Q&A for How to Check for and Install Updates on a Mac Computer

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How do you do an update?

Luigi Oppido
Computer & Tech Specialist
Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years.

Luigi Oppido

Computer & Tech Specialist

Expert Answer

When you're installing updates on your Mac, research the update version to make sure it's a good one. For instance, if you have 10.12.2 (macOS Sierra) or 10.13.1 (macOS High Sierra), your computer isn't going to run well. However, if you have 10.12.5 or 10.13.6, you'll be fine.

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How can I see how much time the update has left?

Community Answer

Usually there's a progress bar and a countdown displayed whenever updates are being installed.

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Question

I updated my Mac computer and now it reboots and then immediately shuts off. What could be wrong?

macOS Alex Sierra 10.12

Community Answer

Before the Apple logo appears, hold CMD + R or CMD+Option+R to enter recovery mode. When it boots into recovery, go to "disk utility" and erase the partition. Exit disk utility and click "reinstall OS X."

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Can I use my computer for email and searches during a software update?

macOS Alex Sierra 10.12

Community Answer

Yes. If it requires a restart, you can still use your Mac until it is finished

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