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Nate88888

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 6, 2023
2
0
My friend gave me a mac mini 2020 with m1 and when trying to reinstall mac os big sur keeps saying something about failing to personalise.
Things i have done:

1. Changed the time to correct time through terminal
2. Created an entirely new format on the drive using APFS regular format
3. Takes about an hour and then it fails at about 30 mins remaining (probably the installation after download)
4. Done health check on the ssd (256gb) multiple times on every partition

I have a 14.4 GB usb stick when formatted and a pc with windows 11 installed if that could possibly help.
Not bothered about losing any data.
 
Here is a link to an MR article which discusses this. I think you'll end up Erasing all Content and Settings, then reinstalling from Recovery.


I installed the os however this happened after restart and then went back to recovery? very strange
 
Yes. You might need to restore the machine to factory state using a second Mac and Apple’s Configurator application. It’s just an app, so the second Mac doesn’t have to be yours. You must have a friend with a Mac, or live near an Apple Store.
 
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