No users after failed High Sierra upgrade

The High Sierra install failed after a while, and I was left with a broken system. On boot all I saw was a flashing folder with a question mark. I installed High Sierra from Recovery, but on boot it asks for a Disk Password, and does not accept the one I used to unlock the driver for installation.


I recovery mode I can unlock the drive, and I have used Disk Utility and terminal to verify that my files are actually not lost. I tried running resetpassword, but after examining the drive it said that there are no available users to reset the password from.


I thought a solution would be to boot into Singel User mode to create a user account with the same username, reusing the user-folder already there, but I can't enter single-user mode (Because of FileVault?).


- Should/can I decrypt the volume from Terminal in recovery, get into Single User mode and create a user?

- Any other ways to fix this? Can I mount /Volumes/MacHD from regular recovery and create a user from there?

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torpeanders
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Were you able to resolve this? I am having the same exact problem.

Posted by
petercat
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I have the same issue here.

Posted by
paul_rivera
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I had this same problem on one machine I installed high sierra on (other was fine). I tried fixing the preboot after a recovery install. Also got stuck in a "disk password" loop that required a pram reset to enter internet recovery to begin with. Because the user accounts aren't associated properly, the preboot couldn't update right. Best solution I could think of (without reformatting) was to decrypt the drive and reencrypt if it works again. I'll follow-up with whether this decryption / reboot worked and got me back in the system or if further steps or a reformat were required. I'm surprised a bug this bad made it into the GM.

Posted by
apple_user_48
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In the end, it didn’t work. Had to reformat. Disappointed that many are having the issue with GM, but overall High Sierra is great. Perils of a new file system and years if upgraded, etc. Everyone should backup before install!

Posted by
apple_user_48
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I have the same problem too, I’m stuck with a MacBook Air and a flashing ? File sign, can’t reboot, get into diagnostics or anything

Posted by
Lindyjanice
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