Error 0xc0000225 when installing Catalina

Let's start with which exact model is your iMac?

This "blue screen" error relates to the Windows operating system so I'm a bit confused why you are seeing this. Was your Mac running Boot Camp prior to the drive failure?

You mention that your Mac's internal drive is not working. Did it completely fail, or just not bootable with a stable version of macOS Catalina?

If you trying to create a bootable external drive to run macOS Catalina, what process are you using to do so?

Note: To be able to create this bootable drive, you will need a working Mac that is running macOS Catalina or later.

Ref:

• Use an external SSD as your startup disk with your iMac or Mac mini - Jack-19 ASC
• How to install macOS on an external drive - Macworld

I would also suggest running the Apple Diagnostics to see if any hardware issues are detected. The diagnostics rarely detect problems, but it never hurts to check.

I'm concerned about those Kernel Panics you mentioned. Try booting into Safe Mode on the internal drive to see if that makes things go a bit faster to reach the desktop. If you can reach the Desktop, then post several of the Kernel Panics here so we can examine them for clues to see if you may have some other sort of hardware issue besides a possible failing hard drive. Kernel Panic logs are located in "/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports" folder and possibly even in the "Retired" sub folder. The file names usually begin with "kernel" and end in ".panic". Post them here using the "Additional Text" icon which looks like a piece of paper on the forum editing toolbar.

Also, disconnect all external devices from the computer except what you need to operate the Mac in limp mode & testing just in case an external device is causing problems.

jairousman wrote:

I’m curious about the fact that Disk Utilities first aid checks on the FusionDrive renders it ok.

First Aid only checks the file system for issues. The physical drive could be failing & First Aid would not care unless the failure was so bad it triggered a "SMART status failed" message which is rare in my experience since a failing hard drive usually causes too much of a performance issue to make it to that stage.

Plus First Aid will even lie about the results. You need to click "Show Details" and review the First Aid results log to see if any unfixed errors are listed. Crazy, I know, but I had a file system causing such performance issues it was unbelievable and the summary said "Ok", but the detailed results showed many errors.

4- make recovery via internet, previously formatting the Ssd extended (journaled). The install ok on this drive but when normal rebooting the installation the **** blue screen appeared.

Did you try an Option Boot by holding the Option key down immediately after hearing the Startup Chime? I have personally encountered some Macs where the system will only boot to the internal drive after the installer finishes phase one of the installation process & reboots (probably due to a PRAM issue not retaining the installer's request to boot to the new installation for phase 2.

Or maybe if this external drive was a Windows boot drive, then the macOS firmware may still be seeing the Windows bootloader on the external drive if the drive was not completely erased by selecting the physical drive in Disk Utility so that all partitions are destroyed & the partition table is recreated.

If you did not use Bootcamp Assistant to remove the Windows installation from the internal drive, then you would have left behind the Windows bootloader on the hidden ESP (aka EFI) partition. If that is the case, then you just need to mount that hidden EFI partition and delete the "windows" folder that is on it as that folder contains the old Windows bootloader.

jairousman wrote:

2- Yes I merge the Boot Camp partition with the main drive to gain space, then decided to give up with the internal.

Did you use the Boot Camp Assistant to first remove the Boot Camp partition, and then, merge the space back? ... or did you just use the Disk Utility to do this? The former would be the proper method.

3- the internal drive is working but boots/restarts, etc extremely slow. Tried reinstalling macOS several times with no avail. Applications freeze, often restarts with kernel panic. macOS unstable yes. Boot into it could take 40 minutes. I’m curious about the fact that Disk Utilities first aid checks on the FusionDrive renders it ok.

Chances are that your Fusion Drive's HDD is starting to fail. One reason for the slow performance. The Disk Utility Repair option basically only checks for file integrity, not the actual physical drive surface. Thus any imperfections of the drive platters will not be checked. A better tool for checking drive health would be: DriveDX

If this was my Mac, i would proceed as follows:

• Use DriveDX to determine the health of both the Fusion Drive's HDD & SSD. Should either or both be faulty, replace them, and then, recreate the Fusion Drive.
• Should both be "healthy," completely erase the drive, and then, install a fresh copy of macOS.

FWIW. The newer Apple APFS drive format works best with SSDs, although it can be used with HDDs as well. It became available with macOS High Sierra, and has gone through a few reiterations leading up to the default drive formats currently used macOS Sonoma.

When it comes to Time Machine (TM) backups to an external drive, that drive's format is not critical as TM will reconfigure it for its use ... and why any external drive used for TM should be dedicated to TM only.

Ref:

• What can you do with Time Machine backups on APFS? - The Eclectic Light Company
• How to make more use of your backup disk - The Eclectic Light Company

Actually, it doesn't.

FWIW, I suggest you give the following article a read as it explains the "types" of TM backups to an external drive, based on source/destination formatting:

1. Pre-macOS High Sierra: HFS+ (source) to HFS+ (destination)
2. macOS High Sierra & later: APFS (source) to HFS+ (destination)
3. macOS High Sierra & later: APFS (source) to APFS (destination)

Ref: Time Machine to APFS: Understanding backups - The Eclectic Light Company

My iMac on Catalina with the internal drive APFS does Time Machine.

Try APFS file format.

I think that means the drive your using for Time Machine backup has to be macOS extended (journaled) I think the internal drive can be APFS.