macOS Catalina Downloading information to target volume failed ERROR
I am trying to update macOS from Yosemite (10.10) to Catalina 10.15.) on my mac book pro 2015, I downloaded the installer from the app store on my mac but every time I click continue to set up the installation I get this error message that reads "downloading installer information to the target volume failed"
I tried many solutions and searched everywhere but no solutions so far, I tried to use a patcher that also didn't work. I tried to install it from the terminal but that also didn't work.
What could be the cause of this?
is there a way to fix this?
Solution 1:
It is recommended to not make such a large leap in operating system versions, skipping more than two macOS releases is inherently dangerous. I sincerely doubt it receives the same kind of testing that an incremental upgrade would receive. Ideally, it would be recommended to backup your data and perform a clean installation of Catalina if you can create a bootable macOS flash drive possibly with another Mac.
However you can try upgrading to an intermediate version such as Sierra or High Sierra then upgrade that to Catalina. A great deal has changed and the big one is the change from JHFS+ filesystem to the new APFS filesystem.
If your disk is encrypted you need to turn off FileVault or you are going to be at far greater risk of a major problem.
Here are the Apple Support pages where you can download various versions of macOS using special links. The downloads are hidden from the App Store via search or are distributed from backend CDN Apple storage. For High Sierra+ the downloads will be made from the App Store but older releases will come from a CDN (Content Distribution Network).
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208202 - Sierra This will download an InstallOS.pkg that creates the /Applications/Install macOS Sierra installer which needs to be run manually after the InstallOS.pkg.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208969 - High Sierra
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210190 - Mojave
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201475 - Catalina
Instructions on how to make a bootable installation for everything but Sierra https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372
El Capitan can be rather difficult to get working, your mileage may vary. I've found it to be far easier to go with Sierra or High Sierra.