The Apple Support Community will permanently close on November 20, 2026. Starting today, the site will no longer accept new posts and is available in a read-only state.
You can continue to find trusted guidance and support on the official Apple Support site.
We want to thank the community members who have contributed their time and expertise to help others with their Apple products.
The Apple Support Community will permanently close on November 20, 2026. Starting today, the site will no longer accept new posts and is available in a read-only state.
You can continue to find trusted guidance and support on the official Apple Support site.
We want to thank the community members who have contributed their time and expertise to help others with their Apple products.
I’m trying to give away an old iMac (late 2012 model) and followed a tutorial on factory resetting the Mac. I cleared the Mac using disk utility and tried to reinstall MacOS Sierra, but it gets stuck at either “less than a second remaining” or “-399 seconds remaining” for hours. Anyone have a similar problem or a potential fix?
Earlier Mac models
Start up from macOS Recovery
Option-⌘-R
Upgrade to the latest macOS compatible with your Mac.
In Disk Utility>View, select Show all Devices, highlight the top left entry.
APFS won't work for Sierra or earlier, Sierra or earlier needs MacOS Extended Journaled. High Sierra won't work for APFS on earlier Macs.
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.
Deleted MacIntosh HD and MacIntosh HD - D… - Apple Community
could not create a reboot volume for apfs… - Apple Community
Remote Recovery Fails to install Sierra -… - Apple Community
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/255149373?answerId=259575267022#259575267022
2017 iMac failing to install Sierra in re… - Apple Community
Clean Install of High Sierra: Multiple Fa… - Apple Community
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/255040953?answerId=259391356022#259391356022
If all else fails...
Use http:// instead of https://
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouNQS36dIBw&t=95s
The formula for caos: APFS+macOS High+EFI… - Apple Community
Start up from macOS Recovery
Option-⌘-R
Upgrade to the latest macOS compatible with your Mac.
In Disk Utility>View, select Show all Devices, highlight the top left entry.
APFS won't work for Sierra or earlier, Sierra or earlier needs MacOS Extended Journaled. High Sierra won't work for APFS on earlier Macs.
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.
Deleted MacIntosh HD and MacIntosh HD - D… - Apple Community
could not create a reboot volume for apfs… - Apple Community
Remote Recovery Fails to install Sierra -… - Apple Community
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/255149373?answerId=259575267022#259575267022
2017 iMac failing to install Sierra in re… - Apple Community
Clean Install of High Sierra: Multiple Fa… - Apple Community
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/255040953?answerId=259391356022#259391356022
If all else fails...
Use http:// instead of https://
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouNQS36dIBw&t=95s
The formula for caos: APFS+macOS High+EFI… - Apple Community
Error reinstalling MacOS sierra on old iMac
