Unable to Update Mojave 10.14.1 to 10.14.6 on MacBook Pro mid-2014

[macarthurdent]

My 15 inch MacBook Pro mid-2014 is stuck on Mojave 10.14.1 apparently because my drive is HFS-formatted. When I try to install the Update I'm told that I can only install macOS on APFS drives. Is there any way I can fix this problem? I don't want to try reformatting my Mac HDD without expert advice that it's ok to do that. Meanwhile, there are security risks staying on 10.14.1 so I want to resolve this as soon as possible.

 

[jbarley]

Several members here have, and some still do run Mojave on HPFS formatted drives, just needs an extra step to get the updates done.
Have a read through this thread, it pretty much explains what is needed.

 

[theapplehead]

My 15 inch MacBook Pro mid-2014 is stuck on Mojave 10.14.1 apparently because my drive is HPFS-formatted. When I try to install the Update I'm told that I can only install macOS on APFS drives. Is there any way I can fix this problem? I don't want to try reformatting my Mac HDD without expert advice that it's ok to do that. Meanwhile, there are security risks staying on 10.14.1 so I want to resolve this as soon as possible.

You would be perfectly fine to format your HDD as APFS provided you’ve completed a full backup of your computer. There should be no concern for causing any harm/damage to your Mac by formatting the drive and reinstalling macOS.

 

[Fishrrman]

Something you could try (NO promises, but worth a try):

1. Download CarbonCopyCloner:

Download CCC | Bombich Software

www.bombich.com

CCC is FREE to download and use for 30 days, this will cost you nothing.

2. Use CCC to create a bootable cloned backup of your current Mojave 10.14.1 to a USB3 external drive

3. BOOT FROM the cloned backup on the external drive (hold down the option key at boot to invoke the startup manager)

4. Open disk utility. Go to the view menu and choose "show all devices".

5. Now, ERASE the internal drive to APFS.

6. Next, use CCC to "RE-clone" the contents of the external drive BACK TO the internal drive.

7. Now you should have the internal drive at APFS with 10.14.1 up-and-running.

8. NOW try to apply the 10.14.6 update.

Again, no promises....

 

[macarthurdent]

Something you could try (NO promises, but worth a try):

1. Download CarbonCopyCloner:

Download CCC | Bombich Software

www.bombich.com

CCC is FREE to download and use for 30 days, this will cost you nothing.

2. Use CCC to create a bootable cloned backup of your current Mojave 10.14.1 to a USB3 external drive

3. BOOT FROM the cloned backup on the external drive (hold down the option key at boot to invoke the startup manager)

4. Open disk utility. Go to the view menu and choose "show all devices".

5. Now, ERASE the internal drive to APFS.

6. Next, use CCC to "RE-clone" the contents of the external drive BACK TO the internal drive.

7. Now you should have the internal drive at APFS with 10.14.1 up-and-running.

8. NOW try to apply the 10.14.6 update.

Again, no promises....

Thanks Fishrrman! I purchased CCC a few years back so that's already on my Mac. That method looks promising. I'm currently talking to a Senior Apple Tech who has a slightly different plan so I will mention this to him and see if we can decide which is the best way to go. I'll update this post as soon as we decide what to do.

 

[saudor]

You should be able to do it from recovery too. (holding CMD+R on startup etc)
But of course, make sure you backup your stuff just in case