August 2018 update: Please refer to this updated page if you are still receiving the Helper Tool error message. The article below refers to a previous iteration of this error message that related to OS X Mountain Lion.
Some Mac users are experiencing the following error message when trying to install and run Origin:
The following window will then appear, it is your Mac requiring your password to confirm installation of Origin’s helper tool. It’s a security feature built into OS X:
Upon entering your password Origin should then be able to install the helper tool, finish installing and let you use it. Unfortunately for some they get caught in a permanent loop of entering their password and nothing happens.
(One VERY important factor here to remember, you must have Administrator account access on the Mac for installation and Permission changes. The primary account set up on a Mac is normally an Administrator account and then subsequent additional accounts default to a Standard account unless manually changed in the setup process. This can be check in System Preferences > Users & Groups.)
You can try uninstalling Origin, downloading a fresh installer and reinstalling but that doesn’t appear to make the situation any better. After getting some info from those suffering from this it would appear that OS X Mountain Lion is the culprit. There are two possible solutions – update your operating system to a later version of OS X and uninstall and reinstall Origin, or, and this one’s MUCH quicker and easier, copy and paste a file from the installer into the Origin app. The latter solution is thanks to ellika0202 over at AHQ.
For more info on Origin issues on Macs please read this thread over on AHQ. It is a long running thread with various issues that Mac users have posted in. EA are actively posting on it.
Here are some Origin troubleshooting steps that are worth remembering:
- If you cannot properly install Origin try deleting the installer, re-downloading it and installing from the new download. Double check that Origin has not managed to install some components already by looking in the Library folders and deleting them if necessary.
- Try EA’s method of resetting Origin. It involves downloading a reset tool which won’t affect your installed games.
- If you’re having issues downloading games into Origin click on Origin > Preferences in the menu bar, select the Advanced tab and enable Safe Mode Downloading.
Bluebellflora 