The only reliable method of creating a bootable macOS USB installer is by using the instructions provided by @WheelieNick. I have not seen any success stories for using any third party Windows app in many years. For a 2017 laptop you will generally need access to another Mac from Late-2009 to mid-2022. Maybe another family member, friend, or co-worker will have one.
Here are the general models & the bootable macOS USB installer you can create with them:
- Late-2009 to 2011 macOS 10.13
- 2012 to mid-2020 macOS 10.15
- Late-2013 to mid-2021 macOS 11.x
- 2015 to mid-2022 macOS 12.x
As for the Ethernet adapter, see if you can boot the online Apple Diagnostics. They use the same framework as recovery mode, but does not involve macOS which can be difficult. Inspect the Thunderbolt port to make sure the contacts on the laptop's ports are clean and free of debris and corrosion since this Thunderbolt port tends to acquire both. If the port needs cleaned, then make sure to only use a non-metallic non-conductive instrument such as a wooden or plastic toothpick. Only move the toothpick from the far back of the port towards the front. Do not move it side to side or front to back as that can damage the contacts.
You will want to use Command + Option + R to access the most recent online installer compatible with this Mac (Monterey) since it is unknown whether it is still possible to install any of the older versions of macOS through recovery mode. these days.
Maybe you can take the laptop to an Apple Store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider for assistance. Maybe one of them would be able/willing to create the bootable macOS USB installer for you.
It is always possible this laptop you acquired has some sort of hardware issue...that is one of the risks of used Macs. Unfortunately Apple loves their cryptic & non-sensical error messages, so there really isn't much we can do to figure out the problem other than what you have already tried.
If you get macOS onto this laptop again, then I would suggest making a writeable .dmg file made just barely large enough for the USB installer when you use the "createinstallmedia" command to make a bootable USB installer (the .dmg must be mounted and you must use its mount point as the destination). Using the .dmg file in place of a USB stick will allow you to keep a digital copy of the bootable macOS installer so you can use any computer or OS (macOS, Windows, Linux) to transfer the raw image of the .dmg file to a USB stick if you ever need to reinstall macOS again as long as you store it somewhere another computer can access when needed.
