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Mid 2012 Non Retina 13" MBP (A1278) Won't Update Past 10.14.3
- Thread starter DookSucks
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If you have the 10.4.6 updater, then the only system you can update is 10.14.5.
https://support.apple.com/kb/DL2011?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US
You need the 10.4.6 combo updater, which will update any 10.14 system from 10.14 to 10.14.5 (and will also install on a system that is already updated to 10.4.6)
https://support.apple.com/kb/DL2010?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US is what you need.
https://support.apple.com/kb/DL2011?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US
You need the 10.4.6 combo updater, which will update any 10.14 system from 10.14 to 10.14.5 (and will also install on a system that is already updated to 10.4.6)
https://support.apple.com/kb/DL2010?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US is what you need.
I am still a neophyte learning about the software. Where do I go to check which updater I have installed?
Edit:
I get what you’re saying now. Long day.
I downloaded the update, but I get an error message during install that my drive isn’t APFS formatted (had apple certified tech install an ssd during the spring).
You need to reinstall Mojave.
Download the system installer from the App Store.
When the download is complete, the installer will automatically launch. Quit the installer at that time.
Use one of the methods to create a bootable USB installer. Copy the original installer app to the trash. Empty the trash -- you have it now on a USB installer.
And, finally, boot to that USB installer, and reinstall macOS. This time, it will change the SSD format to APFS.
And - that's it!
Download the system installer from the App Store.
When the download is complete, the installer will automatically launch. Quit the installer at that time.
Use one of the methods to create a bootable USB installer. Copy the original installer app to the trash. Empty the trash -- you have it now on a USB installer.
And, finally, boot to that USB installer, and reinstall macOS. This time, it will change the SSD format to APFS.
And - that's it!
Sounds simple enough except that I have no daggum idea as to how to do most of that outside of the download and moving to trash parts. lol
Your "apple certified tech" can help you with that 
But, as I said, there are several methods that you can use.
You can download and run the easy DiskMakerX - which takes you step by step through the process (no strange commands to type in the terminal) You can get DiskmakerX here - https://diskmakerx.com
But, as I said, there are several methods that you can use.
You can download and run the easy DiskMakerX - which takes you step by step through the process (no strange commands to type in the terminal) You can get DiskmakerX here - https://diskmakerx.com
Your "apple certified tech" can help you with that
But, as I said, there are several methods that you can use.
You can download and run the easy DiskMakerX - which takes you step by step through the process (no strange commands to type in the terminal) You can get DiskmakerX here - https://diskmakerx.com
Said tech lives over an hour away and is the closest one. Haha.
Thank you.
What type of usb should I use?
An 8GB (or larger) USB flash drive works great, or you can also make a partition on a larger external USB hard drive, if that's available to you.
Where do you live in N.C. (just curious, a bit familiar with area around Asheville and west of there.)
Where do you live in N.C. (just curious, a bit familiar with area around Asheville and west of there.)
Ok....
I'm in Fayetteville, a solid 4+ hours east, on the eastern edge of the Sandhills near the coastal plain.
So, I got away from the 2012 MBP. I was getting by with other equipment. Staff has been using the MBP solely for scanning docs. Now, the staff complains that the computer is running extremely slow when running the scanning programs. It's odd.
I checked the disk with blackmagic, and the speeds were normal. Everything seemed ok, but I decided to go ahead and make a bootable drive.
I downloaded Mojave, and I couldn't get diskmanager to create a bootable drive.
Then I downloaded Catalina, and then I'm told that I can't use it on the internal SSD because it's not APFS. However, I had cloned the old setup to an external T5 that was formatted with APFS. However, when I tried to update catalina to the drive, I'm told Catalina couldn't be verified. So, I then moved the Catalina install out of the system and dumped trash. I downloaded Catalina again but before I could even create a disk, the damn thing said it could not be verified.
So, what do I do?
I'm in Fayetteville, a solid 4+ hours east, on the eastern edge of the Sandhills near the coastal plain.
So, I got away from the 2012 MBP. I was getting by with other equipment. Staff has been using the MBP solely for scanning docs. Now, the staff complains that the computer is running extremely slow when running the scanning programs. It's odd.
I checked the disk with blackmagic, and the speeds were normal. Everything seemed ok, but I decided to go ahead and make a bootable drive.
I downloaded Mojave, and I couldn't get diskmanager to create a bootable drive.
Then I downloaded Catalina, and then I'm told that I can't use it on the internal SSD because it's not APFS. However, I had cloned the old setup to an external T5 that was formatted with APFS. However, when I tried to update catalina to the drive, I'm told Catalina couldn't be verified. So, I then moved the Catalina install out of the system and dumped trash. I downloaded Catalina again but before I could even create a disk, the damn thing said it could not be verified.
So, what do I do?
Update:
I googled and researched over and over. Tried every trick I could find. Eventually, I restarted into recovery mode, erased the drive and re-installed Mojave. Once I did that, everything seemed to work fine. I had all of my work docs backed up, and now I'm in the process of updating to Catalina and downloading the programs the staff needs.
I googled and researched over and over. Tried every trick I could find. Eventually, I restarted into recovery mode, erased the drive and re-installed Mojave. Once I did that, everything seemed to work fine. I had all of my work docs backed up, and now I'm in the process of updating to Catalina and downloading the programs the staff needs.
You might still like to make a bootable installer from your Catalina installer app.
Follow the steps: (Print this post out, if you need to... ) There's a lot of steps, but it's really simple (trust me!), just do each step, and you will get there!
Insert your USB flash drive (use a 16GB flash drive for this). Erase that thumb drive, using your Disk Utility. Make sure it is formatted Mac OS Extended (journaled), and the partition Map is "GUID"
The Catalina installer app (Install macOS Catalina) should be in your Applications folder.
Right click on that installer app, and choose "Show Package Contents". Open the Library, then open the "Resources" folder. Leave that alone for a moment...
Launch your Terminal app, then type sudo, and add a single space.
From the Resources folder that you left open, drag the file "createinstallmedia" and drop it on your terminal window. You will see the full path to that file appear next to sudo.
Next, type --volume, and add one space to that. (notice there are TWO dashes, not just one)
Now, find the icon for your flash drive (the one you just erased. Should be on your desktop somewhere). Drag that icon into the terminal window. You will see that disk, with its path, added to the line you have been typing.
AND, press enter. You will be asked to enter your admin password. Do that, you will NOT see what you type (it's a security feature, just type your password, then press enter. It will work.
Finally, the terminal will ask you to press "y" to start the command that you just typed, so type Y, and press enter.
Then, you will see some numbers appear, showing the progress of the command. It will get to 100%, then do a few things to complete the installer and make it bootable. And, it's ready to go!
Follow the steps: (Print this post out, if you need to... ) There's a lot of steps, but it's really simple (trust me!), just do each step, and you will get there!
Insert your USB flash drive (use a 16GB flash drive for this). Erase that thumb drive, using your Disk Utility. Make sure it is formatted Mac OS Extended (journaled), and the partition Map is "GUID"
The Catalina installer app (Install macOS Catalina) should be in your Applications folder.
Right click on that installer app, and choose "Show Package Contents". Open the Library, then open the "Resources" folder. Leave that alone for a moment...
Launch your Terminal app, then type sudo, and add a single space.
From the Resources folder that you left open, drag the file "createinstallmedia" and drop it on your terminal window. You will see the full path to that file appear next to sudo.
Next, type --volume, and add one space to that. (notice there are TWO dashes, not just one)
Now, find the icon for your flash drive (the one you just erased. Should be on your desktop somewhere). Drag that icon into the terminal window. You will see that disk, with its path, added to the line you have been typing.
AND, press enter. You will be asked to enter your admin password. Do that, you will NOT see what you type (it's a security feature, just type your password, then press enter. It will work.
Finally, the terminal will ask you to press "y" to start the command that you just typed, so type Y, and press enter.
Then, you will see some numbers appear, showing the progress of the command. It will get to 100%, then do a few things to complete the installer and make it bootable. And, it's ready to go!
I tried everything, including your latest suggestion, and I give you my sincere thanks for your time and patience with a neophyte like myself.
However, I still had the same problems.
Seeing as how it is a seven year old machine, I decided to swing for the fences and start from scratch. It worked like a champ once I erased and reinstalled the OS using the recovery option. It took forever for the erasure and install processes to complete, and once I checked everything out, it ran like a champ once again. I then upgraded to Catalina and reinstalled each app we use, and it now purrs like a kitten.
However, I still had the same problems.
Seeing as how it is a seven year old machine, I decided to swing for the fences and start from scratch. It worked like a champ once I erased and reinstalled the OS using the recovery option. It took forever for the erasure and install processes to complete, and once I checked everything out, it ran like a champ once again. I then upgraded to Catalina and reinstalled each app we use, and it now purrs like a kitten.
That "took forever to erase and install" likely means that your boot drive may be on the edge of failing.
Am I correct in assuming that your 2012 MBPro has a spinning hard drive?
If so, I predict that you will see the slow behavior return, simply because a hard drive is just not a good choice for newer macOS versions, and particularly not a good fit for the APFS format.
Works OK, back in the day, but the newer macOS systems are not a good choice with an old hard drive.
It's not difficult to replace the old hard drive with an SSD. You get the advantage of much faster response - most tasks that you do are faster, even faster than when your MBPro was new.
Am I correct in assuming that your 2012 MBPro has a spinning hard drive?
If so, I predict that you will see the slow behavior return, simply because a hard drive is just not a good choice for newer macOS versions, and particularly not a good fit for the APFS format.
Works OK, back in the day, but the newer macOS systems are not a good choice with an old hard drive.
It's not difficult to replace the old hard drive with an SSD. You get the advantage of much faster response - most tasks that you do are faster, even faster than when your MBPro was new.