Erasing a 2019 iMac with Intel chip - did I miss something?

This is one of those "duh" moments when I wonder why I never thought of the cable connect? lol

I think I'm going to do what rkaufmann87 suggested, and call Apple Care at this point. Thank you for your help today!!

I am guessing that I may have missed a step like you said. I followed the link at the beginning of the article you shared - the erase assistant isn't available on my Mac (according to the pop up that kept coming up).

So looking through these other instructions for the above mentioned link, step 9&10 (see attached screenshot) were not like this in the earlier instructions I followed this morning - they lead me to believe I would see the Hello screen instead. Now the machine seems to be stuck in the setup position when I restart. Do you have any advice on what to do at this point?

I did follow the same instructions that you have in your first link. That's what I did this morning, step by step, and yes, I did erase the main iMac's drive, not the APFS volume.

As for reinstalling the original macOS, I did not see that option, only to reinstall Sequoia. That's what I did. It took 30 minutes to install (figured that's normal) then went directly to the "Select your country" screen - where I am stuck now. A restart at this point brings me right back to this screen.

I'm one of those people that have always been annoying about updating everything as soon as possible on every device I own. I was on Sequoia's most recent update from yesterday.

If I am currently just at the screen where it asks you to select your country, and a restart brings you right back to it... then I'm not sure how I can follow the instructions in the article. That's my dilemma at the moment - I seem to be stuck here, and at a loss.

Almost forgot to get back on the results after talking to Apple Care. Figured I should in case anyone else experiences the same so they can see the solution. They assured me that den.thed was correct... if the screen shows "select your country" then everything was erased.

That is exactly where I went and what I did to begin with.

USB keyboard? Do people still have those? lol. Mine are all bluetooth, and the mouse will not connect.

If the new user can start at that Select Country screen, I suppose that will have to work.

I think Apple Care is my best bet at this point. Thank you for your help!!

Good idea on the spare USB keyboard and mouse.