A Required Download Is Missing

367guru wrote:

Ugh, I have this very same problem. In both the Command-R and the Option-Command-R approaches to reinstall, I get error messages that a download is missing. Any other ideas? Thanks very much for your help!

There are at least two cases, one for older Macs that do NOT have Internet recovery in their ROM, and one for Macs that DO have Internet recovery in their ROM.

colemanja has posted another possibility, that the drive is no good.

Your are late to the party, and it is very difficult for anyone trying to help now to keep the different cases straight. The best help for you is to start a new discussion, with a title that will attract readers to help your specific issue. Be sure to include the model Mac, by year, early mid late, and screen size and processor speed.

Please check out my answer and see if it helps you out

I have tried this and it prompted me to login to the internet. I did that and now there has been a globe on my computer screen for 20 minutes and nothing else has happened. I'm not sure what to do now.

a 2015 MacBook Pro has Internet Recovery in its ROM. Try Command-Option R to invoke it. No added software of any kind required -- it can even get there if the boot drive has been removed. Internet Recovery leaves your drive completely free to be completely ERASED.

You can tell that is where you are going when it asks to select a Network, and you see the spinning globe.

Once you arrive, launch Disk Utility, choose DEVICE View, select the drive by its immutable hardware-name, and ERASE the boot drive completely, taking the default GUID partition Map and MacOS Extended Volume. When completed (about a minute) return to the main screen and Install on your now blank drive.

The 2011 model has a different solution, because it does NOT have Internet recovery in its ROM.

To solve that problem, you need a different Recovery HD. There should be one on any Bootable USB Installer/Utilities drive you have made, and there should be one on your Time Machine backup drive.

to download the version of MacOS that shipped in the box with your computer, only the serial number is required.

To download a different version, that =version must have been "purchased" using the Apple-ID currently in charge of the computer AND the version to be installed must be greater or equal what was last running -- you cannot go backward without erasing the drive completely, and to do that, you need "somewhere else to stand" (another instance of a Recovery partition or another working MacOS) -- you cannot 'cut off the tree branch you are standing on'.

https://diskmakerx.com/

In the future Disk Maker X will solve all these issues.

The error is related to the tiny & hidden recovery partition on your Machintosh HD being missing.

Disk Maker X restores that...and even makes it easy to grab any OS version you need from official Apple sources.

And there you have it, problem solved in one post...instead of endlessly confusing others with "superior knowledge".

Hi! I Have an old Mac Book Air 2011. I want to give it away. I tried reinstalling OS X Yosemite but get the following message “a required download is missing”. What can I do?

colemanja wrote:

<<it told me my disk had SMART errors.>>

SMART was supposed to give us an early warning of disk Troubles, but it does not do that job. By the time you have SMART errors, so many Bad Blocks are accumulating on the drive that it is no longer able to hold a copy of MacOS and your precious files, and needs to be replaced.

The "even worse" problem with SMART is that the drive can be no good LONG before it sounds the alarm.

I had to log in to explain my solution to this problem. It was incredibly frustrating and I think Apple has not made it easy.

TLDR: I had to create a bootable installer from a 2008 macbook I had laying around. This allowed me to use the OLD app store to download the proper installer.

My struggle: A prohibitory symbol on my late-2011 Macbook Pro after erasing. I could not re-install the OS using any of the recovery mode options (command, R, option). I tried them all and a download was always missing despite being connected to the internet. I then attempted to create a bootable installer using the new computer with Catalina. Downloads from Apple.com for bootable installers came as a .dmg and those never worked. What I needed was the installer file with the down-arrow called "Install mac OS ____". With the new App Store after OS Mojave it was impossible to download these. I even tried torrenting this product from The Pirate Bay and putting it on a bootable USB. This would have worked but then during installation I got the error message: could not be verified. I then tried an old CD installer for Snow Leopard. Apparently this was too old for a 2011 MacBook Pro.

Luckily I had an old 2008 MacBook which allowed me to use the OLD app store to download "Install macOS Lion" and install that on a bootable USB. Finally after hours of troubleshooting.

Installers you saved years ago may have a certificate inside the Installer image that has expired.

A new download (by any method) seems to include an updated certificate that allows the Install to proceed.

Same problem.

I had saved this:

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/boot-mode-startup-keys-mac/

which included my solution: command>option>R

Right away, my MBP began downloading.

We shall see what results.

Thanks for all of the advice on this thread guys. I've managed to restore an iMac with El Capitan using the guidance here.

A few top tips for anyone with the "A required download is missing" problem.

First create a bootable USB drive as detailed earlier in this thread.

Then, and this foxed me for a long time as I'd connected a non-Apple bluetooth keyboard, to be able to boot from the USB you need to Shutdown the computer (not just Restart it). Then simultaneously hold down ALT and press and hold the power button. Very shortly afterwards a new screen appears. This then allows you boot from the USB (I couldn't do it from the OS X Utilities page although it seems to offer this as an option).

Once the USB drive boots up you can install it to the hard drive on the computer. However, mine had a faulty hard drive so I attached an SSD via USB (the SSD had been partitioned using an alternate Macbook) and installed El Capitan on that.

The final problem I encountered was this: "This copy of the Install OS X El Capitan application can't be verified. It may have been corrupted or tampered with during downloading."

My heart sank because I though I'd fixed the problem. However, thanks to the wonders of the internet, I found advice on how to change the date/time of the computer using Terminal. Changing the time of the computer then removed this warning and El Capitan installed.

I remember when I first converted to Apple, it's main selling point was "it just works"..........

Anyway, very pleased to have recovered an iMac so thanks again to all of you for your top advice and help.