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I am struggling to install macOS Sequoia on an 2019 Intel MBP. I erased the internal SSD with Disk Utility and formatted with APFS. First aid says everything is fine. But when I am trying to install macOS Sequoia via Internet Recovery it always stops at 14 minutes remaining during unarchiving with a failing hash check for /Volumes/Macintosh HD/macOS Install Data/UpdateBundle/AssetData/./payloadv2/payload.003 (see attached screenshot of the install log). The error displayed in the UI is "An error occurred loading the update". An interesting observation is that the hash of that file is different on every installation attempt.

I verified that my internet connection can't be the problem: I installed via a wired connection and was able to successfully upgrade an M1 MBP over the very same connection. Also the internal SSD can't be the problem, because when I am trying to install on an external drive the same error occurs (no problem to install on the external drive with the M1 MBP).

Has anyone experienced similar issues and could resolve them?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Log of failing macOS Sequoia Installation

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    Why did you erase the disk? What was on it before? You might have to connect one of your other Macs and restore the Mac in DFU mode. support.apple.com/en-gb/108900
    – benwiggy
    Commented Sep 28 at 14:02
  • I erased the disk to make sure there is no issue with the existing installation. There was macOS Sonoma installed before and first I tried to upgrade from there. Restoring via DFU mode I also tried but that did not solve the issue.
    – dev
    Commented Sep 29 at 12:48
  • At this stage, I'd take it to an Apple Store.
    – benwiggy
    Commented Sep 29 at 15:46

1 Answer 1

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The issue might be related to a corrupted or incomplete download of the macOS Sequoia installer, especially since you're seeing a hash mismatch error. Here are a few things you can try:

1. Reset NVRAM and SMC:

  • Sometimes resetting the NVRAM (Command + Option + P + R) and the SMC (Shift + Control + Option + Power for 10 seconds) can clear up installation issues. After resetting, try installing again.

2. Try Other Recovery Mode:

  • Instead of using standard Internet Recovery (Cmd + Option + R), try the normal recovery mode (Cmd + R) if that’s available, or use a USB installer if you have a macOS Sequoia installer downloaded.

3. Create a Bootable macOS Installer:

  • Since the download via Internet Recovery seems to be causing issues, you can create a bootable installer using another working Mac:
    1. Download the macOS Sequoia installer from the App Store on the working Mac.
    2. Use a USB drive (at least 16GB) and create a bootable installer with this command: 
      sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sequoia.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyUSB
    3. Boot from the USB installer (Option key while turning on the MBP) and try installing macOS from there.

4. Check Your Firmware Version:

  • Since the issue persists even on an external drive, the problem could be related to the firmware of your Intel MBP. Make sure that your firmware is up to date, as certain macOS versions require newer firmware.

5. Test Your RAM:

  • Although it's rare, if the RAM is unstable, it can lead to data corruption during the install. Running a memory diagnostic test like MemTest86 can rule this out.

6. Try Safe Mode:

  • If you're not in Safe Mode already, you can try starting the installation from Safe Mode (Shift while booting), which disables non-essential processes and can help isolate issues.

If these steps don't resolve the issue, it might be worth checking with Apple Support to confirm whether the issue is specific to the Sequoia build you're using.

Good luck.

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    Thank you very much! The golden tip was RAM test with MemTest86 which showed many errors in a specific memory area. So looks like the RAM is partially broken. As it is soldered in MBP2019 I guess replacing is not possible or very expensive. I will check with an Apple Service Provider.
    – dev
    Commented Oct 1 at 18:23

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