Mojave will not upgrade to Catalina using Installer

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Level 1

4 points

Mojave will not upgrade to Catalina using Installer

Hello, my late 2015 iMac has been erased and installed El Capitan from fresh then upgraded to Mojave.

I have the Catalina installer downloaded on my iMac and ready to go from here: (https://support.apple.com/en_CA/downloads/macos).

I have tried to install and came up with the following message:

This source contains a newer release of macOS. Your Mac requires an upgrade before you can migrate from this source. Quit the installer to restart your computer and try again.

Then it hangs and I have to do a hard restart to start up again.

I have tried safe mode install.
I have reinstalled Mojave 10.14.6 from Recovery mode and tried again.

It seems that the MacOS Catalina installer is trying to migrate from another source, but all I want is an upgrade from Mojave to Catalina.

Any help would be appreciated as I have a funeral to prepare for and I have no computer!

[Edited by Moderator]

iMac 27″, macOS 10.14

Posted on Feb 9, 2022 4:22 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Owen_1001

Level 4

2,013 points

Feb 9, 2022 4:39 AM in response to Pockitz

Instead of using that link, try to use this link: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211683

Scroll down and select the Catalina link to download the installer. Your Mac can upgrade to the latest macOS 12 Monterey if you wanted it to, but if you want an older version, use that link (I have personally used it before and it worked for me).

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Answer 2

Owen_1001

Level 4

2,013 points

Feb 9, 2022 10:28 AM in response to Pockitz

1) Backup your Mac with Time Machine: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201250

2) Erase all content and settings on your Mac through Disk Utility: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208496

3) Go through the setup process of a new Mac, but don't put any of your files or apps on it. Set up a "disposable" Mac account that you will remove later.

4) Try to download the Catalina installer from this empty Mac and follow the instructions to install it.

5) After the installation process of macOS Catalina, you will want to wipe the "disposable" Mac account. Repeat only Step 2

6) Now set up your Mac with your preferences and your new Mac account. When prompted to transfer info from an older Mac, use your Time Machine backup to transfer your files and apps (NOTE: macOS Catalina and higher doesn't support 32x bit apps)

7) Complete the setup process with your files and apps on macOS Catalina.

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Answer 3

PRP_53

Level 10

85,621 points

Feb 10, 2022 7:01 AM in response to Pockitz

Is one using Safari to attempt the download as Others may not work ?

It is working from you link in above message on this computer as per picture below.

I just can not download it because this computer is TOO New and does not Qualify to run Catalina

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Answer 4

Pockitz Author

Level 1

4 points

Feb 21, 2022 4:45 AM in response to Pockitz

The part where I copied the time machine to the new user would not work, so I did it manually. Catalina worked perfectly and now I have upgraded to Monterey. I reset the System Management Controller (SMC) on my mac and it all works perfectly. No slow starts and no hanging when opening a new tab in Chrome.

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Answer 5

Pockitz Author

Level 1

4 points

Feb 10, 2022 6:41 AM in response to Owen_1001

I am about to download the Catalina installer and now the link on the website has changed!

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/macos-catalina/id1466841314?mt=12

There is no link to the Apple Store!

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Answer 6

Pockitz Author

Level 1

4 points

Feb 9, 2022 10:23 AM in response to Owen_1001

This was the first Catalina installer that I tried. It still wont work.

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Answer 7

Pockitz Author

Level 1

4 points

Feb 10, 2022 7:34 AM in response to PRP_53

I think it was a cache u=issue because I was not logged in on the App Store. I have signed in now and the installer is downloading via Software Update in system prefs. Fingers crossed!

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Mojave will not upgrade to Catalina using Installer

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