- Then I tried to recover OS X by the reinstalling from the recovery partition (people say that all files and programs will be ok) - It says 'Mac OS Sierra failed to download' every time, as I understood, Apple removed last Sierra from the App Store.
- If you get stuck or fail to install the downloaded macOS 10.13, follow any one of the below tips to fix the issue: Open Launchpad Delete ' Install macOS Sierra ' file with a question mark on it. Reboot Mac and retry downloading a new macOS Sierra update 10.13. Click Apple Menu Select App Store Click Update next to macOS Sierra in the.
So if your Mac computer almost ran out of the storage space, your macOS update stuck at the beginning for sure. To make sure how much space your Mac has left, from the Apple menu, select About This Mac More Info Storage. If your Mac update failed definitely owing to the storage space, the only thing you need to do is to free up the space on. If your Mac is running OS X Mountain Lion 10.8 or later, you can upgrade directly to macOS High Sierra on the Mac AppStore. If you’re running Snow Leopard (10.6.8) or Lion (10.7) and your Mac supports macOS High Sierra, you will need to upgrade to El Capitan first. If you’re running Leopard and would like to upgrade to macOS High Sierra.
This page covers 5 fixes for Mac won't boot or start issue after macOS Big Sur, Catalina, Sierra or older macOS update issue. If you are with this issue, follow to make your Mac computer work now:
Workable Solutions | Step-by-step Troubleshooting |
---|---|
Fix 1. Fix PRAM/NVRAM | Restart Mac > Hold Command+Option+P+R keys to turn on Mac...Full steps |
Fix 2. Reset SMC | Shut down Mac > Unplug all cables > Plug in cables back after a few minutes...Full steps |
Fix 3. Boot in Safe Mode | Start Mac > Hold 'Shift' until the login window appears > Release the key when login in window appears...Full steps |
Fix 4. Run Disk Utility | Turn of Mac > Hold Command + R keys and power Mac back up > Enter recovery mode...Full steps |
Fix 5. Reinstall macOS | Download macOS Catalina, Mojave, or Sierra > Create bootable USB > Clean install macOS...Full steps |
macOS has now been updated to 11.0, and many Mac users are trying to upgrade to the newest version. While for most it's a usual pleasurable experience, for some this update had downsides. Some users complain that their Mac computers won't boot after installing new macOS Big Sur/Catalina. When Mac fails, it usually can't boot or start up properly. If you are faced with this situation, the most important thing should be recovering data from the unbootable Mac because:
- Your attempts to fix the Mac not booting issue may write new data on this Mac, which will overwrite the old data and make it irrecoverable.
- Recovering data before the complex fixes can avoid data loss.
EaseUS Mac data recovery software is able to recover data from unbootable Macs after update. It creates a bootable media that enables you to recover data from Mac hard drive (If you only have one Mac). What's more, it recovers data from failed internal Mac hard drive, APFS boot drive, and unmountable APFS boot volume, etc. If you have two Mac devices, take out the hard drive and connect it to the other Mac. Download EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac on that Mac device, and recover data from the hard drive.
Then, you can read on and Fix the 'Mac won't boot after update' issue after you have successfully got data from the drive.
1. Reset the PRAM / NVRAM
NVRAM refers to special memory sections on your Mac that store data that persists even when the Mac is shut off, such as volume settings and screen resolution. Resetting that data isn't harmful! In some cases, after performing this step, your Mac will restart normally.
- Restart your Mac
- Hold down all of these keys: 'Command', 'Option', 'P' and 'R', and turn on the Mac. (It's the same keys to reset the PRAM).
- Keep holding the keys down until you hear the Mac restart again.
Macos Sierra Failed To Download On Mac
You may see a progress bar on startup. If the progress bar fills up and then the Mac starts up, you're probably good to go. If not, reset SMC.
2. Reset the SMC
In some situations, you may need to reset your Mac's SMC (System Management Controller).
- Shut the Mac down.
- Unplug all cables.
- Wait for a few minutes.
- Plug the cables back in and start up the Mac.
If you've got a Mac desktop, unplug it for 15 seconds and then plug it in and after five seconds press the power button.
3. Boot Mac in Safe Mode
Safe Mode is a stripped-down version of the Mac operating system that can be useful if you are trying to troubleshoot issues with your Mac.
- Start your Mac, press and hold the 'Shift' key, and make sure your Mac has at least 9 GB of free space.
- When the login window appears to release the shift key and log in. You may be required to log in twice if you have FileVault turned on. Then restart the device.
Wait patiently till Mac computer finish the reboot process.
4. Run Disk Utility in Recovery Mode
If your Mac is booting but the operating system isn't loading up, you may have a corrupted drive. Luckily it is possible to fix this in Recovery Mode. In Recovery Mode you can restore from a Time Machine backup, use Disk Utility to verify and repair connected drives, check your internet connection, get help online using Safari, and install or reinstall macOS.
- Make sure the Mac is off. If it's stuck on a grey, blue or white screen, just hold down Mac's power button for several seconds until it shuts off.
- Hold down the 'Command' and 'R' keys, and power the Mac back up again. Keep pressing 'Cmd' + 'R' while your Mac is booting up.
- Once your Mac starts in Recovery Mode you can have access to 'Utilities'. Click 'Disk Utility', locate the icon for your Mac's drive, and click 'Verify Disk'.
5. Reinstall macOS Big Sur/Catalina/Sierra
The last method to fix macOS Big Sur, Catalina or Sierra fails to boot after update error is to reinstall macOS.
- You can download wanted macOS Big Sur/Catalina/Sierra and create a bootable USB drive to clean install macOS Big Sur/Catalina/Sierra on your computer again.
- You can also boot into Recovery mode (Solution 4), and then click to install the latest OS and follow the onscreen prompts. Our article on resetting a Mac to factory settings has more information on reinstalling macOS.
If your Mac does not respond after trying these tips, contact Apple Support or a certified Apple Repair Center. It’s likely there is a problem with your logic board or other internal hardware.
Apple uses its App Store to distribute its software, like new Mac operating systems. It’s convenient, but sometimes it can take a while for a download to finish. And if you have multiple Macs, it’s inefficient to download the new OS to each and every Mac.
That’s why I like to make a bootable external drive for the sole purpose of installing the Mac operating system. When I need to tend to a bunch of Macs, it’s much faster to use a bootable drive instead of going to each Mac, launching the App Store, searching for the operating system, downloading it (after entering my Apple ID), and then running the installer.
You can create a bootable USB flash drive with the macOS Sierra installer that’s now available. The installer software will take up nearly 5GB of storage space. Here’s how to create a bootable macOS Sierra installer drive.
Download the macOS Sierra installer
Launch the App Store app, then look for macOS Sierra in the store. (Here’s a link.) Click on the Download button, and your Mac will download the installer to your Applications folder. If it automatically launches after download, quit the installer.
If you’ve already upgraded your Mac to Sierra, the installer is removed from the Applications folder. You can download it again if you go to Purchased in the App Store. Look for macOS Sierra in the list of apps that you’ve bought, and click on the Download button. If it automatically launches after download, quit the installer.
Get an external drive
You can use a USB flash drive or a hard drive with room for the installer software. I’ve used different drives with success, including a VisionTek 120GB USB 3.0 Pocket Solid State Drive ($83 on Amazon) and an old 8GB Iomega Micro Mini Hard Drive.
Mac Os Sierra Failed To Download
Don’t worry if the drive isn’t formatted for the Mac. The drive will be reformatted automatically as part of the process. Change the name of your drive to Untitled; you need to do this for the steps below.
The quick and easy way
The process detailed below involves the Terminal. If your really don’t want to use Terminal, there are a couple of free apps you can use.
- Install Disk Creator is a straightforward way to create a boot disk. I was able to make a macOS Sierra external USB boot disk in a few minutes, and the installation worked without a hitch. Also works with older versions of OS X.
- Diskmaker X is a popular app. It also supports older versions of OS X.
Use the Terminal to create a boot disk
So you have your external drive, and the Sierra beta installer is in place. Now you’re going to use Terminal to create a boot drive. If you’ve never used Terminal before, don’t worry. This is pretty easy.
Here are the steps to create a macOS Sierra beta boot disk. (Apple also has these instructions.)
- Connect the external drive to your Mac. (In the Terminal command you will use, I use
Untitled
to represent your external drive. If your drive is named something else, you need to changeUntitled
to the name of your drive.) - Launch Terminal (/Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app).
- Copy the following:
sudo /Applications/Install macOS Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Untitled --applicationpath /Applications/Install macOS Sierra.app
- Go back to Terminal and paste the copied code at the prompt.
- Terminal will ask for a password. This is your user password. Terminal doesn’t display characters when you type it in. Hit Return.
- Terminal will tell you that it will erase your drive. To confirm that you want to continue, type Y and hit Return.
- You’ll see that Terminal erases your drive. When that part is done, your Mac may ask you if you want to use the drive for Time Machine. Click Don’t Use.
- Terminal will copy the installer file to your drive. This will take a few minutes.
- After copying, Terminal is done. You should see Terminal display a “Copy complete” and Done notice. You can quit Terminal and your drive is ready for use.
How to boot from the installer drive
- Plug your external drive into your Mac.
- Power up (or restart) your Mac. Press down on the Option key while the Mac boots.
- After a few moments, your Mac should display the Startup Manager, which will show you the available boot drives. Click on the external drive and hit Return. (You don’t need to select a network to proceed.)
- Your Mac will display an OS X Utilites window. If you want to install Sierra and leave the data intact, select Install OS X. If you want to start over and wipe out the data, you need to go into Disk Utility to reformat the internal drive first, and then install macOS Sierra.