Apple. Not the stock.

Crash

So, A notification pops up on my Mac. Update available. Want it now? Or later? OK, now.

...CRASH. The sumbitchin' thing refuses to complete. It just won't ever finish updating. Black screen. Took it to the Apple store. Come back tomorrow. (Crap. Why are you still OPEN, then?????) ...I came back the next day. Come back later, leave it with us. (FUCK YOU!) ...OK, I get the call. Come and get it, it's ready. Sure, it's all brand new and upgraded with the very latest OS. And everything else is GONE. I can't even get into a couple of my email accounts. No explanations, no apologies, nothing. Why shouldn't you be happy, Mr. Customer? We "fixed" your computer. Blthering buncha scum-lickers. DO NOT LET APPLE "update" your laptop!!!!!!!!!

hank

Sorry to hear of your problems @Crash. I’ve had good luck with many different Apple products. But updates (every few weeks now) were a serious obstacle until I got good wifi at the house. Devices would attempt (automatically) to update using cellular based wifi and than freeze up!

When issues do occur, I search the web for ideas rather than seeking outside help. Their phone tech support is spotty. In addition, they seem to always want to connect online to my computer so they can view the screen as we troubleshoot and often that involves entering my apple id / password while they watch. A non-starter for me,

Re: “Everything is gone.” Hopefully you saved the computer’s entire contents to Apple’s cloud. Most newer devices save the contents to the cloud automatically every few days unless you turn the feature off. With good wifi, saving or downloading your computer ‘s entire contents takes just a few minutes. Wonder if they reset everything thinking you would be able to download from the cloud?

I have my own issue with a 5+ year old Garmin GPS which sees a lot of use when I rent cars while traveling. Today I established a good connection thru my MacBook with “Garmin Express” and began the normal map update process. But was told the device’s internal memory wasn’t sufficient any longer. There was a recommendation I insert an SD memory card. But the device has no slot for such. The only slot is for the power cord.

Added: Just ordered a new Garmin from Amazon. Around $150 and has wifi for easy map updates. 5+ years isn’t bad for any device. And if it saves me from getting lost returning a rental car to the airport it’s well worth it!

Old_Joe

I'm not the least bit surprised. I've always been an Apple person, but as far as I'm concerned they lost my appreciation and confidence years ago as they started becoming more and more intrusive with respect to them deciding how my computer should work.

I'm still using OS 10.11.6, "El Capitan", configured exactly the way that I want it. Fuck Apple and their big-brother updates.

BenWP

Updates are a frequent headache. One of our iMacs refuses to move up to Monterey. One way to avoid the black screen problem is to do small, incremental updates, rather than a big upgrade. From your description, @Crash, it sounds as though your drive (solid state or hard drive) got corrupted.

@hank: the 3 rental cars we have had this year worked on the cars' screen with Google Maps, either thru Bluetooth or cable to access Apple AirPlay on my iPhone 8. I have relegated the old Garmin to the electronics recycling bin.

hank

@BenWP -

Thanks. I’m far behind. Just beginning to use Google maps for taking walks in distant cities after getting hopelessly lost once. A call to the hotel front desk saved the day or I might still be wandering. As far as rental cars go … I have enough difficulty figuring out how to turn the headlights on at night - let alone messing with their screen. On the last one, somebody had activated the heated drivers seat in Florida. Finally figured out how to switch it off after baking for 3 hours.

PS - I don’t look at the screen driving. But am very good at following audible directions. Hope they keep making these Garmins for many years. Great driving companion.

I’ll overlook the “heresy” from @Old_Joe. I love Apple. In the last 18 months have purchased 3 new products. Mac, Air, Mini. Also have 2 iphones, one of which stays in the house and replaces the old landline. But, hey, whatever floats your boat!

Old_Joe

We run a fleet of 5 Minis and 3 G5s. The machinery works just fine. Unlike many users, I use CAD programs, professional Filemaker data base programs, and the older Claris Works spreadsheet and drawing suite. iTunes contains over 21,000 audio tracks on three external hard drives.

I have work product going back over 30 years, and a well developed filing system to keep track of all of that stuff. I sure as hell don't need Apple arbitrarily deciding that those programs and apps will no longer run on my computers just because some twenty-year old genius thinks that I should be running whatever toys are new.

Apple has lost all respect for their serious users.

hank

+1

Old_Joe

Having been with Apple since my first Mac+, I long ago learned to keep the operating system and all of my work files completely separate. That way if the OS becomes corrupted, it can be replaced without any impact on the work files.

Because the work files are in a world of their own, it is very easy to maintain a backup for those. The old G5s support two completely separate internal hard drives. Each hard drive contains two partitions- the OS, and everything else. This makes backup extremely easy.

The Minis have only the one hard drive, but with two partitions. A small portable external hard drive with two identical partitions is used for backup. Every week, after backup, the external drive is taken to our Russian River home, where it is used to update the computer there. More backup.

Backup is a serious business: hard drives can and do fail without warning- they are fast-spinning electro-mechanical devices, with bearings subject to wear and tear like any device with moving parts. And of course, there's always Apple, ever-ready to destroy your computer with an unneeded new "upgrade". Been there, done that. Never again.