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

Update from El Capitan to OSMojave didn't work

Try safe mode.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201262

If it boots in safe mode, then it's very likely 3rd-party software (either a kernel extension or software which runs in the background on startup) which is now incompatible with Mojave. If that is the case, you would have to disable, update or remove the 3rd-party software for the computer to work properly in Mojave.

If that doesn't work, try verbose mode. After turning on the Mac, press and hold down the Command-V key combination. Messages should appear on the screen. If possible, post a picture of your screen at the point it gets stuck.
 
treekram said:
Try safe mode.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201262

If it boots in safe mode, then it's very likely 3rd-party software (either a kernel extension or software which runs in the background on startup) which is now incompatible with Mojave. If that is the case, you would have to disable, update or remove the 3rd-party software for the computer to work properly in Mojave.

If that doesn't work, try verbose mode. After turning on the Mac, press and hold down the Command-V key combination. Messages should appear on the screen. If possible, post a picture of your screen at the point it gets stuck.
Click to expand...

I decided to use the recovery tool and get back to my last time machine backup before reading your reply, but I'll try again this week. I'll also check all the 3rd-party softwares to find out if there's something suspicious. Is it possible to check which softwares run in the background?

I'll post the results.
Thanks,

LuisN said:
Most likely you have to upgrade to High Sierra before updating too Mojave. You probably are missing some firmware upgrades only available installing High Sierra
Click to expand...

Yes, I thought of that too. I'll check that.
 
Gouvea said:
Hello!

I tried to update my Macbook Pro 12,1 but it didn't work. The mac freezes on this screen.
I have no ideia why this is happening. Kind of disappointing. Any ideas?
Click to expand...

Did you give it enough time to load before determining it was frozen? Sometimes the install will look like it has paused while loading, then continue. If that is not the case, try installing High Sierra first, then move to Mojave.
 
MSastre said:
Did you give it enough time to load before determining it was frozen? Sometimes the install will look like it has paused while loading, then continue. If that is not the case, try installing High Sierra first, then move to Mojave.
Click to expand...

I went to sleep and when I woke up it was still "loading". :)
 
The Mojave installer would have attempted to install the required the necessary EFI/BootROM firmware and as you got to the logon screen, it probably did. If it couldn't install the necessary firmware, I think it should have warned about that and stopped the installation (other people have come across that issue). Now if you installed by cloning (it doesn't appear that's the case here), that may be an issue.

In any case, if you can restore properly, you can check the BootROM version by running the "System Information" app. The first screen that appears should say "Hardware Overview". If it doesn't appear, click on the "Hardware" line which is the first line at the top left. On the "Hardware Overview" screen, look for "Boot ROM Version". According to one source, the latest version for the MacBook Pro 12,1 should be 184.0.0.0.0 (if it's slightly off, that shouldn't matter for being able to run Mojave).

To check what 3rd-party background software you have on your computer, you can use EtreCheck:
https://www.etrecheck.com/

It's free, but they have a pay version and the free version has a limitation on the times you can run it. You can ask it to produce a software for posting and it will remove specific information about your computer (serial #, etc.)
 
LuisN said:
Most likely you have to upgrade to High Sierra before updating too Mojave. You probably are missing some firmware upgrades only available installing High Sierra
Click to expand...
Then should he have done a a combo update to Mojave?
 
LuisN said:
Most likely you have to upgrade to High Sierra before updating too Mojave. You probably are missing some firmware upgrades only available installing High Sierra
Click to expand...
No, this is not necessary. Any firmware update that is required is installed by the Mojave installer.
 
  • Like
Reactions: madrich
treekram said:
...
In any case, if you can restore properly, you can check the BootROM version by running the "System Information" app. The first screen that appears should say "Hardware Overview". If it doesn't appear, click on the "Hardware" line which is the first line at the top left. On the "Hardware Overview" screen, look for "Boot ROM Version". According to one source, the latest version for the MacBook Pro 12,1 should be 184.0.0.0.0 (if it's slightly off, that shouldn't matter for being able to run Mojave).

To check what 3rd-party background software you have on your computer, you can use EtreCheck:
https://www.etrecheck.com/

It's free, but they have a pay version and the free version has a limitation on the times you can run it. You can ask it to produce a software for posting and it will remove specific information about your computer (serial #, etc.)
Click to expand...

Boot ROM Version is 184.0.0
I noticed one strange thing. I had 19Gb of free space on SSD before the first attempt to install Mojave. Now, after restoring to El Capitan, I have almost 54Gb.

I'll try to install Mojave again.
 
Do you have a second account on the machine? Maybe that account has a corrupt plist, cache, etc. If have a second account and can sign into it, there's the answer.

Had it happen to me once. Just setup a new account and used TimeMachine via Migration Assistant (if I recall correctly) to move everything over.

(Aside, one of the reasons I have an admin account and everyday non-admin account: if day to day account is borked, can always get into admin and fix things; and a layer of security in that everyday account is not admin privileges)
 
NoBoMac said:
Do you have a second account on the machine? Maybe that account has a corrupt plist, cache, etc. If have a second account and can sign into it, there's the answer.

Had it happen to me once. Just setup a new account and used TimeMachine via Migration Assistant (if I recall correctly) to move everything over.

(Aside, one of the reasons I have an admin account and everyday non-admin account: if day to day account is borked, can always get into admin and fix things; and a layer of security in that everyday account is not admin privileges)
Click to expand...

Yes, I have two accounts. The main one is mine (admin) and the second is my wife's. Well, I'm already in the middle of the second try. I deleted some apps that I don't use anymore. Let's see what happens.
 
UPDATE
I tried to install Mojave for the second time. The installation screen stopped at this point (I left the process running through the night).

Then, I rebooted the computer, the login screen loaded, I inserted my user password and all I see is this loading screen. I tried the Safe Mode, but the result is the same.

This is the most frustrating experience since 2007, when I bought my first Apple computer. The only reason I want to update this MacBook Pro is because I'm gonna sell it, and I need to migrate all my stuff to my new computer, a new Mac mini (Macmini 8,1), which runs OSMojave.

I'll have a busy day and I won't be able to take care of this issue, but I'll try tomorrow. I appreciate all the help you guys have been giving and I apologize about my english.
 
Last edited:
You might try trashing the Mojave installer you have now and re-download Mojave from the App Store before you try again. I once got an installer that gave me trouble until I did exactly that, and the new installer worked perfectly.
 
Gouvea said:
UPDATE
I tried to install Mojave for the second time. The installation screen stopped at this point (I left the process running through the night).

Then, I rebooted the computer, the login screen loaded, I inserted my user password and all I see is this loading screen. I tried the Safe Mode, but the result is the same.

This is the most frustrating experience since 2007, when I bought my first Apple computer. The only reason I want to update this MacBook Pro is because I'm gonna sell it, and I need to migrate all my stuff to my new computer, a new Mac mini (Macmini 8,1), which runs OSMojave.

I'll have a busy day and I won't be able to take care of this issue, but I'll try tomorrow. I appreciate all the help you guys have been giving and I apologize about my english.
Click to expand...

You are trying to make your updated El Capitan -> Mojave work. If you're selling your computer, you don't have to do that, you just need to make sure it can work with a new install of Mojave (or High Sierra).

Have you tried to migrate your data from your MBP to your new Mini yet? With the Migration Assistant app, you can migrate from the El Capitan Time Machine backup on your new Mini. There may be problems in migrating apps because you're going from El Capitan to Mojave, but Migration Assistant does try to determine if there will be problems and will not migrate an app if it thinks there will be a problem.

The question is do you want to sell your MBP before you can migrate to your new Mini or can you wait until you have been able to migrate to your new Mini?

If you can wait to do the migration to your new Mini, should restore your El Capitan Time Machine backup to your MBP. I think you said that still works - is that correct? If you do that successfully, you can try the migration from the Time Machine backup on your new Mini. The reason you want to restore El Capitan to the MBP is to have another backup in case something goes wrong in migrating to your new Mini.

Even if you need to sell your MBP before you can migrate to your new Mini, I would still restore the El Capitan Time Machine to the MBP and then make another backup of that configuration. Then you can make a clone or another Time Machine backup to use for the migration on your new Mini. The idea is to have two backups of your El Capitan MBP disk before doing the migration to your new Mini. For cloning software, you can get Carbon Copy Cloner ("CCC") or Super Duper. CCC is free for 30 days.
https://bombich.com/

The reason a clone is better for this task is that it would be easier to retrieve single files if you need to from the clone vs. Time Machine. The Migration Assistant app can also use the clone for migration. Note that while CCC or Super Dupter will make a bootable clone, the clone won't boot on your new Mini because the new Mini won't boot from El Capitan. If you are going to use the clone as the second backup in case anything goes wrong, you try booting from the clone on your MBP to make sure it works - you do this by pressing and holding down the Option key when you start up the computer and a choice of which disk to boot from is shown.

Once you have either successfully migrated to your new Mini or you have a second backup of your El Capitan MBP, (or if you decide only one backup is enough - not suggested but it would be your choice), you can try to install a clean copy of Mojave. Installing a new clean copy of Mojave requires more instructions so once you have a working copy of El Capitan on your MBP and have decided what to do, you can post your decision and we can post the instructions on how to do a clean install on your MBP.
 
treekram said:
You are trying to make your updated El Capitan -> Mojave work. If you're selling your computer, you don't have to do that, you just need to make sure it can work with a new install of Mojave (or High Sierra).

Have you tried to migrate your data from your MBP to your new Mini yet?
Click to expand...

It was the first thing I tried, but it didn't work. I tried again yesterday, but this time, I de-selected the applications folder. It didn't work either. I put my user password and all I see is that loading animation.

treekram said:
The question is do you want to sell your MBP before you can migrate to your new Mini or can you wait until you have been able to migrate to your new Mini?
Click to expand...

I'm gonna keep the MBP until I can solve this issue, but I'll probably adopt the manual procedure. I'll move my files manually and install the applications. This whole process has taken some much time and patience... and I simply don't have that free time to spend.
 
I may be misunderstanding you. When you talk about the manual procedure and moving files and installing applications - are you talking about your new Mini? And are you talking about 3rd-party applications? If you haven't upgraded the applications since El Capitan or if you couldn't upgrade the applications because the new versions wouldn't work with El Capitan, and if you have problems on the Mini, then yes, you will have to manually install each application, making sure you have the latest version of the applications, making sure it's compatible with Mojave and then making sure it works on your computer.

If you are running Migration Assistant on the MBP and manually installing applications on the MBP, you don't have to do that. If you are going to sell it and you want to be able to demonstrate to the potential buyer that Mojave works on your MBP, you just need to install Mojave and do a basic setup. Or is it your intention to sell 3rd-party apps as part of the MBP?

If you are trying to migrate to Mojave on your MBP as an intermediate step to migrating to your new Mini, you don't need to do that. If you are going to manually install each app and copy over the data, you just need a copy of what you had on your MBP when it was running El Capitan. As I mentioned earlier, you can restore El Capitan to your MBP to do that or you can put what was on your El Capitan on an external disk and then use that to migrate to your new Mini.

Once you are ready to try to fix your MBP problem, post back again. Since your MBP doesn't work right now with Mojave, I presume you are back at El Capitan? I can suggest some steps once you're back at El Capitan and are ready to try to install Mojave again.
 
treekram said:
I may be misunderstanding you. When you talk about the manual procedure and moving files and installing applications - are you talking about your new Mini? And are you talking about 3rd-party applications?
Click to expand...
Yes, I'm talking about copying my files to the new Mini and installing some 3rd party applications.
My MBP is running El Capitan again and everything is fine. I have 2 external HD's (1 for time machine and 1 for extra storage space) so everything has backup.

I was thinking that might be a good idea - and a good opportunity since I'm moving to a new machine - to start with a clean install and avoid to bring a lot of unnecessary files to the new machine.
 
Gouvea said:
Yes, I'm talking about copying my files to the new Mini and installing some 3rd party applications.
My MBP is running El Capitan again and everything is fine. I have 2 external HD's (1 for time machine and 1 for extra storage space) so everything has backup.

I was thinking that might be a good idea - and a good opportunity since I'm moving to a new machine - to start with a clean install and avoid to bring a lot of unnecessary files to the new machine.
Click to expand...

It will take some time to install your applications and test them to make sure they work on your new Mini. If you encounter problems, you can post here.

When everything is working on your new Mini, and you are ready to try Mojave again on your MBP, I would suggest following. First, it would be helpful if you can post what SSD model you have. The following link has information on running the "System Information" app.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203001

In this app, there's an entry for "Storage". If you click on this, both your internal and external disks will appear on the right. Click on your internal disk and what should appear in the bottom right is the "Device Name". If you could post that, it may be helpful if the installation doesn't work again. If the Mojave install doesn't work again, it would be more difficult to get this information so it would be good to get it while El Capitan is working.

Then I would then suggest you do a clean install. If you have a USB flash drive (12GB minimum), you can try a bootable installer. There's information on preparing the bootable installer at:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372

On the following link, there's instructions on erasing the disk which would be good if you are going to sell the MBP. The instructions also include how to reinstall macOS. You can start from Step Two (Step One was covered in the previous link).
https://www.howtogeek.com/186860/ho...your-drive-and-create-usb-installation-media/

See how this works. The problem you initially had may be due to what was on your SSD before so these steps should fix it if that was the problem. If you still have problems, the information on the SSD model would be helpful and that's I'm asking that you post that.

I know you're busy so whenever you get around to doing this that's fine. I just wanted to post my suggested steps so if and when you want to try them, it's available.
 
treekram said:
It will take some time to install your applications and test them to make sure they work on your new Mini. If you encounter problems, you can post here.

When everything is working on your new Mini, and you are ready to try Mojave again on your MBP, I would suggest following. First, it would be helpful if you can post what SSD model you have. The following link has information on running the "System Information" app.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203001

In this app, there's an entry for "Storage". If you click on this, both your internal and external disks will appear on the right. Click on your internal disk and what should appear in the bottom right is the "Device Name". If you could post that, it may be helpful if the installation doesn't work again. If the Mojave install doesn't work again, it would be more difficult to get this information so it would be good to get it while El Capitan is working.

Then I would then suggest you do a clean install. If you have a USB flash drive (12GB minimum), you can try a bootable installer. There's information on preparing the bootable installer at:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372

On the following link, there's instructions on erasing the disk which would be good if you are going to sell the MBP. The instructions also include how to reinstall macOS. You can start from Step Two (Step One was covered in the previous link).
https://www.howtogeek.com/186860/ho...your-drive-and-create-usb-installation-media/

See how this works. The problem you initially had may be due to what was on your SSD before so these steps should fix it if that was the problem. If you still have problems, the information on the SSD model would be helpful and that's I'm asking that you post that.

I know you're busy so whenever you get around to doing this that's fine. I just wanted to post my suggested steps so if and when you want to try them, it's available.
Click to expand...

Mac Mini setup done! Next step, do a clean install on my MBP. I'll take a look at your recommendations. tks!
 
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