Macos Catalina install stuck

Reinstalling macOS from the recovery servers seems to be a major problem for a lot of folks of late.

That's why I suggested using the Command-R startup keys instead of Option-Command-R or Option-Shift-Command-R. The first key combo relies on the local recovery partition hidden on the internal drive. The last two combinations require the bulk of the recovery software to be delivered by Apple servers, which have been flaky at best.

Using the Command-R recovery key combination will allow you to reinstall the latest macOS that was installed on your system, or to use the other apps in macOS Recovery, like Disk Utility.

If you had created a Time Machine backup you could restore your Mac from that.

At this point, if you cannot get a connection to the servers, then you'll need to create a bootable installer somehow. Creating a bootable instaler will require another Mac that can run one of the macOS versions that this old mini can run. If you have access to another Mac built between 2011 and 2017 you can get this done. Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support

The catch here is that you still will need to contact the Apple servers to download the macOS installer app required to create the installer drive. 😕

D.I. Johnson wrote:

That's why I suggested using the Command-R startup keys instead of Option-Command-R or Option-Shift-Command-R. The first key combo relies on the local recovery partition hidden on the internal drive. The last two combinations require the bulk of the recovery software to be delivered by Apple servers, which have been flaky at best.

Actually even local recovery mode requires access to the Internet and will fail. I saw a post which mentioned this not too long ago since I was under the same impression. I think using Command + Option + R is the best option since it would access the most recent version of macOS compatible which would be 10.15 which would be more likely to be available. I believe I also some reports where even macOS 10.15 Catalina was not available which makes me think the restriction may be hardware based rather than OS based. I haven't had the opportunity to confirm though.

At this point, if you cannot get a connection to the servers, then you'll need to create a bootable installer somehow. Creating a bootable instaler will require another Mac that can run one of the macOS versions that this old mini can run. If you have access to another Mac built between 2011 and 2017 you can get this done. Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support

Actually the OP could use almost any Mac from 2007 to 2019 in order to create a bootable macOS USB installer (10.11, 10.13, or 10.15).

• macOS 10.11 -- a Mac from 2007 to 2015
• macOS 10.13 -- a Mac from Late-2009 to 2017 (mid-2018)
• macOS 10.15 -- a Mac from 2012 to 2019

Here is an article which shows which versions of macOS are compatible with various Apple hardware in order to easily locate & confirm a compatible Mac since my guidelines are not 100% accurate:

https://eshop.macsales.com/guides/Mac_OS_X_Compatibility

The catch here is that you still will need to contact the Apple servers to download the macOS installer app required to create the installer drive. 😕

Shouldn't be a problem if the OP has a compatible Mac.

Does the mini have a bootable OS installed right now?

Boot your Mac in Recovery mode by holding the Command-R (⌘R) keys at startup until you see the Apple logo and progress bar. This should allow you to reinstall the latest OS that was installed on the computer.

Use macOS Recovery on an Intel-based Mac - Apple Support

I would be concerned that the hard drive is failing. You can try running the Apple Diagnostics to see if any hardware issues are detected. Unfortunately the diagnostics don't detect most drive failures.

You could try installing macOS to an external USB3 drive to see if the installation will finish, but sometimes a failing internal drive will interfere even when using & booting from an external drive. If you can install macOS to an external drive & boot from it, then most likely you have confirmed the internal drive has failed. If you don't have an external USB3 drive to use for this purpose, then you can check the health of the internal drive by creating & using a bootable Knoppix Linux USB stick. Here is a post where I provided instructions:

Using Knoppix USB Stick to Check Health of a Drive - hwtech - Apple Community

flarosa Said:

"Macos Catalina install stuck: I’m trying to upgrade an old 2012 Mac Mini to Catalina. The process got stuck on '47 minutes remaining'. After 8 hours I gave up and tried to reinstall High Sierra from Recovery mode, but that doesn’t work. It says the server isn’t responding. What else can I do?"

-------

Troubleshooting a Stalled macOS Upgrade:



Boot in Safe Mode:

Apparently, the macOS is stalled. To, try logging in while in Safe Mode. In Safe Mode, Login Items do not run at login, certain preferences are set aside, and damaged system files are then reset. So, once logged in to Safe Mode, wait 30 seconds, and then restart your Mac, seeing if you can log in go here: How to Use Safe Mode on your Mac - Apple Support