I have a 2010 MacBook Pro, version 10.6.8 Mac OS X. I need to update my Java so I clicked "software update" and finished updating everything fine (this including Java in update). When I had to restart, it tries to restart but I am left on a screen which is the purple aurora borealis (the standard mac background. first image if you google "mac background"). My mouse is also visible on screen and I can move it around. I have waited and nothing happens.
Please help, this is very frustrating because I cant update anything.
Anything is appreciated, thanks.
[doublepost=1492308633][/doublepost]All of these kinds of problems are the same. After years of trying everything to get to the bottom of these issues, I've finally figured it out. It may sound simple, but it all comes down to security updates. As a Mac gets older, the chances of skipping a security update increase. Apple phases in the effect of the update, depending on how critical it is to security. But they can't really track the impact of every update on every subsequent update and on every system, so the trouble of missing an update is compounded with time.
When you finally get sick of trying to work around the impact and performance troubles, you have to clear everything out and start over. That means reconstructing your operating system from the beginning, requesting all updates for each operating system beginning with your original boot up CD (if you have an older Mac), restarting, and repeating this process until there are no more updates. I have found that the 'About this Mac' update check button seems to work best at checking for updates. It is usually better to check the 'later' button and restart the computer yourself, as the older updates sometimes hang if you click the prompt to restart. If it does hang, you can usually just hold the power button for power down, power up normally, and then check again for updates.
After all possible updates are installed (which will depend on your particular system and currently loaded OS), it is time to go to the App Store and request the subsequent operating system. Then you have to request updates, install, restart, and request again, etc. until there are no more updates. Then go to the App Store and download the next operating system. Roughly, I think you can skip from Mountain Lion to El Capitan to Sierra, but that, of course, might bring out some other glitches down the line.
The reason why Apple never tells you any of this is mainly to preserve brand integrity: nobody wants to know that Apple is essentially a mess if you look backwards at it instead of forward. The other reason is that most of the tech support hasn't been there long enough to figure out the root cause. They are mainly there to deal with the customer moods and attitudes and the actual technical side of it is necessarily kept simple: 'Clean Download, and if that doesn't work (i.e. If you skipped an incidentally critical security update somewhere in the past several years), then we can make you an appointment to come in and let us take a look (i.e. We know it's a mess that we really don't want you to experience or know about, so make the trip to the nearest capital city and we can afford to sort it out for you in the back room. All you have to do is come back when we're done).
The first install might not prompt you for things that are required for some of the updates, like setting up email and iTunes. The App Store probably won't work until you complete the download, install and restarts for all of the initial OS available updates. Remember also, that 'unsupported' does not mean the updates are unavailable, it means that there will be no new updates because the development has moved into a subsequent OS. Anyway, that's my 2 cents on an issue that has plagued my life for years and one that I feel I could sue somebody for but can't, really. Apple should really fix the way they communicate the two options to customers.
logo, then?)?
