So I was trying to erase my mac drive so I can reinstall macos but I ended up deleted my entire hard drive and now when I try to install my mac again it always says “The recovery server could not be contacted”. what do I do? I bought a bootable disk and it’s still not working.
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
iMac 27″, macOS 10.13
Like many others, I ran into the dreaded “The recovery server could not be contacted” message when trying to do a restore of Mac OS High Sierra for a 2010 13 inch MBP that I was selling (yes I know it’s worth almost nothing, but someone wanted to buy it from me).
I tried all of the recommended fixes:
Check Internet / WiFi connection: They are fine
Check date to make sure it is current: It’s fine
Check to see if Apple’s OS Update Server is up: It’s fine
In the end the only way I was able to get around the “recovery server could not be contacted” issue was to install a bootable version of High Sierra on a flashdrive, then boot the 2010 MBP holding down the Option key to get the installation started. It was necessary to use Terminal to make it work.
The first step is to get a High Sierra Installer through the App Store. I downloaded it on another 13 inch MBP that runs Mojave, and after the download was complete there was a message that High Sierra was too old for this computer and will not be installed. Obviously I didn’t want to install it on that computer anyway. I never could figure out where the Installer file went; it wasn’t in Downloads.
Here are some other problems that had to be overcome.
The 2010 MBP had a 500 GB SSD. It was formatted as APFS, and everything I read seemed to indicate that it needed to be formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Disk Utility would not give me the option of formatting in Mac OS Extended (Journaled), so that had to be done using Terminal:
In Terminal type:
diskutil list
to get a list of all drives. Identify the disk you want to format. For example, assume it is disk0.
Type this command in Terminal to format the SSD in Mac OS Extended (Journaled):
diskutil eraseDisk JHFS+ <your drive name> /dev/disk0
where <your drive name> is what you want to call the disk.
The flashdrive I was using also had to be formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled). This could be done in Disk Utility.
The procedure for transferring the Installer file to the flashdrive is described here:
Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support
The process will appear to stop after the flashdrive is erased and the High Sierra Installer begins installation, but give it time (about 15 minutes). Eventually the installation to the flashdrive will be completed and Terminal will advise it is complete.
Installation onto the 2010 MBP was straightforward: Insert the flashdrive into a USB port, boot with the Option key held down and follow the prompts.
I had the same issue and despite following the Alt CMD R option all I got was a blank Apple screen and no way to get to Disk Utility. On restart my options were renewed and I used my Time Machine Back Up to restore all operating systems including MS OS with High Sierra. I'll now start again using the instructions specifically for cleaning to sell with High Sierra.
As _marcjd said very early in this thread, the link below is a very straightforward fix. No messing with downloads, patchers, USB sticks. Follow the instructions and, providing your Mac is connected to the internet, you're in business.
Posting again as many seem to have missed it.
This option definitely solves this problem https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouNQS36dIBw&t=95s follow the steps.
It involves using terminal but is explained is friendly way.
Followed instructions from jojo_key comment and reposting the youtube link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouNQS36dIBw&t=95s
Recommended
I'm experiencing the same issue. I reformatted a new SSD to MacOS Extended Journaled, and I am booted into Option-⌘-R. The time has been updated, and my network is stable, but every try has failed with "The recovery server could not be contacted."
Same with me! Experiencing this same issue with trying to do a fresh install, tried all the methods I could find on google etc, and nothing! It’s like it’s not connected to the internet. But it definitely is, as I used Network Utility to double check and can also use Safari!
Really is hard work and it just shouldn’t be to do a fresh reinstall
So I have a 2017 MacBook Air. I’m wanting a fresh start so I erased the whole thing. I’ve erased the discs and now when I try to reinstall macOS it’s saying could not connect to the server. At first I was trying to reinstall macOS Catalina and it was trying but about halfway through it would say unable to connect to the server. Then the next time I tried it had the blinking file folder with the question mark and it had a link so I went to the link and followed the instructions and now it has macOS High Sierra but each time I try to reinstall it it’s saying unable to connect to the server. The connections fine but I’m not sure what to do. Has anyone had this problem or know what I could do to help?
I noticed that the High Sierra Patcher was relabelling my USB stick to a different volume name "OS X Base System". However, later in its processing it referred to the original volume name of the USB stick and reported a failure to find certain files.
So, for the next attempt, I formatted the USB stick as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and specified "OS X Base System" as the volume name. And that worked right away. And now I've got High Sierra installed on this old iMac. Thanks!
On the high sierra patcher go to tolls at the top of the screen and there will be an option to download High Sierra. Just click on that and follow the directions. Took me a moment as well to figure it out.
What OS are you trying to install & which Mac exactly?
This worked for me. You are my hero!
the problem (for me) still persist! I'm using a MacBook Air 2010 and your method doesn't work! HELP!!
I’m having this same issue. Is there any sort of work around or suggestions if 1) I don’t have access to another Mac to do the download and 2) reformatting is beyond my skill/confidence level.
TYIA.
I’m having all these issues, tries calling Apple to be told the machine is obsolete and there is nothing they can do to help.
How to recover a Deleted Hard Drive during macOS reinstallation
