Once, whenever things started going wrong and we didn’t have any better ideas, we would repair permissions. Thanks to El Capitan’s SIP – and the fact that this has not been of much help for some years – that is no longer available. In its place comes applying the latest Combo update.
The Direct Download Links of OS X El Capitan 10.11.5 Final Setup / Delta / Combo Update Installer.DMG Files are also available below for manual installation using iTunes. OS X El Capitan 10.11.5 Features: Apple has brought many useful changes with addition of new functionalities in OS X 10.11.5 Update, which you can read in image below. Download and install the OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 Combo Update or 10.12.6 Combo Update or Download macOS High Sierra 10.13.3 Combo Update as needed. Reinstall OS X by booting from the Recovery HD using the Command and R keys. When the Utility Menu appears select Reinstall OS X then click on the Continue button. Erase and Install OS X Restart the. If upgrading from macOS Sierra or later, your Mac needs 35.5GB of available storage to upgrade. If upgrading from an earlier release, your Mac needs up to 44.5GB of available storage. To upgrade from OS X Mountain Lion, first upgrade to OS X El Capitan, then upgrade to macOS Big Sur. Double-click the Mac OS X Update Combo package file (it looks like a little box or package) found on the mounted disk image. Click Continue and walk through the update installer as usual. Select the target hard drive for the Combo Update to be installed onto (typically the Macintosh HD startup disk) and click “Install”. Jul 18, 2016 This update is recommended for all OS X El Capitan users. The OS X El Capitan v10.11.6 Update improves the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac, and is recommended for all users. This update: Resolves an issue that may prevent settings from being saved in accounts with parental controls enabled.
The theory is simple and fairly sound.
Apple provides two forms of each update to OS X: an incremental, or Delta, version which takes it up a single step, for example from 10.11.3 to 10.11.4, and a combined, or Combo, version which includes all the updates since the last major release, for example from 10.11.0 to 10.11.4. Normally we update using the App Store, which provides the Delta version. If you have a lot of Macs to update, Apple also provides a separate installer disk image which you can download and use for each Mac.
If your Mac has gone step by step up to 10.11.4, there is a chance that somewhere along the line, the update may not have worked perfectly, or some system files have become a bit munged. Applying the latest Combo updater is usually much less disruptive than re-installing the whole of OS X, so it is a good trick to try to solve problems which appear resistant to everything else – and is quickly becoming a universal panacea.
Even with a relatively slow internet connection, it is not too painful or time-consuming: the current 10.11.4 Combo updater is just under 2 GB, and can be far quicker to install than even a single Delta update. You’ll find it here. If you need to locate another Combo updater, just enter the version of OS X which you want to end up with and the word ‘Combo’ in a search of Apple’s Support site, and it should appear at the top of the hits.
Once downloaded, open the disk image to mount it, and run the Installer package. With a Fusion Drive, it should take but a few minutes, then restarts your Mac and puts you straight back into the Finder as you left it, without even having to log in again.
But the job is not quite complete: there are a couple more tasks which you need to do before this refresh update is done. First, you need to open the App Store app and check for updates, in case applying the Combo update has reverted any regular components that came with it. If, for example, there had been an interim update to Safari since that full OS X update, then you would need to re-apply that interim update, which the App Store should do.
There is also the interesting issue of Apple’s XProtect and other security configuration files, which are normally updated silently. Look at the list of updates installed by opening About This Mac, clicking on the System Report… button to open System Information, then selecting the Installations item in the Software list at the left. List the items by Install Date by clicking in that header, and order them from most recent at the top (you may need to click a second time in the Install Date header for that). Until you see a list with those normally silent updates, your Mac is vulnerable.
This is because the Combo update reverts XProtect and other configuration files to those which came with that update, not the most recent. To bring that protection up to date, you will now need to force those to be updated, rather than leave your Mac to catch up in its own good time, which may be during the next night.
There are two methods which should force those to be updated: you can open the App Store pane, uncheck the Install system data files and security updates item, switch to another pane, then back to the App Store pane. Turn that item back on, then click on the Check Now button below.
That may not always work. If it does not, open Terminal and enter the following command from an admin user account:sudo softwareupdate --background-critical
press Return, then at the prompt, enter your admin account password. Terminal will then reportsoftwareupdate[1587]: Triggering background check with forced scan (critical and config-data updates only) ...
and in the next couple of minutes, the updates should be downloaded and installed. Check by opening System Information and looking for those updates, which will be more recent than your OS X Combo update.
Note that if you browse the man page for softwareupdate, you will not see this option listed there, but it does work in El Capitan.
I hope that applying a Combo update fixes your problems.
macOS Big Sur elevates the most advanced desktop operating system in the world to a new level of power and beauty. Experience Mac to the fullest with a refined new design. Enjoy the biggest Safari update ever. Discover new features for Maps and Messages. And get even more transparency around your privacy.
Check compatibility
macOS Big Sur is compatible with the following computers. If your Mac isn't compatible, you might be able to install an old version of macOS instead.
MacBook introduced in 2015 or later
MacBook Air introduced in 2013 or later
MacBook Pro introduced in late 2013 or later
Mac mini introduced in 2014 or later
iMac introduced in 2014 or later
iMac Pro
Mac Pro introduced in 2013 or later
View the complete list of compatible computers.
If upgrading from macOS Sierra or later, your Mac needs 35.5GB of available storage to upgrade. If upgrading from an earlier release, your Mac needs up to 44.5GB of available storage. To upgrade from OS X Mountain Lion, first upgrade to OS X El Capitan, then upgrade to macOS Big Sur.
Download macOS Big Sur
If you're using macOS Mojave or later, get macOS Big Sur via Software Update: Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Software Update.
Or use this link to open the macOS Big Sur page on the App Store: Get macOS Big Sur. Then click the Get button or iCloud download icon.
Install macOS Big Sur
After downloading, the installer opens automatically. Click Continue and follow the onscreen instructions.
Please allow installation to complete without putting your Mac to sleep or closing its lid. During installation, it might restart and show a progress bar or blank screen several times. You might find it easiest to begin installation in the evening so that it can complete overnight, if needed.
Stay up to date
El Capitan Camping
After installing macOS Big Sur, you will be notified when updates to macOS Big Sur are available. To check for updates, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Software Update.