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Unable to launch Apple Diagnostics

I encountered a (recoverable) kernel panic on my MBP this morning when waking my system after upgrading to Mojave from ElCapitan just a few days earlier. In order to figure out if there may be hardware issues I attempted a restart while holding the D key in order to launch Apple Diagnostics. I however was greeted by this error message:


Error: 0x8000000000000003, Cannot Load 'EFI/Drivers/TestSupport.efi'

Status: 0x00000003


I am able to restart and launch OS X - thus the system is operational. But obviously something strange is going on.


Question: IF I create a bootable drive will I be able to launch diagnostics or AHT from there?


Thanks in advance.

MacBook Pro 15", macOS 10.14

Posted on Apr 6, 2019 2:13 AM

Reply
222 replies

May 26, 2019 9:09 AM in response to Jordan mcrae

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250285425?page=5


So firstly, +1 for this with a (perfectly working) Mac Mini late-2012 running very latest High Sierra 10.13.6 (and having just installed Security Update 2019-003):


Error: 0x8000000000000003, Cannot Load 'EFI/Drivers/TestSupport.efi'

Status: 0x00000003


(I've tried downloading the relevant DMG from https://github.com/upekkha/AppleHardwareTest and get the same error when launching that from a USB stick.)


Also… I was trying to repair someone's iMac earlier, and attempted to run diagnostics on that, and I got the error -3403D. They did have their original installation CDs as well (and the AHT version was referenced on the label of the second). I tried the Startup Disk menu (hold down alt/option) with both but neither showed up as bootable drives.

May 26, 2019 9:42 AM in response to wturrell

Hello,


If you have:

An Apple Hardware Test CD:Start up from it as you would any other bootable disc:

Then:

1.Insert the Apple Hardware Test disc that came with your Mac into your Mac's optical drive.2.Restart your Mac by either:

  • Selecting Restart in the Apple menu.
  • Pressing the Command-Control-Eject keyboard shortcut.

3.Immediately press and hold the C key on your keyboard.4.Release the C key after the Apple Hardware Test appears on your display and indicates that it is loading


http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/aht.html

May 30, 2019 1:59 PM in response to mmehrle

1. I have this problem also; see my post MacBook Pro 2013 - cannot load Apple Hardware Test.


2. At the moment I have 3 15" MacBooks Pro on hand: (Early) 2013, 2014, 2015. The 2013 won't load Apple Hardware Test from either the Internet, a USB stick, or when the (invisible) .diagnostics folder is installed in System/Library/CoreServices. The 2014 and 2015 MBPs load Apple Diagnostics on order with the D key.


The 2013 MBP loaded AHT fine only a few months ago, but now does not. Meanwhile, MemTest86, which also starts up from an EFI driver from a USB stick, still works fine with this MBP. So it seems this MBP is now somehow allergic to Apple's own EFI driver? I've reset the SMC and NVRAM, and reinstalled the OS (Sierra, and others) numerous times, to no avail. Something's changed, but what?


I'm pretty sure I did install both High Sierra and Mojave on the 2013 MBP sometime after the last time AHT ran successfully – and before it wouldn't. So the theory that installing those OS versions might cause this problem seemed plausible. I decided to test it by installing Mojave on the 2014 MBP (which I've just gotten, so I don't know if it's been upgraded before; it arrived with Sierra). Installing Mojave did not change the Boot ROM (see below), and it still loaded AD with the D key. So in this case anyway, installing the later OS did not cause the problem.


The three MBPs have the following Boot ROM versions:


2013 MBP: 255.0.0.0.0

2014 MBP: 153.0.0.0.0

2015 MBP: 192.0.0.0.0


Interesting that the earliest one has the highest number; I don't know what that might mean. I also don't know if the Boot ROM was changed by installing High Sierra and/or Mojave, as I wasn't looking at that then. I also tried reverting the 2013 MBP to its original OS, Mountain Lion 10.8.2 (after completely erasing the SSD); that changed the Boot ROM from 255.0.0.0.0 to 255.0.0 (?), but it still wouldn't load AHT.


Anyway, it doesn't look like installing High Sierra or Mojave is the cause of inability to load AHT or AD – at least not predictably.


3. I spent an hour and a half on the phone with an Apple Senior Advisor on Tuesday (May 28) about this issue, trying everything he could think of (he apparently hadn't heard about this before), ending with sending a bunch of information which he said would be forwarded to some "engineers", who would get back to me in a few days. I provided links to this thread and my own (above), and emphasized that there are over 150 people now waiting for an answer. I'll post whatever I hear.


4. A poster at another forum where this issue is discussed writes:


"Just tried the 'D' startup and it worked.... My motherboard had a very strange memory failure that took the Apple service manager quite a while to figure out at the local Apple Store. I paid the $500.00 to fix it, and now everything is ok.... I couldn't run the hardware test on the pre-replacement motherboard."


So maybe we all need to replace our Macs' logic boards? 150+ of us? But will the replacements solve the problem? We still don't know what is causing the problem.


Bottom line: obviously it's Apple's problem, not ours. Apple needs to fix it.

May 30, 2019 2:40 PM in response to HandyMac

Thanks for the continued and detailed effort.


As I can't get past UI Process start I can't get to utilities or terminal or reinstall - the only thing I can do is use Single User Mode - what I would *LOVE* is a way to install the latest known good EFI room to my Late 2012 (13,2) iMac from Single User Mode. The download for this exists on archived Apple Support site.

Anyone know whether this is possible please? Note I also would like to erase my internal SSD drives so I can at least see them from Target Disk Mode again - any hints and tips on that?

Tried FDISK but didn't seem to do much. And can't run full dskutil from Single User Mode...

Thanks

May 31, 2019 3:29 AM in response to BDAqua

Late 2012 iMac 13.1 and same AHT issue as all others. Here is the Boot ROM History since 10.14.0

iMac 10.14.5 (18F132)


Boot ROM: 285.0.0.0.0


SMC: 2.9f5


_________________________


iMac 10.14.4 (18E226)


Boot ROM: 283.0.0.0.0


SMC: 2.9f5


__________________________


iMac 10.14.3 (18D42)


Boot ROM: 281.0.0.0


SMC: 2.9f5


____________________________


iMac 10.14.2 (18C54)


Boot ROM: 281.0.0.0.0


SMC: 2.9f5


_____________________________


iMac 10.14.0 (18A391)


Boot ROM: IM131.0115.B00


SMC: 2.9f5

May 31, 2019 11:05 PM in response to P. Phillips

Update from today - I went to Apple Authorized Repair center. They DID manage to run Apple Diagnostics Tests (unlike how others and myself have reported this is not working from Cmd-D) - it showed no errors from top level view. They then tried various boots and installs which all stalled as have mine at home.


[I do find it annoying that we can't get this version working !!!]



BTW the yellow warning on memory is because of the 3rd party Kingston HyperX 16GB I just swapped in - non Apple certified.


They also tried to use a ROM update tool (non-public too!!) to update from my 283.0.0.0.0 ROM to latest compatible - I thought this was going to be 285.0.0.0.0 (but maybe that is only for 13,1 machines - not 13,2 like mine)

- but when I got home I found that it hadn’t updated from 283.0.0.0.0 :( What I really wanted was to go to back to last known good version before my upgrade - but they said the tool can only upgrade - not downgrade.

So no fixes to my startup issues related to Kernel Panics in Windows Server - so a strong suspect is the faulty GPU (even though High Sierra booted with GPU with an older ROM before I upgraded to Mojave)

I hate the idea of junking the whole iMac because of a SW/HW incompatibility introduced when I upgraded old ROM during failed install of Mojave

One of the weirdest things is that the shop also managed to get my internal drives up and running and recognizable by Target Disc Mode - they then erased and set them up as HFS+ drives (128GB and 1TB SSD).

However - when I got home I plugged into my 2018 Airbook with Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3 /USB-C Apple adapter - and I still see nothing. I will try with neighbor’s old macbook Air with TB2 and see if that can see them… Why would a new macbook Air with Mojave 10.14.5 not be able to see these drives?

So I have a couple of options:

  1. Remove the 1TB SSD (and new 2x8GB Kingston HyperX RAM I just bought). Could also try to resell the refurbished PSU I just bought as well
  2. Buy a refurbished logic board for $500 and fit myself.
  3. Hang onto setup and keep hoping there is a SW/Firmware solution that someone finds in the future. Meanwhile I could buy a new iMac… I really miss having a ‘family’ computer for photo editing in the kitchen which isn’t a noisy slow ancient windows machine (which is what I replaced the iMac with for the moment)


Jun 1, 2019 12:30 PM in response to Billiusuk

I went to Apple Authorized Repair center. They DID manage to run Apple Diagnostics Tests (unlike how others and myself have reported this is not working from Cmd-D) - it showed no errors from top level view.


To clarify: Apple has two different "diagnostic" utilities: (1) Apple Diagnostics (note plural) / Apple Hardware Test, which is available to users; (2) Apple Service Diagnostic (singular), which is used in-house by Apple and its Authorized Service Providers (AASPs).


1. Apple Hardware Test was provided in various forms (on System installer discs, installed with the original OS, or accessed via the Internet) with Macs from <2000 until June 2013 (thus that's what runs my Early 2013 MacBook Pro – used to, anyway). After June 2013 (e.g. the Late 2013 MacBook Pro), Apple Diagnostics is either accessed via the Internet or from the Recovery partition in High Sierra or Mojave (as I discovered in my research).


AHT/AD is accessed by starting with the D key depressed (not ⌘D, which at least in Mojave will default to starting in the OS). AHT has a primitive-looking interface and offers either a short or an extended test. AD starts automatically and shows a progress bar with the legend:


Checking your Mac… 3 minutes remaining, 2 minutes remaining, About 1 minute remaining.


These utilities will find gross problems, but don't go into the hardware in any detail. Neither can be loaded/run in Macs with the Cannot load 'EFI/Drivers/TestSupport.efi' error discussed here.


2. Apple Service Diagnostic is Apple's in-house diagnostic software. It was in use up to mid-2014; as the article says, its various versions (for different Mac models) can be obtained here and there from the 'Net. Since mid-2014, the current version (name unknown) must be accessed via the Internet from Apple (i.e. is not downloadable), and requires a password, so is accessible only to Apple shops and AASPs.


ASD includes both an OS version (running in a stripped-down MacOS) and an EFI version (running like AHT/AD from a basic EFI boot that employs some firmware built into Intel CPUs). Each includes a long list of tests, and takes from 30 minutes to an hour or more to run. (The major advantage of the EFI version is that it can test more of the memory, as practically no memory is occupied with running the software, whereas the OS version occupies a substantial chunk. The OS version otoh allows running user-interactive tests.) The EFI version will not load/run in Macs with the Cannot load 'EFI/Drivers/TestSupport.efi' error discussed here, but the OS version will, since it uses an OS, not just the EFI drivers.


I'm guessing that the current Apple in-house diagnostic software (which I've never seen) also includes both OS and EFI versions. From the photo you've posted, my guess is that the AASP (?) you took your iMac to was able to run the OS version (but maybe not the EFI version?), which clearly does a comprehensive testing of the system. Also it appears that the current software tests older Macs (such as your 2012/2013 iMac) that predate its introduction in 2014.


BTW the yellow warning on memory is because of the 3rd party Kingston HyperX 16GB I just swapped in - non Apple certified.


And I'll bet it cost half of the price of the Apple equivalent? Kingston is not exactly a fly-by-night operation.


They also tried to use a ROM update tool…


Well, the ROM update may have something to do with the Cannot load 'EFI/Drivers/TestSupport.efi' error; still not clear. Why the ROM of the 2014 MacBook Pro was not updated by installing Mojave (my report above) is a mystery. But the Cannot load 'EFI/Drivers/TestSupport.efi' error did not appear either, so thusfar nothing is either proven nor disproven.


Annoying that theirs works and ours (or even the network based consumer ADT doesn't!)


Yeah, ain't it?

Unable to launch Apple Diagnostics

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