How to fix 'The installer information on the recovery server is damaged' error and missing Macintosh HD after resetting a 2017 iMac?

Hello zcbb 😄

Please clarify - have you actually done all of these things:-

1. Start up from macOS Recovery.
2. When you see the utilities window in Recovery, choose Utilities > Terminal from the menu bar.
3. Type diskutil resetFusion in the Terminal window, then press Return.
4. Type Yes (with a capital Y) when prompted, then press Return.
5. When Terminal indicates that the operation was successful, quit Terminal to return to the utilities window.
6. Choose Reinstall macOS, then follow the onscreen instructions to reinstall the Mac operating system. Your Mac restarts from your Fusion Drive when done.

If so, and the iMac has good hardware, you should be able to install macOS Ventura 13.7.6

Hi again zcbb 😊

Thanks for the update - you're almost there!

It sounds like the Fusion Drive may not have been fully recreated if “AppleAPFSMedia” isn’t showing in Disk Utility. That’s usually the name of the newly formed Fusion Drive once diskutil resetFusion has been run successfully.

If you're seeing only the HDD or SSD (not both fused as one), then Fusion Drive wasn't properly reset. But don’t worry - it's understandable if this feels like too much. Installing macOS on the HDD alone will work as a temporary solution, and you're absolutely right to go with what feels manageable right now.

If you do ever feel up to revisiting it, I or others here would be glad to walk you through a step-by-step guide to properly erase and rebuild the Fusion Drive.

In the meantime, well done for getting this far - and enjoy the working Mac!

Follow previous advise >> first

FYI in regards to OS X 10.12 Sierra and macOS 10.13 High Sierra

Both of these two versions, seem to have been Removed to the Apple Recovery Servers

This would answer the question regarding the error message while in Recovery Mode

Once the internal drive are properly formatted

Suggest using the 3 keyboard combo Option + Command + R

In Theory this may allow downloading the Most Recent version of macOS this computer Qualifies to run

macOS Ventura is compatible with these computers

My Colleague @BDAqua has the answer

On the off chance and from your earlier

The drive in the Bold Text would be the Top Level Drive

• AppleAPFS Media (3.12TB showing as unutilized)
• Apple HDD ST3000DM001 Media (3TB showing as unformatted)
• Apple SSD SM0128L Media (121.33GB showing as unformated)

Also, be aware this is a Fusion Drive

Fusion in that, in the Magic of Apple

This computer has a Combination of a SSD Drive coupled to Rotational HD and Fused together ( the Apple Magic )

Should this Fusion process, if it fails, which normally does not happen

You can Fix this via the instruction in below link

How to fix a split Fusion Drive

Sierra can’t understand APFS only MacOSextended, Also called HFS+.

Erase and reformat a storage device in Disk Utility on Mac - Apple Support

The internal will e the top choice shown when choose show all devices in Disk Utitity.

Which OS do you want to install?