FIX- Could not create a Preboot Volume for APFS install

When I go to my disk utility, and erase drive, I have to choose to Erase and provide aname and format (I suppose for the new disk drive) and I only have the APFS option. There is APFS (encryted), APFS (case-sensitive), APFS (case-sensitive, encrypted) but no MAC OS Extended??

Yes, but most of its just dragging the files into Terminal. Just watch the video and pause at each step. You will get it....

Other videos actually have you typing all the commands into terminal.... Now that is a pain..... lol

Hello Ethoic,

I believe that your statement:

"Then you will enter the same menu which is mac os utilities and then this time instead of Mac OS High Sierra you will just see Sierra"

Should read:

"Then you will enter the same menu which is mac os utilities and then this time instead of Mac OS High Sierra you will just see the OS that your Mac originally came with when you purchased it."

I tried your procedure, and when I got to this point, instead of macOS Sierra, the OS installed was El Capitan, which installed successfully :-)

Thank you for your post! I've now successfully upgraded to High Sierra.

- Paul N.

you mean to keep deleting the HD drive until none shows up? I deleted it and then a "conteiner disk 1" showed up, instead of 4 sharing volumes, there were 3. so the key is to keep deleting until there are no sharing volumes?

How to create a bootable macOS High Sierra USB Install drive - YouTube

Follow this video and it should fix. You need another Apple Computer to actually do these steps to create a bootable thumb drive.

So have same issue on a Macbook Pro 2017. Managed to delete the Macintosh HD drive ...but on restart I can't add a new drive which seems a little fundamental to getting this fixed. On reboot I get a Container disk show up - I can't see the MAC OS Extended option only APFS which if I do I get the same issue. I can't delete the Container DIsk (no MINUS option shows). How do I get to the option to add the new drive without APFS options? Thank you!

Hello, have you tried to create a bootable thumb-drive. I believe this is a server error issue after speaking with AppleCare. The bootable thumb drive worked for me.

After upgrading to High Sierra on a laptop with SSD, Mac OS Extended Journal is no longer an option. This is only available on iMac with spinning drive.

FYI, I'm no expert......

I have been trying to get my MacAir to work for two weeks! I am trying to sell it. I have watched videos and read other people’s instructions. YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE THAT IS ABSOLUTELY CORRECT!!! My Mac Air is up and running! THANK YOU!!!!

When i restart using option, command R I just get the same screen again showing it wants to install High Sierra.. any ideas what to do from here? Is there some special way to do the option/command R thing?

Thank you so much for this solution. I brought my macbook air to an authorized repair shop because i was having multiple issues installing high sierra. They kept my device there for two weeks and told me they could not repair it and I would have to buy a new one!!!!! The excuse was it was just too old. Really? 2013 models are supposed to be able to perform this update. So I took a Sunday and devoted the day to fixing it myself. This is the only solution that worked for me. I am not a computer expert. Just a SAHM that refuses to be told her perfectly good computer that was working fine one minute is suddenly unusable after trying to install an update apple told me I needed.

beto153- Did you try selecting the partition tap when adding the new drive? I'm not a Mac expert, but when I went to delete the drive and add it again, I did not have the option either. I had to create a partition which I just left the same size, and then the option was available to me. Not sure if what I wrote makes sense as I can't go back now and repeat what I did.

I have 2017 Macbook Pro and the only way to get this to work was to create a Partition HD with the format Mac OS Extended.

So you have both and then go to install OS and install it on the HD with the format Mac OS Extended.

The key step in the process of erasing the existing volume is selecting the correct type that it will be reformatted as. The first couple of times I erased it and selected the APFS type to be the new volume type and ran into the original error about not being able to create the preboot volume. The type that should be selected is "MacOS Extended (Journaled)" - once I erased to this type the install worked seamlessly.

Right, kind of a stupid question but i got to ask. Firstly, should i be clicking on “delete Apfs volume” or “erase disk”?

And would that delete all my data? Any way to save data since i have no backup?

Thanks

I can't seem to edit or delete the above, but this turned out to be incorrect. The install process continued for hours, which made me think it was working, but never completed. After giving up and rebooting and trying the above method again I quickly hit the APFS install.

In the end I just made a High Sierra installer boot USB drive and used that instead and had no issues at all.