install mojave on MB-Air, mid 2012.

[poker70]

Hi folkens

i have an old Mac Book air from mid 2012.

It came with "Mac OS X Lion 10.7.5 (11G63)" and since now days most apps running 32Bit

I would like to install Mac OS X Mojave ig 10.14.6.

The MB Air have a 64Gb drive and 4Gb of RAM

How do i install the Mojave OS X?

I have tried with the Command-R and seems not working.
its says: "missing component couldn´t install to complete the installations"

 

[CoastalOR]

Here are the requirements for Mojave:

macOS Mojave - Technical Specifications - Apple Support

support.apple.com

Note that you will need a minimum OS of 10.8, which means you would need to install 10.8 or newer before Mojave.

Here is "How to download and install macOS":

How to download and install macOS - Apple Support

Download and install current or previous versions of the Mac operating system on compatible Mac computers.

support.apple.com

 

[poker70]

Here are the requirements for Mojave:

macOS Mojave - Technical Specifications - Apple Support

support.apple.com

Note that you will need a minimum OS of 10.8, which means you would need to install 10.8 or newer before Mojave.

Here is "How to download and install macOS":

How to download and install macOS - Apple Support

Download and install current or previous versions of the Mac operating system on compatible Mac computers.

support.apple.com

The MB Air´s SSD-harddrive is already formatted.
So ive read about create a bootable USB-memory.

Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support

You can use a USB flash drive or other secondary volume as a startup disk from which to install the Mac operating system. These steps are primarily for system administrators and other experienced users who are familiar with entering commands in Terminal.

support.apple.com

Do i still need to make it with a MAC OS X 10.8 (Lion) before i can get 10.14? (Mojave)

And, second, i do have a newer MB Air, 2019 which i can create the Bootable disc.
What i´ve read, normally when you click on "get" here: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/macos-mojave/id1398502828?mt=12 you need 1: A Mac computer 2: Access to AppStore
The Mac OS X Mojave is downloaded to the Applications Folder right?
Then, when using terminal (referring to the link above) it created a bootable disc (USB-Memory)

So here is the tricky Q, when do so with Lion it is actually downloaded the file to any system.
PC or MAC doesnt matter. files name: InstallMacOSX.dmg

How do i create a bootable USB?
My wild guess, just copy it to a USB and start up the MAC with ALT-COMMAND-R?

 

[CoastalOR]

The MB Air´s SSD-harddrive is already formatted.
So ive read about create a bootable USB-memory.
Do i still need to make it with a MAC OS X 10.8 (Lion) before i can get 10.14? (Mojave)

I think the firmware on the 2012 MBA needs to be updated to support the Mojave installer app, hence the minimum requirement of macOS 10.8 (Mountain Lion).

And, second, i do have a newer MB Air, 2019 which i can create the Bootable disc.
What i´ve read, normally when you click on "get" here: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/macos-mojave/id1398502828?mt=12 you need 1: A Mac computer 2: Access to AppStore
The Mac OS X Mojave is downloaded to the Applications Folder right?
Then, when using terminal (referring to the link above) it created a bootable disc (USB-Memory)

Creating a Mojave USB installer on the 2019 MBA should work fine, but I think there be a problem when you boot the 2012 MBA from the Mojave USB then try to install Mojave if it only has 10.7 on it.

Getting Mojave from the App Store with the 2019 MBA will create a "Install macOS Mojave.app" in the Applications folder. If the installer app automatically launches after download (it probably will), then Quit the installer app immediately leaving the installer app in the Applications folder. You can then proceed to create the USB installer using the "Create a bootable installer for macOS" instructions in the link in your above post.

So here is the tricky Q, when do so with Lion it is actually downloaded the file to any system.
PC or MAC doesnt matter. files name: InstallMacOSX.dmg

How do i create a bootable USB?
My wild guess, just copy it to a USB and start up the MAC with ALT-COMMAND-R?

If you are referring to downloading Mountain Lion (10.8), then the USB Installer will have to be done on the 2012 MBA because 10.8 is not supported on the 2019 MBA.

Follow the instructions in the "Use a web browser" section of the previously posted;

How to download and install macOS - Apple Support

Download and install current or previous versions of the Mac operating system on compatible Mac computers.

support.apple.com

Double clicking "InstallMacOSX.dmg" will mount a "Install Mac OS X" volume in your desktop.
Open the volume to find the "InstallMacOSX.pkg", double click the pkg.

It will need permission to Allow "package will run a program to determine if the software can be installed".
You may encounter this; "The package was signed with a certificate that has expired. If you acquired this package recently, it may not be authentic. Do you want to continue with the installation anyway?" Click Continue.
You may encounter these prompt sequences 2 times (I did).

When finished a "Install OS X Mountain Lion.app" should be in the Applications folder.

Here are instructions on creating a Mountain Lion USB installer:

How to Make a Bootable OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion USB Install Drive

OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion will be offered exclusively through the App Store, familiar territory for Apple since OS X Lion was provided the same way. Thankfully it’s still possible to create a b…

osxdaily.com

A couple of important questions.
How much free space do you have on the 2012 MBA 64 GB drive?
Do you have a back up of the 2012 MBA internal drive (10.7?) before proceeding with any macOS installs?

 

[poker70]

Here are instructions on creating a Mountain Lion USB installer:

How to Make a Bootable OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion USB Install Drive​

OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion will be offered exclusively through the App Store, familiar territory for Apple since OS X Lion was provided the same way. Thankfully it’s still possible to create a b…

osxdaily.com


This info is from 2012
I can´t right click on the .dmg file (lion) and catch up the installESD.dmg to be draged to "disk utility"
All i can do is click on it (.pkg-file)
Seems to be working fine at 2012?

I "think" i did a bootable disc so the Q is.
How to start the MBA boot from USB?
Holding ALT-CMD-R while start up chime and after the chime?

 

[CoastalOR]

I can´t right click on the .dmg file (lion) and catch up the installESD.dmg to be draged to "disk utility"
All i can do is click on it (.pkg-file)

You keep saying "lion'" in your posts. That is wrong, you need MOUNTAIN LION".

You have to get the "InstallESD.dmg" file from the"Install OS X Mountain Lion.app", (not the "InstallESD.dmg" or the .pkg file) which means;
1. Download "InstallMacOSX.dmg"
2. Double clicking "InstallMacOSX.dmg" will mount a "Install Mac OS X" volume in your desktop.
3. Open the volume to find the "InstallMacOSX.pkg". Double-click the .pkg file, then follow the onscreen instructions to install the macOS installer into your Applications folder.
4. (Quote from web page instructions) "Go to the /Applications/ directory and right-click on “Install Mac OS X Mountain Lion.app” selecting “Show Package Contents”.
5. (Quote from web page instructions) Open the “Contents” directory and then open “SharedSupport”, looking for a file named “InstallESD.dmg”
6. Continue with step 4. of the web page in the "Download OS X Mountain Lion and Extract the DMG File" section.

The youtube video looks good, but I do not have 13 minutes to watch the whole video now. The instructions are for Lion, you need to be working for installing MOUNTAIN Lion (10.8), not Lion.

I "think" i did a bootable disc so the Q is.
How to start the MBA boot from USB?
Holding ALT-CMD-R while start up chime and after the chime?

Wrong key combo.
You need to get to the Startup Manager;
1. Shutdown the Mac.
2. Connect the the bootable USB.
3. Use the power button to start the MBA while holding down the Option (ALT) key until you see a list of startup drives on the screen. Select the bootable USB. and Continue.

BTW, you did not answer my questions in my post number 4 of this thread:
"A couple of important questions.
How much free space do you have on the 2012 MBA 64 GB drive?
Do you have a back up of the 2012 MBA internal drive (10.7?) before proceeding with any macOS installs?"

 

[poker70]

Ok.

I dont have the working MBA right now, meaning i cant open safari etc. I had problems and i wanted to re-install Lion to be able to install Mojave (for using 32Bit apps like chrome, etc)
But when re-install it via options-cmd-r im coming to this text. "Can't download the additional components needed to install OS X." This occur after a while during installations process.
When using start up option-cmd-r

So i tried to change date to 15 jan year 2015 = doesnt helped at all.
still "Can't download the additional components needed to install OS X."

Ive tried again to download InstallMacOSX.dmg
I followed your steps and:
3. Open the volume to find the "InstallMacOSX.pkg". Double-click the .pkg file, then follow the onscreen instructions to install the macOS installer into your Applications folder.
This is what happend (of course)
It says: "We couldn´t finished your purchase. OS X Mountain Lion is not compatible with computer"
On a MBA 2019 that working super fine

I have a MBA 13" mid 2012, 60,7 Gb Free space SSD,
Software: MAC OS X Lion, 10.7.5 (11G63)
I have noticed ive wrote Mountain Lion and referring to a newer MAC OS verison.
Maybe i do need to re-install this Lion to make it work?

BTW, you did not answer my questions in my post number 4 of this thread:
"A couple of important questions.
How much free space do you have on the 2012 MBA 64 GB drive?
A: 60.7 Gb (it seems to be the total, 60.7Gb and not 64Gb
Do you have a back up of the 2012 MBA internal drive (10.7?) before proceeding with any macOS installs?
A: Well, seems like it since the free space is 60.7 Gb and not 64Gb (confusing?). and i did not create a backup file my self. I do have access "disk utility", "terminal" and other stuff but thats all.

So before i go on with your amazing steps i might be clear in my post and download the "Lion" first?
Thats pretty logicial i think?

 

[CoastalOR]

I did not know that your 2012 MBA is not working properly.

You can not create any macOS installer app on the 2019 MBA older than Mojave, which is the minimum macOS that the 2019 MBA supports.

You are in a bit of pickle due to the limitations Apple imposes on users.


According this Apple page:

How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support

You can use macOS Recovery, your computer's built-in recovery system, to reinstall the Mac operating system. Reinstalling macOS doesn't remove your personal data.

support.apple.com

"option-cmd-r" starts internet recovery that tries to download the latest macOS that the 2012 MBA supports which 10.15 (Catalina) which is not what you want.

You might try booting the 2012 MBA using "Shift-Option-Command-R" which should try to install "the macOS that came with your Mac, or the closest version still available"

Another possibility is to see if you can make a bootable Mojave USB installer on your 2019 MBA. Test booting the USB on the 2019 MBA to confirm it is bootable. Then try the bootable Mojave USB installer on your 2012 MBA. Try to install Mojave on the 2012 MBA, but it may not work because of the minimum 10.8 requirement.

Edit;
BTW: Have you tried booting the 2012 MBA using "CMD R" which should start on the internal Recovery and the reinstall the current macOS on the 2012 MBA (which might get the Lion you want)?

 

[CoastalOR]

I dont have the working MBA right now, meaning i cant open safari etc. I had problems and i wanted to re-install Lion to be able to install Mojave (for using 32Bit apps like chrome, etc)

Can your 2012 MBA boot to finder?

 

[MBAir2010]

what I did to recover a found MBA2011 2GB RAM logic board in the trash
was perform a fresh install Lion from  using the recover mode.
which took a while and I used a usb ethernet port as the internet source.
then, I made sure everything worked (this was in 2019) and update firmware
then install or updated to ElCapitan then High Sierra.
your 2012 MBA can run from El Capitan to Mojave and maybe Catalina which runs better now in 2023.
something about ElCapitan that fixes problem with MacBook airs the other OSX could not.

I hope this is not overkill, confusing or redundant.