One relatively common error that Mac users face is error 102. When error 102 occurs on your Mac, it can affect its overall performance, cause unexpected crashes, and some annoying error messages.
Here, we’ll try to explain what causes Mac error 102 before providing helpful troubleshooting tips.
This can happen to your Mac
Error code 102 usually occurs when updating apps or macOS on a Mac. More often than not, problems with priority files and kernel panic issues, problematic apps, or full startup disk usage cause Mac error 102.
When error code 102 appears on your Mac, it affects the overall performance of your machine. It will corrupt the file structure without warning and may cause system crash. Various error messages may also appear. These include “Could not find .dmg file”, “File not found” and “Access is denied”.
So, when updating apps or macOS, you may see the following error message indicating the origin of Mac error 102:
The [program name] The operation cannot be completed. An unexpected error occurred (error code 102)
Mac error 102 won’t go away automatically, several troubleshooting methods should be done to fix the problem.
Causes of Mac Error 102
There are several reasons why error 102 can occur on your Mac. Of course, there’s always the possibility that malware has infiltrated your Mac and caused error 102. So, as a good practice, always check if malware has attacked your Mac.
After you’ve fixed the malware (if you’ve found it), and you’re still getting the error 102 message, you may want to try some troubleshooting tips that may resolve the problem.
How to fix Mac error 102
The easiest way to fix error 102 is by using a Mac repair tool. These tools will scan your system to identify junk files. They can also remove broken app downloads and updates that may cause the error. In addition, the Mac repair tool removes unnecessary apps that are still on your computer. There is a chance that these apps are causing conflicts with your Mac’s system which may cause the mentioned error. Some of the Mac repair tools we recommend are Disk Drill, Disk Genius, and Onyx. All three apps support Intel-based and Apple Silicon Macs, but only Onyx is available for free.
1. Uninstall the app that caused the error
If you get error 102 after installing an app on your Mac, it’s best to uninstall the app immediately. That way, you won’t forget about that problematic app later. To uninstall the Mac app, you can do any of the three methods below.
- Move the application to the trash.
- Select an application and select File > Move to Trash from the menu bar.
- Select the application and press Command-Delete on your keyboard.
2. Delete the corrupted preference files
Another step you can do to fix Mac error 102 is to delete the corrupted priority files. macOS uses these files to tell apps how to run on your Mac. An error may appear if these files are corrupted. Often, preference files get damaged by moving them to the Thrash folder after uninstalling apps.
Here are the steps to remove the preference files associated with the apps you uninstalled.
- Go Finder > Go > Go to Folder
- type /library in the search field and press of return the key
- Take it preferences folder and move the desired files related to the app you uninstalled to the Trash.
3. Remove problematic apps from your Mac’s launcher
You should know that after starting or restarting your Mac, several applications open automatically. Although this is a useful feature of macOS, it can cause Mac error 102, especially if some of these applications are problematic. Hence, it is better to remove these problematic apps to avoid further errors. To clean up your Mac’s startup apps, follow the steps below.
- Go System Settings > General
- Click on it Login items > Select an item
- Click on it minus (-) sign button
- Restart your Mac
4. Delete junk/cache files
This is the standard method for solving various problems that your Mac encounters, including error 102. Unfortunately, there is no way to prevent these files from accumulating on your Mac. The good news is that removing these files is fairly easy, but it can become tedious if you don’t do it regularly.
- Open it Finder > Go to Folder
- Write ~/library/caches
- Delete the files in each cache folder
In addition to possibly solving the 102 error, regularly clearing cache files frees up much-needed space on your iMac.
5. Fix disk permissions through Disk Utility
Another reason for the Mac 102 error is a problem with disk permissions. Incorrect permissions must be corrected to avoid receiving an error message. Fixing a disk permissions problem also applies to other apps and files.
You can check disk permissions by running the Mac’s built-in Disk Utility. Follow the steps below to fix the disk permission.
- Open it Finder > Applications
- Double click utility services
- Double click Disk Utility
- Select Startup Disk > First Aid tab
- Click on it Repair disk permissions button
6. Reinstall macOS
If you’re getting Mac error 102 due to corrupted or damaged preference files, reinstalling macOS may resolve the error. To reinstall macOS on an Intel-based Mac or an Apple Silicon Mac, you must do so in recovery mode.
Follow the steps below to boot from macOS Recovery and reinstall macOS on your Intel-based Mac.
- Restart your Mac
- When the gray screen appears, press and hold Command + R
- on macOS Utilities Select in the menu Reinstall macOS Options
- Follow the on-screen instructions to reinstall macOS
And here are the steps to reinstall macOS on your Apple Silicon Mac.
- Turn on your Mac and press and hold the Power button until you see the Startup Options window
- Click on it mechanism labeled icon Option > Continue
- Click on it Reinstall macOS (version) Then click Continue
- Follow the instructions on the screen
After the reinstallation of macOS is complete, check if the Mac error 102 is fixed or not. If not, there is another possible fix.
7. Reset your Mac’s PRAM and SMC
If Mac error 102 appears due to hardware problems, the best way to solve it is to perform a hardware-based fix. For Intel-based Macs, you can reset the PRAM and SMC or System Management Controller. Before resetting the PRAM and SMC, make sure to back up all your data to an external hard drive. You will lose all this data after the reset process. So the only way to get your data back is to restore from a backup after resetting the PRAM/NVRAM and SMC on your Mac.
Here are the steps to reset PRAM/NVRAM:
- Turn off your Mac
- press Hello button and press and hold Command + P + R until your Mac restarts
- If the startup bell sounds twice, the PRAM and SMC are reset
To reset SMC, the steps are as follows:
- Turn off the computer.
- Unplug the computer’s power cord from both the wall outlet and the computer.
- Wait 15 seconds.
- Connect the computer’s power cord.
- Wait another 5 seconds and press the power button to turn on the iMac
If you are using an Apple Silicon Mac, the SMC is reset every time you reboot the system. For Non-Volatile RAM (NVRAM), there is no special command to execute the reset command. Several sources have said that NVRAM is reset every time the Mac is restarted from shutdown. This means that the memory is automatically reset in case of a problem.
It is. Following any or all of the steps above can resolve Mac error 102. Hopefully, you won’t see this annoying error again.