Can I install Mojave on an SSD when I don't have any Mojave computer?

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Level 2

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Can I install Mojave on an SSD when I don't have any Mojave computer?

I have a SSD that I've been using for Mojave. But it seems to be corrupted. I booted to it and tried installing Mojave on it again, but it runs for 40 minutes then starts over again and again.

I booted to Catalina and tried installing Mojave but it bounces a bit then stops. Disk Utility from Catalina will erase it to APFS only.

I need Mojave to run one program that's not yet 64-bits.

Any clue what I'm doing wrong?

iMac 27″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Sep 10, 2021 8:53 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

HWTech

Level 9

69,224 points

Sep 11, 2021 6:05 PM in response to Howard Brazee

Try performing the clean install by first erasing the whole physical drive instead of just the "Macintosh HD" volume since Catalina uses multiple APFS volumes compared to older versions of macOS and this can cause problems and confusion. You may need to first click on "View" within Disk Utility and select "Show All Devices" before the physical drive appears on the left pane of Disk Utility. The physical drive will usually be identified by its make & model something like "Apple SSD.....".

You can create a bootable macOS USB installer using the instructions in this Apple article:

How to create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support

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Answer 2