Hey Tom,
Read the TidBITS article.
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2018/04/17/macos-10-13-4-causing-installation-log-failures/
It may be more accurate to say that MacOS attempts to install 10.13.4 and flubs the job…
-Chris
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2018/04/17/macos-10-13-4-causing-installation-log-failures/
Ups, that article shows another generic problem, no? Nothing specific to any force-install of 10.13.4.
It may be more accurate to say that MacOS attempts to install
Different story then. (In my experience every OS tries/attempts to install its latest version. BSD/Linux/macOS/Windosw.)
Tom,
This is happening when people have turned OFF the auto-update settings...
Because of that it is very serious.
-Chris
Again, give me the links to the posts of that victims. (Not a link to generic, enormous tidbits thread)
Do your own work and read the TidBITS article. You don't have to read the discussion.
As said, I already skimmed thru the posts and didn’t find anything relevant, but —indeed I’m lazy— so I haven’t already read thru all the posts.
I thought, since you are so sure on the thing, that you could link me to 1,2,3 or four posts that are describing/documenting the issue (besides the main TB article). Would save me the hazzle to read through the mess.
And yes, I’ve read the TB article. But TB is not registered by me as a trustable source; but maybe I’m wrong? Anyways, that’s the reason I’m asking you for sources.
– Tom
“TidBITS – Thoughtful, detailed coverage of everything Apple for 28 years
and the TidBITS Content Network for Apple professionals”
There's a reason TidBITS is the longest running Internet newsletter in existence.
I've had personal correspondence now and then with the publisher Adam Engst for a large chunk of that time and can attest to his personal honesty and desire to get things right.
Adam himself was bit by this issue, and so was his son Tristan.
Since then many other instances have come to light.
If that's not good enough for you, it's your problem.
-Chris
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Chris,
i’m not a part of the US net culture, and so my knowledge there is limited.
I’m used to discover my trusted sources. A source is trusted when it is trusted by me. Content makes the difference. And I’m not going to rely on meta sources/certificators.
I’ll have a closer look at TB.
it’s your problem.
Well, just asked for sources. And you haven’t delivered.
So, I take this thread as closed, (or meaningless) or what?
Don’t get me wrong, Chris. When somebody like you recommends a site (TB) and classifies it as a trustable source, I definitly take this seriously.
It’s just, that site was/is not part of my trusted repertoire. So, it will not become a trusted site overnight. It may become a trusted site, depending on content I’ll see there.
(Your recommendation may help.)
So, posting links to various sources (not only TB) would be useful.
– Tom
@Tom,
Chris has done us a great service in providing a warning, an advisory, of a serious potential issue. He would not have posted it if he did not believe it, and it came from a source that he does trust, as do I.
He gave us a link to that source. From that point, if anyone wants to investigate further, to obtain more verification, then it is up to each person to do their own research.
I don’t think it is proper that you berate Chris because he won’t spoon-feed you.
Come on, Tom. You’re better than this. You know how to do research. So if you want more info, go get it. 
TidBITS is a fully trusted source (at least by any of us who have been on the Internet since the 90s).
I've stayed at Adam's house (he foolishly offered to put me up in the 90s if I ever came to the USA and was more than a little surprised when I wrote back with dates I'd be staying with him ;-). I've co-published an application with him. I would say Adam and TidBITS is probably the most trusted source there is on the Internet, certainly in the top few along with sites like Daring Fireball.
I'm looking forward to catching up with Adam, Tonya and Tristan in person later in the year as it's been far too long.
2 Likes
If the article is read carefully, notice there's nothing that explicitly states the failed installation was a 10.13.4 update. The author even says that:
I have little idea of what could be going on under the hood. Perhaps it’s related to the “Download newly available updates in the background” checkbox in System Preferences > App Store, although that was set differently on my two Macs. It might not even be connected to macOS 10.13.4 — perhaps the “macOS installation” that’s failing is related to the “Install system data files and security updates” checkbox, which should always remain selected....
If there's a mistake with the article, it's likely the title, "macOS 10.13.4 Causing Installation Log Failures," which is a statement unsupported by everything else the author wrote. Clearly, just from the number of people receiving that error there is some issue, but it may not be 10.13.4.