Mojave->Catalina Update Failure
Tried to update my Macbook Pro from Mojave to Catalina and it objects with the error "Disk not formatted APFS". How do I fix this?
MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 10.14
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Walter Carlip wrote:
Tried to update my Macbook Pro from Mojave to Catalina and it objects with the error "Disk not formatted APFS". How do I fix this?
Apple provides non-destructive methods for start-up disk drives for APFS conversion, and hence no data (files or folders) will be lost.
If you download the Catalina installer, Quit the installer like any other app if it launches./
Here it will sit harmlessly in your Applications folder. You can make a bootable USB installer:
How to create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372
Boot to this installer holding the option key and from the "Startup Disk Manager" select it for boot.
ref: How to select a different startup disk - Apple Support https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202796
The installer contains a DisK Utility.app among other Utilities/Tools—
Now that you are not mounted to your internal SSD— you can Convert to APFS on the fly (non-destructive.)
It is a surprising fast and efficient conversion.
Disk Utility>Edit>Convert to APFS
*please note from DU>View>Show All Devices for clarification—
You are selecting your "named boot volume" (not the physical drive above it.)
Always advised to have a current redundant backup plan before any update/upgrade/conversion—only in this way can you restore your User if something goes UN-expectantly sideways.