Installing Mac OS sierra from recovery mode on 2027 MacBook Air

forgot my password on my old MacBook Air so I decided to wipe the computer which also meant I have to redownload sierra os onto my MacBook and I’ve ran into a few problems.

first problem saying bag empty- seemed to rectify this by changing date.

next issue is once it gets to the end of the timer for the download it then says ‘an error occurred while preparing the installation. Try running this application again’ it doesn’t say storage issue but the disk I’m using says 120.99GB total and it says 120.77 GB available, I don’t know how to free up that tiny bit of storage I need as I’m only in recovery mode and erasing things off the discs has done nothing


please help in the simplest terms as I’m not technical at all!

MacBook Air 13″

Posted on May 19, 2025 09:04 AM

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3 replies

May 20, 2025 08:57 AM in response to alicesilverspoon

You're welcome.


There are several options available for restarting the Intel Mac in recovery mode:


How to start up from macOS Recovery - Apple Support

❝If your Mac tries to start up from its built-in Recovery system but can’t, it should automatically try to start up from Recovery over the internet. Or you can force Internet Recovery by pressing Command-Option-R or Shift-Command-Option-R at startup. Try each key combination, if necessary. (Each combination also affects the version of macOS offered when reinstalling macOS from Recovery.)❞



How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support

❝Which macOS does Recovery install?

[...]

On an Intel-based Mac:

  • If you used Command-R to start up from the local Recovery system, you get the current version of the most recently installed macOS.
  • If you used Option-Command-R to start up from Internet Recovery, you might get the latest macOS that is compatible with your Mac. 
  • If you used Shift-Option-Command-R to start up from Internet Recovery, you might get the macOS that came with your Mac, or the closest version still available.❞


May 19, 2025 01:59 PM in response to alicesilverspoon

Storage space does not appear to be the problem here. You have plenty available.


Unless you have some very compelling reason to stick with the very obsolete macOS Sierra 10.12 (are required to use old outdated apps?) I suggest you upgrade to a newer OS. MacOS 12 Monterey is the latest your hardware can run.


Reboot your Mac into internet recovery using the keys Option-Command-R (⌥⌘R). This should trigger the Mac to boot to internet recovery and you might get the latest macOS that is compatible with your Mac.


How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support

How to start up from macOS Recovery - Apple Support


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Installing Mac OS sierra from recovery mode on 2027 MacBook Air

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