Mac OS X Server: Installation Appears Stopped at Erasing Disk

The installation process appears to be stopped while the disk is being erased. The progress bar does not move.

Solution

There is no user feedback while the disk is being erased so this is normal behavior. The time it takes to erase the disk depends upon the size of the UFS partition being created. Times over 15 minutes for 20 GB partitions are normal.

If visual feedback is desired, starting up in verbose mode causes the system to display the backup superblocks that are created. To do this, follow the steps below:

1. Start up from the installation CD into Mac OS 9.

2. Run the Mac OS X Server installer.

3. Click the Restart button at the end of this process.

4. Hold down the 'V' key to start up in verbose mode.