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Error while reinstalling macOS Sierra on MacBook Air

I erased my hard drive and reinstalled the Mac OS in order to trade in my old Macbook Air. But I did the whole set up by mistake, so I deleted my hard drive again and tried to reinstall the OS (macOS Sierra) again however it always fails at the end of it and says 'An error occurred while preparing the installation. Try running this application again.' I have tried this maybe about 8 times now and restarted the computer as well. I changed the date and time and ran disk first aid but it still hasn't fixed the problem. The internet recovery also shows up every time I restart.

Posted on Jun 17, 2020 12:29 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jun 17, 2020 12:37 PM

Please read Writing an effective Apple Support Communities question. We are here to help. We are all users. We are not mind-readers nor clairvoyants. We only know what you write down and tell us. Be specific and thorough. Include your hardware information and installed version of macOS. Try to write clearly. Think about what you want to say before you write it down, then re-read it to see if it makes sense.


FYI: These are user-only forums. This is not Apple Support. if you need to contact Apple Support, then contact product and tech support:  Contacting Apple for support and service including international calling numbers.


These forums only provide help with Apple products. Thank you for your understanding and support.


Follow the instructions here: What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your Mac. Also, see the following:


How To Do A Factory Reset


Selection A should be used on computers that came with Lion or later when factory new. These models had no disks included when new. Selection B is for Macs that came originally with Snow Leopard or earlier. These models shipped with Software Restore disks when new.


A. Factory reset of your Mac - Apple Support

B. Factory Reset Your Pre-Lion Mac Follow these instructions until you get to Step 6 of Factory reset of your Mac - Apple Support. At Step 5 you will need a Snow Leopard DVD or the installer disc that came with the computer.


  1. Boot the computer using the Snow Leopard Installer Disk or the Disk 1 that came with your computer.  Insert the disk into the optical drive and restart the computer. After the chime press and hold down the  "C" key.  Release the key when you see a small spinning gear appear below the dark gray Apple logo.
  2. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities' menu. After Disk Utility loads select the hard drive entry from the left side list (out-dented entry - mfgr.'s ID and drive size.)  Click on the Partition tab in the Disk Utility main window.  Set the number of partitions to one (1) from the Partitions drop down menu, click on Options button and select GUID, click on OK, then set the format type to MacOS Extended (Journaled), then click on the Apply button.
  3. When the formatting has finished quit Disk Utility.  Proceed with the OS X installation and follow the directions included with the installer.
  4. If you are planning to sell or give your computer away, then do the following: After you reformat your hard drive and reinstall OS X, the computer restarts to a Welcome screen and asks you to choose a country or region. If you want to leave the Mac in an out-of-box state, don't continue with the setup of the system. Instead, press Command-Q to shut down the Mac. When the new owner turns on the Mac, the Setup Assistant will guide them through the setup process.


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1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jun 17, 2020 12:37 PM in response to aesil55

Please read Writing an effective Apple Support Communities question. We are here to help. We are all users. We are not mind-readers nor clairvoyants. We only know what you write down and tell us. Be specific and thorough. Include your hardware information and installed version of macOS. Try to write clearly. Think about what you want to say before you write it down, then re-read it to see if it makes sense.


FYI: These are user-only forums. This is not Apple Support. if you need to contact Apple Support, then contact product and tech support:  Contacting Apple for support and service including international calling numbers.


These forums only provide help with Apple products. Thank you for your understanding and support.


Follow the instructions here: What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your Mac. Also, see the following:


How To Do A Factory Reset


Selection A should be used on computers that came with Lion or later when factory new. These models had no disks included when new. Selection B is for Macs that came originally with Snow Leopard or earlier. These models shipped with Software Restore disks when new.


A. Factory reset of your Mac - Apple Support

B. Factory Reset Your Pre-Lion Mac Follow these instructions until you get to Step 6 of Factory reset of your Mac - Apple Support. At Step 5 you will need a Snow Leopard DVD or the installer disc that came with the computer.


  1. Boot the computer using the Snow Leopard Installer Disk or the Disk 1 that came with your computer.  Insert the disk into the optical drive and restart the computer. After the chime press and hold down the  "C" key.  Release the key when you see a small spinning gear appear below the dark gray Apple logo.
  2. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities' menu. After Disk Utility loads select the hard drive entry from the left side list (out-dented entry - mfgr.'s ID and drive size.)  Click on the Partition tab in the Disk Utility main window.  Set the number of partitions to one (1) from the Partitions drop down menu, click on Options button and select GUID, click on OK, then set the format type to MacOS Extended (Journaled), then click on the Apply button.
  3. When the formatting has finished quit Disk Utility.  Proceed with the OS X installation and follow the directions included with the installer.
  4. If you are planning to sell or give your computer away, then do the following: After you reformat your hard drive and reinstall OS X, the computer restarts to a Welcome screen and asks you to choose a country or region. If you want to leave the Mac in an out-of-box state, don't continue with the setup of the system. Instead, press Command-Q to shut down the Mac. When the new owner turns on the Mac, the Setup Assistant will guide them through the setup process.


Error while reinstalling macOS Sierra on MacBook Air

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