Beta 4 won't install. Where is it saved?

[ipadawan]

Hello,

On a clean external drive I did instal Big Sur flawlessly. With the beta 4 I have problems to get it installed, It downloads, using software update, and then it tries to restart but then nothing happens, it reboots again in beta 3.
So iI like to try to get it manually done, any one suggestions?
Is there some tricks to do this? Or should I install the latest profile?
I would rather not start with a new clean installment.

Thank you.

 

[matram]

Can you describe a bit more what has happened?

My understanding of the OTA processes is that during the second half of the upgrade when the system is "preparing to install" it now creates a number of partitions built from the existing OS on disk and the "delta" in the installer, like for the iPhone.

The "preparation" seems to create a snapshot of the old OS disk, then two partitions called "preboot" and "upgrade" which I guess contains firmware and the actual MacOS software. There is also a partition called "VM", do not know what that is?

So I guess if the system has used the installer to successfully build these partitions and verify them, finding the installer is unlikely to help? You could possibly download a full installer from Apple, that might use a different process.

I guess the system is set to boot into one of the new partitions created for the upgrade and then revert back to snapshot of the old OS disk if there is a fatal error during the install.

Do you see the system starting to install, i.e. there is a failure to install OR do the system not boot into the installer at all?

I am quite curios how the upgrade process works, so if anyone has more information please chime in.

 

[ipadawan]

I did find those maps where the update's get saved. I did found the ones from the previous tries of beta 3 and several of beta 4 ( the failed ones ). I did remove them all, and then voila it did work fine. Took a very long time but got it working.
Your assumptions are I guess very close, this was also my thought, but I thought that there was a file or folder with a special name like in the old days.

I guess that, in my case, the update script was confused about the many folders with the updates. The download folders has dates and a number, so why it could be confused, I don't know. Didn't see any plist or so where a latest download folder name or date was placed after a complete download but before a first restart.

Thanks you for your info, and hope all if someone has more information about this process.

A side comment, Safari works again.

 

[asdavis10]

I'm having the same issue. How did you fix?

I had to unenroll and then reenroll just to see beta 4. But now that it's available, I go to do the update and my computer restarts, goes through the process but after the first reboot, it boots up like normal.

 

[DimaVR]

I'm having the same issue. How did you fix?

I had to unenroll and then reenroll just to see beta 4. But now that it's available, I go to do the update and my computer restarts, goes through the process but after the first reboot, it boots up like normal.

MKe boot usb stick and install ??

 

[5232152]

Same issue

 

[ipadawan]

Like what matram wrote about the volumes, I did look there also before but didn't think of that at first as the crulpit, but then I did find those maps where the update's where saved. I did found the ones from the previous tries of beta 3 and several of beta 4 ( the failed ones ). I did remove them all, and then voila it did work fine. Took a very long time but got it working.

A USB boot disk/stick and from there choose the target should be the way. But yeah time...

 

[DimaVR]

Mac OS installer usually is under app folder