Apple - Stuck in endless macOS Sierra installation loop

This is the type of UX pain that really irks me, and very unlike Apple.

Since you're a long time Mac user I'm going to assume you have access to another Mac, so my suggestion would be to try reinstalling a fresh version of macOS Sierra via a USB installer.

Follow the steps below:

  1. On another Mac, download the macOS Sierra installer via the Mac App Store
  2. After its downloaded, the installer will launch automatically. When it does, quit the installer.
  3. Grab a USB flash drive of at least 8GB in size
  4. Connect the USB flash drive to the same Mac
  5. Rename the flash drive to Untitled
  6. Launch the Terminal app

  7. Now enter the following command into Terminal. It may be best to just copy it from here (try triple-clicking) and paste it in.

    sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Untitled --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sierra.app

  8. You will be prompted to enter your user password. Enter it now and press return (note that you won’t see the cursor move or display any of the characters you enter)

  9. At the next prompt (about erasing your drive) press the Y key
  10. Wait for your USB flash drive to be erased (you’ll see the progress via % values appearing within the Terminal window)
  11. Once the erasure is complete, you will see a prompt that files are being copied to the disk. This may take a while, so be patient.
  12. Eventually the copy process will be over and you should see a Done message in Terminal. You can now quit Terminal.
  13. Eject the USB flash drive and now connect it to your iMac (the one you want to reinstall macOS Sierra on)
  14. Startup the iMac holding down the option key
  15. Select the USB flash drive you created from the list of drives and press enter

You should now be able to boot from the USB drive and install macOS Sierra from there.

Let me know if you have any questions.


I had same issue but after connecting to wifi I was able to continue!


I just had this issue with High Sierra Beta 4 installation, after about 6-7 loops on APFS file system, I erased my hard disk from Disk Utility and made new partition with HFS+ Journaled file system, then it went through.

Funny thing is, after installation is done, it says that my file system is APFS.

Tags:

Macos

Install

Related

Apple - "Unable to obtain authorization for this operation" when trying to reset my default keychain Apple - How to SSH in one line Apple - Gatekeeper preventing from opening files from Finder (launching apps is fine) Apple - How do I connect my iMac to a Windows SMB share drive Apple - Is it possible to force the MacBook Pro HDMI output to specific resolution/refresh rate? Apple - Is AFP slated to be removed from future versions of macOS? Apple - Which key is Insert on Microsoft Remote Desktop? Apple - How to stop sound output switching to a monitor when it gets plugged in? Apple - Spotlight on Mac doesn't accept keyboard input Apple - Is there a Mac keyboard shortcut to "Select Current Line"? Apple - Why does the USB-C Ethernet adapter get hot, even when unplugged from ethernet? Apple - Remove and Reinstall Python on Mac -- Can I trust these old references?

Recent Posts