I’m getting some other information which may be of use. It appears installd is actually crashing :
Process: installd [23293]
Path: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/PackageKit.framework/Versions/A/Resources/installd
Identifier: installd
Version: ??? (???)
Code Type: X86-64 (Native)
Parent Process: installd [23287]
Date/Time: 2012-05-04 07:50:20.294 -0700
OS Version: Mac OS X 10.7.3 (11D2001)
Report Version: 9
External Modification Summary:
Calls made by other processes targeting this process:
task_for_pid: 0
thread_create: 0
thread_set_state: 0
Calls made by this process:
task_for_pid: 0
thread_create: 0
thread_set_state: 0
Calls made by all processes on this machine:
task_for_pid: 41465
thread_create: 1
thread_set_state: 0
VM Region Summary:
ReadOnly portion of Libraries: Total=76.0M resident=44.9M(59%) swapped_out_or_unallocated=31.2M(41%)
Writable regions: Total=69.5M written=148K(0%) resident=2396K(3%) swapped_out=0K(0%) unallocated=67.2M(97%)
REGION TYPE VIRTUAL
=========== =======
MALLOC 40.9M
MALLOC guard page 32K
MALLOC_LARGE (reserved) 15.8M reserved VM address space (unallocated)
STACK GUARD 4K
Stack 68.6M
VM_ALLOCATE 68K
__DATA 3548K
__LINKEDIT 47.6M
__TEXT 28.4M
__UNICODE 544K
mapped file 15.6M
shared memory 12K
=========== =======
TOTAL 221.0M
TOTAL, minus reserved VM space 205.3M
Here’s a link with detailed instructions on installing the USB to Serial cable on OS X. Follow these steps and if it fails, tell me where in the procedure it failed and what the outcome was.
The install fails between steps :
* Installing should start (takes a couple of minutes to complete)
* When it’s done you should see this:
What I get is :
“The installation failed. The installer encountered an error that caused the installation to fail. Contact the software manufacturer for assistance.”
Here are the console logs from start to finish :
5/4/12 9:26:58.672 AM Installer: @(#)PROGRAM:Install PROJECT:Install-686.3
5/4/12 9:26:58.672 AM Installer: @(#)PROGRAM:Installer PROJECT:Installer-530
5/4/12 9:26:58.672 AM Installer: Hardware: MacBookAir4,1 @ 1.60 GHz (x 4), 4096 MB RAM
5/4/12 9:26:58.673 AM Installer: Running OS Build: Mac OS X 10.7.3 (11D2001)
5/4/12 9:26:58.742 AM Installer: Prolific USB to Serial Cable driver v1.4.0 for Mac OS X Installation Log
5/4/12 9:26:58.742 AM Installer: Opened from: /Volumes/PL2303_1.4.0/PL2303_1.4.0.pkg
5/4/12 9:27:00.029 AM Installer: InstallerStatusNotifications plugin loaded
5/4/12 9:27:06.920 AM Installer: ================================================================================
5/4/12 9:27:06.920 AM Installer: User picked Standard Install
5/4/12 9:27:06.920 AM Installer: Choices selected for installation:
5/4/12 9:27:06.920 AM Installer: Install: “Prolific USB to Serial Cable driver v1.4.0 for Mac OS X”
5/4/12 9:27:06.921 AM Installer: ================================================================================
5/4/12 9:27:06.958 AM Installer: Configuring volume “Macintosh HD”
5/4/12 9:27:06.974 AM Installer: Free space on “Macintosh HD”: 86.72 GB (86724878336 bytes).
5/4/12 9:27:06.974 AM Installer: Create temporary directory “/var/folders/f_/9ll1hpl934z7h0ngz6cjzzmh0000gn/T//Install.23515jsruQG”
5/4/12 9:27:06.981 AM Installer: IFPKInstallElement (1 packages)
5/4/12 9:27:07.029 AM authorizationhost: SFBuiltinEntitled: Installer.app is not entitled for system.install.apple-software
5/4/12 9:27:07.062 AM authorizationhost: SFBuiltinEntitled: Installer.app is not entitled for system.install.app-store-software
5/4/12 9:27:07.091 AM authorizationhost: SFBuiltinEntitled: Installer.app is not entitled for system.install.app-store-software
5/4/12 9:27:07.093 AM com.apple.SecurityServer: Failed to authorize right ‘system.install.app-store-software’ by client ‘/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/PackageKit.framework/Versions/A/Resources/installd’ [23520] for authorization created by ‘/System/Library/CoreServices/Installer.app’ [23515]
5/4/12 9:27:07.096 AM installd: PackageKit: ----- Begin install -----
5/4/12 9:27:08.982 AM xpchelper: could not open dyld map file: (null)
5/4/12 9:27:09.469 AM installd: PackageKit: Install Failed: Error Domain=PKInstallErrorDomain Code=112 “An error occurred while running scripts from the package “PL2303_1.4.0”.” UserInfo=0x7fbcd9d7f530 {NSFilePath=./preflight, NSURL=file://localhost/Volumes/PL2303_1.4.0/PL2303_1.4.0.pkg, PKInstallPackageIdentifier=com.prolific.driver.PL2303, NSLocalizedDescription=An error occurred while running scripts from the package “PL2303_1.4.0”.} {
NSFilePath = “./preflight”;
NSLocalizedDescription = “An error occurred while running scripts from the package \U201cPL2303_1.4.0\U201d.”;
NSURL = “file://localhost/Volumes/PL2303_1.4.0/PL2303_1.4.0.pkg”;
PKInstallPackageIdentifier = “com.prolific.driver.PL2303”;
}
5/4/12 9:27:09.506 AM ReportCrash: Saved crash report for installd[23526] version ??? (???) to /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/installd_2012-05-04-092709_localhost.crash
5/4/12 9:27:10.107 AM Installer: Install failed: The Installer encountered an error that caused the installation to fail. Contact the software manufacturer for assistance.
5/4/12 9:27:10.261 AM Installer: IFDInstallController F1D3BA80 state = 7
5/4/12 9:27:10.261 AM Installer: Displaying ‘Install Failed’ UI.
5/4/12 9:27:10.263 AM Installer: ‘Install Failed’ UI displayed message:‘The Installer encountered an error that caused the installation to fail. Contact the software manufacturer for assistance.’.
5/4/12 9:27:10.270 AM Installer: The Installer encountered an error that caused the installation to fail. Contact the software manufacturer for assistance.
I also attempted to “null” out the preflight script by basically just making it return (exit 0) immediately, and that is what caused the crash I previously mentioned (sorry, hadn’t had my coffee yet).
There were a few repairs, to /Applications, but the repairs did not change the state of the installer.
FYI, this is a nearly brand new Mac Book Air, if that helps. I bought it less than a month ago.
As a point of reference, another coworker, using the same device, could install the drivers under 10.7.3, but I cannot. I asked him to review what I was doing, to be sure, but he had no suggestions. If it helps, I’d be happy to take a screencast just to rule out PEBCAK.
In Google-ing your error message I’ve found a number of references to similar problems with different applications so I think we can rule out PEBCAK. We’re still looking for a solution and will post back when we have more to share.
Also, be sure to let us know if you find a fix or a work around.
Interestingly, I have attempted to use this device (and install process) on an iMac I have at home and am receiving the same error. I’m inclined to think that a recent patch (between the time my coworker installed the drivers and now, so 2-3 months?) has somehow disabled this.
Another option is the errors pertaining to the installer itself, and it’s interaction with the appstore. Sadly, I’ve previously run into this problem when attempting to install XCode (via the appstore). I was unable to use standard installers while the appstore was *attempting* to install an application (my problem was caused by a “paused” installer blocking attempts to install other software).
I’ll futz around with the appstore and settings and make sure it’s not unique to my computer(s).
Hi Matt - Thanks for double-checking what you can there by doing that! For now, we don’t have another report of the same thing you’re seeing, but it may be that you’re on the bleeding edge of something that will hit a lot of people soon – so we definitely want to understand what you’re seeing, and find the solution.
We’ll keep looking on this side for anything that might explain things.
One last blurb! It installs fine on my wife’s mac mini, so it’s very likely this is something I installed interfering with the install process. Let me know if I can help.
That’s great to know! OK - that gives us something clear to research (how an install can be interfered with by something else on the system). We’ll dig in and get back to you. Thank you for your patience!
NP. Also, the only two machines I have successfully known of this being installed on are Mac Mini’s, but… that seems strange. Anyway, thanks for working on it!