Advice for solving problems getting X 10.0.3 to install

From Apple Tom Vineyard received the following advice from Apple Tech Support on how to update to Mac OS X 10.0.3 - if the Installer refuses to update for some reason:

The 10.0.1 update looks for the Essentials.pkg and the 10.0.1Update.pkg in the /Library/Receipts folder to determine if needs to be installed. A missing or damaged Essentials.pkg may cause issues with the install of the update. To solve this, trash the Essentials.pkg and the 10.0.1Update.pkg (if it is there) and reinstall the Essentials.pkg form the Install CD. To do this:

1. Insert the OS X CD in the CD Drive.
2. Browse to /System/Installation/Packages on the CD.
3. Double click on the Essentials.pkg.
4. Authenticate and install the package.
5. After it finishes, restart the machine.
6. Run the Software Updater 1.3.1.
7. Run the 10.0.1Update.pkg.
8. Now try to install the 10.0.1 and 10.0.3 updates in order.

From a reader Terry Sullivan describes a different work-around: "After what appeared to be a successful install of 10.0.3, my computer would not reboot and only had a disk image on screen. Solution: I booted from my OS 9.1 disk, went to the Library>Receipts folder and removed the 10.0.3update.pkg file. I reset Startup Disk to OS X and rebooted successfully."

Ordinarily, we would not recommend this, as the pkg file is needed so that OS X recognizes what updates have been installed. It might pay trying to reinstall OS X 10.0.3 at this point, to get the pkg file to return. [Note: Terry tried to do this but the updater claimed that the update had already been installed, even though the pkg file was gone!] We are still investigating this issue. In any case, we offer the advice as a potential work-around for those who are otherwise stuck.