A1706 fails to install OS to any disk

[jkruns]

Lectori salutem!

The patient is an A1706 model - 2017 mb pro 13” core i7 16GB 512GB 4-thunderbolt ports

Symptoms:

• Boots in recovery mode (Sierra)
• Internal SSD is visible and can be erased / partitioned
• Sierra install starts with 6 minutes estimate, but at the end of the countdown fails with “An error occurred while preparing the installation. Try running this application again.”
• The same happens when I connect an external SSD or a USB-C thumbdrive and try to reinstall Sierra on that drive.
• Does not boot from external (Sonoma) bootable thumbdrive
• I have tried installing to several different drives numerous times, but the result is always the same

Observations / actions

• no signs of liquid damage, board looks very clean
• took out the board anyway, cleaned all connectors and thunderbolt ports with IPA, dried and put back
• NVRAM and PRAM reset

Questions

• Could it be a corrupted EFI chip?
• If so, can it be fixed or do I have to order a replacement?
• Is it possible to force internet recovery to load a newer OS version than Sierra?

Thank you for taking an interest!

[mon2]

Date / Time ok?

"An Error Occurred While Preparing the Installation", Fix • macReports

[the Benninger]

To reset PRAM on your Macbook Pro, you need to

1. Shut down your computer and disconnect all USB devices (except wired keyboards).
2. Press the power button to turn on your Mac.
3. Immediately press and hold the Option, Command, P, and R keys on your keyboard.
4. Hold down these keys for 20 seconds, during which time your Mac will appear to restart.
5. Release the keys and let your Mac finish rebooting

[jkruns]

Date / Time ok?

"An Error Occurred While Preparing the Installation", Fix • macReports

Not the first time (“no bag entry” error) but after correcting with ntpdate time and date are ok.

the Benninger already did PRAM reset several times.

[reformatt]

T1 machines are not supported by Sonoma. Try Monterey installer from USB. Some 2017 machines support Ventura. Some don't.

Sierra way too old.

[jkruns]

T1 machines are not supported by Sonoma. Try Monterey installer from USB. Some 2017 machines support Ventura. Some don't.

Sierra way too old.

Yeah, I noticed so I tried Sierra and High Sierra as well but it just wouldn't boot from those on external drives.
Spurred on by your suggestion I tried every single release, none of which worked unitl... Big Sur!
Somehow it booted Big Sur without issue and the installer to the local SSD ran fine. I'm updating to Monterey as we speak.

Thank you, you just saved me a $35 EFI chip and a lot of time!