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I'm not being able to update. The msg "This volume is not formatted as APFS." appeared once I try to choose Macintosh HD.

I'm not being able to update Big Sur.

The msg "This volume is not formatted as APFS." appeared once I try to choose Macintosh HD.

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.14

Posted on Oct 4, 2021 1:50 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Oct 4, 2021 3:39 PM

I suggest that you make a full backup of your existing Mac's internal drive. Specifically, not only make a Time Machine backup, but also use a cloning app, like Carbon Copy Cloner, to make a bootable cloned version should something go amiss with the upgrade.


Next, follow the steps in this support article to completely erase and prepare the drive for macOS:


Once that has completed successfully, then follow the steps in this article to install macOS. Alternately, you can choose the Recovery Mode option to elect to install the latest version of macOS that can run on your Mac. That should be <option><command><R>


You should now have a "clean" version of macOS with the drive formatted in APFS. (Note: If the Recovery option did not allow you to install the latest version, you can now retry the upgrade process through System Preferences.)


Finally, you can restore your data from the TM backup.

3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Oct 4, 2021 3:39 PM in response to mkoda

I suggest that you make a full backup of your existing Mac's internal drive. Specifically, not only make a Time Machine backup, but also use a cloning app, like Carbon Copy Cloner, to make a bootable cloned version should something go amiss with the upgrade.


Next, follow the steps in this support article to completely erase and prepare the drive for macOS:


Once that has completed successfully, then follow the steps in this article to install macOS. Alternately, you can choose the Recovery Mode option to elect to install the latest version of macOS that can run on your Mac. That should be <option><command><R>


You should now have a "clean" version of macOS with the drive formatted in APFS. (Note: If the Recovery option did not allow you to install the latest version, you can now retry the upgrade process through System Preferences.)


Finally, you can restore your data from the TM backup.

Oct 4, 2021 1:57 PM in response to mkoda

What version of macOS are you attempting to upgrade to Big Sur. The Big Sur upgrade process will attempt to reformat the system drive to APFS if it is not already.


What exact method are you trying to use to do the upgrade?


The support article you arrived here from should have provided you with that information. Did it not help?

I'm not being able to update. The msg "This volume is not formatted as APFS." appeared once I try to choose Macintosh HD.

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