Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

OS X Installers Downloaded Prior to February 14 No Longer Work After Certificate Update

Brian33 said:
Can anyone tell me how I can verify that my saved installers have this problem, as I can't seem to reproduce the error message!

I created a flash USB installer stick for Mountain Lion long ago, and I can still boot (an appropriate machine) with it. In the "OS X Utilities" window I select "Reininstall OS X" and click Continue, which brings me to "Install OS X Mountain Lion" window. From there I can click Continue --> Agree--> and select a disk, and never see an error message (but I stopped short of clicking on the apparently final "Install" button).

Would I actually have to have the installer try to copy (replace) files for the issue to appear? From the original description of the issue that doesn't seem to make sense. It appears I'm already running the "Install OS X Mountain Lion" application, without getting any expired certificate error.

How can I verify this issue could really occur with my installers without actually doing a re-install?
Click to expand...

I created a Lion (10.7) USB flash drive installer about a week ago. I booted from the USB drive, formatted the Mac's internal hard drive into two partitions, and successfully installed Lion on the first partition.

After I installed all updates and other software, I copied the Lion install application to the first partition and figured I would just run it from there to install Lion on the second partition (instead of booting from the USB drive again). However, I received an error message similar to what is shown on the first page of this article. I thought my installer had been corrupted copying it to the hard drive, but I couldn't get it to work after re-copying it. Finally I just ended up booting from the USB drive again to install Lion on the second partition. (The second partition is my diagnostics partition, mostly for running DiskWarrior.)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Brian33
0815 said:
But be careful not to set the date to January 1st, 1970 ... you don't want to brick your mac ;)
Click to expand...

You joke, but I had that happen to me: a broken iMac which had been powered off so long it forgot what year it was. It refused to run the installer because of this same stupid issue.

Here's how to work around this issue: boot the installer, then open a Terminal. Use the command line to set the date to January 1st of this year and then exit the Terminal. The installer will then run.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AleXXXa
That's odd. I just installed Yosemite on a friends computer from my USB. It gave me these prompts but then let me go to disk utility and format the new solid-state drive, which I then proceeded with the installation of the OS.
 
anzio said:
It's an expired certificate? It's not really an issue. You need to grab a new copy that's signed with the new certificate.
Click to expand...
Stridder44 said:
You simply re-download a new copy? Sounds like a non-issue. But of course people will bitch about anything.
Click to expand...

Good luck redownloading Mountain Lion from, for example, a new MacBook!
 
  • Like
Reactions: keysofanxiety, AleXXXa, temhawk and 4 others
jonblatho said:
You do realize the implications of a user being too lazy to download a new copy of OS X and instead jumping through whatever hoops necessary to install a copy of OS X that may have been maliciously modified, right?
Click to expand...

If your installer USB has been in your control since the installer creation date, there is no security issue. "May have been..." -weasel words. These installers are probably new versions with all the backdoors the Feds wanted. PreCrime: It Works!
 
  • Like
Reactions: orbital~debris
You want security, you need a certificate. Frankly, I prepared a USB Key with El Cap, but when my Public Beta went south and the computer wouldn't boot, I Hit Command-R and rebooted, then erased the drive, downloaded and installed the latest version of the OS, then reimported all the data and apps from my Time Machine update, from a day before the changes I made that borked it. Left for work, came back completely restored. Who needs a square old fixed system?
[doublepost=1457064847][/doublepost]
John.B said:
Good luck redownloading Mountain Lion from, for example, a new MacBook!
Click to expand...

What computer stops working after Mountain Lion? El Cap works WAY back. I have an late 2007 iMac, and it works like butter -- twice as fast as the Snow Leopard, where I left it for years.
 
  • Like
Reactions: orbital~debris and You are the One
Glassed Silver said:
Thanks nanny Apple.

You could just remove the DRM from OS X entirely and let me mind my own business instead, too.
Provide hash values for the installers and all is fine.
I know this isn't the easy way for everyone, but why not provide both options?

Glassed Silver:mac
Click to expand...
It's not just about DRM, it's also to make sure the installer hasn't be tempered with.
 
  • Like
Reactions: orbital~debris
jonnysods said:
Man why would they do that? My friend has an older machine and I wouldn't recommend it goes past mountain lion, but a fresh install will be a big hassle to them because they don't know Terminal commands! (they don't even know what Terminal is)
Click to expand...

Why would he do a fresh install?

Furthermore, doing an install using Recovery doesn't update the system.
 
I have just redownloaded the Mountain Lion and Mavericks installers. Trying to open them results in a message that they (the newly downloaded ones) are too old (trying to open the older ones that were already on my computer gives the same message).
 
Last edited:
Someone will probably file a lawsuit and we'll then get access to the OS X installers that we failed or forgot to get when they were available!
 
Stridder44 said:
You simply re-download a new copy? Sounds like a non-issue. But of course people will bitch about anything.
Click to expand...
As an IT person, I keep USB drives of all the OS X versions on my workbench so I have them handy when needed.

Please provide me with your address so that I may mail these USB drives to you. Once received, please take the time to download ALL the versions of OS X and rewrite them to the appropriate USB drives, and send them back to me.

I'm busy running a business, but apparently you have time on your hands. :rolleyes:
[doublepost=1457100131][/doublepost]I checked my App Store on my cMP and all the OSX versions since Lion are there, but Yosemite and Mavericks say "Downloaded" and are not clickable. Even the names themselves are not clickable. El Capitan says "downloaded" but the name is clickable and the El Capitan page has a button to download but when I click it, it says I already have it and to click Continue to download anyway, which I do, but nothing happens.

Ugh.
 
  • Like
Reactions: keysofanxiety, Godzirra, AleXXXa and 3 others
Does this affect my Snow Leopard official Apple install discs?

Also - it's gonna be a pain to redownload all the OS's and recreate my install drives. Will give me something to do during spring break...
 
Swift said:
What computer stops working after Mountain Lion? El Cap works WAY back. I have an late 2007 iMac, and it works like butter -- twice as fast as the Snow Leopard, where I left it for years.
Click to expand...
You are looking at it backwards. Older computers will run newer versions, but newer computers will not run older versions.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AleXXXa
Thanks to this issue, I wasted about 20 hours trying to figure out why I couldn't submit my app from Xcode.
Once I manually updated the certificate, it started to work. I thought my iMac OS X was corrupted, as I could submit from my MacBook.

I also remember having to reinstall some apps such as TextWrangler, which suddenly refused to run (it will open and close quickly).

I will write a Calendar reminder for February 7, 2023 to remind me about this issue.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Glassed Silver
dmylrea said:
I checked my App Store on my cMP and all the OSX versions since Lion are there, but Yosemite and Mavericks say "Downloaded" and are not clickable.
Click to expand...
El Capitan and Yosemite are unavailable for me but I can download all the previous versions. :(

Screen Shot 2016-03-04 at 14.07.57.png
 
  • Like
Reactions: JamesPDX and bergert
Swift said:
You want security, you need a certificate. Frankly, I prepared a USB Key with El Cap, but when my Public Beta went south and the computer wouldn't boot, I Hit Command-R and rebooted, then erased the drive, downloaded and installed the latest version of the OS, then reimported all the data and apps from my Time Machine update, from a day before the changes I made that borked it. Left for work, came back completely restored. Who needs a square old fixed system?
[doublepost=1457064847][/doublepost]

What computer stops working after Mountain Lion? El Cap works WAY back. I have an late 2007 iMac, and it works like butter -- twice as fast as the Snow Leopard, where I left it for years.
Click to expand...
My 2007 MacBook can only go up to mountain lion. Just because you have no issues it doesn't mean others are not affected.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AleXXXa and milo
Question, if I may: Where do certs get stored? I don't allow Apple to talk to my Mac, and am still on Snow Leopard, so how can I be prevented from a reinstall?
 
vmachiel said:
It's not just about DRM, it's also to make sure the installer hasn't be tempered with.
Click to expand...
That's why you provide hash values with these downloads.

User can verify the download, even years after downloading and storing it to the awful filesystem HFS[+] still is.

And as for DRM: I was being snarky, but I really don't understand why OS X setup insists on connecting to Apple first and verifying that I may install this OS using my Apple ID.
It's awful and only throws bricks my way.
There are scenarios where this de-facto DRM can only bite you.

Same goes for apps on the Mac App Store.

Glassed Silver:ios
 
  • Like
Reactions: AleXXXa and temhawk
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back