This post is a bit of a deviation from my usual posts, but it falls into the something-that-bit-me-that-might-bite-you-too-so-here’s-how-to-fix-it category.

I recently upgraded to Snow Leopard by doing an erase and install. After getting everything back up and running I realized that I still needed to install iLife. I popped in disc 2 of my MacBook Pro install DVDs and proceeded to open the Install Bundled Software installer. After customizing my options I hit the install button and waited. And waited. And waited. The installer never got past the Preparing Bundled Applications stage.

I checked out the console and saw a series of messages that ended with: 10/17/09 4:23:10 PM Installer[8135] *** -[NSMachPort handlePortMessage:]: dropping incoming DO message because the connection or ports are invalid

I decided to try a restart to see if that would fix my problem but shortly after restarting and before I could try my install again I cranked open Xcode and the iPhone simulator to check out something in my latest project. Remember this part of the story, because it’s important.

A few days later I remembered that I still needed to install iLife and grabbed my MacBook Pro installation discs again. I kicked off the installation and instantly hit the same issue. The installer never got past the Preparing Application Bundles stage. I opened Console.app again and saw the same message: 10/20/09 7:39:40 PM Installer[9025] *** -[NSMachPort handlePortMessage:]: dropping incoming DO message because the connection or ports are invalid

I decided to turn to Google and happily came across this gem of a radar filing: Installer hanging for any installer after uptime of X hours. If you read through the comments on that bug you will find that the installer hang isn’t based on uptime, but rather on the iPhone Simulator running. I had been working on an iPhone project both times I tried to install iLife and it was causing the installer to hang (for some inexplicable reason).

I quit the simulator and Installer.app immediately stopped trying to prepare the bundled applications and displayed an error. I quit the installer, tried again, and voila, everything worked as it should.