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2017 iMac failing to install Sierra in recovery mode after disc wipe

I recently cleared my fusion hard drive in order to sell my 2017 iMac. All went as expected, except for when it comes to reinstalling macOS in recovery. The download seemed to go as planned, but then at the last second I get an error message: ‘an error occurred while preparing the installation. Try running this application again’.


The OS is taking up space on my drive, so it is downloading, but for some reason failing at the last second.


I have tried changing date and time setting within terminal, incase it was a cert issue. I have also created a usb boot, but it didn’t like that either. Ran checks on drives and everything seems okay.


any suggestions would be massively appreciated!

iMac 21.5″ 4K, macOS 13.2

Posted on Apr 16, 2023 7:09 AM

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Posted on Apr 16, 2023 7:56 AM

What Format did you erase the drive to?


APFS won't work for Sierra, Sierra needs MacOS Extended Journaled.


What has often worked for others is to use thisRestore Method instead of CMD+r keys...


Option-⌘-R

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2017 iMac failing to install Sierra in recovery mode after disc wipe

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