Big Sur Beta 10 install becomes no longer usable on my storage hard disk

[DeltaMac]

What version of macOS are you running?
Have you been on this same version since you first noticed the file corruption?
Has this been a very recent occurrence? Always with the same boot system?
Finally, are the corrupted installer apps ONLY happening with copies that you have made SINCE you have been using your current boot system? Or, are there any OLDER copies that you made before your present system that previously were fine, and now seem to be corrupted (Those same, exact copies?)
And, it's not clear to me - - are there any installers OTHER than Big Sur that seem to have developed this same problem - or ONLY with Big Sur installer apps?

 

[Monotremata]

Id call a priest!

 

[Mac Arthur1]

I am running Catalina 10.15.7 on this SSD disk.
I downloaded 11.0.1 and stored it on another disk. Got corrupted a few days later. This disk being sync with One Drive it could be the culprit.
Downloaded again and store it in Apps folder yesterday. Since that time I made a few tests on Big Sur, booted from another SATA disk. That's all.
This morning I noticed that when booting back to Catalina from this SSD disk 11.0.1 stored in Apps folder appears to be corrupted.
That's all I know.
I can however say that ALL my installers since 10.0 are safely stored on this SATA disk, sync with One Drive as well, and none of them ever got problem, except some (but all) Big Sur ß I have.
With the new issue described now, I am wondering if booting on Big Sur from another disk may have an impact on this Catalina disk.

 

[IowaLynn]

Q: only big sur can read big sur files?

Q: what do you do or use to verify the file(s) are corrupt?

The issue SD! and CCC have and unable to create bootable clone backups - could be related? ASR?

 

[Mac Arthur1]

Not sure I understand all your questions...
Q1 and Q2 When you have a proper installer you get an icon with the file. To know whether you are going to be able to use it is another story. No way to install Mojave if you are on Catalina, even though your installer is ok.
When you have the icon showing an error you already know that you won't be able to use it.

Regarding the last sentence I have bootable CCC of all my different OSX running on different disks (Hackintosh) and all is perfectly fine...

 

[DeltaMac]

hmm... What hardware are you running your macOS system on?

I never use the "unprepared" installer app to install the system (such as copying to the Applications folder, and running the installer from there). When downloading a macOS installer - if it is a new version, first step for me is to create or update my current USB bootable installer with that new version. I keep a set, back to Tiger, on individual thumb drives. Also, have two different external SSDs with separate partitions for each system installer. That is the only use for those external USB drives. (Oh, I also test each bootable installer, just to make sure that it actually boots, and proceeds to the macOS installer.)
There may be some situation with the beta installers, I have not seen any that "degenerate" like yours. But, in a few days, that will be a moot question, as it would be a pointless exercise to keep beta installers after the "real" version is released.

 

[Mac Arthur1]

I am doing exactly as you are doing. On my other hackintosh I have different partitions and can boot on Sierra, HS, Mojave, Catalina or BS.
When I get a new version I never upgrade and always install from scratch with USB key. I feel we follow the same rules.
And once again, this is the very 1st time it happens, and it happens only with ß versions of BS.I have been following this procedure since Sierra on hackintosh and every step has always been smooth. That's why I wanna understand where is the problem.
I agree that BS official will be release soon, but just for fun, It would have been nice to keep old memories of early BS stages !

 

[Monotremata]

@Mac Arthur1 - not sure if this even remotely helps but I just had something similar happen to me here. I downloaded the latest Catalina release to update my 10.15.6 copy last night. Of course the installer ran, and told me it wouldn't work (Im on Big Sur), so no worries. Copied it to my storage drive (which is still intact and runs fine), and then went to delete the one in the Applications folder. The minute it went to the trash can, the icon was crossed out, app is broken and its now about 7.75GB where the initial download (and my archived copy) was 8.25GB? Wouldn't let me delete it either, kept telling me the install ESD was in use every time I cleared the trash can. Couldn't even 'rm -R' it, had to disable SIP.

All I did was download it from the App Store, then try to delete it. Not sure if the 500MB of data it dropped was stuff it cleared from the package before it hit the installer ESD file or not, but thought that was rather odd. Tried redownloading it again and starting from scratch a couple times this morning but every time I moved it to the trash can it corrupted the installer. Luckily the copy I made is still fine if I ever need it, but it hates that one in the Applications folder for some reason.

 

[vijayarx]

Not sure I understand all your questions...
Q1 and Q2 When you have a proper installer you get an icon with the file. To know whether you are going to be able to use it is another story. No way to install Mojave if you are on Catalina, even though your installer is ok.
When you have the icon showing an error you already know that you won't be able to use it.

Regarding the last sentence I have bootable CCC of all my different OSX running on different disks (Hackintosh) and all is perfectly fine...

I highly suspect that block (stop sign) is just about the app would not run and will be blocked because of the privacy settings. Double click once and allow privacy prompt if asked and see.

Also, you can use "Meld for OSX" to compare both .app directories recursively and see if they are same in case it really is something else.

 

[Superhai]

I guess your files are quarantined by the Mac. You could go into terminal and check the extended attributes.
You can use "ls -al -@ Installer.app" to see what they are.
If you are not good with terminal, do this:

• Open Terminal
• Write: "ls -al -@ " (without the quotes, but don't miss the space at end)
• Drag the installer into the terminal window
• Press Return

 

[Mac Arthur1]

Well, with the new release of 15.0.1 yesterday, i am currently testing this little piece of software:

DropDMG: Create Mac Disk Images With Icon Layouts

DropDMG lets you create and convert Mac .dmg files and archives with a simple drag and drop. Automate via AppleScript or shell. Download our free trial here.

c-command.com

Any feedback of some people using it already?
Thanks !