Unable to reinstall OS after erasing disk.

Hi all!


I'm trying to give my iMac a fresh start. However, after erasing my disk using Disk Utility, I now have three internal drives and don't know what to make of it.


  • AppleAPFSMedia
  • APPLE HDD ST2000DM001 Media
  • APPLE SSD SMO128L MEDIA



To troubleshoot on my own first, I did explore to see if I can install my OS, but no drives would show up to allow installation. I believe my last updated OS was Ventura and my machine uses Intel — not sure if any of that info helps ;)


Any help would be appreciated! Thank you.

iMac (2017 – 2020)

Posted on Nov 28, 2023 6:35 AM

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Posted on Nov 28, 2023 8:20 AM

It appears you have a Fusion Drive setup which combined the slow spinning hard drive with the fast SSD. However, the Fusion Drive had the newer APFS file system on it and you are booting into an older version of macOS which doesn't know anything about the newer APFS file system. You have two options depending on your objective here.


If you want to try to keep the existing data and reinstall macOS over top of itself, then you will need to boot into the same or higher version of macOS that is installed currently on the system. You can try booting into Internet Recovery Mode using Command + Option + R to attempt to access the latest online macOS installer compatible with your Mac, or boot from a bootable macOS USB installer. Unfortunately some Macs may boot to the oldest online macOS installer regardless of the keys used to access recovery mode.


Or, if you want to perform a clean install of macOS, you can try to access the most recent online installer mentioned above, or you can use the current installer you are accessing to recreate the Fusion Drive (you may first need to erase both the HD & SSD...not sure which may involve first deleting the "APFS Media" item).


Here is an Apple article with instructions for recreating the Fusion Drive from scratch (this destroys all data on the two drives):

How to fix a split Fusion Drive - Apple Support


If your Mac can still boot normally to the internal drive, then I highly recommend you first create a bootable macOS USB installer while you still can using the instructions in this Apple article:

Create a bootable installer - Apple Support


FYI, there have been a lot of user reports for the past few months reporting that it is no longer possible to reinstall macOS through recovery mode, but I have also seen a couple posts where some few may still be able to do so. Better safe than sorry, so create a bootable USB installer if you still can, otherwise you will need access to another compatible Mac to do so.





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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Nov 28, 2023 8:20 AM in response to jahwei

It appears you have a Fusion Drive setup which combined the slow spinning hard drive with the fast SSD. However, the Fusion Drive had the newer APFS file system on it and you are booting into an older version of macOS which doesn't know anything about the newer APFS file system. You have two options depending on your objective here.


If you want to try to keep the existing data and reinstall macOS over top of itself, then you will need to boot into the same or higher version of macOS that is installed currently on the system. You can try booting into Internet Recovery Mode using Command + Option + R to attempt to access the latest online macOS installer compatible with your Mac, or boot from a bootable macOS USB installer. Unfortunately some Macs may boot to the oldest online macOS installer regardless of the keys used to access recovery mode.


Or, if you want to perform a clean install of macOS, you can try to access the most recent online installer mentioned above, or you can use the current installer you are accessing to recreate the Fusion Drive (you may first need to erase both the HD & SSD...not sure which may involve first deleting the "APFS Media" item).


Here is an Apple article with instructions for recreating the Fusion Drive from scratch (this destroys all data on the two drives):

How to fix a split Fusion Drive - Apple Support


If your Mac can still boot normally to the internal drive, then I highly recommend you first create a bootable macOS USB installer while you still can using the instructions in this Apple article:

Create a bootable installer - Apple Support


FYI, there have been a lot of user reports for the past few months reporting that it is no longer possible to reinstall macOS through recovery mode, but I have also seen a couple posts where some few may still be able to do so. Better safe than sorry, so create a bootable USB installer if you still can, otherwise you will need access to another compatible Mac to do so.





Nov 28, 2023 8:15 AM in response to jahwei

In the Disk Utility app  on your Mac, choose View > Show All Devices.


Is that view any different?


What Format & Partition scheme did you use to Erase it?


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


Option-⌘-R

Upgrade to the latest macOS compatible with your Mac.


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Nov 28, 2023 9:30 AM in response to jahwei

If your Mac has a Fusion Drive and you see a flashing question mark or alert, see the troubleshooting section of the Apple Support article About Fusion Drive, a storage option for some Mac computers.

If you continue to have problems with your disk or it can’t be repaired, it may be physically damaged and need to be replaced. For information about servicing your Mac, see Find out how to service or repair your Mac.


In Terminal…

diskutil resetFusion

Nov 28, 2023 9:12 AM in response to BDAqua

Hi!


I don't have a 'View' option, unfortunately, and I just chose 'APFS' for my format.


I did the CMD+r which leads me back to this option (image below).

  • I don't have a Time Machine Backup
  • I tried reinstalling the macOS, but it doesn't recognize a drive to install it on
  • Get Help lead me here :)
  • And Disk Utility shows the 3 partitions I've posted


Nov 28, 2023 9:24 AM in response to HWTech

Thank you for all this information.


I'm trying to do a clean install of macOS, and it seems like I can't boot normally to the internal drive anymore. I get the flashing question mark:



Based on what you sent, it seems like I need to create my Fusion Drive from scratch. Though it feels a little overwhelming, I'll try it and keep you posted.


Thank you, again for the information.

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Unable to reinstall OS after erasing disk.

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