This message typically appears right when you think you’re ready to go—after erasing your drive, selecting it in the installer, and clicking “Install.” Instead of progress, you get a halt.
The error means: Your target drive is currently formatted with an older file system (usually Mac OS Extended, also called HFS+), but your Mac and the version of macOS you’re trying to install require APFS. this mac can only install macos on apfs-formatted drives
If you’re still stuck after reformatting, try creating a bootable USB installer (using Terminal and a 16GB+ flash drive) and boot directly from that. Sometimes that bypasses recovery partition issues. This message typically appears right when you think