MacBook Stuck on Apple Logo (urgent help please)

[lori5060]

I've posted my messages about needing help about installing the security updates for my mojave 2020 - 007. I have not heard any replies from anyone with regard to this and wonder if anybody's reading it.

so am posting here... I know you're not supposed to post your same question in different forums....but I don't seem to be getting any replies where it was originally posted.... (how to disable os updates) I'm guessing people are just going to that particular topic.

after I initiated the updates on my MacBook, my screen went black a white Apple logo appeared on the screen and it's been stuck like that since yesterday at 1:40 and progression bar is not moving!
I guess I need to know if I should just turn off my MacBook completely and hope that when I turn it back on again I haven't totally wrecked my device!

 

[MacInWin]

Do you have a backup from before you started the update? IF so, and if you know the backup is good, go ahead and turn the Mac off and reboot. If it works, great, you are back in operation. IF not, you can boot from the backup (TM or clone) and work to restore the drive to where you can get going again.

If you don't have a backup, you can still power it off, just there is a risk that everything on the drive might be lost if you have to do a reformat/reinstall/recovery operation. But as it is, the machine is useless and everything is lost anyway, so...

 

[lori5060]

many thanks for your quick reply. we all know what it's like when something critical like this happens and you want to get an answer and help right away. so I do appreciate your comments.

i did do a TM backup jan 2nd.... i didnt think i could boot up from TM backup...

i did do a super duper clone but that was several months ago tho it was with Mojave.

all my activities on backups is on my Mac which i cannot access YET!

well first ill try turning it off.??????

 

[lori5060]

many thanks for your quick reply. we all know what it's like when something critical like this happens and you want to get an answer and help right away. so I do appreciate your comments.

i did do a TM backup jan 2nd.... i didnt think i could boot up from TM backup...

i did do a super duper clone but that was several months ago tho it was with Mojave.
all my activities on backups is on my Mac which i cannot access YET!
well first ill try turning it off.??????

i did it and it came back ? so I'm not totally screwed. thank goodness!?

now I'm really hesitant and doing the security updates.
? guess the first things i should do is another TM backup and superduper clone just in case.

? will the previous superduper clone i did be erased when i do a second one?

AND do i dare run the security updates again?

 

[MacInWin]

i didnt think i could boot up from TM backup...

You can boot to recovery from a TM backup, then use that recovery to reinstall the OS, then do a restore from the TM drive to the internal. If you have to.

 

[lori5060]

You can boot to recovery from a TM backup, then use that recovery to reinstall the OS, then do a restore from the TM drive to the internal. If you have to.

I was pleased to have my MacBook back again tho I have found that one alias file password protected I had on desktop, looked odd. it had lost its formatting. I don't know what other files could be compromised. my Finder window looks odd too.

I have never done a recovery with TM backup and need some help. I took a pic of what I have for folders on latest backup. how do I do the recovery? and what exactly will it do??

should I do a TM backup just in case??

 

[MacInWin]

Don't do a TM backup of a troubled system. That will just preserve the trouble. To boot from the TM drive, shut down the Mac as you normally would, then hold down the Option key as you power it on with the TM drive attached. Hold the Option key until you see the boot options. One will be the internal drive, and there should be a Recovery option. Boot to recovery, whether it's on the internal drive or the TM drive won't matter at this point. Once booted, you will have a window with four items:


This image is from Big Sur, yours will have "Reinstall macOS <<whatever version is in the recovery>>" as the description. I think you have Mojave. You want to just try the reinstall of what you have now. Don't format the drive, don't do a restore from TM, just reinstall the OS. If the prompt is what you have now (Mojave), then let it reinstall. It will overwrite the current OS system and should leave your files alone. Once it is done (it will take a while) you can reboot and see if everything is back to OK. If the prompt is not "Mojave" then don't do the install, as what you want is to put back what you have (assuming it's Mojave, as you say). Shut it down again through the top bar menu and reboot with Option key again and see if there is a Recovery that shows Mojave. The TM backup should do that, if it was made in Mojave.

 

[lori5060]

thankyou so much for the indepth instructions.....extremely appreciated!

One can always contact a techie person to do this but they charge $80-100 an hour
at least here on canada!

I will be extremely pleased with myself if I am able to fix this on my own!... with yr help of course?

will do later as have an appt now. will keep you posted!

 

[lori5060]

so I'm back and looked at a few things. all LOOKS okay. so should I still do a re install of Mojave?
and then try the security update, again which I am very hesitant to do again.
are there any known issues with this update?
then there is the Mac OS supplemental and Safari updates too.

 

[MacInWin]

If you think it's OK, I would just leave it as it is. You can check to see if the security update worked by looking at where you got the notice the first time. If there is no notice, you are good to go.

 

[lori5060]

If you think it's OK, I would just leave it as it is. You can check to see if the security update worked by looking at where you got the notice the first time. If there is no notice, you are good to go.

I think everything looks OK. But one never knows. I did check the preferences for updates and the supplemental macOS and Safari ones are gone so I guess they got done but the security update for Mojave is still sitting there. think ill wait a bit before trying again. need to calm down a bit??

 

[pigoo3]

I've posted my messages about needing help about installing the security updates for my mojave 2020 - 007. I have not heard any replies from anyone with regard to this and wonder if anybody's reading it.

I looked back over the past 2-3 months & do not see any threads started by yourself on this topic (hopefully I didn't miss it). If you possibly posted a question within someone else's thread...an individual post like this can be easily missed...which is why it's best to start a brand new thread of your own (this way it gets the attention it deserves).

so am posting here... I know you're not supposed to post your same question in different forums....but I don't seem to be getting any replies where it was originally posted.... (how to disable os updates) I'm guessing people are just going to that particular topic.

Good/great descriptive thread titles will also help your threads get more attention. For example with this thread...the original title was ("Urgent Help Please"). This is a very very generic thread title (the majority of folks posting discussion threads on Mac-Forums are looking for help)...thus this title does not make your thread stand out.

Descriptive thread titles really help get threads noticed.

HTH,

- Nick

p.s. I edited the title of this thread to help it stand out.

 

[lori5060]

I looked back over the past 2-3 months & do not see any threads started by yourself on this topic (hopefully I didn't miss it). If you possibly posted a question within someone else's thread...an individual post like this can be easily missed...which is why it's best to start a brand new thread of your own (this way it gets the attention it deserves).



Good/great descriptive thread titles will also help your threads get more attention. For example with this thread...the original title was ("Urgent Help Please"). This is a very very generic thread title (the majority of folks posting discussion threads on Mac-Forums are looking for help)...thus this title does not make your thread stand out.

Descriptive thread titles really help get threads noticed.

HTH,

- Nick

p.s. I edited the title of this thread to help it stand out.

yes nick sorry for the confusion. the post was included in a thread "how to disable update reminders" I think that is what it was called. I got off track...
I did get things resolved. will try to make my thread titles more specific.

 

[pigoo3]

yes nick sorry for the confusion. the post was included in a thread "how to disable update reminders" I think that is what it was called. I got off track...
I did get things resolved. will try to make my thread titles more specific.

Good deal...trying to help. We definitely want members to get their questions/threads noticed...answered quickly...and answered accurately!

Great to hear things are resolved!!!

- Nick