MacBook Air '17 will not boot up normally/won't install Mac OS

So when you boot, hold option/alt. Wait a minute and you will see “Internet Recovery”. Click on it and press the arrow, let it boot. Make sure you have a stable WiFi or else it isn’t going to work. And then the rest is like normal recovery mode.

Or you can try Option-Command-R/Shift-Option-Command-R for Internet Recovery, depends on which you choose.

More on those startup key commands here, (they will REALLY be useful!)

Have you tried making a bootable HS installer? Then you can boot off it via Opt key and install.

With the new Macs, (since 2016), Apple solders in the solid state drives (yeah, less storage but faster, they should still use larger HDDs), and RAM soldered. Meaning the drive may be too small to restore from a backup.

An alternative solution:

What about making the bootable installer that I mentioned earlier and then using Migration Assistant while setting it up to transfer data.

I have always bought a FireWire to clone a hard drive (and choosing what to clone) but I think you’d need a thunderbolt dongle and another dongle for that one.. and then the Wire itself.

Edit: Apple does make a Firewire to Thunderbolt dongle!

All you will need is to download CCC (Carbon Copy Cloner) 4, get a FireWire 800 (I have seen some for $4), and the dongle and then clone the drive so you won’t have to worry about re installing the OS.

In Disk Utility\s ViewMenu, choose show all Devices, if Formatting/Erasing the top one doesn\t help you need a new drive, or install to an external drive.

Any luck yet?

I am right here with you. Mine reboots when installing OS X. You have to format the drive to prevent that folder. CMD+R, Disk Utility under Utilities and format it. Then go back and install the OS.