I Installed Catalina macOS 10.15 however I'm unable to install the new Xcode 11.1 update. The download is successful and launchpad reports 'Installing' and then after some time I receve the message 'Unable to Download App. 'Xcode'could not be installed. Xcode IDE takes into account every detail of your project, recognizes logical and syntax errors, and even knows how to correct incorrectly entered program code. Xcode will help you create better software code. According to the Xcode review, this is a very useful tool for those who want to create apps and submit them to the App Store.
The latest version of iOS and iPadOS is 13.5.1. Learn how to update the software on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. The latest version of macOS is 10.15.5. Learn how to update the software on your Mac and how to allow important background updates. The latest version of tvOS is 13.4.6. Learn how to update the software on your Apple TV.
This update won't include the latest version of the software so after performing the update, check Software Update and apply the latest macOS update. Install the OS from an external drive.
If you've upgraded to macOS Mojave or later, follow these steps to keep it up to date:
Choose System Preferences from the Apple menu , then click Software Update to check for updates.
If any updates are available, click the Update Now button to install them. Or click ”More info” to see details about each update and select specific updates to install.
When Software Update says that your Mac is up to date, the installed version of macOS and all of its apps are also up to date. That includes Safari, iTunes, Books, Messages, Mail, Calendar, Photos, and FaceTime.
To find updates for iMovie, Garageband, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, and other apps that were downloaded separately from the App Store, open the App Store on your Mac, then click the Updates tab.
To automatically install macOS updates in the future, including apps that were downloaded separately from the App Store, select ”Automatically keep my Mac up to date.” Your Mac will notify you when updates require it to restart, so you can always choose to install those later.
How to get updates for earlier macOS versions
If you're using an earlier macOS, such as macOS High Sierra, Sierra, El Capitan, or earlier,* follow these steps to keep it up to date:
Open the App Store app on your Mac.
Click Updates in the App Store toolbar.
Use the Update buttons to download and install any updates listed.
When the App Store shows no more updates, the installed version of macOS and all of its apps are up to date. That includes Safari, iTunes, iBooks, Messages, Mail, Calendar, Photos, and FaceTime. Later versions may be available by upgrading your macOS.
To automatically download updates in the future, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click App Store, then select ”Download newly available updates in the background.” Your Mac will notify you when updates are ready to install.
* If you're using OS X Lion or Snow Leopard, get OS X updates by choosing Apple menu > Software Update.
How to get updates for iOS
Learn how to update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to the latest version of iOS.
Learn more
Learn how to upgrade to the latest version of macOS.
Find out which macOS your Mac is using.
You can redownload apps that you previously downloaded from the App Store.
Your Mac doesn't automatically download large updates when it's using a Personal Hotspot.
Updating your MacBook or iMac should be free of headaches and drama. Apple even coined a marketing phrase “it just works!” But recently, a lot of readers and Mac users are finding the opposite–it just doesn’t work! Several users have recently had issues updating their MacBook with the latest version of macOS. Unfortunately, this appears to be a fairly common problem for some when updating to the latest macOS High Sierra update.
The update gets stuck with a message “mac os could not be installed on your computer an error occurred installing macOS.” Some folks report seeing this message as well “the path /System/Installation/Packages/OSInstall.mpkg appears to be missing or damaged.”
Then your Mac prompts you to quit the installer and restart your computer. Well, Apple, whatever happened to it just works???
Contents
1 Quick Tips
2 Getting macOS could not be installed on your computer?
3 How-To Fix macOS could not be installed issue
6 Reader Tips
Quick Tips
Check that your Mac’s Date&Time are on Set Automatically
Reset your Mac’s NVRAM or PRAM
Free up some internal hard drive storage
Restart in Safe Mode and run Disk Utility’s First Aid
Try Recovery Mode
Use Terminal to identify and remove non-Apple KEXTs
Restart in Single User Mode to remove problematic files
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Getting macOS could not be installed on your computer?
If you are experiencing this issue with your update, here are a few tips that you can use to address this issue. Before proceeding with the steps below, we suggest that you ensure your Mac’s clock is correct. If your Mac’s Date&Time do not match your current timezone or date, macOS often won’t install. Go to System Preferences > Date & Time. Apple prefers if you choose the option to Set Automatically.
Next, let’s try out the basic NVRAM reset (or PRAM for older Macs) on your computer.
Follow these steps if you are not sure about how to do the NVRAM reset
Shut down your Mac
Turn it on and immediately press and hold these four keys together: Option, Command, P, and R
Release the keys after about 20 seconds, during which your Mac might appear to restart
Open System Preferences and check (and adjust, if necessary) any settings that reset, like volume, display resolution, startup disk selection, or time zone
Check Storage
The other thing is to make sure that your MacBook/Mac has enough space available to complete the update. If you are running low on space, Apple provides some guidelines that can help you recover some space on your Mac.
Beyond the Basics
Now, that we have taken care of the basics, we suggest that you try each of the processes below until your macOS install problem is fixed. We arranged the how-to-fix steps in three separate categories.
The first of the troubleshooting steps walk you through Safe mode options and then we suggest the Recovery mode. The last of the options shows you how to remove third-party KEXT files using simple terminal commands and then try the install process.
How-To Fix macOS could not be installed issue
Fixing the Install issue using Safe Mode on your Macbook
One of the best practices around updating is to make sure that you have taken a backup of the system before doing any troubleshooting. Better Safe than Sorry. We are assuming that you have already backed up your machine before you proceed with any of the steps below
The first thing to try is to get your Mac/MacBook into Safe mode. When you hold the ‘Shift’ key during startup, your computer will launch into Safe mode
Safe mode essentially forces the initiated process to ignore all third party launch daemons and startup items. Once you are in the Safe mode, the next course of action is to get into Disk Utility. Once your MacBook has entered safe mode, you will see it indicated in the top right-hand corner of your screen
Log in using your credentials and then go to your macOS Utilities folder. Here you will need to start up the Disk Utility Program. Once in the program, Click First Aid on the top and choose the volume (Your main HDD) and start the repair process
Macos Xcode Command Line Tools
Once the Repair has completed, you will be notified of the status. At this point, you would want to rerun the macOS Update program and see if it works for you without giving you the error message
If you tried the steps above in Safe mode and did not find success, the next course of action is to try the Recovery mode.
Fixing macOS Install Problem in Recovery Mode
To get to recovery mode on your Mac or MacBook, you will need to press and hold Command + R keys together when booting up your computer
Once you are in the Recovery mode, click on the Apple logo on the top left corner of the screen and make sure that your startup disk is pointing to the Mac Boot disk
Now find the macOS update program and run the update
Sometimes, when you are facing install/upgrade issues, a workaround that works for many users is to create an external bootable installer and try to run the install program using it. Apple provides a detailed white paper on this process. You can create the bootable installer on a USB and then try it to update the macOS.
Removing Third Party KEXT Files
If you are still reading and have already tried the series of fixes in both Safe mode and Recovery mode to no avail, you may have to roll up your sleeves and do a little more digging into the root cause of the issue. Sometimes it’s the third party KEXT extensions that cause a lot of heartache during update/install of macOS.
These KEXT Files get added to your Mac/MacBook when you are using third-party devices. If you are not sure about it, your best bet is to look and see what third-party extensions are currently there on your machine.
To do so, Open up terminal from your utilities and type in the following to see the non-Apple KEXTs.
Kextstat | grep –v com.apple
This command should show you all the third party extensions. Now you can remove them one by one or remove the one that you think may be the suspect. Using terminal, you can unload the kext my using the following command.
Here ‘NAMEOFTHEKEXT’ needs to be replaced with the appropriate suspect KEXT file that you found above. Once you have unloaded the KEXT, you can go back and check to make sure that it has indeed been removed by using the kextstat command.
Macos Software Update Not Installing Xcode Download
Once you have removed all the third party KEXT files and have made sure that you have enough space on your machine for the macOS update, please try and relaunch the install process.
Problems? Try Single User Mode
If your install process is failing because of a particular problematic file, you can also try to log in using the single user mode and delete that specific file and then try resuming the install. Sometimes you find these problematic ones off files in the Installer log files. To access these log files, open up the Console app in utilities and click on ‘/var/log’ on the left-hand column and then choose ‘instal.log’in the next column.
We are hoping that you were able to fix the macOS Install issue using some of these tips. If you have tried everything without any success, your best bet is to reach out to Apple Support folks so that they can help out. Please let us know how your install worked by using the comments below.
Reader Tips
Try restarting in recovery mode and install macOS High Sierra or Sierra from a bootable USB drive disk. If necessary, reformat your SSD to Mac OS Extended (Journaled), not APFS
Try setting up another admin user account to see if the same problem continues
Boot up your Mac using Cmd + R to access the recovery partition. Immediately, go the Apple menu choose Startup Disk. Select your HD. Unlocked it if necessary by entering your admin password. Reboot and see if it starts up normally
Update your system’s clock by using Terminal. Open Applications > Utilities >Terminal and type the command date. If the date listed is incorrect, type this command ntpdate -u “time.apple.com” then press return. If you live outside of the Americas, type in Apple’s time server nearest you, such as time.asia.apple.com or time.euro.apple.com inside the parenthesis
I created an ISO image of macOS High Sierra on a USB and installation was a breeze after that
Shut down your Mac and wait 30 seconds. After 30 seconds, press the power button and immediately hold down Command + R and keep pressing these keys until the apple logo appears. You should see a screen asking you to choose a language, select your language of choice, and navigate to your macOS Utilities. Check the WiFi button at the top right to make sure you’re connected to the internet. Then select reinstall the latest version of macOS, click continue, agree and allow it to download and restart on its own (just leave the Mac alone–really!) After macOS reinstalls, it should restart and end up at the login screen
I booted up while holding the Option key and chose my regular MacinstoshHD (not an update volume). Then I booted normally (not with safe mode) and tried again to reinstall the update. Took several reboots but in the end, it worked!
Oftentimes, this error means your Mac is trying to boot from a different HD partition, sometimes even the recovery partition. To fix it, restart in startup manager (holding option key) and select your regular HD to reboot from. Once successful, go to System Preferences > Startup Disk > Select your normal HD startup. That should fix the problem
Obsessed with tech since the early arrival of A/UX on Apple, Sudz (SK) is responsible for the editorial direction of AppleToolBox. He is based out of Los Angeles, CA.
Macos Xcode Version
Sudz specializes in covering all things macOS, having reviewed dozens of OS X and macOS developments over the years.
In a former life, Sudz worked helping Fortune 100 companies with their technology and business transformation aspirations.