The macOS Catalina installation takes some time so don’t restart ahead of when the setup screen pops up, but based on a multitude of reports, resetting in this way if it gets stuck appears.
macOS installation problem happens all the time. After downloading the macOS installer, you try to install the macOS Catalina/Mojave, macOS Sierra or High Sierra but the installation get stuck. The progress bar has been stuck at 40% or something, showing: 'Installation is in progress. Calculating time remaining..'
If your macOS update also get stuck at 'Installation is in progress. Calculating time remaining..' Here shows you how to confirm if the installation is still going on and how to complete the update successfully.
People Also Read:
Sometimes, it just takes a very long time for you MacBook or iMac to install the macOS Sierra or High Sierra update. So it doesn't necessarily mean that the macOS installation is frozen when the Mac stay at “20 minutes remaining” for two hours. And forcing restarting a Mac during OS installation may cause data loss. Therefore, before taking further action, press Command + L , which will open the log file and shows you if the installation is still going on and the amount of time left.
If you confirm that the installation is frozen, try the following methods to fix.
Hold down the power button to power off the Mac. Then restart the Mac. After the Mac reboots, try to install the macOS Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra again.
If the installation get stuck when you try to update the Mac from Mac App Store, you may download macOS software from Apple website, which is the Combo updater which includes all the files required to update the macOS.
Another way to install Catalina, Mojave, Sierra or High Sierra successfully is to install the macOS in safe mode. To get your Mac into Safe mode:
As you Mac start up, hold down the Shift key until the Apple logo appears.When you Mac is in Safe mode, go to App Store and get the High Sierra update.
If the Sierra or High Sierra installation is still won't complete in Safe mode, you can try to reset the NVRAM. NVRAM is a memory section on your Mac that store data like volume settings, screen resolution.
To reset the NVRAM on Mac, restart Mac and hold down Command + Option + P + R.The Mac will restart with options in NVRAM resetting. Now try to update your Mac.
This will help you to install macOS Sierra or High Sierra and newer versions, without data loss.
Restart your mac and hold down the Command + R to boot your Mac into Recovery mode.
Click Disk Utility and choose First Aid for your startup drive.
Restart the Mac again when this time, press Command + Option + R to get your Mac in Internet Recovery mode.
Choose Install a new copy of MAC OS and wait for the installation to complete.
If you have a Time Machine backup, restore your Mac from the backup in Recovery mode. After the restoration, try to install the macOS again.
Feb 24, 2016 The Disk Utility advanced options of El Capitan are hidden and you needed, first: Quit Disk Utility. Open the Terminal utility. Run the following Command: defaults write com.apple.DiskUtility advanced-image-options 1. Relaunch Disk Utility. And now, just format your USB with MBR Partition (Master boot record) and exFAT file System. Aug 21, 2019 Mac OS X El Capitan: Being the 12th major release of macOS, Mac OS X El Capitan belongs to the Macintosh-Unix family of OS.It was majorly released for server OS for Macintosh computers and Apple Inc.’s desktop. Being the successor of OS X. Create a New Virtual Machine. Now, everything is ready to go, so at first, you will need to create a new Virtual Machine and for that open Virtualbox and click the New menu from the top of the window. Create a New Virtual Machine. Now in this step, you have to give a proper name to the new Virtual machine as I have given OS X El Capitan. Here’s how to Create Bootable USB Installer for macOS X El Capitan on Windows. After the TransMac is installed, open it up. Once it’s there, insert the USB drive and right-click on the USB drive and select Restore with Disk Image. Choose Restore with Disk Image.
May 15, 2020 Use Terminal to Create the El Capitan Bootable USB Installer Connect the USB flash drive to your Mac. Give the flash drive an appropriate name. You can do this by double-clicking the device’s name on the desktop and then typing a new name.
If none of the above methods work for your Mac, you can try to clean install the macOS Sierra or High Sierra from external drive. Here is the complete guide of how to clean install macOS High Sierra on Mac.
After fixing the frozen macOS installation issue, you may found some files missing on your Mac. If so, you can use FonePaw Data Recovery to recover the deleted data from Mac. The program can restore the missing documents, photos and more from hard drive, SD card, USB drive on Mac and Windows PC. Download the Mac version of FonePaw Data Recovery to have a try.
DownloadDownload
Step 1. Run the program.
Step 2. Select one or all categories: photos, videos, audio, documents, email or others. Then select the hard drive of your Mac. Click Scan.
Step 3. Once the scanning is stopped, you can view the deleted files and choose the needed one to recover to your Mac.

If the macOS installation on your Mac is still stuck or frozen, describe the problem below.
macOS Catalina gives you more of everything you love about Mac. Experience music, TV, and podcasts in three all-new Mac apps. Enjoy your favorite iPad apps now on your Mac. Extend your workspace and expand your creativity with iPad and Apple Pencil. And discover smart new features in the apps you use every day. Now you can take everything you do above and beyond.
If you're using one of these computers with OS X Mavericks or later,* you can install macOS Catalina. Your Mac also needs at least 4GB of memory and 12.5GB of available storage space, or up to 18.5GB of storage space when upgrading from OS X Yosemite or earlier.
MacBook introduced in 2015 or later
MacBook Air introduced in 2012 or later
MacBook Pro introduced in 2012 or later
Mac mini introduced in 2012 or later
iMac introduced in 2012 or later
iMac Pro (all models)
Mac Pro introduced in 2013 or later
* To upgrade from Lion or Mountain Lion, first upgrade to El Capitan, then upgrade to Catalina. To find your macOS version, Mac model, memory, and storage space, choose About This Mac from the Apple menu . If your Mac isn't compatible with macOS Catalina, the installer will let you know. View the complete list of compatible computers.
Before installing any upgrade, it’s a good idea to back up your Mac. Time Machine makes it simple, and other backup methods are also available. Learn how to back up your Mac.
It takes time to download and install macOS, so make sure that you have a reliable Internet connection. If you're using a Mac notebook computer, plug it into AC power.
If you're using macOS Mojave, get macOS Catalina via Software Update: Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Software Update.
Or use this link to open the macOS Catalina page on the App Store: Get macOS Catalina. Then click the Get button or iCloud download icon.
After downloading, the installer opens automatically.
Click Continue and follow the onscreen instructions. You might find it easiest to begin installation in the evening so that it can complete overnight, if needed.
If the installer asks for permission to install a helper tool, enter the administrator name and password that you use to log in to your Mac, then click Add Helper.

Please allow installation to complete without putting your Mac to sleep or closing its lid. Your Mac might restart, show a progress bar, or show a blank screen several times as it installs both macOS and related updates to your Mac firmware.
After installing macOS Catalina, you will be notified when updates to macOS Catalina are available. You can also use Software Update to check for updates: Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Software Update.
If you're using OS X El Capitan v10.11.5 or later and your App Store preferences or Software Update preferences are set to download new updates when available, macOS Catalina will download conveniently in the background, making it even easier to upgrade. A notification will inform you when macOS Catalina is ready to be installed. Click Install to get started, or dismiss the notification to install later. When you're ready to install, just open the file named Install macOS Catalina from your Applications folder.