No Disk to Install MacOS to and 'could not mount "disk0s2"

[gpat90]

Hello everybody

I was trying to reformat my MBP by following tutorials, etc. not for selling, but just for having a fresh start, and I think I did something wrong.

I don't know if this matters but it is a MacBook Pro 15" Retina Display 2017. The current OS before I messed everything up was Catalina.

Anyway, here's what happened...

The first problem I ran into when reinstalling Catalina it says 'the target volume is part of incomplete system and can not be installed to'. So I looked up this issue on the internet and followed the instructions on how to erase a disk or something:

Cmd + shift + opt + R
Then erased system volume which was successful
I then installed Sierra because there was no other option. I thought I can just update to Catalina afterwards.

But at the end of the installation, a symbol appeared. It was a circle with a diagonal line through it. I had to force shut down my laptop and try again.

I can't remember which keys I pressed to reboot (I think cmd + opt + R). When I clicked on reinstall MacOS, it was already Catalina. I ran into another problem - there was no disk to install to.

I checked Disk Utility - to be honest I didn't know what I was looking for. This is what I can see (photos below). Notice that there is no Macintosh HD and 'disk0s2' is greyed out. I tried to mount it but unsuccessful.

I don't know what to do so any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm in quarantine for 2 weeks in a new country so I can't really go out until after 14 days. But I've got time to hopefully sort this out.

Thanks!

 

[StevePaselli]

Start with cmd-R, go to Disk Utility, initialize “APPLE SSD” as “HFS+” (since Sierra does not know about APFS), cmd-Q and install Sierra. Then update to Catalina. Hope this helps.