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nohillside
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Solved: Mid 2011 iMac re-installing High Sierra can not reach recovery server

Some background: A while ago I found (literally found between garbage on the street) an older (2011) iMac which I intended to be used by my 7 year old son. I never used a Mac myself. The machine started up in High Sierra, with two users accounts (one of which was admin) and a guest account installed. I didn't have any passwords, so I could not do much with it other than try the guest account and see if it worked. All seemed well. At that point I Googled some ways to reset the user accounts to my own. Various sources recommended the same procedure:

  1. Start up in recovery mode with command+R
  2. Use Disk Utility to "Erase" the volume "Macintosh HD" (and in the process format is as APFS, the only option apart from some variants like encryption and case-sensitivity).
  3. Use Install MacOS to install High Sierra on "Macintosh HD" The last step installs fails with a message saying "The recovery server cannot be reached".

At that point I started looking for ways to fix this problem. The most obvious is of course to check the internet connection, which I verified with Network Utility (ping, dns lookup, trace route all work fine). Then I read somewhere that the installer verifies the date. I used Terminal to resync the system clock (which was off only by 0.4s), to no avail.

I also tried Internet Recovery (command+option+R) which downloads an installer for MacOS Lion. This also fails with the same message about the recovery server not reachable, after making sure internet is connected.

Then finally I asked a friend to prepare a bootable USB stick with a High Sierra installer. Again this fails at the same step, also with internet connected.

In the log file there's a line saying "Failed to load catalog https://swscan.apple.com/content/catalogs/...". That's probably what the error message is about. screenshot Installer Log

The log file also mentions that the file system is not suitable, but that's only after I tried Lion, in which the Macintosh HD volume was formatted to MacOS Extended (Journaled) file system (which seems to be the same as HFS?, a bit confusing), as shown in Disk Utility: screenshot Disk Utility

The file system issue is another problem than the problem of not reaching the recovery system, I believe, but I could be wrong.

After trying the same on an entirely different network, resulting in the same error message, I came to the conclusion that the reason for failure is that Apple does not support High Sierra any longer. The catalog file that fails to download simply doesn't exist anymore on the server, resulting in a 404 response.

The solution would be to use a stand-alone installer, either a dvd or a USB-drive, instead of a network installer. The full iso is also not downloadable from Apple anymore, but available from other locations.

Solved: Mid 2011 iMac re-installing High Sierra can not reach recovery server

Some background: A while ago I found (literally found between garbage on the street) an older (2011) iMac which I intended to be used by my 7 year old son. I never used a Mac myself. The machine started up in High Sierra, with two users accounts (one of which was admin) and a guest account installed. I didn't have any passwords, so I could not do much with it other than try the guest account and see if it worked. All seemed well. At that point I Googled some ways to reset the user accounts to my own. Various sources recommended the same procedure:

  1. Start up in recovery mode with command+R
  2. Use Disk Utility to "Erase" the volume "Macintosh HD" (and in the process format is as APFS, the only option apart from some variants like encryption and case-sensitivity).
  3. Use Install MacOS to install High Sierra on "Macintosh HD" The last step installs fails with a message saying "The recovery server cannot be reached".

At that point I started looking for ways to fix this problem. The most obvious is of course to check the internet connection, which I verified with Network Utility (ping, dns lookup, trace route all work fine). Then I read somewhere that the installer verifies the date. I used Terminal to resync the system clock (which was off only by 0.4s), to no avail.

I also tried Internet Recovery (command+option+R) which downloads an installer for MacOS Lion. This also fails with the same message about the recovery server not reachable, after making sure internet is connected.

Then finally I asked a friend to prepare a bootable USB stick with a High Sierra installer. Again this fails at the same step, also with internet connected.

In the log file there's a line saying "Failed to load catalog https://swscan.apple.com/content/catalogs/...". That's probably what the error message is about. screenshot Installer Log

The log file also mentions that the file system is not suitable, but that's only after I tried Lion, in which the Macintosh HD volume was formatted to MacOS Extended (Journaled) file system (which seems to be the same as HFS?, a bit confusing), as shown in Disk Utility: screenshot Disk Utility

The file system issue is another problem than the problem of not reaching the recovery system, I believe, but I could be wrong.

After trying the same on an entirely different network, resulting in the same error message, I came to the conclusion that the reason for failure is that Apple does not support High Sierra any longer. The catalog file that fails to download simply doesn't exist anymore on the server, resulting in a 404 response.

The solution would be to use a stand-alone installer, either a dvd or a USB-drive, instead of a network installer. The full iso is also not downloadable from Apple anymore, but available from other locations.

Mid 2011 iMac re-installing High Sierra can not reach recovery server

Some background: A while ago I found (literally found between garbage on the street) an older (2011) iMac which I intended to be used by my 7 year old son. I never used a Mac myself. The machine started up in High Sierra, with two users accounts (one of which was admin) and a guest account installed. I didn't have any passwords, so I could not do much with it other than try the guest account and see if it worked. All seemed well. At that point I Googled some ways to reset the user accounts to my own. Various sources recommended the same procedure:

  1. Start up in recovery mode with command+R
  2. Use Disk Utility to "Erase" the volume "Macintosh HD" (and in the process format is as APFS, the only option apart from some variants like encryption and case-sensitivity).
  3. Use Install MacOS to install High Sierra on "Macintosh HD" The last step installs fails with a message saying "The recovery server cannot be reached".

At that point I started looking for ways to fix this problem. The most obvious is of course to check the internet connection, which I verified with Network Utility (ping, dns lookup, trace route all work fine). Then I read somewhere that the installer verifies the date. I used Terminal to resync the system clock (which was off only by 0.4s), to no avail.

I also tried Internet Recovery (command+option+R) which downloads an installer for MacOS Lion. This also fails with the same message about the recovery server not reachable, after making sure internet is connected.

Then finally I asked a friend to prepare a bootable USB stick with a High Sierra installer. Again this fails at the same step, also with internet connected.

In the log file there's a line saying "Failed to load catalog https://swscan.apple.com/content/catalogs/...". That's probably what the error message is about. screenshot Installer Log

The log file also mentions that the file system is not suitable, but that's only after I tried Lion, in which the Macintosh HD volume was formatted to MacOS Extended (Journaled) file system (which seems to be the same as HFS?, a bit confusing), as shown in Disk Utility: screenshot Disk Utility

The file system issue is another problem than the problem of not reaching the recovery system, I believe, but I could be wrong.

problem solved, reason: network install no longer supported
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marc
  • 133
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Solved: Mid 2011 iMac re-installing High Sierra can not reach recovery server

Some background: A while ago I found (literally found between garbage on the street) an older (2011) iMac which I intended to be used by my 7 year old son. I never used a Mac myself. The machine started up in High Sierra, with two users accounts (one of which was admin) and a guest account installed. I didn't have any passwords, so I could not do much with it other than try the guest account and see if it worked. All seemed well. At that point I Googled some ways to reset the user accounts to my own. Various sources recommended the same procedure:

  1. Start up in recovery mode with command+R
  2. Use Disk Utility to "Erase" the volume "Macintosh HD" (and in the process format is as APFS, the only option apart from some variants like encryption and case-sensitivity).
  3. Use Install MacOS to install High Sierra on "Macintosh HD" The last step installs fails with a message saying "The recovery server cannot be reached".

At that point I started looking for ways to fix this problem. The most obvious is of course to check the internet connection, which I verified with Network Utility (ping, dns lookup, trace route all work fine). Then I read somewhere that the installer verifies the date. I used Terminal to resync the system clock (which was off only by 0.4s), to no avail.

I also tried Internet Recovery (command+option+R) which downloads an installer for MacOS Lion. This also fails with the same message about the recovery server not reachable, after making sure internet is connected.

Then finally I asked a friend to prepare a bootable USB stick with a High Sierra installer. Again this fails at the same step, also with internet connected.

In the log file there's a line saying "Failed to load catalog https://swscan.apple.com/content/catalogs/...". That's probably what the error message is about. screenshot Installer Log

The log file also mentions that the file system is not suitable, but that's only after I tried Lion, in which the Macintosh HD volume was formatted to MacOS Extended (Journaled) file system (which seems to be the same as HFS?, a bit confusing), as shown in Disk Utility: screenshot Disk Utility

The file system issue is another problem than the problem of not reaching the recovery system, I believe, but I could be wrong.

After trying the same on an entirely different network, resulting in the same error message, I came to the conclusion that the reason for failure is that Apple does not support High Sierra any longer. The catalog file that fails to download simply doesn't exist anymore on the server, resulting in a 404 response.

The solution would be to use a stand-alone installer, either a dvd or a USB-drive, instead of a network installer. The full iso is also not downloadable from Apple anymore, but available from other locations.

Mid 2011 iMac re-installing High Sierra can not reach recovery server

Some background: A while ago I found (literally found between garbage on the street) an older (2011) iMac which I intended to be used by my 7 year old son. I never used a Mac myself. The machine started up in High Sierra, with two users accounts (one of which was admin) and a guest account installed. I didn't have any passwords, so I could not do much with it other than try the guest account and see if it worked. All seemed well. At that point I Googled some ways to reset the user accounts to my own. Various sources recommended the same procedure:

  1. Start up in recovery mode with command+R
  2. Use Disk Utility to "Erase" the volume "Macintosh HD" (and in the process format is as APFS, the only option apart from some variants like encryption and case-sensitivity).
  3. Use Install MacOS to install High Sierra on "Macintosh HD" The last step installs fails with a message saying "The recovery server cannot be reached".

At that point I started looking for ways to fix this problem. The most obvious is of course to check the internet connection, which I verified with Network Utility (ping, dns lookup, trace route all work fine). Then I read somewhere that the installer verifies the date. I used Terminal to resync the system clock (which was off only by 0.4s), to no avail.

I also tried Internet Recovery (command+option+R) which downloads an installer for MacOS Lion. This also fails with the same message about the recovery server not reachable, after making sure internet is connected.

Then finally I asked a friend to prepare a bootable USB stick with a High Sierra installer. Again this fails at the same step, also with internet connected.

In the log file there's a line saying "Failed to load catalog https://swscan.apple.com/content/catalogs/...". That's probably what the error message is about. screenshot Installer Log

The log file also mentions that the file system is not suitable, but that's only after I tried Lion, in which the Macintosh HD volume was formatted to MacOS Extended (Journaled) file system (which seems to be the same as HFS?, a bit confusing), as shown in Disk Utility: screenshot Disk Utility

The file system issue is another problem than the problem of not reaching the recovery system, I believe, but I could be wrong.

Solved: Mid 2011 iMac re-installing High Sierra can not reach recovery server

Some background: A while ago I found (literally found between garbage on the street) an older (2011) iMac which I intended to be used by my 7 year old son. I never used a Mac myself. The machine started up in High Sierra, with two users accounts (one of which was admin) and a guest account installed. I didn't have any passwords, so I could not do much with it other than try the guest account and see if it worked. All seemed well. At that point I Googled some ways to reset the user accounts to my own. Various sources recommended the same procedure:

  1. Start up in recovery mode with command+R
  2. Use Disk Utility to "Erase" the volume "Macintosh HD" (and in the process format is as APFS, the only option apart from some variants like encryption and case-sensitivity).
  3. Use Install MacOS to install High Sierra on "Macintosh HD" The last step installs fails with a message saying "The recovery server cannot be reached".

At that point I started looking for ways to fix this problem. The most obvious is of course to check the internet connection, which I verified with Network Utility (ping, dns lookup, trace route all work fine). Then I read somewhere that the installer verifies the date. I used Terminal to resync the system clock (which was off only by 0.4s), to no avail.

I also tried Internet Recovery (command+option+R) which downloads an installer for MacOS Lion. This also fails with the same message about the recovery server not reachable, after making sure internet is connected.

Then finally I asked a friend to prepare a bootable USB stick with a High Sierra installer. Again this fails at the same step, also with internet connected.

In the log file there's a line saying "Failed to load catalog https://swscan.apple.com/content/catalogs/...". That's probably what the error message is about. screenshot Installer Log

The log file also mentions that the file system is not suitable, but that's only after I tried Lion, in which the Macintosh HD volume was formatted to MacOS Extended (Journaled) file system (which seems to be the same as HFS?, a bit confusing), as shown in Disk Utility: screenshot Disk Utility

The file system issue is another problem than the problem of not reaching the recovery system, I believe, but I could be wrong.

After trying the same on an entirely different network, resulting in the same error message, I came to the conclusion that the reason for failure is that Apple does not support High Sierra any longer. The catalog file that fails to download simply doesn't exist anymore on the server, resulting in a 404 response.

The solution would be to use a stand-alone installer, either a dvd or a USB-drive, instead of a network installer. The full iso is also not downloadable from Apple anymore, but available from other locations.

added 1990 characters in body
Source Link
marc
  • 133
  • 5

Some background: A while ago I getfound (literally found between garbage on the street) an older (2011) iMac which I intended to be used by my 7 year old son. I never used a Mac myself. The machine started up in High Sierra, with two users accounts (one of which was admin) and a guest account installed. I didn't have any passwords, so I could not do much with it other than try the guest account and see if it worked. All seemed well. At that point I Googled some ways to reset the user accounts to my own. Various sources recommended the same procedure:

  1. Start up in recovery mode with command+R
  2. Use Disk Utility to "Erase" the volume "Macintosh HD" (and in the process format is as APFS, the only option apart from some variants like encryption and case-sensitivity).
  3. Use Install MacOS to install High Sierra on "Macintosh HD" The last step installs fails with a message saying "The recovery server cannot be reached".

At that point I started looking for ways to fix this message every timeproblem. The most obvious is of course to check the internet connection, which I verified with Network Utility (ping, dns lookup, trace route all work fine). Then I tried syncingread somewhere that the installer verifies the date. I used Terminal to resync the system clock (waswhich was off only by 0.4s off), to no avail. Tried booting from USB

I also tried Internet Recovery (command+option+R) which downloads an installer for MacOS Lion. This also fails with the same result. Internet Recorymessage about the recovery server not reachable, sameafter making sure internet is connected. Re-install from Base System,

Then finally I asked a friend to prepare a bootable USB stick with a High Sierra installer. Again this fails at the same step, also with internet connected.

In the log file there's a line saying "Failed to load catalog https://swscan.apple.com/content/catalogs/...". That's probably what the error message is about. MacIntosh HDscreenshot Installer Log

The log file also mentions that the file system is erasednot suitable, but that's only after I tried Lion, in which the Macintosh HD volume was formatted to MacOS Extended (formattedJournaled) file system (which seems to be the same as APFSHFS?, a bit confusing) and “healthy”. Internet connection is fine, Networkas shown in Disk Utility shows I’m connected, I can ping, trace route etc.: screenshot Disk Utility

What could beThe file system issue is another reason thatproblem than the problem of not reaching the recovery server cannotsystem, I believe, but I could be reached?wrong.

I get this message every time. I tried syncing date (was only 0.4s off) to no avail. Tried booting from USB with same result. Internet Recory, same. Re-install from Base System, same. MacIntosh HD is erased (formatted as APFS) and “healthy”. Internet connection is fine, Network Utility shows I’m connected, I can ping, trace route etc.

What could be another reason that the recovery server cannot be reached?

Some background: A while ago I found (literally found between garbage on the street) an older (2011) iMac which I intended to be used by my 7 year old son. I never used a Mac myself. The machine started up in High Sierra, with two users accounts (one of which was admin) and a guest account installed. I didn't have any passwords, so I could not do much with it other than try the guest account and see if it worked. All seemed well. At that point I Googled some ways to reset the user accounts to my own. Various sources recommended the same procedure:

  1. Start up in recovery mode with command+R
  2. Use Disk Utility to "Erase" the volume "Macintosh HD" (and in the process format is as APFS, the only option apart from some variants like encryption and case-sensitivity).
  3. Use Install MacOS to install High Sierra on "Macintosh HD" The last step installs fails with a message saying "The recovery server cannot be reached".

At that point I started looking for ways to fix this problem. The most obvious is of course to check the internet connection, which I verified with Network Utility (ping, dns lookup, trace route all work fine). Then I read somewhere that the installer verifies the date. I used Terminal to resync the system clock (which was off only by 0.4s), to no avail.

I also tried Internet Recovery (command+option+R) which downloads an installer for MacOS Lion. This also fails with the same message about the recovery server not reachable, after making sure internet is connected.

Then finally I asked a friend to prepare a bootable USB stick with a High Sierra installer. Again this fails at the same step, also with internet connected.

In the log file there's a line saying "Failed to load catalog https://swscan.apple.com/content/catalogs/...". That's probably what the error message is about. screenshot Installer Log

The log file also mentions that the file system is not suitable, but that's only after I tried Lion, in which the Macintosh HD volume was formatted to MacOS Extended (Journaled) file system (which seems to be the same as HFS?, a bit confusing), as shown in Disk Utility: screenshot Disk Utility

The file system issue is another problem than the problem of not reaching the recovery system, I believe, but I could be wrong.

Source Link
marc
  • 133
  • 5
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