"Saddam Hussein" -- "I'm just hanging around"
Beekeeper (a friend it took me awhile to recognize)
A "problematic" hero and his blue-haired admirer
And the winner for scariest costume --
"Carrie"
A good time was had by all...
I've been trying to download El Capitan, the new Apple operating system, for over a week now. I'd go to the App store, click on the El Cap "download", leave it on overnight -- and it would never appear, and the "pause" button was blacked-out but it couldn't resume. That should have tipped me off that it would be more difficult to install on my MacBook Pro laptop than I'd imagined...I finally got the download to work, so I left the Mac on overnight, then when I woke up in the morning (about 2am again, natch) I checked the status. Still downloading...Then the power in the house momentarily flickered -- and the laptop screen went blank. Oh oh....I pushed the "on" button, the Mac powered up, the "apple screen" at the beginning appeared-- then the screen went blank again, the computer having shut itself off. Then it powered back on, the apple screen appeared once more -- then it shut itself off again. It was stuck in a loop...I thought my Mac was a goner. I had my iPad Mini for internet access, so I pondered my options, and decided to chat on Apple support. I was afraid it might cost me some money, as my warranty expired long ago. I got online on the Apple website, got on Chat, waited a few seconds -- and "Loralea" answered. (Whatever happened to names like John and Susan?) In case there are other Mac users out there who also try to download El Capitan, and have similar issues, here's a transcript of my session with her --
| Monday, Nov 02, 2015 04:54 AM
Duration: 33 minutes 9 seconds
Loralea:
Thanks for contacting AppleCare chat support. My name is Loralea. Please give me a moment to look over your information.
Loralea:
Hello Steve. How are you today?
sdw90731@gmail.com:
Hi Loralea.. I was doing well until this issue with El Capitan happened... :o(
Loralea:
Steve, I’m glad you were doing well before and hope you’re doing GREAT by the end of our chat
sdw90731@gmail.com:
Thanks! So do I...
Loralea:
Excellent!
Loralea:
I see from the notes that you had a power outage while installing El Capitan and now your Mac won’t startup. Is that right?
sdw90731@gmail.com:
Correct.I tried installing El Capitan, the power went out before the installation completed, then it went back on I tried powering up and at the first screen it's there for about 3 seconds, then shuts off and seems to be stuck in loop, with it shutting down, going back on to the first screen, then shutting off again.
Loralea:
Steve, you’ve reached the right place for help.
Loralea:
I’ve had a power outage before, too, while running an install, so I know how awkward that moment is when it doesn’t startup.
Loralea:
Let’s try something together now and see if we can get it to finish the install and start in Safe Mode.
sdw90731@gmail.com:
oK! Fire away!
Loralea:
Sure! First, to boot into Safe Mode, please make sure the Mac is powered off and connected to the power adapter
sdw90731@gmail.com:
It is.
Loralea:
Then press power and release. Press SHIFT and hold until you see the Apple logo and spinning gear. Release shift.
Loralea:
It will start up in Safe Mode and try to complete the install and startup cycle.
sdw90731@gmail.com:
Argh, not working. Still in loop.
Loralea:
No worries! We’ll move on to the next step together.
Loralea:
Thanks for trying that, Steve.
Loralea:
Now, let’s press power for 10 seconds to shut down.
Loralea:
We’ll boot into OS X Recovery which is reserved for Diagnostics and repair.
Loralea:
Please press Command + R + Option or Alt
Loralea:
Hold those keys as you press and release power
Loralea:
Continue pressing them until you see Choose your Language
sdw90731@gmail.com:
Since Internet recovery and has the spinning globe is that right
Loralea:
Yes!
Loralea:
Excellent!
Loralea:
Internet Recovery allows you to Reinstall OS X directly from Apple servers
sdw90731@gmail.com:
took my fingers off the keys, ok?
Loralea:
Based on what you’re seeing, the install was damaged during the power outage. Reinstalling OS X from Internet Recovery will get you a fresh version and should resolve your issues so you can get back to enjoying your Mac.
Loralea:
Yes. What do you see now?
sdw90731@gmail.com:
Spinning globe and small clock with changing time left...14 minutes now.
Loralea:
That’s perfect!
Loralea:
It’s picked up right where it left off then, Steve.
sdw90731@gmail.com:
So the El Capitan install will pick up where it left off?
sdw90731@gmail.com:
And I should boot up with no problems?
Loralea:
Correct. Has the minutes remaining decreased from 14 yet?
sdw90731@gmail.com:
Yes..But it flips between different times -- -9, 14, 10.. But seems to be about 10 minutes
Loralea:
Great! That’s expected behavior. It will go up and down as your internet speed and overall traffic to/from our end fluctuates
Loralea:
That tells us that you’re on track and it’s working to complete the download and installation.
sdw90731@gmail.com:
Ok! Keeping my fingers crossed...
Loralea:
Once this completes you’ll need to restart to extract and install the download, then your Mac should be ready to roll.
Loralea:
I know there are still a few steps that need to be completed, but I do want to ensure you’re satisfied with your support experience and confident you’re on track to get this resolved. Would you say you’re very satisfied with the support you’ve received from me?
sdw90731@gmail.com:
Thanks , Loralea! Yep, if this did it, the I'm very excited! You made my day! Any way I can recommend you-- survey, etc?
Loralea:
You’re very welcome! :) Thanks for your kind words.
Loralea:
Since you asked, you may receive a survey via email in the next few days.
Loralea:
They are sent out at random.
Loralea:
And here is my boss’ email address: jarebalo@apple.com
Loralea:
His first name is Josh.
Loralea:
You made my day!
sdw90731@gmail.com:
Cool! I'll print this out now. :o)
Loralea:
Great! Hope you have a wonderful week and very happy holidays
Loralea:
Thank you for chatting with me today! It was a pleasure to work with you. If you think of something else you'd like to ask, just chat us back, we’ll be here for you 24/7 every day @ https://getsupport.apple.com/ If you have any other questions, please let me know. Otherwise I’ll be closing our chat very soon. Thank you for choosing Apple! I wish you all the best in life! :)
sdw90731@gmail.com:
Any other things that my 'Mac will go through, or is that all?
Loralea:
That’s essentially it. I’m emailing you an article that explains how Internet Recovery works.
Loralea:
After the download completes, simply follow the on-screen prompts and you’ll be enjoying El Capitan within the hour.
Loralea:
Install takes about 12-15 minutes, depending on your processing speed.
sdw90731@gmail.com:
Great! Considering I thought my Mac was dead, you saved it.
sdw90731@gmail.com:
Thumbs up!
Loralea:
I love it that our engineers designed our Macs to heal themselves if we know the right buttons to press.
Loralea:
They’re the heroes behind the scenes.
sdw90731@gmail.com:
Yep, something that other system can't do...
Loralea:
The email is the on the way now, Steve.
sdw90731@gmail.com:
Your boss Josh will be hearing from me...
Loralea:
Thanks so much. I appreciate your kind words more than you know.
sdw90731@gmail.com:
Thanks ! And you have. Great day too, Loralea!
Loralea: Thanks. :) Take care, Steve!
The plain, unvarnished experience...And I really did shoot an e-mail to her boss, "Josh", about how helpful Loralea was and that I highly recommended her, as she saved me from buying a new Mac and spending over a thousand dollars that I really can't afford to spend now. So once again, as it has been since the deer got in front of my truck nearly a year ago on Highway 80 here as I was on my way to check out Faranuf, events that start out as a disaster have had a positive ending...
Besides that, it was a quiet day as I was recuperating from the long day hike the day before. So here are a few photos from a year ago, November 2 2014, when I was on my last day at Highlands RV Park in Bishop, California, having just completed a Fall Colors chase there --
First Light on the Sierra at Buttermilk Road
A Red-tailed Hawk with the Snowy White Mountains in the background
The Owens River
Tundra I and Discovery I ready to leave for Overton, Nevada
As I always say -- Tempus Fugit (Time Flies)...
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