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Difficulty installing 'macOS Sierra'. Not sure what to do with 'APPLE SSD SM0256G Media'

I recently erased my 2017 Macbook air, and upon rebooting it in internet recovery, need to reinstall 'macOS Sierra'. I have tried to install it on the Hard drive, but after a long wait of doing so, it says there is not enough storage space and can't install.

In 'Internal', both HDs and 'update' (all under AppleAPFSMedia) are empty, but 'APPLE SSD SM0256G Media' is full and I assume I need to erase the data..., which I don't know how to! (e.g. Name, Format, Scheme...) Any help would be greatly appreciated!

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 11.6

Posted on Oct 5, 2021 3:15 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Oct 5, 2021 4:47 AM

Use Disk Utility to erase your Mac

  1. Start up from macOS Recovery: Turn on your Mac, then immediately press and hold these two keys until you see an Apple logo or other image: Command (⌘) and R. 
  2. If asked, select a user you know the password for, then enter their administrator password. 
  3. From the utilities window, select Disk Utility and click Continue.

  4. Select Macintosh HD in the sidebar of Disk Utility. Don't see Macintosh HD?
  5. Click the Erase button in the toolbar, then enter the requested details:
    • Name: Macintosh HD
    • Format: APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled), as recommended by Disk Utility
  1. Click Erase Volume Group. If you don't see this button, click Erase instead.

  2. If asked, enter your Apple ID. Forgot your Apple ID?
  3. After the erase is done, select any other internal volumes in the sidebar, then click the delete volume (–) button in the toolbar to delete that volume.
  4. During this step, disregard any internal volume named Macintosh HD or Macintosh HD - Data, as well as any volumes in the External and Disk Images sections of the sidebar. 
  5. Quit Disk Utility to return to the utilities window.
  6. If you want to start up again from the disk you erased, select Reinstall macOS in the utilities window, then click Continue and follow the onscreen instructions to reinstall macOS.



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5 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Oct 5, 2021 4:47 AM in response to yoh_123

Use Disk Utility to erase your Mac

  1. Start up from macOS Recovery: Turn on your Mac, then immediately press and hold these two keys until you see an Apple logo or other image: Command (⌘) and R. 
  2. If asked, select a user you know the password for, then enter their administrator password. 
  3. From the utilities window, select Disk Utility and click Continue.

  4. Select Macintosh HD in the sidebar of Disk Utility. Don't see Macintosh HD?
  5. Click the Erase button in the toolbar, then enter the requested details:
    • Name: Macintosh HD
    • Format: APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled), as recommended by Disk Utility
  1. Click Erase Volume Group. If you don't see this button, click Erase instead.

  2. If asked, enter your Apple ID. Forgot your Apple ID?
  3. After the erase is done, select any other internal volumes in the sidebar, then click the delete volume (–) button in the toolbar to delete that volume.
  4. During this step, disregard any internal volume named Macintosh HD or Macintosh HD - Data, as well as any volumes in the External and Disk Images sections of the sidebar. 
  5. Quit Disk Utility to return to the utilities window.
  6. If you want to start up again from the disk you erased, select Reinstall macOS in the utilities window, then click Continue and follow the onscreen instructions to reinstall macOS.



Oct 5, 2021 9:14 AM in response to PRP_53

Thank you so much for your detailed explanation!

After a few attempts, e.g. my HD desapeared, but just re-do the above process again and then it has worked!


I actually chat with the apple support team as well, and they are also very helpful.


Best wishes to anyone who has the same problem. Don't give up!

Difficulty installing 'macOS Sierra'. Not sure what to do with 'APPLE SSD SM0256G Media'

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