Does your Mac keep freezing and stop responding, randomly and unexpectedly? There can be a number of reasons that can cause your Mac to become unresponsive to any user input from the keyboard or mouse or to freeze altogether. By freezing, it is meant that nothing happens. Sometimes you may start having this problem after updating to the latest version of the macOS software.

1. What To Do When Mac Freezes During Software Update
2. What To Do If Mac Software Update Freezes Windows 10
3. What To Do If Mac Software Update Freezes Windows 7
4. What To Do If Mac Freezes During Software Update

This article explains what you can do when your Mac freezes and stops responding, meaning how you can unfreeze your Mac. This can be a big issue if this occurs frequently. If you are having this problem, then you can troubleshoot using the steps listed below. So what causes freezing? You should know this so that you can fix it.

Here are the steps: Press and hold down the power button for about 30 seconds. When you’re sure that your Mac completely shut down, press and hold the power button again. The update should resume in. Press Command + L to verify if the macOS update is working. Nov 26, 2011  Go the Disk Utility, Highlight your hard drive (usually Macintosh HD) and click on Verify Disk on the right. If that is OK and only if that is OK click on Repair Permissions. If Verify Disk is not OK try to Repair. If Repair is successful then Repair Permissions if it is not successful let me know. You can run it from both from the Mac OS interface (if you managed to start your computer, and it freezes while loading from time to time), or from the Recovery Mode. To enter Recovery Mode, hold down the Command + R keys while the computer is booting. Loading in Recovery Mode will be marked by a screen with “macOS Utilities” written on it.

Mar 23, 2018  Unfortunately, any Mac user may encounter a problem when the device does not turn on and stucks on the loading process. It usually looks as follows: the computer starts to load, the Apple logo appears on the screen, but nothing happens afterward – the system does not boot up, and the device does not react to anything except forcibly pushing the power button. Nov 15, 2019  Unfreeze your Mac. On your Mac press the Option, Command, and Esc (Escape) keys together. This will open the Force Quit window. Select the unresponsive app and then click Force Quit. Did your computer unfreeze?

Dec 15, 2018  Microsoft AutoUpdate freezes. It is stuck on 'Installing: Outlook Update 16.16.5 (18120901).' The Overall Progress is at the half-way point. I have to force it to quit, then try again with same results. I have tried it now in Safe Boot, and I get the same results. The update worked fine on 3 other Macs, it just hangs up on this one. Jul 28, 2014  When your Mac freezes it's often because of one specific application, but if you don't know which one is causing the problem, it's best to quit them all. Force quit the apps that you can't quit.

What To Do When Mac Freezes During Software Update

If your computer is crashing, you may use Crash Reports to figure out why.

See also: macOS Messages Freezes or Crashes, Fix

Unfreeze your Mac

Before you do anything, give your Mac a few minutes to finish what it is doing. Your Mac may unfreeze itself if you wait a few minutes.

If your Mac freezes, an unresponsive app may cause your Mac freeze. You may have to force quit apps that are not responding to unfreeze your Mac. Here is how:

• On your Mac press the Option, Command, and Esc (Escape) keys together
• This will open the Force Quit window
• Select the unresponsive app and then click Force Quit
• Did your computer unfreeze?

If the force quit option does not work, try to restart your Mac by going to the Apple menu > Restart.

If this option does not work, you can force your Mac to restart by pressing and hold the power button until your Mac shuts off (note that you may lose any works that are not saved).

If your Mac freezes frequently, you should figure out why your Mac is freezing. Here are the most common mac slow and freeze reasons and fixes:

Software-related problems

Update your Mac. Make sure that your Mac is completely updated, this includes the third-party apps. Update macOS and all apps:

• Go to the Apple menu > System Preferences > Software Update. If there is an update available, update your Mac.
• Open the Mac App Store app > then click Updates (left menu) and click Update All

Furthermore, restart your Mac in safe mode for Symptoms.

• Turn off your Mac
• Turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold the Shift key
• Keep holding the keys until you see the login screen, and then release the keys
• Log in using your username and password, you may have to log in more than once.
• Now your computer is in safe mode.

If the symptoms exist in safe mode, please continue the steps below.

Too many open apps

Another common cause is running out of free memory if you are running multiple apps at the same time. Furthermore, quit apps when you are done with them. To quit an app, click the App name and then click Quit App, for example, if you want to quit Safari:

• Click safari
• Click Quit Safari

You may also want to use Activity Monitor (Applications / Utilities) to find the apps and processes that are using a lot of resources. And then you may choose to quit them in Activity Monitor.

Not enough space

Your Mac can freeze if there isn’t enough open space. To check your Mac’s free hard drive space, go to the Apple menu > About This Mac > and click the Storage tab. Click the Manage button to optimize your storage. You may also consider emptying your Trash can. You may also use iCloud.

There are many tips that you can try to free up space on your Mac.

Overheating

One common reason is that it’s overheating, especially if you are having this problem with a MacBook. Check air vents. Blocked air vents can cause not only performance issues but also system freezing problems. Check the vents on your Mac to see if they are blocked with dust or dirt. Make sure that vents are allowing heat and air to pass through so that your Mac does not overheat.

What To Do If Mac Software Update Freezes Windows 10

We previously wrote an article about the overheating problem. Please read this article.

Hardware-related problems

Run a diagnostic test. This test will help you determine if your Mac is experiencing a hardware problem. Here is how you can do the hardware/diagnostics test on your Mac:

• Disconnected everything from your computer (except your mouse, keyboard, and display). Furthermore, make sure that your Mac is connected to a power outlet and is connected to the Internet.
• Turn off your Mac
• Turn on your Mac and immediately press the D key
• Keep holding the D key until you see the language screen
• Release the key when you see the language screen
• Select your language and follow the onscreen instructions.

Did this test determine any problem?

Malware

Check for malware. Malware or malicious software (viruses, spyware, etc.) can cause your Mac to freeze or appear to hang. We previously wrote about these topics:

What To Do If Mac Software Update Freezes Windows 7

Cluttered desktop

A cluttered desktop can slow down and/or freeze your Mac. Organize your desktop. Delete files or folders that you do not need. macOS offers a feature for this called Stacks. Turn on Stacks on your Mac (if your Mac is running macOS Mojave or later). Here is how you can enable Stacks on your Mac:

• Go to Finder
• Click View (top menu bar)
• And select Use Stacks

What Stacks does is that it groups your files and folders automatically based on their types.

If none of the above options work, you may want to contact Apple.

How to get updates for macOS Mojave or later

If you've upgraded to macOS Mojave or later, follow these steps to keep it up to date:

1. Choose System Preferences from the Apple menu , then click Software Update to check for updates.
   
2. 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.
   
3. 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.

What To Do If Mac Freezes During Software Update

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:

1. Open the App Store app on your Mac.
2. Click Updates in the App Store toolbar.
3. Use the Update buttons to download and install any updates listed.
4. 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.