FIX- Could not create a Preboot Volume for APFS install

You should make a pre boot pen drive with older macos x on start from alt then in Disk utility erase disk in format macos extrnded call it Macintosh HD end start installation of operating system The Next Step is too upgrade system insight Mac OS

From Another Mac komputer you should make pre boot pendrive with older version of Mac OS If I dont have any Macintosh you can do this with Windows By application transmac but first of all you need to have dmg file of mac os

To all those who have got their Drive deleted and it no longer appears in Disk Utility, here's the solution that worked for me:

Help, Erased iMac HDD volume drive trying reset my iMac to factory conditions | Page 8 | MacRumors Forums

I hope this works for all of you too.

Hello everyone, Ethoic you are very right. (if what Ethoic said doesn't work, this is a different approach) I'm placing a few more reinforcements to your statement. I myself have a 2010 mac with a 500 gig Samsung SSD Evo Media hard drive. I had the same issue which came from out of nowhere. I recommend resetting your SMC by pressing shift, control, option, and power all at the same time till you hear your computer boot up two times ( its fine if it starts up three times) for me this didn't work and I had to use a power cable. when it flicked to green I would immediately unplug the cable and it reset my SMC, after this try recovery mode (command and r upon startup) if it still fails like mine did and you have another mac, try to see if your hard drive is the issue by plugging it into that mac and running disk utility in recovery mode. if it recognizes it then you are on the right track, if not then your hard drive is toast and I recommend getting a new one or a replacement. next, you need to erase the hard drive and rewrite it in 'Mac OS Extended Journaled'. Next close out of disk utility and head over to the Reinstall Mac OSX pane, select the old hard drive (this will take a while). The following is optional: you can copy your backup to the hard drive at this time and it should work but you might need to do a little editing to the accounts if you do this with multiple accounts. Finally reinstall the Harddrive into your mac, start her up like you normally would. it should work. also a common issue with replacing the hard drive is many people bump into the screen connection and the screen will look awkward so be sure to be careful with anything and everything when you have the back off, it is wise to clean your fans while you're back there, don't use those aerosol cans of air bc it creates humidity, use alcohol on the end of a cotton swab, clean carefully. make sure you keep track of everything and take care, please. That is all, this is how I repaired my mac and work on other macs. if there are any errors or concerns feel free to reply! 🙂

If you cannot create a new one by clicking the plus sign as the text suggests you can open the terminal by closing the dick utility.

In top menu bar select utilities then select Terminal.

When in the terminal write the following.

diskutil eraseDisk JHFS+ MacOS /dev/disk0

Check that you have typed the command correctly with capitals where there should be.

Then press enter.

After the command is complete quit Terminal from the menubar.

Install Mac OS

One of my recovery trials was to go back to Sierra, but since the drive was formatted as APFS, it would not let me reformat it as Mac OS Extended which is needed dor anything before High Sierra. So fo me the answer was no, I could not go back to an earlier OS and had to forge ahead with making high sierra work on the APFS drive.

Use internet recovery. Power off the Mac then hold down Option-Command (⌘)-R immediately after turning on or restarting your Mac. Release the keys when you see the globe icon. From there try reinstalling macOS.

I followed your directions but the drive could not be added after internet recovery. I found help by clicking on Help in the recovery window, which took me to Apple's instructions for Erasing & Reinstalling. (as follows:)

First choose Help in the Recovery Menu; it will open Safari to a recovery instructions page.

1. Write down the instructions, then quit Safari.

2. Make sure you're connected to the internet.

3. Select Disk Utility, Continue.

4. Select your disk drive in the list on the left, then click erase.

5. Enter a name for your disk, then choose APFS from the format popup menu then click Erase.

One difference: In step 5 Apple says to choose APFS, but I didn't; I left it at the default Mac Extended Journaled, then clicked Erase.

6. Quit Disk Utility.

7. Select reinstall Mac OS, click Continue, then follow the on-screen instructions.

Godspeed and I hope this helps the 159 others with the same issue!

Ethoic wrote:

... Go disk utilty and create a disk this time clicking + and make a drive calling it Macintosh HD with the format Mac OS Extended. ....

This part isn't happening. I do not have an option to + the drive back. The + | - are grayed out. Deleting it went okay...

So, once again, in more understandable language:

Before selling my MacBook Air I removed all files from it. Than I restarted it holding keyboard keys "cmd" and "P" pressed to enter restore mode. The system tried to reinstall Mac OS High Sierra. It has taken approx 40-50 mins, but in the end I saw error message "could not create reboot volume for APFS file system".

Then I rebooted again (holding "cmd" and "P" keys pressed) and saw same options as before. This time I entered the disk utility and erased the bigger drive (with the name "Macintosh HD").

Restarted again (holding the both keys pressed) and entered the "reinstall OS" option. Oh wonder, this time it was not Mac OS Hight Sierra, but OS X Yosemite. But... when I tried to install it, the system asked me to choose the drive, where the OS must be installed, but there was no drive to choose.

Yes, right guess, I entered the disk utility program again and ... just renamed the main drive (named after erasure "disk2") to "Macintosh HD".

Now, without restarting the Macbook, I entered the mode "reinstall OS" and this time I could see the renamed disk (Macintosh HD) to choose it for installation of the OS X Yosemite.

It worked!

Hi,

have tried all above and none work. So I decided to do "Command + alt + R" when the system boot up, and do a system reinstall, some how it went into Internet Recovery mode and start doing it's stuff. After a long time, the Disk Utilities appeared again, this time select "Reinstall MAC OS X" again and the installation managed to complete successfully.

Hope this help.

Wow - not helpful! I deleted, as you said, my Macintosh HD and now after rebooting and pressing Ctrl+R, entering Disk Utility, I cannot press the + thingy to add a volume. It is un-selectable. It is grey and I can't push that button. Now I have no HD. What do I do now???

Hi,

Thanks for you post it works for me but with some differences:

1. To delete my drive Maquitosh Hd I pressed command + shift + R and then I followed your instruction

2. Once I deleted my drive I power off my Mac and I boot it pressed Command + R and it boot from internet recovery mode. I don’t know why but it didn’t ask me for my WiFi network (I have a MacBook Pro retina 2015) it took almost 30 minutes to finish.

3. After that I could enter to disk utility but I couldn’t find my drive so I just out of disk utility and enter directly in the option to install a copy o macOS and I click next and next and when I had to choose a drive for the installation there wasn’t I hard drive, so after that I went out of this option and again I enter to disk utility but this time my Drive was there and when I presses in erase It showed the extended journal option for formatted and I chooses this option.

4. After that I was happy but the only concern that I had was that the copy of the macOS that will be installed was macOS high Sierra no macOS Sierra but I proceed with the installation and all end very good I can install macOS Hig Sierra again.

I hope this post works for other people too and apologize me for me English I am not native.

No, you don’t have to add a volume after you deleted (not erease it) the drive Macintosh HD you have to go on to internet recovery mode and at the beginning show couldn’t finde any drive so you can follow my previous post and the you will see your drive with name SSD... you have to choose it and select erease and now it iis going to show up the extended journal option.