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apfelkopf Author

Level 5

7,254 points

MacOS Update Fiasco

Hi. I recently purchased a 2016 MacBook Pro. It came with MacOS Catalina installed. When I tried to upgrade to Mavericks, the install/download failed twice after loading for about 12 hours (very annoying). After the second fail it now wanted me to download and install Big Sur first however after 13 hours of downloading I was told that my Mac needed a firmware update. After some research I found that this was due to the file system being AFPS. When booting into recovery mode I was told that I needed a password to modify the existing drive so I just said f it and deleted the volume and did an OS install through recovery mode. I left the Mac alone for 1 day and when I cam back to it I had a black screen with a circle that has a line through it. I just rebooted the mac to online recovery again (it's still loading) but just wanted to see if I'm having something else going on here or if this is all pretty normal behavior. Thanks!

MacBook Pro Retina

Posted on Nov 3, 2021 9:37 AM

Top-ranking reply

Grant Bennet-Alder

Level 10

133,315 points

Posted on Nov 3, 2021 10:16 AM

MacOS is tagged with the Apple-ID of the person downloading it [you know, that account with the credit card attached]. It cannot be upgraded successfully unless you supply the SAME Apple-ID and password that was used previously.

When buying or selling a used Mac, the 'approved method' is to remove the downloaded MacOS software and download the factory original version, which is tied ONLY to the serial number of the computer, and NOT set it up. The new user enters their information to set it up, including their Apple-ID, then downloads a more modern version tied to their own Apple-ID.

What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your Mac - Apple Support

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MacOS Update Fiasco

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