Trashing macOS Install Data & /Library/Updates folders

[nelly22]

I tried to update from 10.13.1 > 10.13.2 and update did not finish and now when i shutdown or restart, screen stays black and i have to press power button 5 sec to crash it. Other than that, Mac works okay.

I found this folder in root level of boot drive and it has 5 files and 1 folder which is empty:

macOS Install Data
-OSInstallAttr.plist
-minstallconfig.xml
-InstallInfo.plist
-Locked Files
-index.sproduct
-brtool

Can i simply trash this and then try normal update again?

I also found Updates folder. Manual update items has time stamp 9 Dec and all others 17 Dec:

/Library/Updates
/Library/Updates/_ManualUpdate
/Library/Updates/_ManualUpdate/_ManualUpdate.extraInfo
/Library/Updates/_ManualUpdate/macOSUpdCombo10.13.2.pkg
/Library/Updates/_ManualUpdate/_ManualUpdate.dist
/Library/Updates/ProductMetadata.plist
/Library/Updates/PPDVersions.plist
/Library/Updates/091-52053
/Library/Updates/091-52053/BridgeOSBrain.pkg
/Library/Updates/091-52053/EmbeddedOSFirmware.pkg
/Library/Updates/091-52053/macOSUpd10.13.2Patch.pkg
/Library/Updates/091-52053/FullBundleUpdate.pkg
/Library/Updates/091-52053/091-52053.English.extraInfo
/Library/Updates/091-52053/BridgeOSUpdateCustomer.pkg
/Library/Updates/091-52053/FirmwareUpdate.pkg
/Library/Updates/091-52053/091-52053.English.dist
/Library/Updates/index.plist

So should i trash /Library/Updates folder and macOS Install Data in root too??

 

[SecuritySteve]

I would suggest using terminal to update. Try running the following command:

sudo softwareupdate --dump-state -i -a

This should attempt to install all available updates, and will log errors to /var/log/install.log

Check that file to see what's going wrong with the update.

 

[oatman13]

I tried to update from 10.13.1 > 10.13.2 and update did not finish and now when i shutdown or restart, screen stays black and i have to press power button 5 sec to crash it. Other than that, Mac works okay.

I found this folder in root level of boot drive and it has 5 files and 1 folder which is empty:

macOS Install Data
-OSInstallAttr.plist
-minstallconfig.xml
-InstallInfo.plist
-Locked Files
-index.sproduct
-brtool

Can i simply trash this and then try normal update again?

I also found Updates folder. Manual update items has time stamp 9 Dec and all others 17 Dec:

/Library/Updates
/Library/Updates/_ManualUpdate
/Library/Updates/_ManualUpdate/_ManualUpdate.extraInfo
/Library/Updates/_ManualUpdate/macOSUpdCombo10.13.2.pkg
/Library/Updates/_ManualUpdate/_ManualUpdate.dist
/Library/Updates/ProductMetadata.plist
/Library/Updates/PPDVersions.plist
/Library/Updates/091-52053
/Library/Updates/091-52053/BridgeOSBrain.pkg
/Library/Updates/091-52053/EmbeddedOSFirmware.pkg
/Library/Updates/091-52053/macOSUpd10.13.2Patch.pkg
/Library/Updates/091-52053/FullBundleUpdate.pkg
/Library/Updates/091-52053/091-52053.English.extraInfo
/Library/Updates/091-52053/BridgeOSUpdateCustomer.pkg
/Library/Updates/091-52053/FirmwareUpdate.pkg
/Library/Updates/091-52053/091-52053.English.dist
/Library/Updates/index.plist

So should i trash /Library/Updates folder and macOS Install Data in root too??

Yes you can definitely nuke the contents of these folders.
sudo rm -rf /Library/Updates/*
sudo rm -rf "/macOS Install Data"

Sounds like something is blocking restart on your Mac. You should use createinstallmedia with an external USB stick to re-install macOS. You can grab the Installer via the Mac App Store; and from there you can run createinstallmedia to your USB stick. Then you can boot up your Mac while holding option and install the OS on top of itself. This is safe and won't wipe your drive. (Though taking a backup would be a great idea)
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372

If you'd like to see what's blocking restart there is likely a "shutdown stall" file inside of:
/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports

 

[dg_explore_solutions]

Trashing the contents of Library/Updates is usually not possible because OS X El Capitan and later includes security technology called SIP (System Integrity Protection) that helps protect your Mac from malicious software.
While doing so you must have seen the pop-ups saying "0##-##### can't be modified or deleted because it's required by macOS" or from the terminal saying "Operation not permitted"
Still, if you want to delete those directories or files saved as a result of failed or incomplete updates(which takes significant unnecessary storage) you can do so by turning off Mac's SIP temporarily. This is an advanced solution and recommended for advanced users only. It may open up your system for vulnerabilities and needs to done with care.
The following are the steps:

1. Restart your Mac in recovery mode(press and hold Command (⌘)-R at the start-up).
2. Open the Terminal Utility.
3. Type the command csrutil disable (This gives full unrestricted access to your Mac's entire OS and every file and folder, so, be cautious!)
4. After restarting, open the Terminal and delete the desired folders by running the command:

sudo rm -R /Library/Updates/0##-#####

Now the files or folders which were restricted can be removed.

NOTE: (0##-##### is the folder name)
To delete specific file inside the folder 0##-##### you can simply use rm provided the path of that file.

5. When done with all the desired removing, follow steps 1 and 2 to turn SIP back on using the command:

csrutil enable

6. Restart your Mac and SIP should be back on track.

NOTE: To check the status of the SIP. Use command csrutil status

7. Download and Install fresh updates if available.


I hope this is helpful.

Reference: https://appletoolbox.com/seeing-error-operation-not-permitted-in-macos-mojave/