Nini Doshi
Level 1 (5 points)
Mac OS X

Q: Recovery (and internet recovery) not working

I have a MacBook Pro that I bought new in 2012. In 2013/14 it had an issue with the system files and I took it into the Genius bar at Apple they reinstalled the OS (wiping all personal data in the process). At this point they also upgraded to the latest OS X at the time. I'm not sure what version this was but I assume Mavericks or Yosemite for reasons that will become clear.

At the weekend the laptop seemed to grind to a halt and lockup while we were browsing the web. After waiting for several minutes to regain any kind of response, we did a hard reboot using the power button. On restarting the system showed a grey screen and a flashing directory symbol with a '?', then switched to the Prohibitory symbol. Unfortunately the warranty has no expired so any trip to the Apple Store will be quite expensive.

I've been reading various articles and posts for the last few days to try and work out how to fix this, as follows:

  1. Apple Hardware Test comes back OK.
  2. Booting from the local Recovery partition (Command-R) does not work. Every time I try this it boots Internet Recovery instead. This means that I cannot reinstall the version of Mac OS X currently on the disk. Running diskutil list in Internet Recovery I can see that the Recovery partition exists on disk0 but I assume it is corrupt in some way.
  3. I have ran 'First Aid' in Disk Utility a number of times in a Verify/Fix cycle. It says that it has fixed the disk but there still seem to be issues in the fix log (checksum errors, etc.). Another strange note here is that it shows the 500GB disk as having all space used except 37.5MB. This wasn't the case when the laptop was working.
  4. Finally, when I run the Internet Recovery and select Reinstall OS X it tries to install Mountain Lion and gives me an error saying that the laptop cannot be 'upgraded' as it is running a newer OS (presumably Mavericks or Yosemite)

So my question is: What is the best course of action to get out of this bind? My thoughts are:


  • Is there a way to get the local recovery partition working?
  • Is there a way to determine the version of OS X installed on the system from the recovery tool?
  • Is there a way to obtain a disc copy (without paying as we already have it installed) of Mavericks or Yosemite or (preferably) El Capitan so that I can reinstall from media? I've tried searching for a .DMG/.ISO download and can't find one.
  • Finally, is my only option now to do an Erase and then Install OS X from the Internet Recovery tool? (putting Mountain Lion on it and then upgrading via Mac Store when back up and running)

 

Any help much appreciated.

MacBook Pro, null

Posted on May 18, 2016 11:22 PM

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Nini Doshi

Q: Recovery (and internet recovery) not working

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  • Helpful answers

  • by theratter,

    theratter theratter May 18, 2016 11:28 PM in response to Nini Doshi
    Level 4 (3,907 points)
    Desktops
    May 18, 2016 11:28 PM in response to Nini Doshi

    Here is what you can do:

     

    Clean Install of El Capitan on a New Disk

     

    1. Restart the computer. Immediately after the chime hold down the Command-Option-R keys until a globe appears.
    2. The Utility Menu will appear in from 5-20 minutes. Be patient.
    3. Select Disk Utility and click on the Continue button.
    4. When Disk Utility loads select the drive (usually, the out-dented entry) from the side list.
    5. Click on the Partition tab in Disk Utility's main window. A panel will drop down.
    6. Set the partition scheme to GUID.
    7. Set the Format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.)
    8. Click on the Apply button, then click on the Done button when it activates.
    9. Quit Disk Utility and return to the Utility Menu.
    10. Select Reinstall OS X and click on the Continue button.

     

    Your Recovery HD Is no longer usable so you must use Network Recovery. The above will re-partition the entire disk making it possible for the Installer to create a new Recovery HD along with the reinstallation of OS X.

     

    [Exclusive permission to use the above has been granted to theratter by Kappy.]

  • by Nini Doshi,

    Nini Doshi Nini Doshi May 18, 2016 11:40 PM in response to theratter
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 18, 2016 11:40 PM in response to theratter

    Thanks for the quick reply, theratter. When I look in disk utility it claims that the disk space is fully used. Will this be a problem for the above instructions?

    How large a partition should I create? One that fills the whole disk?

     

    At the moment when I am doing an Internet Recovery it only offers me the option to reinstall Mountain Lion. Will this change to El Capitan if I perform the partitioning as directed?

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root May 19, 2016 7:46 AM in response to Nini Doshi
    Level 9 (69,659 points)
    iTunes
    May 19, 2016 7:46 AM in response to Nini Doshi

    The procedure will erase the disk, so disk space will not be a problem.

     

    Unless you need another partition, create one partition that uses the entire drive.

     

    Internet Recovery loads the OS the computer shipped with, which appears to be Mountain Lion. Once the OS is reinstalled, you can reboot normally, and download El Capitan from the App Store.

  • by TrayAppleSupport,

    TrayAppleSupport TrayAppleSupport Aug 15, 2016 5:30 PM in response to Nini Doshi
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 15, 2016 5:30 PM in response to Nini Doshi

    My iMac pretty much has the same issue. Only difference is for some reason, trying to boot recovery mode using (command R) doesn't work. And when I try (command, Option, R) to recover from online the computer does nothing. With or without my Ethernet cable connected. All I get when I boot up my iMac now is the grey screen, my cursor for my mouse, and give or take a few tries and I end up with the blinking (? Mark Folder). Should I take the same advice or is my problem more severe?....

  • by BDAqua,

    BDAqua BDAqua Aug 15, 2016 7:43 PM in response to TrayAppleSupport
    Level 10 (123,489 points)
    Aug 15, 2016 7:43 PM in response to TrayAppleSupport

    You could try it, but it sounds like you gave a failing Hard Drive.