I've got a 27" 2019 iMac with a 2 TB SSD running MacOS Monterey 12.6.6. It's partitioned into three containers. The main container has a 1.8 TB volume for Monterey, which is my working system. Each of the remaining two containers have emply ~100 GB volumes. Both were APFS-encrypted to start, and I tried installing Ventura on one of them.
TLDR: In recovery mode (either CMD-R or CMD-OPT-R), I can't install Ventura if the volume's encrypted because I get the error message in the thread title; and I can't install Ventura if it's not encrypted because the volume won't be visible. [N.B.: This is not an issue when the volumes are in the same container as the existing Monterey volume, it's only an issue if they're in separate containers. See note at bottom.*]
Today I tried installing Ventura on one of those empty volumes using internet recovery (CMD-OPT-R). When I selected the empty volume onto which I wanted to install Ventura, I got the message "You may not install to this volume because it has a disk password." I didn't set up a separate disk password--I merely gave it a password when I created it, which was required because it's encrypted.
I then erased the volume and reformatted it as plain APFS. When I repeated internet recovery, I was able to see the other two volumes (both of which are encrypted), but not the unencrypted volume--it simply wasn't presented as an installation option.
To check this wasn't a one-time glitch, I converted the other 100 GB volume to plain APFS and went back into internet recovery. Now it had disappeared as well. Then I reformatted both as APFS-encrypted, and when I returned to internet recovery this time, both were visible. I then tried installing Ventura again, but got the same error message.
I also tried plain recovery (CMD-R) and observed the same behavior.
*Note: A few months ago, I tried creating a separate volume for Ventura in the same container as Monterey, and didn't have any installation issues. However, I found doing so is a bad idea: The two OS's need to communicate with each other if they're sharing the same space, and that communication led to a corruption of Monterey, forcing me to reinstall everything from scratch from my backup. Thus the only safe way to test a different OS is to put it into an entirely separate container (i.e., a separate partition).
EDIT—GOT A SOLUTION FROM APPLECARE:
By default, Ventura indeed won't install onto an encrypted volume (at least if it's in a separate container; maybe if the volume is in the same container as an existing bootable volume it's not an issue--I don't know). That's why I was getting the error message. The solution is to either not encrypt to start, or to switch to non-encrypted (as I did). The reason I couldn't see the non-encrypted volumes is that it takes time to decrypt, and the volumes are not available for installation until that finishes. Thus when I tried doing it again this morning, I was able to see the non-encrypted volumes, and install Ventura.
TLDR: In recovery mode (either CMD-R or CMD-OPT-R), I can't install Ventura if the volume's encrypted because I get the error message in the thread title; and I can't install Ventura if it's not encrypted because the volume won't be visible. [N.B.: This is not an issue when the volumes are in the same container as the existing Monterey volume, it's only an issue if they're in separate containers. See note at bottom.*]
Today I tried installing Ventura on one of those empty volumes using internet recovery (CMD-OPT-R). When I selected the empty volume onto which I wanted to install Ventura, I got the message "You may not install to this volume because it has a disk password." I didn't set up a separate disk password--I merely gave it a password when I created it, which was required because it's encrypted.
I then erased the volume and reformatted it as plain APFS. When I repeated internet recovery, I was able to see the other two volumes (both of which are encrypted), but not the unencrypted volume--it simply wasn't presented as an installation option.
To check this wasn't a one-time glitch, I converted the other 100 GB volume to plain APFS and went back into internet recovery. Now it had disappeared as well. Then I reformatted both as APFS-encrypted, and when I returned to internet recovery this time, both were visible. I then tried installing Ventura again, but got the same error message.
I also tried plain recovery (CMD-R) and observed the same behavior.
*Note: A few months ago, I tried creating a separate volume for Ventura in the same container as Monterey, and didn't have any installation issues. However, I found doing so is a bad idea: The two OS's need to communicate with each other if they're sharing the same space, and that communication led to a corruption of Monterey, forcing me to reinstall everything from scratch from my backup. Thus the only safe way to test a different OS is to put it into an entirely separate container (i.e., a separate partition).
EDIT—GOT A SOLUTION FROM APPLECARE:
By default, Ventura indeed won't install onto an encrypted volume (at least if it's in a separate container; maybe if the volume is in the same container as an existing bootable volume it's not an issue--I don't know). That's why I was getting the error message. The solution is to either not encrypt to start, or to switch to non-encrypted (as I did). The reason I couldn't see the non-encrypted volumes is that it takes time to decrypt, and the volumes are not available for installation until that finishes. Thus when I tried doing it again this morning, I was able to see the non-encrypted volumes, and install Ventura.
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