How Do I Install System Updates on Shutdown?

[haravikk]

Okay, so under OS X Lion if a system update was available that required a restart, I could instead just choose "Not Now" and the update would install when I shut my computer down.

However, with this stupid transition to the Mac App Store for OS updates I can't seem to do this anymore, as the Mac App Store doesn't seem to want to download updates ahead of time (so they're not there for installation when I shut-down).

Is there a way to do this under Mountain Lion? I usually shut my computer down every night anyway so I don't want to have to restart specially only to then immediately shut-down. Even more annoying since I have FileVault 2 enabled, and since most devices simply don't work on the FileVault login screen I can't just shut-down from there, and powering off means you get to enjoy the slow recovery partition startup next time you switch the computer on. So yeah, a combination of minor issues makes this into a huge grievance any time I need to restart to install an update.

I don't understand why Apple don't just give us a "Shut Down" button alongside the "Restart" one; it would be so much simpler, as even the old method of choosing shut down normally and just hoping the updates will install was hardly intuitive.

 

[benwiggy]

For system updates, installers that don't require a restart will install when they have finished downloading.
Installers that require a restart can be installed at shutdown. There is usually a dialog that says "Not Now" | "Download & Restart" or similar.

If you press "Not Now", then when you Shutdown, you will be prompted to install the updates.

 

[haravikk]

If you press "Not Now", then when you Shutdown, you will be prompted to install the updates.

This is how it worked under Lion, but I can't seem to get it to do this at all via the Mac App Store; when I click "Not Now", nothing happens, the updates don't seem to download and when I shut-down (hours later) no updates are performed. This is the second system update requiring a restart that I've done and in both cases I had to choose restart in order to get it to work at all.

 

[benwiggy]

Something seems to be awry. Try a brand new admin account, and see if that makes a difference.

 

[jovada]

I'm having the same problem with the 10.9.1 update of Mavericks. I don't want to reboot to install the update.