Factory reset

[sheedee]

Hello;

Today I tried to factory reset my iMac so I went into disk utilities and went to the option to erase the Macintosh HD but after I got a message saying that the operation had failed...so then I tried the first aid option to fix any possible errors...afterwards it said that the operation was completed so I assume that the disk errors were fixed.
So then afterwards I went to the option to install a fresh copy of the OS High Sierra...but this was not possible because the Macintosh HD could not be found!...
I have no idea what I am doing or what went wrong...
I have attached some photos that I took with my phone of the iMac screen...I have no idea what I am looking at or how to fix the problem.

Can anyone please tell me how to solve this problem?..


Thanks.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

First, how old is this Mac? What version of macOS was running on it? Why are you trying to re-install the OS?

Did you do all of this work through the Recovery Console?

 

[sheedee]

The iMac is about 3 or 4 years old
it was running the High Sierra...but I can't remember the version
and I tried all this with the disk recovery (disk utilities)
And the reason for the fresh install is because there were things that were very annoying.


I just want to know if there is a way to fix the problem.

 

[IWT]

I tried to factory reset my iMac so I went into disk utilities and went to the option to erase the Macintosh HD but after I got a message saying that the operation had failed.

It looks like you tried to erase the Macintosh HD from within Mac HD. You obviously cannot erase a disk from within the disk itself. You can, if really needed, erase the Mac's HD from the Recovery Partition or Mode. To do that you need to reboot your Mac whilst holding down Command plus R.

Perhaps, if we start at the beginning, you can tell us what your aim was when you started?
We will do our best to guide you through whatever process needs to be undertaken to achieve your end game.

Ian

 

[IWT]

Now that I've read post #3 which you posted whilst I was typing, it seems that you were running macOS High Sierra and wanted to download a fresh copy of that Operating System (OS)?

To do that, you need to reboot whilst holding down Command plus R. Then when that is done, from the Menu shown, choose Reinstall macOS High Sierra either directly, if offered, or via Utilities. After it reinstalls, it is possible, but unlikely, that you might need to update that new OS to the latest version.

Is this what you are after?

Ian

 

[sheedee]

I honestly have no idea what to do here...all I know is like I stated before...I tried to erase the Macintosh HD through the disk utilities erase option...that failed so then I tried the first aid option to fix any disk errors...after that I went to install a fresh copy of High Sierra...but as you can see from the screenshot that I took...At that point a Macintosh Hd should appear in order for the OS to be installed on...but its just not there...why I don't know...all I know is that it will not go any further then this screen...the question is why?...and how to fix the issue?...
I have attached several screens...can you tell what's wrong or what's missing by looking at the screens that I have attached earlier?...

 

[IWT]

I've advised you on what to do in my two posts above. We are here to help, so can you tell us what you don't understand and we'll try do start over and guide you.

Ian

 

[MacInWin]

Before you get to that screen to install the OS, there should be a Recovery screen with just a few options, one of which is Disk Utility. That is, assuming you are booted either from Recovery or from an external, bootable, drive. So as Ian asked earlier, what is it, exactly, that you wanted to accomplish and how, exactly, did you gob about it? When you erased Macintosh Hd, were you booted into Recovery or from some other drive? We need exact details of what you DID to be able to help you get over where you are. Right now we don't have enough information to know where your system is in the process.

 

[sheedee]

I booted from recovery mode and then went to disk utilities...then what I first did was choose the option to erase the disk...then I chose to erase the Macintosh HD...but then it showed the message that the operation failed...then I tried the first aid option to see if there were any errors on the disk that could be fixed...then it said operation was completed. After that I went back to disk utilities and chose the option to reinstall macos
After that I got to the last screen...and it did not want to go any further...normally on that last screen you should see a Macintosh HD appear...but it is not there...and that is the problem...but why?...

 

[MacInWin]

OK, thanks. That helps. In the Disk Utility screenshot you can see that there is no Volume in the Container Disk 3 on the SSD. You need to create a Volume there, named Macintosh HD, that will ultimately show up in the installer window. With the new APFS (which is what the SSD is using), instead of Partitions there are Volumes in the Container. Containers are not mountable, Volumes are. So create the volume and you should be able to do the install.

 

[sheedee]

I did create a volume and I did install the fresh OS Sierra and that all went well and I got to the desktop and all looked fine...but then came an option to update is I chose to do so...only then I got a message saying that there isn't enough disk space...the update requires 11GB of space and there is only 9GB available!...

The problem is that when I created the volume it was a volume that was only 27GB...but at that moment I did not think about that (which I should have)

So the question now is...how to solve this issue?...I will probably have to go back to disk utilities and somehow create or choose a bigger volume for the OS to be installed on right?...preferably the main container disk that has 1TB of free space...but how do I go about to do this?...do I have to unmount the previously created volume first?...and after that how do I make sure that next time the OS will be installed on a bigger volume (the 1TB container)

I hope that I am making myself clear enaugh.


Thanks.

 

[MacInWin]

I'm sorry but nothing of that post makes any sense. You have a large SSD and it has ONE Container, at least as the image shows. When volumes are created, they are not sized, they use whatever size the Container is and all of the volumes share whatever space is available to the Container.

From the images, it looks like you created a Container of small size (27.69GB) on the drive and I guess you then created a volume in that container, which is what you are seeing. Why did you make the Container so small? There is nothing else on the drive, so you have 930 GB or so wasted unavailable space.

At this point if there is nothing on the drive you want, I would suggest you start all over and create a full disk sized Container and then on Volume in that container and reinstall. It would be better if you created a bootable external drive with the installer on it and then booted from that, but I'm not sure you can do that from where you are now.

Can you run Disk utility and then post a screenshot of what you see? Make sure you select to view All Devices so that we can see what is going on with the drive.

EDIT: Have a read of the terminology and how to use APFS here: https://support.apple.com/guide/disk-utility/add-erase-or-delete-apfs-volumes-dskua9e6a110/mac

 

[sheedee]

Well this all goes to show that I have no clue what I am doing...all I wanted to do was to erase my iMac and install a fresh copy of the OS...and then I royally screwed things up!...
Any way here are some screens to show how things look at the moment.

You said to start over and create a full new container and then a new volume for the container...how do I go about doing that?...a step by step guide would be useful...or else I will just keep screwing things up and going in unending circles!...I mean for you guys this is easy and basic stuff and you would all get right at a first attempt...but please be patient with me...as you can clearly see I am new at this.

 

[MacInWin]

Rather than repeating what Apple has already written, I should suggest you read the articles at the link I gave in post #12. Note that the article has links to other articles that can educate you on what you need to know. I don't know what is on your drive or what you may want to save, given that you only created a tiny container, so you will need to read the article(s) to see what to do to accomplish what you want. You didn't say why you make the container so small, so I cannot tell you what to do. Good luck with it.

 

[sheedee]

I did not make the container small on purpose...I just don't know what I am doing (clearly)
All I wanted to do from the beginning is to completely erase the Mac and then install a fresh copy of the OS...after that things got screwed up. The OS is now installed (and working) only its installed on a very small volume (27GB) again...I did not do this on purpose...I am new at this and I don't know what I am doing other then what people suggest me to do.

The whole purpose now in a nutshell is to install the OS (again) but this time on a bigger volume (container) of 1TB...just as it originally was when I bought the computer.
The big question for me now is...how to do that?...meaning how to fix (undo) what I have done wrong...and how to install the OS on the bigger (1TB) volume?

I am very sure that you guys know how to do this...all I am asking is for you guys to show me how its done (properly).


Thanks.

 

[MacInWin]

Hmmm, I looked at your Disk Utility images again and I am curious. Did your iMac have a Fusion Drive originally? I see a small SSD and a large HDD listed in the DU images, which sort-of suggests that originally those two were fused into a Fusion drive. Was that the case?

 

[sheedee]

I have no idea if my iMac originally had a fusion drive or not...I don't even know what a fusion drive is!...

Does this make my problem bigger if it has a fusion drive?...can the problem still be solved?...

Could it also be the case that since I have been doing so many changes myself to the disk volumes by creating and erasing volumes (without even knowing what I was doing) that now it may look like the iMac has a fusion drive?...just saying.


Again, even so...can my problem still be solved?

 

[MacInWin]

A fusion drive is a large rotating Hard Disk Drive merged with a small Solid State Device. The SSD caches things for the OS and then the read/write to the slower HDD happens in the background (theoretically). That combination is supposed to make the system snappier by having at least some, if not most, of the reads and writes to the very fast SSD instead of the HD.

What I see in your Disk Utility is a very small SSD and a big, 1TB rotating drive, but as separate devices. That tells me the fusion is broken by something that has happened. It might be something you did, it might not, but in any event, if I understand what I'm seeing, the fusion is definitely broken. That explains the very small Container on the SSD device. It's actually the full size of the SSD.

Given that your goal was to get back to factory reset, that would mean you need to find a way to re-fuse the two drives and with where you are that might be very challenging. The fusion is a software merge, so as long as the hardware is function (and it appears to be), it should be possible to re-fuse the drives. However, to do that you are going to need to be booted from something other than either of those drives so that you can reformat them and re-fuse them. Here is an article from Apple on how to recreate the fusion drive: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207584. Follow the directions for High Sierra. If it works, you can then reinstall the OS from that same Recovery and be back in the water. Follow the directions exactly as you read them. I would suggest you print off that instruction, or use another device to get to it, so that it's available as you are working on the system. If the fusion is restored, reinstalling should be pretty straightforward.

 

[sheedee]

Or...I could simply use my iMac the way it is right now (with the fusion split)
The only question is...how beneficial is this?...and will everything else work properly in the long run.

The first problem with this I already mentioned before...not enaugh disk space for regular updates to be installed (unless I choose never to install updates...which is not very advisable I would think)

And who knows how many more disadvantages I might run into because of the OS being installed on the smaller volume.

And also there won't be enough disk space to install any software or applications in the future...



Again I can save myself the big challenge of refusing the drives and live with the way things are now...but is this really going to be beneficial in the long run?...of course I can still browse the internet and check my emails...but I think thats kinda where the fun stops...with no possibility to install software or applications or to download movies etc because of the very limited disk space!...hmmm!...what should I do?...

 

[chscag]

You never told us which iMac you have... model and year. However, I strongly suggest you get some local help to get your iMac back to working order so you can use it again the way it was intended to be used.

Since you're in the Netherlands, there are three Apple Stores there. Main one is in Amsterdam. It might be a good idea to take your iMac to one of those stores and have an Apple genius assist you.

I do not know if any of those stores are open for support because of the pandemic. But you can give them a call and make an appointment if possible.

We would love to help you from our forums but as you can see it's not easy. Jake has done a great job of explaining everything to you. Now it's time I believe for you to get first hand help locally.

Good luck and let us know how it went.