Cant convert internal SSD from Mac OS Extended (journal) to APFS

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danicngbush Author

Level 1

8 points

Cant convert internal SSD from Mac OS Extended (journal) to APFS

I recently replaced my native HD on a MacBook Pro 2012 with a new SSD.

The SSD format is Mac OS Extended (Journal).

In order to upgrade from Mojave to Catalina I need to reformat the SSD to APFS.

However the option to convert to APFS is not available.

I have tried the instructions here:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8613766

And also here- A procedure to erase the disk in recovery mode and select the APFS format- but this option is not available :

"This volume is not formatted as APFS" - Apple Community

This is the erase / reformat step front the instructions in the link above:

How to erase an Intel-based Mac – Apple Support

This is an image of the disk and options in recovery mode in disk utility :

So how do I go about converting the internal SSD to APFS?

If i can't I appear to be stuck permanently on Mojave.

Thanks

Ciaran

Posted on May 4, 2021 1:11 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Barney-15E

Level 10

117,214 points

May 5, 2021 3:35 AM in response to danicngbush

It should convert the drive once everything causing the issue is resolved. Check the upgrade path from Mountain Lion. It may require High Sierra first.

But, installing Mojave from a bootable USB installer would be a simpler path.

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Answer 2

Barney-15E

Level 10

117,214 points

May 4, 2021 8:10 PM in response to danicngbush

Whatever is wrong with your Mojave Recovery is likely preventing converting it to APFS.

Back up your Mac with Time Machine.

Try creating a Bootable Installer. You may have to download Mojave to create the bootable installer because it doesn't let you download the full installer unless you are running that OS. The full installer is required to create a bootable installer.

Use the bootable installer to boot and erase the Mac. Then Install the OS.

If that goes well, migrate your data from the backup.

Once that is done, you may be able to install Catalina.

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Answer 3

Crynay

Level 3

649 points

May 5, 2021 8:37 AM in response to danicngbush

If you download the Catalina installer, you must create the USB installer (do not double-click it after downloading).

Next, power off and immediately after powering back on, hold Option key down. Then choose the Catalina USB drive to boot from - not the internal SSD which has Mountain Lion on it.

The important difference is you were booting into Mountain Lion and clicking the installer - this will fail since this is an in-place upgrade.

After you boot from the Catalina USB drive, you will get the proper Disk Utility with APFS support. Once the SSD is formatted to APFS, exit back to the main menu and click Install Catalina to the SSD.

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Answer 4

danicngbush Author

Level 1

8 points

May 6, 2021 5:04 AM in response to Crynay

@Crynay When the instructions to create the bootable installer state the following requirement : A USB flash drive or other secondary volume formatted as Mac OS Extended, with at least 14GB of available storage

Can I create a partition on my SSD and use that as the secondary volume (NB not sure what the difference is between a partition and volume) ?

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Answer 5

Crynay

Level 3

649 points

May 4, 2021 11:29 PM in response to danicngbush

As others have suggested - your pictures indicate a really old version of Disk Utility.

The only reason I can think of why is:

your original hard drive is dead
you don't have a USB installer for Mojave/Catalina
the only way your MacBook can start at the moment is with the original startup discs that came with it

The easiest solution is to use another Mac and download Catalina and create a bootable USB installer as Barney instructed.

If that's not possible then continue to format the SSD as MacOS Journaled and install the MacOS 10.7 or 10.8 from the discs.

After setting up, get a newer browser like Firefox Legacy (since Safari probably won't work) to download Catalina and make the installer to properly format as APFS and clean-install Catalina.

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Answer 6

danicngbush Author

Level 1

8 points

May 5, 2021 2:27 AM in response to Crynay

Thanks, this might be the best approach. The old HD has been replaced with a new SSD.

In Recovery mode I noted the option to reinstall OS X Mountain Lion. If I was to install Mountain lion, download legacy Firefox and then Catlina- would I not encounter the same install issue- ‘Catalina requires APFS format’, as in what is the difference between doing this in Mountion lion and the current Mojave OS install?

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Answer 7

danicngbush Author

Level 1

8 points

May 6, 2021 4:38 AM in response to Crynay

Hi,

Many thanks for the helpful information so far.

I am a little confused as there was a suggestion I download Mojave and another Calalina in order to create a Bootable installer, so which OS should I use ?

Mojave / Catalina appear to be 4GB and 8GB in size respectively but the instructions suggest I need a drive with 14GB of space, is this correct?

Thanks

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