Apple Event: May 7th at 7 am PT
I am trying to install High Sierra on my Mac mini (Late 2014) and the install gives an error about not being able to verify firmware. I replaced the hard drive with an 2TB SSD but other than that, it's the same computer as when purchased. How can I fix this? Any help would be appreciated.
Mac mini, macOS Sierra (10.12.1), null
Okay, I got High Sierra to install. The problem was with the EFI partition, which was the reason for the firmware error message. This is what I did:
I booted into the recovery disk on an external drive. I **don't** honestly know if this is necessary. It may be possible to boot into the recovery disk on the main MacHD drive but I did not try it.
In the recovery area, I opened Terminal from the Utilities menu. I then entered diskutil list to see the address of my hard disk. It can also be seen in the Disk Utility; it's probably disk0. At any rate, I wanted to see the partitions on the disk which is not possible in the Disk utility. If your disk is not disk0, then you need to use the proper disk number in the following commands, if you choose to try this method.
Then, in Terminal I entered diskutil verifydisk disk0 to check the disk. Sure enough it said that there was a problem.
I then ran diskutil repairdisk disk0 and got a warning that it would probably erase a certain partition and may cause a problem booting up. The partition it referenced was the EFI partition, so I said yes. It repaired the disk, I rebooted and then (finally!!!) installed High Sierra without a problem.
I could not do this repair from the Disk Utility. It had to be done in Terminal.
I also understand that a reinstall of the current OS on your Mac will fix the EFI partition. This can be done in the Recovery Disk menu, Reinstall Mac OS. Don't bother looking for Sierra in the App Store. It's not there. But it is available by download from the Recovery Disk. I did not try this method because I didn't have the patience for one more MacOS download and install. But you're welcome to try it, of course, if that's easier for you. You would reinstall Sierra and then upgrade to High Sierra if you go this route.
I hope this helps those of you who are still having problems. Regards.
Okay, I got High Sierra to install. The problem was with the EFI partition, which was the reason for the firmware error message. This is what I did:
I booted into the recovery disk on an external drive. I **don't** honestly know if this is necessary. It may be possible to boot into the recovery disk on the main MacHD drive but I did not try it.
In the recovery area, I opened Terminal from the Utilities menu. I then entered diskutil list to see the address of my hard disk. It can also be seen in the Disk Utility; it's probably disk0. At any rate, I wanted to see the partitions on the disk which is not possible in the Disk utility. If your disk is not disk0, then you need to use the proper disk number in the following commands, if you choose to try this method.
Then, in Terminal I entered diskutil verifydisk disk0 to check the disk. Sure enough it said that there was a problem.
I then ran diskutil repairdisk disk0 and got a warning that it would probably erase a certain partition and may cause a problem booting up. The partition it referenced was the EFI partition, so I said yes. It repaired the disk, I rebooted and then (finally!!!) installed High Sierra without a problem.
I could not do this repair from the Disk Utility. It had to be done in Terminal.
I also understand that a reinstall of the current OS on your Mac will fix the EFI partition. This can be done in the Recovery Disk menu, Reinstall Mac OS. Don't bother looking for Sierra in the App Store. It's not there. But it is available by download from the Recovery Disk. I did not try this method because I didn't have the patience for one more MacOS download and install. But you're welcome to try it, of course, if that's easier for you. You would reinstall Sierra and then upgrade to High Sierra if you go this route.
I hope this helps those of you who are still having problems. Regards.
Hi,
I had the same problem (at least: symptom) on a MacBookPro8,1. With a "custom" SSD; but then my mini had updated without issues…
What I had found as suggestions, but did not help:
What I tried and worked (1 out of 1 time):
I started the installer from an "admin" enabled account. -> Worked.
Beforehand it had failed 3 times from a "non-admin" account. The final run started a helper before the actual installation (which took several reboots and a firmware upgrade, if I understand the progress bar looks correctly).
Other proposals I had found:
Hope this helps.
BR/Philipp
There may possibly be issues with particular SSDs.
FWIW, I have completed to installs. As previously mentioned
my MacBook Pro which has a Sandisk Ultra II 480 GB and a
2011 MacMini Server which has a 240 GB Kingston SSDnow v300.
I have another Mini and my iMac which I have yet to try updating
and won't until tomorrow (supper time now). Both with 3rd party
SSDs. The Mini a Toshiba and the iMac an Ultra II 960 GB.
but that did not
so I installed my sad running sierra
that did not work'
so I tired again
that did not work
so stupidly I contacted the dimwits at apple
hristopher
Thanks for contacting Apple Support. How can I help you?
Expo Bill
Yes or no, will High Sierra work with a MacBook Air 2010? I tried 6 times already with 2 ssds, on running Sierra, the other mountain lion. If yes I’m going to the local apple store this week and have them figure this out If no I stick to Sierra on the mba This is m
Expo Bill
I type slow
Christopher
I will be happy to help you find a solution!
Christopher
Yes you can.
Expo Bill
A yes or no will do
Expo Bill
How? This is not my first update. I have High Sierra running on the Mac mini
Christopher
Thought the app store.
Christopher
through.
Expo Bill
Please.....3 steps ahead of you, I even reset the pram
Christopher
Do you have the available hard drive space for the install?
Expo Bill
That is very insulting, Well go,help someone who needs to figure out how to send a pic of their cat instead,
Reinstalling the current OS from Recovery didn't work for me but the beta of 10.13.1 installed without a hitch. If I hit the issue again I'll try repairing the EFI partition as you've described. Thanks 🙂
I'm using a mid 2012 MBP, with a "custom" SSD, running El Capitan. I had had the "couldn't verify firmware" issue during High Sierra install. Checking my partitions with Disk Utility on a regular boot found a problem, bot no easy fix in Disk Util. Using Terminal and "diskutil repairdisk disk0" fixed the issue (in a regular boot, not recovery or safe boot).
Cheers for this quick fix :-)
I was having the firmware not verified issue too on my Macbook Pro 2012. The HDD was replaced with an SSD. I FINALLY figured out a fix for my problem. I tried PRAM reset, reinstalling from FRESH. Ive tried putting the installer on a flash drive and installing, ive tried reinstalling from Sierra and upgrading. Nothing worked.[THE FIX] - I pulled the model of my SSD from System information, under Storage - Device Name: MKNSSDCR240GB-7.
I then Googled "MKNSSDCR240GB-7 Firmware" and downloaded the firmware from the manufacturers site. The installer only worked on Windows or Linux, so i either had to plug my ssd into a windows computer via Sata cord, or load up linux on a cd. I actually found a bootable version of Windows 10 PE. Located on this site. You can then use the Windows 7 usb download tool by Microsoft located here to burn the ISO file to a flash drive 8GB or more. (Need windows to do this) You can also use a tool called Rufus. But i found it can sometimes let you down.You then move your firmware files to a flash drive, turn off your mac, turn it back on while holding the "option" key. Boot to your newly made Windows 10 PE flash drive, then run the firmware upgrader exe file. Then reboot after the firmware is upgraded. Now upgrade to high sierra. Should work.
PS: If you only have MacOS, you can burn on ISO to a flash drive with this method. Be aware though, this method is powerful, and if you stupidly type the wrong disk, you could end up wiping your main drive.
very helpful just another step was
Fixing “Partition Failed” Errors in Mac OS X
/sbin/fsck -fybefore trying again and reinstall the OS
Try a PRAM reset:
macOS Sierra: Reset your computer’s NVRAM or PRAM
It may help.
FWIW, I replaced a standard HDD in my 2011 MacBook Pro
with an SSD and it just upgraded fine.
BTW, what SSD brand?
The installer log says : ROM does not support APFS
Mine's the supplied internal Apple SSD so I don't think the brand matters... 😟
It's a Crucial SDD. I already tried resetting the PRAM but it did not help. Now I have a honking 5.5GB installer folder on my hard drive that I cannot delete as well. 😟
At least I got the installer file deleted off the hard drive by turning off (and then on again) SIP.
Thanks, I’m running mountain lion on a 2010 mba Air, I hope that helps!
Where does one find this installer log?
When the install fails I get a dialog box on screen from the installer. Click on the dialogue box and the installer's menubar will appear, you can view the install log from one of the menu options.
High Sierra error cannot verify firmware on install