The problem also occurs when erasing and attempting to reinstall macOS without restoring from another Mac. However, at least one person with the issue said the newest update had been installed before attempting to restore from another Mac. The error message given states ‘ An error occurred preparing the update.’ Some commenters on a similar MacRumors threadsuggested this was caused by a failure to update to the latest version of macOS. There have been several reports in the Apple Discussions forum of repeated failures when trying to install macOS after wiping the system drive and restoring from another Mac. Related: New macOS Big Sur Features, Improvements, & Upgrades Explained While the issue persists, M1 Mac owners should opt for the Migrate option when upgrading from an older Mac.

Restore is also a way to transfer to a new Mac, bringing apps, settings and data over, however, it erases the drive and reinstalls macOS at the same time, which is what seems to be causing the trouble. Restore is rarely needed on a brand new Mac, since the purpose is to get a clean start or to correct some persistent problem. As a result, new M1 Mac owners should avoid restoring macOS until this glitch is corrected by Apple. In cases where the issue is experienced by a new M1 MacBook owner, there is fix for the restore glitch, but it's not an easy one. This issue seems to apply to M1 Mac computers only. Some owners of Apple Silicon Mac computers have reported serious problems when trying to restore macOS.

Apple mac update fix for lost files