Are you encountering issues while trying to install Catalina on your MacBook Pro, and receiving the error message “Some APFS cryptographic state information was unexpectedly unavailable. : (-69461)”? If so, you’re not alone. This error can be frustrating, but fear not, as we have a solution that can help you overcome this obstacle. In this article, we will walk you through the steps to fix this installation error and successfully install Catalina on your Mac.
Understanding the Error Message
Before we dive into the solution, let’s briefly understand the error message you’re encountering. The error message indicates that there is an issue with the APFS cryptographic state information, which is necessary for the installation process. This error can prevent the installation from proceeding and requires a specific fix to resolve it.
Step-by-Step Solution
To fix the “Some APFS cryptographic state information was unexpectedly unavailable. : (-69461)” error and proceed with the installation of Catalina, follow these steps:
Open Terminal
Open Terminal on your Mac by navigating to Applications > Utilities > Terminal. This will allow you to run the necessary commands to resolve the error.
Identify the APFS Volume
In Terminal, enter the following command to list all the APFS volumes on your Mac:
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diskutil apfs list
This command will display a list of volumes, including the one identified as “VM,” which represents the virtual memory paging partition. Take note of the identifier for the VM volume, which will be referred to as “diskXsY” in the subsequent steps.
Erase the VM Volume
Next, erase the VM volume to resolve the error. In Terminal, execute the following command, replacing “diskXsY” with the identifier of your VM volume:
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diskutil apfs eraseVolume diskXsY -name VM
This command will erase the VM volume, but it won’t affect your personal data since it resides on a different partition. However, it’s always advisable to have a backup of your important data before proceeding.
Check the VM Volume Status
To ensure the VM volume no longer reports the error code and to verify that it’s still identified as the VM volume, run the following command:
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diskutil apfs list
This command will display the updated information about the volumes. Verify that the VM volume no longer shows the error code and that it’s still identified as the VM volume.
Restore the VM Flag
To restore the “this is the VM volume” flag, execute the following command, replacing “diskXsY” with the identifier of your VM volume:
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diskutil apfs chrole diskXsY V
Ensure that the “V” in the command is uppercase, as lowercase is used to remove flags.
Verify the VM Volume Flag
Once again, run the command to list the APFS volumes:
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diskutil apfs list
Confirm that the VM volume is flagged as the virtual memory partition. You should see something like:
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APFS Volume Disk (Role): diskXsY (VM)
Conclusion
With these steps completed, you can now proceed with the installation of Catalina. Launch the installer and allow it to perform the installation process. You should now be able to install Catalina successfully without encountering the APFS cryptographic state error.
In conclusion, the error message “Some APFS cryptographic state information was unexpectedly unavailable. : (-69461)” can be resolved by following the steps outlined above. By erasing and restoring the VM volume, you can overcome this installation error and successfully install Catalina on your MacBook Pro.
