My 2020 iMac Retina 4K Monterey Fails to Detect Newer Operating Systems

[Curtispsf]

Hi

My 2020 iMac Retina 5K is running Monterey. Software update finds and installs all the necessary Monterey updates. The problem is that Software Update doesn't see (or ask to install) any OS beyond Monterey. The computer is using a Fusion drive. I've used Disk Utility to repair all the drives possible.

I tried booting in SAFE mode but all that does is yield a blank screen and when I click on the screen, it takes me to a login that boots out of safe mode when I log in. I've thought of downloading the OS from Apple and then install but I'm afraid that I'll lose all of the data on Mnterey

Any ideas? Thanks

 

[TonyAguila]

Hi

My 2020 iMac Retina 5K is running Monterey. Software update finds and installs all the necessary Monterey updates. The problem is that Software Update doesn't see (or ask to install) any OS beyond Monterey. The computer is using a Fusion drive. I've used Disk Utility to repair all the drives possible.

I tried booting in SAFE mode but all that does is yield a blank screen and when I click on the screen, it takes me to a login that boots out of safe mode when I log in. I've thought of downloading the OS from Apple and then install but I'm afraid that I'll lose all of the data on Mnterey

Any ideas? Thanks

Your iMac should be able to run the latest version of macOS, which is presently macOS Sonoma 14.6 build 23G80. I don’t think you have a Fusion Drive because the 2020 iMac20,1 and iMac20,2 only came with 256, 512 GB, 1, 2, 4, or 8 TB flash storage (SSD).

It’s a mystery that Software Update does not offer the current system version. Try opening Terminal (inside /Applications/Utilities) and enter the following code:

softwareupdate --list-full-installers

It should list all of the installers available to you. My guess is that the latest version of Sonoma is listed as 14.6. In any case, make a note of that version number, then enter this command:

sudo softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version xx.x

replacing the x’s with the version number. Press return, type in your admin password, press return and the download should start. The installer file will end up inside your Applications folder. I suggest making a copy to another location before running it.

 

[Curtispsf]

Hi, Thanks for the reply. I used Terminal and the only installers available are Monterey and several OS lower than Monterey.
I got the info about the Fusion Drive from "about this Mac" . See attachments. I know that there is a 250GB SSD running the OS ( I presume)

 

[TonyAguila]

Hi, Thanks for the reply. I used Terminal and the only installers available are Monterey and several OS lower than Monterey.
I got the info about the Fusion Drive from "about this Mac" . See attachments. I know that there is a 250GB SSD running the OS ( I presume)

The information from the screenshots indicate that the “Fusion Drive” has no data on it. I have no personal experience with fusion drives because I never had faith in their performance and reliability. Open Disk Utility and it should show you more information on the actual layout of your drives.

I don’t see why the latest system update is not showing up. Try booting into recovery. It should give you the option to install or update to the current allowable version.