I am unable to get the USB installers for Ventura or Sonoma to work on this late-2010 MacBook Air (MacBookAir3,2). When installing Ventura, I cannot get past this "An error occurred preparing the software update" screen no matter what I try. I have searched and so far, other people's solutions are not working for me.
Monterrey is able to install properly. From there, I am able to do an upgrade to Ventura from within macOS but the final product is unstable (even after post-install OCLP patches). Ideally I would like to have a clean install of Ventura running. I would at least like to try it to find out if it's usable on this machine or not.
So far, here's what troubleshooting I've done with Ventura:
I am using OpenCore-Patcher 1.5.0 on my 2019 MBP to create the installer. I am using the Ventura 13.6.2 image that OCLP downloaded. (Note: when I downloaded it, I chose 13.6.7 but in the creation menu it says 13.6.2).
In the OCLP settings, I select the proper target model (MacBookAir3,2). I have tried going forward with the default settings and also changing various combinations of different settings. I reset the PRAM on the target machine before install. I've used different USB drives and SD cards.
Ultimately, with Ventura, the same exact thing happens. The installer boots normally. I use Disk Utility to wipe the drive, then begin the installation. It completes the first segment. Then it reboots and says "29 minutes remaining" or thereabouts. After that progress bar completes, it dumps me onto a screen that says "An error occurred preparing the software update". As per several threads, I have tried forcing a restart and doing a PRAM reset at this point. Then I hold option, and select EFI boot, then choose Mac HD. It goes back to "29 minutes remaining" and eventually the same software update screen. I have been unable to get past this, even after trying several times over multiple days with the variations I mentioned above.
I have noticed in Disk Utility that the installer seems to append " - Data" to the Mac HD partition each time I try rebooting at the software update screen; so if I rebooted 3 times it'll say "Mac HD - Data - Data - Data".
Just for testing, I tried installing Sonoma on the same machine, using the default OCLP settings. The installer never even starts. It stalls at the Apple logo and 1/3 progress bar. Even if I let it sit for an hour, the recovery environment never loads.
Some people suggested this could be a RAM issue so I ran memtest86 and the machine passed. I also tried using OCLP 1.4.3 in case this was a recent regression; no difference.
The reason I'd like to have Ventura working on this machine is because the owner's other Mac (iMac 2017) is on Ventura and it would make things easier for them if both matched. If it's not possible I suppose I'll have to settle for Monterrey.
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