woopit2013
Level 1 (15 points)
Mac OS X

Q: MacBook Pro Recovery Problem

I am having a boot up problem with my MacBook Pro - -getting stuck on the grey screen w/Apple logo. I have tried all of the re-boot remedies to no avail. Checking the hard disk with disk utility yields information that the Mac HD is OK - -no problems. And when I drive into the MacHD thru Disk Utility I can see still see all of my precious files that I want back. Can anyone offer an explanation as to why I am getting a failure when I try to back up that drive using disk utility? It starts backing up and then stalls after about 30 mins. I'm using an external HD w/plenty of space. I was not able to recover Mavericks  using Command + R over the network because everytime I enter my Apple ID and password it says, try again. After much reading on these forums, I suspect that is because I bought the Mac from Mac of All Trades and the install is tied to whatever they used to install. When I booted using Command +Option + R, I connected to Apple Networks and it downloaded Mountain Lion which is the latest OS that I have on my iMAc. If I were to install this lower OS- -Mountain Lion- -would it work? Would it preserve my files from Mavericks? Please advise. Thank you.

 

 

Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch 2.4GHz Quad-core i7 (Retina, Early 2013)

Memory:8GB

Storage:256GB Flash Storage

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mavericks (10.9.5)

Posted on Aug 6, 2016 8:19 AM

by woopit2013,Apple recommended
woopit2013 woopit2013
Level 1 (15 points)
Mac OS X
A:

I finally managed to save my Mavericks files by using Disk Utility. The problem I was having doing that originally was that the external hard drive was not formatted correctly as GUID Partition. Since I had already installed Mountain Lion I spent the rest of the day transferring the Mavericks files on to that system. At least I have the MacBookPro up and running w/all my programs and files. But, I still need a bootable Mavericks thumb drive. Thanks for your suggestions.

Posted on Aug 7, 2016 11:11 AM

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woopit2013

Q: MacBook Pro Recovery Problem

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Aug 6, 2016 8:52 AM in response to woopit2013
    Level 9 (69,546 points)
    iTunes
    Aug 6, 2016 8:52 AM in response to woopit2013

    Are you using the Disk Utility Restore tab to copy the data? Have you tried booting into the Recovery Partition and done Disk Utility/Restore from there?

     

    Mountain Lion would work, but you need to get all your data backed up because the disk will have to be erased to install an OS older than the one on the computer.

     

    Startup - Gray, Blue or White screen at boot, w/spinner/progress bar

     

    Startup - Gray Screen


    Startup Issues - Resolve

     

    Startup Issues - Resolve (2)

     

    Startup Issues - Resolve (3)

  • by woopit2013,

    woopit2013 woopit2013 Aug 6, 2016 8:59 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 6, 2016 8:59 AM in response to Eric Root

    Yes, booting up into Recovery Partition and trying to  back up my files using disk utility, but it just hangs after about 30-40 mins.

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Aug 7, 2016 9:33 AM in response to woopit2013
    Level 9 (69,546 points)
    iTunes
    Aug 7, 2016 9:33 AM in response to woopit2013

    Try booting into Internet Recovery (command - option/alt - R) on a restart and see if it will copy there. This is a very, very slow boot.

     

    Do you have access to another Mac? If the 2 computers have the correct cable connections, try the Target Disk Mode. You could copy the files there or make a clone to an external drive.

     

    Target Disk Mode - Mavericks

     

    Target Disc Mode

  • by woopit2013,Apple recommended

    woopit2013 woopit2013 Aug 7, 2016 11:11 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 7, 2016 11:11 AM in response to Eric Root

    I finally managed to save my Mavericks files by using Disk Utility. The problem I was having doing that originally was that the external hard drive was not formatted correctly as GUID Partition. Since I had already installed Mountain Lion I spent the rest of the day transferring the Mavericks files on to that system. At least I have the MacBookPro up and running w/all my programs and files. But, I still need a bootable Mavericks thumb drive. Thanks for your suggestions.

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Aug 8, 2016 9:31 AM in response to woopit2013
    Level 9 (69,546 points)
    iTunes
    Aug 8, 2016 9:31 AM in response to woopit2013

    You are welcome. Can you go to the App Store, sign in with the Apple ID you used to download Mavericks, and then go to the Purchases tab to download Mavericks. You can make a bootable USB stick to install using this free program which will do all the work for you.

     

    Bootable USB Flash Drive – Diskmaker X

  • by woopit2013,

    woopit2013 woopit2013 Aug 8, 2016 9:57 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 8, 2016 9:57 AM in response to Eric Root

    Unfortunately - -no, I can't - -because I bought the computer from Mac Trades - -when I go to enter my Apple ID and password - -it just keeps saying 'Try again' because I never personally downloaded it myself. Now Im stuck with Mountain Lion. I do not want to upgrade to Capitain on this computer - -I bought it specifically for Mavericks.    Thanks again.

  • by keg55,

    keg55 keg55 Aug 8, 2016 10:26 AM in response to woopit2013
    Level 6 (8,368 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 8, 2016 10:26 AM in response to woopit2013

    Contact the vendor of your Mac (Mac of All Trades) and ask them for a solution to reinstall OS X Mavericks and apps on your Mac since they have some sort of site license. They should have some sort of image they used when they first setup your Mac. Hopefully, they can send you a USB thumb drive with this image and instructions of how to install it.

  • by woopit2013,

    woopit2013 woopit2013 Aug 8, 2016 11:19 AM in response to keg55
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 8, 2016 11:19 AM in response to keg55

    Already did -  -they won't do it. They want me to send them the laptop. So now, every time I have an issue I won't be able to resolve it on my own? Will I even be able to update to Capitan now? I 'think' I will,  but not sure.

  • by keg55,

    keg55 keg55 Aug 8, 2016 11:30 AM in response to woopit2013
    Level 6 (8,368 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 8, 2016 11:30 AM in response to woopit2013

    woopit2013 wrote:

     

    Will I even be able to update to Capitan now? I 'think' I will,  but not sure.

    Yes, you can upgrade to El Capitan and beyond as long as you use your AppleID and login to the App Store to download it. As a matter of fact, it would be a good idea to download El Capitan now before macOS Sierra is released. When you download El Capitan and after it completes the download, QUIT the installer and save the Install OS X El Capitan.app file located in your /Applications folder to another folder (e.g. /Downloads) so you always have it and don't have to download it again.

     

    You just won't be able to go back to OS X Mavericks since you never downloaded it from the App Store with your AppleID when it was available. It's too bad that vendor won't help you out without sending the Mac back to them.

     

    And as you've found out, you CAN always put the OS (OS X Mountain Lion) that it originally shipped with when brand new.

  • by woopit2013,

    woopit2013 woopit2013 Aug 8, 2016 12:46 PM in response to keg55
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 8, 2016 12:46 PM in response to keg55

    I know-  -I wish I had known that when Mavericks came out - -would have done that then. Live and learn - -right?Thanks for the input. Much appreciated.