The dangers in continuing to work while system updates run
Common sense would indicate that when you computer is running system updates, you should not continue working with your operating system or third party applications like Quark Xpress or DreamWeaver. Continuing to use software on the computer while updates are running can cause issues with updates failing, incomplete installation of updates, and possible damage to the operating system. Your computer may not boot up on a restart.
While reading online, I found that MacFixIt reader Eric offers a perfect example of how things can go wrong if you fail to abstain from other operations while the update is installing:
I was working on some Latex documents while at some point my Mac (MBP) asked me to install an upgrade. I said yes and kept on working… then, I got a message saying that the update had failed. I thought, OK, no problem, I’ll retry later. But then I went back to the terminal and nothing was working. All command in the terminal gave an “illegal instruction” as return… I started to panic, and restarted the machine. Except that it never restarted. Since then I still cannot reboot. It stays at the gray screen stage of the boot process.
Generally speaking, the risk of a complete system failure is rare. However, the time it takes to rebuild you OS and restore your files, applications, print drivers, settings and preferences can be significant. Bottom line…be careful when doing updates.
This article was written by Perry Lund on Sunday, October 29, 2006. Permalink.