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Trying to create a bootable installer for Catalina. Why does Terminal tell me that MacOS Catalina downloaded from Apple is not a suitable installer package?

Posted on Aug 5, 2021 1:53 PM

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Answer 1

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D.I. Johnson

Level 7

22,415 points

Aug 5, 2021 3:36 PM in response to bherman

Hello, bherman.

In fact, 19.1 MB is nowhere near the size the actual installer download should be.

The full installer download is 4.9GB in size and is available from Apple at this link:

macOS Catalina 10.15

Delete any previously downloaded Catalina installer that you have on your Mac. Restart and then download the installer using Safari only and the link above. Then try the upgrade again.

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Answer 2

bherman Author

Level 1

5 points

Aug 5, 2021 2:07 PM in response to bherman

The Related Article link is the reason for this post. Followed instruction, more than once, and process ends when Terminal states that the downloaded installer is not acceptable and process ends.

I read another question/response with the person , who was having exactly the same problem, getting frustrated with the suggestions. The response was that the installer was incorrect because the posting person stated the macOS Catalina installer was 19.1 mb and the responder stated it should be around 8mb.

The size of the macOS Catalina installer I downloaded this morning from Apple website is 19.1 mb. I realize that it is too large, based on other installers but this Catalina installer is downloaded directly from Apple. So what can I do?

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Answer 3

PRP_53

Level 10

86,521 points

Aug 6, 2021 7:48 AM in response to bherman

It appears from the files size - it gave you a Stub which if used to install Catalina would pull down the Real Full Installer.

Follow the advise of previous posting to possible correct this issue. Just remember to use ONLY SAFARI as Other browsers may not work.

One other thing - is this download being performed from Apple Silicon M1 CPU computer ?

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Answer 4

bherman Author

Level 1

5 points

Aug 6, 2021 1:03 PM in response to PRP_53

Thank you for your responses. Later in the day yesterday I used a Catalina installer from a third party. It worked and one volume of the new SSD was functioning until a Safari upgrade this morning. That issue will hopefully be resolved with responses to a different post.

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