disaster simulator mac os. In other words, just downgrade the macOS. Downgrading macOS may erase your hard drive, so you also need to back up data on the unbootable Mac first.
• How to downgrade from macOS Catalina to macOS Mojave
• How to downgrade from macOS Big Sur to macOS Catalina
Why is my Mac stuck on loading screen?
Curious about the reasons why your Mac not loading? Go on reading to get the answers.
Normally, Mac would show the Apple logo at startup once it finds your local startup disk. Then, based on if you have encrypted the startup disk, a loading bar appears after or before you log into the Mac.
The Mac progress bar indicates that the system is checking and loading macOS from the startup disk. It involves macOS structure, corn components, file system, etc.
What Is The Latest Mac Os
Untitled dinosaur game mac os. However, if something is not going well, like the corruption of the startup disk file system, your Mac will stick on startup.
Conclusion:
It's terrible if your Mac stucks on the loading screen or shows a folder with question mark at startup.
For the Mac that freezes on startup, you should first check if you have a backup of your data to avoid permanent data loss. If not, iBoysoft Data Recovery software will be a good helper to recover lost data from the unbootable Mac. Then, you can try out the solutions above one by one till your Mac boots up rather than hangs on slow startup.
