Cannot Reinstall MacOS

Question

Cannot Reinstall MacOS

I'm trying to reinstall MacOS on an Intel MacBook.

It looks like this MacBook is trying to recover to Catalina.

After connecting to the network, and clicking "continue" on the Install macOS Catalina screen, I eventually receive "The recovery server could not be contacted."

Looking at the network goodies, I can resolve apple.com, I can ping apple.com, I can tracert to my heart's content. So, I'm pretty sure that I don't have a network issue.

Looking at the system time, It's about 1 day and 10 minutes short. I wonder if this is the problem?

On August 18, 2023 at around 06:29 local time, I queried my Mac and found that it's reporting 12:19 on August 17, 2023. Current time UTC would be 11:29 AM for me as I'm in the Central Time zone in the United States.

Looking around on the web, there are all kinds of resources telling me how to set my system's time via CLI. None of them have been helpful.

sudo systemsetup -setusingnetworktime off

"systemsetup" is not a valid command.

sudo ntpdate -u time.apple.com

"ntpdate" is also not a valid command.

Am I barking up the right tree thinking that my time/date config is incorrect?
If so, how can I correct this?
If I'm not barking up the right tree, what are my next steps to getting MacOS installed on this machine?

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 13.4

Posted on Aug 18, 2023 4:50 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

cowest

Level 1

18 points

Aug 18, 2023 12:12 PM in response to IndiraMadalitso

To reset the date & time, try this. Open the terminal and enter the following:

date 0818XXXX23

which is August 18th XX:XX (military time) 2023

So mmddhhmiyy

all two digits.

(I don't think sudo is an available command from the terminal when in the built-in macOS Recovery system)

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Answer 2

Aug 18, 2023 9:16 AM in response to IndiraMadalitso

You can not make a secure httpS: connection (including to the Mac App Store) unless the time is correct within five minutes of network time.

This web site can advise:

http://time.is

if you Mac works, there is no need to use Terminal, use:

system preferences > Date & Time

Change Date & Time settings on Mac - Apple Support

if you are stuck using Terminal:

>Before 10.14 Mojave:

sudo ntpdate -vu time.apple.com

>10.14 and later:

sudo sntp -sS time.apple.com

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Answer 3

cowest

Level 1

18 points

Aug 18, 2023 12:21 PM in response to IndiraMadalitso

Looks like the main drive was erased. I don't think a copy of the OS lives on the base system. I think that is where the recovery system tools are kept.

If fixing the system time doesn't work, you may need to try creating and using an external bootable installer. You'll probably need to create that on another mac that is functional. Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Podpora (SI)

I am stuck in a similar situation.

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Answer 4

Aug 18, 2023 6:20 AM in response to a brody

I'm unsure what this machine was running previously; probably not Ventura.

Looking at Disk Utility (tried to post screenshots, Apple says "no can do!"

I have two internal and one disk image.

Macintosh HD is 498.73GB Free with 499.96GB Total.
Macintosh HD - basically the same
Then under Disk images I have macOS Base System which shows 2.01GB with 1.35GB used. This is where a copy of the OS lives, yes? If so, how do I restore from there?

Networking the Macbook with a wire and turning off WiFi, I get an IP address, I can resolve DNS and PING all kinds of goodies. Still get the same error when trying to install the OS. Catalina is what Apple allows me to install on this machine, so I assume it was running Catalina before.

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Answer 5

a brody

Level 10

84,055 points

Aug 18, 2023 5:13 AM in response to IndiraMadalitso

Is this machine currently running Ventura? You can't install Catalina directly on top of Ventura. You have to format a partition at least 60 GB to install with internet recovery, command-option-shift-R boot.

Make sure to plug the computer directly via ethernet, and if necessary use an ethernet thunderbolt adapter.

If internet recovery doesn't work, and you don't have an external bootable backup of Catalina, you might need to get some assitance from a local Apple Authorized Service Provider.

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Answer 6

Aug 23, 2023 4:09 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

@Grant Bennet-Alder,

Thank you very much for your input, I do appreciate it. But I fail to see how comments like "what about AFTER 10.14 Mojave did you not understand," are valuable, constructive, and helpful to anyone in the Apple community. If I wanted to, I could also make a mockery of the many rudamentary mistakes you've made on this thread as well, but I shall refrain.

@cowest

"date 0818XXXX23" was the command I needed to get this and a few other Macbooks to allow me to change their time. Operatings systems have been installed and I am now putting on the final touches.

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Answer 7

a brody

Level 10

84,055 points

Aug 23, 2023 4:29 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

To put it more clearly,

2017 10.13 High Sierra

2018 10.14 Mojave

2019 10.15 Catalina

2020 11.0 Big Sur

2021 12.0 Monterey

2022 13.0 Ventura

2023 14.0 Sonoma - not yet released, but announced at the June Worldwide Developer Conference.

Apple also dropped X from the naming of macOS in 10.12, in prepartion for the shift away from 10 in the prefix of the OS name. This naming convention has certainly confused some people, expecting the 10.upgrade release to remain.

Grant was merely trying to point out the chronology to support his advice. It had appeared as though you hadn't grasped what the actual order was.

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Answer 8

Aug 18, 2023 11:43 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Ugh...

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Answer 9

Aug 18, 2023 2:39 PM in response to IndiraMadalitso

Mojave is 10.14. Catalina is 10.15.

Big Sur is MacOS 11. Monterey is MacOS 12.

you are using macOS 13. what about AFTER 10.14 Mojave did you not understand?

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Cannot Reinstall MacOS

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