Unfortunately I still had my update preferences set to automatically download new updates (which is the default settig), and apparently the system downloaded the Catalina update in the background. I do not intend to install this version (I'll wait for a few point releases), so it's now sitting somewhere on my SSD and wasting 8GB. Does anyone know where automatically downloaded updates are stored?
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Deleting automatically downloaded OS updates
- Thread starter Rigby
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The macOS updater downloads to your Applications folder.
So, delete the app called "Install macOS Catalina"
I think that is the name. But, there will likely only be one app in your Applications folder that is more than 8GB in size, and that will be the one!
You can simply drag it to the trash. Your system will ask for your admin password to move that installer to the trash.
And, finally, empty the trash.
So, delete the app called "Install macOS Catalina"
I think that is the name. But, there will likely only be one app in your Applications folder that is more than 8GB in size, and that will be the one!
You can simply drag it to the trash. Your system will ask for your admin password to move that installer to the trash.
And, finally, empty the trash.
Thanks, but it's not in the Application folder (I know that's where it used to be when you downloaded Mac OS updates from the app store before they were moved to Preferences).
Well, I just tried "find / -name '*Catalina*'" and it didn't find a matching file. Perhaps it isn't actually downloaded although "Download new updates when available" was enabled? Should the button in the Software Update preference say "Update Now" even when it's not already downloaded?
You can try searching for a file that is larger than 8GB. It's not likely that you have anything else of that size.
I just checked. The correct name for that installer is "Install macOS Catalina"
If the installer downloaded, then it will be in /Applications, (not in ~/Applications or anywhere else)
Perhaps your finder is not quite up to the task of updating itself -- try restarting your Mac, then look again in Applications.
And, it is an app -- it also will appear in your Launchpad...
I just checked. The correct name for that installer is "Install macOS Catalina"
If the installer downloaded, then it will be in /Applications, (not in ~/Applications or anywhere else)
Perhaps your finder is not quite up to the task of updating itself -- try restarting your Mac, then look again in Applications.
And, it is an app -- it also will appear in your Launchpad...
They are stored in /.PKInstallSandboxManager-SystemSoftware but you can't delete them from Finder.
Open Terminal, run cd /.PKInstallSandboxManager-SystemSoftware then ls, copy the string returned, type sudo rm -rf and paste the string.
Thanks for that. You can't actually cd into that folder unless you have enabled the root user or use something like "sudo bash", but a "sudo ls -a /.PKInstallSandboxManager-SystemSoftware" shows that the directory seems to be empty.
Well, on my Mac there are only to minor updates (Mojave 10.14.6 and the recent Safari update) in that directory, totaling about 1.3GB. Looks like Catalina wasn't actually downloaded. I wish MacOS was a bit more transparent about this. I liked the old way of installing major new OS versions (via the app store) better.