The Mac might have been stuck on 20 minutes remaining for the past two hours, but this doesn't necessarily mean it's not busy trying to install the software. Look at the Log to see if your Mac. Even though it’s available on Mac App Store since September, a considerable number of Mac OS X users are still struggling to upgrade el Capitan or older Mac OS versions to Sierra. The reason is simple – MacOS Sierra Update freezes or gets stuck when installing or downloading it. According to experts, the update may get stuck due to anti. I was installing the latest update of macOS High Sierrra and I got stuck at Calculating time. It seems to stuck and not moving. This was what I did to recover and update to High Sierra without losing my data. I am using Mac Mini but this seems applicable to other maca as well.
So I got a new MacBook for work and I didn't realize upon next reboot, the enterprise profile had mandated FileVault encrypt the start up disk, and Apple had recommended an upgrade to macOS Sierra at the same time! You can imagine triggering both simultaneously upon reboot didn't go well at all!
FileVault vs Sierra Update
Here is what happened:
- I triggered an OS update from the Install Sierra app. Rebooted.
- Greeted with prompt to enter my admin password for FileVault to start. Entered.
- Wrote down the FileVault Recovery Key, and closed the FileVault message that I could continue to use the machine while FileVault worked in the background.
- Then the macOS Sierra update app ran, and from here on it's a blur - the machine rebooted but went to macOS Recovery mode instead (read more About macOS Recovery).
- Choosing Reinstall macOS from the Recovery menu has the start up disk greyed out - because FileVault encryption is in progress.
- DiskUtility does not have any options to check the status or progress of FileVault.
Perhaps if I had let Step 3 above continue without closing the message, it would have completed and then only gone on to Step 4 and begun the upgrade process. Who knows?
The Fix - Let FileVault Complete
The solution is given by the guru 'mewiki' over at the Apple forum post, Unable to Install OS X El Capitan FileVault conversion in progress.
- In Recovery mode, run Terminal from the menu (if it doesn't start, hold Cmd + R during boot).
- In terminal, type
diskutil cs list
. I got the last screen below, and the key is that Conversion Progress: Paused
- I re-started the conversion by typing
/usr/libexec/corestoraged
- In mewiki's guide, he first searched for the correct folder, with
file / -name 'corestoraged'
, - But instead, I'm assuming it's in the same location for all of us...
- In mewiki's guide, he first searched for the correct folder, with
- That terminal will now be busy, so open a new Terminal.
- And check the conversion progress, with
diskutil cs list
:- Mine started with just a percentage, e.g.
Conversion Progress: 62%
, - Then it re-started the percentage, but this time, optimizing, e.g.
Conversion Progress: Optimizing 82%
- Mine started with just a percentage, e.g.
- When it has completed optimizing, reboot...
- And if all is well, you'll be able to continue the Sierra installation!
Conclusion
There are real apple geniuses out there... and they don't work for Apple. Apple really left out this scenario in the macOS Recovery options - one should be allowed to check on the progress of FileVault, and either finish it or undo it - without resorting to console commands!
Whew!
The time estimate can be wildly inaccurate. If you decide the installation will never finish, force the Mac to shut down by holding its power button for a long time (at least ten seconds or so). It may restart with the upgrade completely finished. Or, it might not restart at all. In any event you can't wait forever, so it's not as though you have much choice. Give it a few hours, at least.
Mac Os Sierra Download Iso
As long as you created a Time Machine or equivalent backup according to Apple's upgrade instructions, there is no reason to be concerned about losing any of that Mac's data. If forcing the Mac to shut down results in an inability to boot, then boot macOS Recovery and restore the system from that backup.