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Erasing an M1 Mini


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Hi there,

I have no particular question, just a heads up.

 

So, this is what happened. I needed to erase a new Apple Silicon M1 Mini and re-install OS11.

 

And that's when things went south. I've erased and reinstalled the OS on Macs since my LCII back in '91. This time, I tried the same thing. Booted from the recovery disk, went to Disk Utilities, chose 'Erase Macintosh HD' and then went back to 'Install MacOS.' Then I got this message:

P1160027.jpeg.f053c6a4a0d821d64c76c9f8d30d6bc5.jpeg

 

So, on to calling Apple Support. The first guy I spoke with seemed to know what he was talking about. He got me to erase a certain folder (in this case the 'data disk' folder). I could then proceed to re-install MacOS. It was going along nicely until I got to the setup part. I entered a new name and password and the 'continue' icon remained greyed out. So, after sitting there for a few minutes, I decided to force quit and re-start. It took me to the opening page where I was prompted for my username and password, which it just shook its head at. Then I tried to change all that with my Apple I.D. and it didn't accept that, either. Another call to Apple Support. This guy was um....not an Applebar Genius. He basically tried something, and then set up an appointment at a local authorized dealer, stating he would send the dealer all the pertinent info of the case. When we got there, they had no clue we had an appointment, no clue regarding the case file, and would only look at the Mini for €60. Just to look at it. Their techs were out sick, and these guys looked like the B-team. I know they were working under difficult circumstances, but...We got home, and I was thoroughly pissed off. It took until today, but when I went to contact Apple about the case, the last thing there stated 'appointment made to repair, blah blah blah.' And from there, it was a vicious circle. Again. So, had to contact them to open another case file. The guy we spoke with today seemed to know what he was talking about, and guided us using my iPad's camera to see what was happening on-screen. Since we don't have high speed internet, the OS is still installing as I write.

Moral of this story is, I guess: be careful erasing M1 machines to re-install MacOS. Somewhere along the line, something went quite wrong, and as I've said, I've done this on many machines without issue, including my iMac that I erased in July to sell. All went smoothy. Not this time.

EDIT: It is now working as expected. 3 days of hassles, including going downtown to a store that hadn't a clue in the middle of our Delta outbreak, on public transport. Which was actually dangerous for me. All's well that ends well. I am surprised by the different levels of competence shown by the Support techs.

EDIT ZWEI: Edited for irrelevant personal info. :roll:

Edited by Glenn Lancaster
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https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/theres-a-new-way-to-factory-reset-the-latest-m1-macs-heres-what-you-need-to-know/

 

Sorry, I don't know to replace urls with my own text, but this sums up the problems.

 

There are two, really. I encountered the first, then the second. However, the method that the tech instructed me to use was different.

Once you get past the first….um….surprise, the second was dealt with by:

removing the Mini from 'my devices' from my iPad;

When prompted to login with an existing Apple ID., DON'T. Choose 'not now' or whatever it says. Then you'll get to the page where you set up the Admin acc't, name/password. Proceed. Anything else you are prompted for choose 'not now.' You should then have unlocked your iDoorstop. After I got in, my first target was the privacy settings to allow for bypassing the login screen to get in. Basically, set it up as if you were to sell it.

Another thing to note: in the reddit article cited regarding this issue, they use the Apple Configurator 2, but I was only offered the option for hooking up to ios devices.

Edited by Glenn Lancaster
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This must obviously be a known problem. I'm disappointed that 2/3 techs didn't complete the solution. The first guy got me up to the second problem, and the 2nd guy was completely clueless. Anywards, all's well. I doubt a huge percentage of owners have so far erased and reistalled their OSes on these machines. I expect it will pop up more if people aren't expecting it.

EDIT: another factor may have been that I was not prompted for my Apple I.D. You'd think you'd need that to erase the ssd and reinstall the OS. Without it, anyone could wipe the machine. So, there being 'no authenticated users' would make sense. But still: WTF?

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