Solving a problem caused by a bad Apple update to High Sierra.

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I am posting this as a new thread, because the old one on this problem seems to have disappeared while some people still wanted to know more about this issue.

The issue in question: Recently people at NASA started to experience a problem that had to do with some very recent update to High Sierra in their Macs that prevented them from logging in to their machines (including the one assigned to me).

I have been told of a temporary solution, until Apple takes proper care of this, I have tried it, and it does work!, so now I pass it on here to those who might experience this problem, or a similar one in the future:

(1) Turn on the Mac and, immediately, start pressing “Option” and keep on pressing it until,

(2) Instead of the white apple on an otherwise black screen, the images of two hard disks appear with legends underneath that read something like “Install HD” or “Mac HD”

Click of the “Mac HD” and an up-pointing arrow in  a dark, but not black, circle will appear under the HD image. Then click on the arrow.

If all goes well, that will then be followed by the disappearance of the HD image and the appearance of the usual white apple, followed by the normal OS loading sequence (white bar that grows from left to right, under the apple) and, finally, the usual login screen will come up.

(3) Log in, as usual, and you are in.

(4) Repeat procedure every time you have to login after turning the Mac on, at the start of a new session (although you might omit it, now and then, to see if the problem persists, or has already been fixed by Apple).

(5) Good luck!

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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Nathan Parker, DrBonzo

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I’m not having the login problem, but I am having another problem.

Last night I installed “Security Update 2019-002 for version 10.13.6 (10.13.6 is the last point update for High Sierra); it was released on March 25, 2019. Everything seemed to go well and took about 40 minutes. I then checked the App Store for updates and was told “No updates are available”. It also said that the security update had just been installed. I put the iMAC in sleep mode and went to bed.

This morning I again checked for updates and was told there was one update available. On the left side of the window it said “Software update restart required”. On the right side it said “Security Update 2019-002 10.13.6”, which seems to be the exact same update I installed last night. Even the short 2 sentence description and link to the Apple Support page was identical to the update I installed last night.

So, is this new statement of an available update just a glitch?

Has Apple released an update to an update? It doesn’t appear that they have based on what I see on their support site.

Do I need to install the update again, or can I just ignore it?

This is fairly discouraging, since I had hoped that the nonsense aspects of patching, which are so prevalent with Windows, would be absent from MACs. (I’m a relative newbie to Apple )

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

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I’m not a MAC expert as I don’t have any (yet) but … maybe (& being a novice this might be a silly suggestion) instead of being put to sleep, it needs to be rebooted to finalize the update’s installation?

The ”new” indication that the same exact S/W update is again available may just be an artifact that may have been stored in cache then retrieved & redisplayed when the MAC exited its “sleep” mode.

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DrBonzo

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RDRguy: Unfortunately, the answer to your question is ‘no’.

Once the Mac fails in its unexpected, unasked for and unwanted attempt to update the OS before this completes booting up, one has only three buttons to choose from: “try again”, “save the error log” and “shut down”. The only one that “works” is “shut down” (and I’ve tried all three). At least when you choose “shut down” the machine goes to sleep and you can move on to whatever else you might need to do. Like: getting on with the rest of your life. (For the time being, at least.)

Or  else, using the “keep pressing the Option button” trick, to see if you can finally login to your own machine.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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RDRguy, DrBonzo

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Part of the installation process is a restart, which is automatically done by the computer. At least it said it was restarting and it certainly appeared to restart, and I got the usual request for password, after which the normal desktop loaded, etc. I didn’t put it in sleep mode until after I had used the computer for 10 minutes or so, and everything appeared to be working fine. Also, just before putting it in sleep mode, a check for updates produced a ‘no updates are available’ message.

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RDRguy

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Oh, I though RDRguy was asking about the problem I wrote at the start of this thread, but it was DrBonzo’s. My apologies for any confusion I might have unwittingly created.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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In terms of seeing the update twice, I’ve seen that occur before. Generally a couple of things cause it:

1. Sometimes Apple does re-release the update with a couple of issue resolutions. If you downloaded the update right after it was released, it may re-relase with some additional bug fixes, hence asking you to re-download.

2. Sometimes the update shows it “took” but didn’t fully “take”. You can reboot your Mac and see if it still asks you for the update. If it doesn’t, you’re set. If it does, I’d re-install, reboot, and see what happens.

On the other issue with the Mac update, I will report that one to Apple using Apple Feedback. I also recommend reporting it to Apple using Apple Feedback and/or Bug Reporter. Here are the links to those:

Apple Feedback: https://www.apple.com/feedback/macos.html

Apple Bug Reporter (you don’t need to be a paid developer to use it, you just need a free Apple ID): https://developer.apple.com/bug-reporting/

Nathan Parker

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DrBonzo, OscarCP

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@NathanParker – I restarted the iMAC. The restart resulted in a changed wallpaper – I think back to the original High Sierra wallpaper – for some reason, but I was still being told I had the update. So, I installed it, and things seem fine. The previous installation and the one tonight both took almost exactly the same amount of time, and the size of the downloaded file was the same in each case. When I check for updates, there are two entries under installed updates, each entry reading exactly the same except for the installation date. It seems to me that Apple probably re-released the security update.

Aha, I just checked the Apple support site and there was, in fact, another release on 3/29 (in addition to the one on 3/25):

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201222

and here’s what it says:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT209635

Apparently there were some security fixes that were left out of the first release.

Well, I’m glad that was taken care of, but I do wish the support pages were updated at the same time the releases came out; the pages seem to be about a day later than the releases.

Thanks for your help.

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Nathan Parker, OscarCP

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DrBonzo wrote:

@NathanParker – I restarted the iMAC. The restart resulted in a changed wallpaper – I think back to the original High Sierra wallpaper – for some reason, but I was still being told I had the update. So, I installed it, and things seem fine. The previous installation and the one tonight both took almost exactly the same amount of time, and the size of the downloaded file was the same in each case. When I check for updates, there are two entries under installed updates, each entry reading exactly the same except for the installation date. It seems to me that Apple probably re-released the security update. Aha, I just checked the Apple support site and there was, in fact, another release on 3/29 (in addition to the one on 3/25): https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201222 and here’s what it says: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT209635 Apparently there were some security fixes that were left out of the first release. Well, I’m glad that was taken care of, but I do wish the support pages were updated at the same time the releases came out; the pages seem to be about a day later than the releases. Thanks for your help.

Glad to know that’s the case. Strange it reset your wallpaper. I don’t see that happen usually.

Apple’s support articles are good when up-to-date, but it does take them a little bit to update everything.

Nathan Parker

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DrBonzo

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I’m not sure, but perhaps I should qualify my statement about the wallpaper being changed. I’m not the primary user of the iMAC, my use being limited to checking for software updates (including browsers and AV), installing said updates, and making sure the mouse and keyboard are charged. The primary user may not actually be setting a wallpaper image, but might just be throwing a background image on the screen – I honestly don’t know, but if that’s the case, then seeing the High Safari wallpaper appear after a restart might not be surprising.

As for Apple Support, I’d say it’s quite a good bit easier to follow and understand than MS Support, which to me at least, can tend towards the ambiguous and obfuscutory.

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DrBonzo wrote:

I’m not sure, but perhaps I should qualify my statement about the wallpaper being changed. I’m not the primary user of the iMAC, my use being limited to checking for software updates (including browsers and AV), installing said updates, and making sure the mouse and keyboard are charged. The primary user may not actually be setting a wallpaper image, but might just be throwing a background image on the screen – I honestly don’t know, but if that’s the case, then seeing the High Safari wallpaper appear after a restart might not be surprising. As for Apple Support, I’d say it’s quite a good bit easier to follow and understand than MS Support, which to me at least, can tend towards the ambiguous and obfuscutory.

It could be since you’re on a managed Mac they set your wallpaper.

In terms of Apple Support, their support articles are easier to read, and there’s great stuff on their support site. I just wish they’d be clearer when they re-relase an update as it does get confusing.

Nathan Parker

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Today I installed 10.13.6 in my Government MacBook Pro ca. 2018 (High Sierra), and 10.14.4 in my own MacBook Pro ca. 2015 (Mojave). Both are working well, as far as I can tell. In particular, the problem I described at the beginning of this thread seems to have been fixed with the installation of the 10.14.4 update on the Government Mac.

The Gov. Mac does not have yet a wallpaper chosen by me, still is displaying, instead, the default landscape of the high sierra. So I do not know if I would have encountered the same problem as DrBonzo under the same circumstances.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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My High Sierra Mac got the Security Update yesterday. I haven’t changed the wallpaper on it, so I don’t know about the wallpaper. So far there’s been no issues with the Mac itself after applying the update.

It did apply a firmware update to my Mac and reset the NVRAM in the process (I’ll be posting an article about resetting the SMC, NVRAM, and PRAM on Macs coming up).

Nathan Parker

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DrBonzo

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Despite the confusion about 2 updates being issued within a couple days of each other, the iMAC has performed flawlessly since then, so everything turned out OK.

I don’t recall any update from Apple being described as a firmware update. Would such an update come down the usual way?

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DrBonzo wrote:

 I don’t recall any update from Apple being described as a firmware update. Would such an update come down the usual way?

Such updates would come down through the normal update mechanisms generally (App Store for pre-Mojave and Software Update for Mojave) unless Apple prompts you to download them directly from support.apple.com (generally never). In the past, the updaters generally made you run an extra tool to install the firmware update, and they specified “firmware update” in the update lines. Apple still occasionally specifies firmware updates, although many times they simply get bundled into another update.

I’m just Mac-savvy enough to know when it happens (I may write an article on Mac firmware updates as well). Generally when the Mac reboots and you see an oversized progress bar underneath an Apple logo moving fast, then it reboots again, it’s a firmware update that’s been thrown in the update. The double reboot chime that happened as well as also the Mac resetting the NVRAM (it likely did an SMC reset as well). I’ll dig into this more in an article on here so you know specifically what to look for, as well as tips I’ve learned over the years with resetting the SMC and PRAM or NVRAM.

Nathan Parker

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DrBonzo

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