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Could not create a Preboot Volume for APFS install

I was trying to do a factory reset so I deleted the Macintosh HD drive. I shut down my MacBook Pro then boot it back up and now have a new drive called container disk2. I watched some videos and followed the steps they took but that didn’t wok and now I think I messed up the Mac even more. If I try to install Mac OS Sierra it won’t work anymore. . A drive won’t appear, it’s not even a option to me 😪. Now I’m so confused and have NO CLUE ON WHAT TO DO. Can someone please help me out?!! Btw I was doing the factory reset because I was downloading music from a website and then BOOM GOT A VIRUS . So I figured if I do this factory reset I won’t have the virus no more.

Posted on Mar 11, 2018 5:27 AM

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Posted on Mar 11, 2018 5:48 AM

How did you try to reinstall macOS - using macOS Recovery?

About macOS Recovery - Apple Support


If just choosing "Reinstall macOS" is not successful, try using Disk Utility first to delete the built-in drive. To do so, first switch to the "All devices" view (View menu > Show all devices). You will see the drive (named, for example, "APPLE SSD AP0256J Media") on top and below that, the disk2 container.

To delete the entire drive, right-click the drive on top (in my example, "APPLE SSD .....") and choose Delete. Deleting the drive will also automatically create a new volume. The name you enter will be for the newly created volume, so choose for example "Macintosh HD". After the new volume has been created, you should be able to reinstall macOS.

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Mar 11, 2018 5:48 AM in response to andrettilop

How did you try to reinstall macOS - using macOS Recovery?

About macOS Recovery - Apple Support


If just choosing "Reinstall macOS" is not successful, try using Disk Utility first to delete the built-in drive. To do so, first switch to the "All devices" view (View menu > Show all devices). You will see the drive (named, for example, "APPLE SSD AP0256J Media") on top and below that, the disk2 container.

To delete the entire drive, right-click the drive on top (in my example, "APPLE SSD .....") and choose Delete. Deleting the drive will also automatically create a new volume. The name you enter will be for the newly created volume, so choose for example "Macintosh HD". After the new volume has been created, you should be able to reinstall macOS.

May 13, 2018 2:25 PM in response to HWMusic82

HWMusic82, I was also going mad until I discovered Weaselboy's answer here (Help, Erased iMac HDD volume drive trying reset my iMac to factory conditions | Page 9 | MacRumors Forums) #205 where you have to use from internet recovery and not normal recovery. "Try doing this from Internet recovery by holding command-option-r at startup.". Do not forget to hit the view icon to View all devices so you can see the SSD. Only then was I able to erase all the drives and create a new drive ( Mac Extended Journaled) and reinstall the OS. Also look at this post (Re: FIX- Could not create a Preboot Volume for APFS install) if you need more details.

Could not create a Preboot Volume for APFS install

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