Wipe 2017 iMac, Won't Install new OS

I hope you find an answer to this, as I'm about to do the very same thing, and don't want to end up unable to reinstall the OS. What makes me a bit suspicious is that the very same error message pops up whenever anyone with an older Macbook Pro attempts to reinstall their High Sierra. It's a bug, yet one that Apple refuses to address and fix, forcing everyone to try and use very complicated workarounds, when everything is done correctly, and it's only that final step that is blocking us all from doing this simple operation.

It's not up to Apple to determine when we should throw away older devices, ****, my two ancient Classic iPods work better at playing tracks on my gigs, than my new thousand dollar Ipad Pro! And they must be at least 20 years old...

[Edited by Moderator]

Option-Command-R or Shift-Option-Command-R to start up from macOS Recovery over the internet.

macOS Recovery installs different versions of macOS, depending on the key combination you use.

You will Require an Internet Connection for this to work so suggest an Ethernet connection to avoid the iffy Wifi connection

If you are fortunate enough, it may present the Latest Version of macOS this computer Qualifies to run, Ventura

Hello machinehead459,

If you have access to another Mac, create a bootable key and use it to install macOS on your iMac.