Chr. A.

Q: Can't boot neither in safe nor recovery mode - HELP!

Unable to boot neither in Normal, Safe mode <SHIFT> nor in Recovery mode <Cmd+R>. PRAM reset <Pwr+Cmd+Alt+P+R>. Nothing attached but Ethernet & power cable.

Start up normally with Apple logo and line of progress to end up with a blank gray screen.

 

MacBook Pro 17", El Capitan.

 

<Cmd+S> opens with quite a lot and ends up with a 'root prompt'.

 

Any suggestions?

MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.4)

Posted on Jun 7, 2016 3:38 PM

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Q: Can't boot neither in safe nor recovery mode - HELP!

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  • by macjack,

    macjack macjack Jun 7, 2016 3:47 PM in response to Chr. A.
    Level 9 (55,694 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 7, 2016 3:47 PM in response to Chr. A.

    It sounds like a hardware problem, have you tried starting command + d key to hardware test? And do you have a clone or external you can start up from, or access to another Mac?

  • by theratter,

    theratter theratter Jun 7, 2016 3:51 PM in response to Chr. A.
    Level 4 (3,907 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 7, 2016 3:51 PM in response to Chr. A.

    Can you start it from an external drive or a Snow Leopard disc such as the one that came with computer when it was new? If so that would indicate the computer is OK. It would also let you open Disk Utility to check if the disk shows up in the device list. If it doesn't, then it is dead.

  • by Chr. A.,

    Chr. A. Chr. A. Jun 7, 2016 3:59 PM in response to macjack
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 7, 2016 3:59 PM in response to macjack

    Thank You. Extended Hardware test <Cmd+D> reports no errors.

     

    No. I have a Time Machine Backup - but it's not bootable.

  • by macjack,

    macjack macjack Jun 7, 2016 4:05 PM in response to Chr. A.
    Level 9 (55,694 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 7, 2016 4:05 PM in response to Chr. A.

    OK, that's good news but not always reliable. As the ratter suggests if your Mac shipped with OEM discs try booting from those,

  • by Chr. A.,

    Chr. A. Chr. A. Jun 7, 2016 4:11 PM in response to theratter
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 7, 2016 4:11 PM in response to theratter

    Thank You. No, I don't have any external drive and I'm not sure I have any external 'recovery' disc, that came with the computer way back in late 2011.

     

    <Alt> during start up shows no recovery partition to boot from. I've tried to 'force' it booting with <Cmd+R> with the result mentioned.

     

    I hoped somebody might be able to tell me some kind of 'command' to run at the root prompt in <Cmd+S> to reset the boot partition ..

  • by macjack,

    macjack macjack Jun 7, 2016 4:13 PM in response to Chr. A.
    Level 9 (55,694 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 7, 2016 4:13 PM in response to Chr. A.

    I'd suggest taking it to any Apple Store for a free evaluation.

  • by Chr. A.,

    Chr. A. Chr. A. Jun 7, 2016 4:25 PM in response to macjack
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 7, 2016 4:25 PM in response to macjack

    Fear so - even I'm not sure such thing as a 'free evaluation' exists .. and no Apple Store exists here (Denmark) - but I'll ask Apple support for an equivalent ..

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Jun 7, 2016 4:55 PM in response to Chr. A.
    Level 9 (71,284 points)
    iTunes
    Jun 7, 2016 4:55 PM in response to Chr. A.
  • by macjack,

    macjack macjack Jun 7, 2016 7:06 PM in response to Chr. A.
    Level 9 (55,694 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 7, 2016 7:06 PM in response to Chr. A.

    No Apple Stores? Wait until I tell my Danish friend Fleming about this!

  • by Chr. A.,

    Chr. A. Chr. A. Jun 7, 2016 9:44 PM in response to macjack
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 7, 2016 9:44 PM in response to macjack

    Yes! .. I will

  • by Chr. A.,

    Chr. A. Chr. A. Jun 7, 2016 10:07 PM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 7, 2016 10:07 PM in response to Eric Root

    Thank You very much!! .. Interesting!

     

    I tried the <Cmd+Alt+R> and Internet recovery loads and boots but then it ends up with the same blank screen like the other options I've tried (i.e. Boot+Shift & Cmd+R).

     

    Using fsck @ the single user prompt <Cmd+S> was a promising option and /sbin/fsck -fy returned that the drive was OK but subsequent rebooting changed nothing -> same blank screen as before.

     

    diskutil doesn't seem to work in single user mode.

  • by theratter,

    theratter theratter Jun 7, 2016 10:38 PM in response to Chr. A.
    Level 4 (3,907 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 7, 2016 10:38 PM in response to Chr. A.

    You can boot from a hidden Recovery HD image on your Time Machine backup disk. Be sure the Time Machine disk is connected and restart the computer using Option mode:

     

    Boot Using OPTION key:

     

      1. Restart computer.

      2. At the chime press and hold down the "Option" key.

      3. Release the key when the boot manager appears.

      4. Select the disk icon for your Time Machine disk.

      5. Click on the arrow button below the icon.

     

    This should enable you to start from the hidden Recovery HD. The above is how you select another boot device, but does not reset it. That requires the Startup Disk preference in System Preferences.

     

    If you cannot get anywhere still, then you may find an a reseller here Apple Store - Find a Store - Apple. Or you can call Apple for help:

     

    Contacting Apple Customer and Support Service

     

    1. Apple Store Customer Service at 1-800-676-2775 or visit online Help for more information.
    2. To contact product and tech support:  Contacting Apple for support and service including international calling numbers.
  • by Adnan_H,

    Adnan_H Adnan_H Sep 1, 2016 12:35 PM in response to Chr. A.
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 1, 2016 12:35 PM in response to Chr. A.

    I Have the same problem

    is there a solution for this pleasssssssse

  • by Chr. A.,

    Chr. A. Chr. A. Sep 1, 2016 2:39 PM in response to Adnan_H
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 1, 2016 2:39 PM in response to Adnan_H

    I wish I could! ..

     

    But I've tried all proposed options and suggested solutions - and some more .. lots of 'bash'-command'ing in terminal .. but none worked.

     

    If You have have a 'Time Machine' back-up and can access it - it requires that it's 'bootable' as described in Apple's support paper - Create a bootable installer for OS X - Apple Support - alternatively 'DiskMaker' if You're not comfortable with 'bash' in Terminal.

    Mine wasn't.

     

    But it has to be done before the damage occured - of course - so it's not an option, if it isn't bootable already or if You can't access it as described earlier in this thread ...

     

    I didn't have or couldn't find the 'Snow Leopard disc' mentioned above .. But it might eventually have worked - and thus the only recommedable option worth trying - in case nothing else works ..

     

    After spending days - weeks - countless amounts of time and efforts getting nowhere - it was impossible to revive or rescue - I gave up, dicouraged and exhausted, and was forced to get a new one - MBPro 15" Retina.

    It works excellently - as to be expected! .. but lacks a built-in internal diskdrive, which I occasionally miss ..

    An external 'SuperDrive' is available - at a price! - but only works directly attached to one of the - scarce - MBPro USB-ports - and not to a hub or docking-station ..

     

    I found out later that it's occasionally possible to get an 'refurbished mac' - http://www.apple.com/shop/browse/home/specialdeals/mac .. which might save You some money ..

     

    Some might eventually say that I should/could have called Apple Support Center - but eventually with an dubious or questionale outcome - and more money spent as the Apple Protection Care Plan was long overdue .. of course ..

     

    So - buttom line - despite all efforts and advice - quite dicouraging - to put it mildy .. and decently! ..

     

    But I've kept it for some day to give it another try creating a 'bootable OSX/macOS disc' from the new one ...