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User profile for user: coastaltechguy
coastaltechguy Author
User level: Level 1
4 points

2018 MacBook Pro with Mojave installed

I have a 2018 MacBook Pro Intel Core that is running Mojave and when I try to install any new macOS (Catalina, BigSur, Monterey, Ventura) I get this Checking "(null)"... message. I can reinstall Mojave just fine thinking something may be wrong with how Mojave was installed and reinstalling would fix corrupted files but that doesn't seem to be the case. I've read a few things online about this message but I wanted to start my own thread to see if there are any new suggestions. I think this Mac was reset by the previous user at my company and the name of the Startup Disk is Update which seems odd. I would like to get this Mac on Ventura so the new user can start using it and I'm trying to avoid wiping it etc. Thanks in advance for any helpful advice !!

Posted on Apr 28, 2023 1:35 PM

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User profile for user: HWTech
HWTech
User level: Level 9
55,856 points

Posted on Apr 28, 2023 5:41 PM

Mojave was installed to the wrong APFS volume, because the SSD was not properly prepared before installing Mojave. You have two ways of resolving this and get a proper installation.


  1. Boot the macOS installer and use Disk Utility to erase the whole physical SSD (Intel Macs only) as GUID partition and APFS (top option). Within Disk Utility you will need to click "View" and select "Show All Devices" before the physical drive appears on the left pane of Disk Utility.
  2. "Restore" the firmware which resets the T2 security chip & firmware. I'm not sure whether it pushes a clean OS onto the internal SSD, or whether you will to use Internet Recovery Mode (Command + Option + R) to install macOS. This option requires access to another Mac running macOS 12.4+ (at least last time I checked since Apple unfortunately keeps raising the requirements of the host Mac).


You can access Internet Recovery Mode using Command + Option + R to attempt to access the online macOS 13.x Ventura installer. However, sometimes it will instead boot into the online installer for the OS which originally shipped with the Mac from the factory so it may end up installing macOS 10.13 instead.


You can also create & use a bootable macOS USB installer using the instructions in this Apple aritcle, but a USB install is not an option to reinstall macOS if you choose the "Restore" firmware option:

Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support



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User profile for user: HWTech
HWTech
User level: Level 9
55,856 points

Apr 28, 2023 5:41 PM in response to coastaltechguy

Mojave was installed to the wrong APFS volume, because the SSD was not properly prepared before installing Mojave. You have two ways of resolving this and get a proper installation.


  1. Boot the macOS installer and use Disk Utility to erase the whole physical SSD (Intel Macs only) as GUID partition and APFS (top option). Within Disk Utility you will need to click "View" and select "Show All Devices" before the physical drive appears on the left pane of Disk Utility.
  2. "Restore" the firmware which resets the T2 security chip & firmware. I'm not sure whether it pushes a clean OS onto the internal SSD, or whether you will to use Internet Recovery Mode (Command + Option + R) to install macOS. This option requires access to another Mac running macOS 12.4+ (at least last time I checked since Apple unfortunately keeps raising the requirements of the host Mac).


You can access Internet Recovery Mode using Command + Option + R to attempt to access the online macOS 13.x Ventura installer. However, sometimes it will instead boot into the online installer for the OS which originally shipped with the Mac from the factory so it may end up installing macOS 10.13 instead.


You can also create & use a bootable macOS USB installer using the instructions in this Apple aritcle, but a USB install is not an option to reinstall macOS if you choose the "Restore" firmware option:

Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support



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User profile for user: Grant Bennet-Alder
Grant Bennet-Alder
User level: Level 10
127,435 points

Apr 28, 2023 5:20 PM in response to coastaltechguy

Try Catalina first. a LOT of stuff changes in Catalina, including no 32-bit Apps allowed and Apple File System (APFS) Volume Groups added for the first time.


UPDATE is a 'magic' volume-name used in later version of MacOS to hold the incoming items to be installed. However, it is NOT available in Mojave, but was introduced in a later version.


Ventura wants download itself to UPDATE, but Mojave cannot find anything there -- UPDATE did not exist when Mojave was the latest macOS.

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User profile for user: coastaltechguy
coastaltechguy Author
User level: Level 1
4 points

May 5, 2023 12:46 PM in response to coastaltechguy

thank you @HWTech this below was the solution and the Mac is now on Ventura


You can access Internet Recovery Mode using Command + Option + R to attempt to access the online macOS 13.x Ventura installer. However, sometimes it will instead boot into the online installer for the OS which originally shipped with the Mac from the factory so it may end up installing macOS 10.13 instead.

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2018 MacBook Pro with Mojave installed

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