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Big Sur Update

tried downloading Big Sur (I know know I shouldn't have done that ;)


First i was in the typical Big Sur-loop (problem with the installation. happens often when there is not enough free space).

Then rebooted in recovery mode. tried installing again. first the installation seemed complete, then there was the apple sign with a bar under it and time estimation - this also went through. but then while starting again (apple sign and bar under it, but no time estimation) its getting stuck right before the bar reaches the end.


it's no free-space problem (i do have 770 GB free space)

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on Sep 1, 2021 2:00 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 2, 2021 6:35 AM

Well there is another way that could be done from where you are and no requirement to visit the the Mac Shop.


What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your Mac and in your case - Yes not selling, trading in or give away but the net effect would be starting over as is the computer was new and never used.


10 replies

Sep 2, 2021 4:50 AM in response to mirella50

Must ask before moving forwards - No Admin Account on this computer.


Hum - is this computer Owned by a Company, University, School or Organization ?? If Yes, the computer may have been Enrolled in a Mobile Digital Management program ( MDM for short ). If the answer is Yes, one would have to contact the IT Department of the Company to fix this issue. They will control everything that is installed or not allowed to be installing on this computer and we can do noting about this - only they can.


If Owed by the user - then that changes things a lot. The Internal Drive is a slow Rotational / Mechanical drive and will always be slow when compared to Solid State Digital ( SSD ) drives. So, even after we try to fix things, it is going to be slow.



To create an New Admin Account - Credit goes to this well Respected Contributor @ BDAqua from this Posting


The exact steps are as follows >>


>>> Verbatim <<< See if you can create a new administrator account by restarting the Setup Assistant:

  1. Boot into Single User Mode: Start/restart your Mac. As soon as you hear the startup tone, press and hold ⌘ + S until you see a black screen with white lettering. (If you end up back on the login screen after a flash of the black screen with white lettering, enter your password and it will return to the black screen.)
  2. Check and repair the drive by typing /sbin/fsck -fy then ↩ enter - as directed by the on-screen text.
  3. Mount the drive as read-write by typing /sbin/mount -uw / then ↩ enter.
  4. Remove the Apple Setup Done file by typing rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone then ↩ enter.
  5. Reboot by typing reboot then ↩ enter.
  6. Complete the setup process, creating a new admin account.


Be very careful to notice the spaces in those Terminal Commands.


Once you've done that the computer reboots and it's like the first time you used the machine, except all your data will still be there. Your old accounts are all safe. From there you just change all other account passwords in the account preferences!!



Sep 2, 2021 12:56 AM in response to PRP_53

oh I'm sorry. That everything is lost is our mistake!! my colleague told me he did time machine backups regulary (I took his word on that) but when starting the system there where no backups (or at least none where found) to load from.....


the restart didn't work over night. I forced shutdown again, starting in safe mode worked out fine ("about this mac"" seemed great. software ok.no updates needed), but the restart to "normal" mode is not working. it's stuck again at 1/4th of the loading-bar.....

what could be the problem? should i try recovery mode again? or just work in safe mode?

Sep 2, 2021 2:56 AM in response to mirella50

Ugg, only works is Safe Mode. Not good. It could be Third Party Software interfering with the normal operation of the computer.


Suggestion is to boot into Safe Mode again and then >>


Suggest downloading the Application Etrecheck directly from a well Respected ASC Contributor. The application is free or paid from added features. Run the application with Full Disc Access ( Security & Privacy - Full Disc Access ). It will take a Snap Shot -  both the hardware and software. The Report will Not Reveal Any Personal Information. Post back the Full Report - copy and paste - using the Additional Text Icon ( 3rd Icon to last )


We can have a look at the report for possible issues and may have possible suggestions to resolve the issues.


Any Third Party Applications that will interfere with the normal operation of the OS, alter, modify, remove or delete or attempt to do so is an invitation for disaster and may require a Reinstallation of the OS.

Big Sur Update

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