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catalina killed my MacBook pro

Hi all I have a 2014 MacBook Pro. Was running perfect with Mojave last night. I started the upgrade to Catalina and it’s now dead.


install process started ok and it got to the point of reboot. Now all I does is show the flashing folder with a question mark.


there are no boot chimes. I’ve tried to boot to recovery and that doesn’t work. Today I created a usb stick to boot from. Come home tonight and tried to boot with option key held down and it still doesn’t boot.


my MacBook is toast...

MacBook Pro Retina

Posted on Oct 8, 2019 9:27 AM

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Oct 13, 2019 8:42 PM in response to paulfromuc

The flashing question mark really does render the Mac useless. It is a dead screen with nothing to use. Ive been there (not with Catalina). I did recovery mode and luckily got it back to normal. Took a few hours to reinstall MacOS Mojave to how it was. I had no back up to use.


Not sure this is of any help, being your situation is different, mine was an accidental erase from find my iPhone. Total disaster.


A folder with a question mark means that the selected startup disk isn't available or doesn't contain a Mac operating system. Learn how to resolve a flashing question mark.


I hope you can get it fixed, or take it Apple and there’s no charge. I’ve seen a couple of other Catalina posts re the question mark.

Oct 8, 2019 9:35 AM in response to paulfromuc

Hello paulfromuc,


The flashing folder with a question mark usually means that the System Software cannot be located, this could be a hardware or software issue with your Mac.


Please boot into Internet Recovery Mode (Command-Option-R), when there open Disk Utility and ensure you can see your Hard Drive on the left.


If you see your Hard Drive in Disk Utility: Close Disk Utility and Reinstall macOS from the main Recovery Screen, this shouldn't erase any of your data unless you erase your Hard Drive in Disk Utility.


If you cannot see your Hard Drive in Disk Utility: Bring it to an Apple Retail Store for hardware repair.

Oct 10, 2019 7:59 AM in response to rkcomp

Catalina broke my Mid 2014 MBP 15" with spontaneous shutdowns. The machine is going back to the Apple store a second time because the issue didn't happen for the techs the first time, but the random shutdowns, even in safe mode, continue to happen. Apple says the update may have exacerbated a latent hardware issue because the shutdowns happened even after wiping the hard drive multiple times and reinstalling Mojave three times. Apple keeps saying hardware is the fault, but the machine passed all of the hardware diagnostics.

Oct 10, 2019 8:44 AM in response to paulfromuc

I have this with my 2012 Mac mini. I really don't fancy hauling that into my nearest Apple store. It involves a 3 hour round trip.

I don't buy the faulty hardware, as if, like my machine, all was working flawlessly before hand, then the upgrade causes a change, then the finger points to either the software is faulty, or the hardware is rendered inoperable by the effects of the software.

The fact that the machine boots to the folder icon means its passed a POST check so inherently its fine.

I've managed to get my machine running with an external drive for the OS, and run a bunch of diagnostics and its healthy as its always been. Catalina seems to be the problem.


Oct 10, 2019 9:05 AM in response to paulfromuc

Don't hold your breath!

I had the exact same problem with my iMac, which was only 4 years old and in perfect working order. I spend over 20 hours on the phone to Apple and in the Apple Store trying to solve the issue. It appear to be resurrected at some point, but I was sent back home with a dead iMac and now I don't have a computer any more. Apple's response: "it was my choice to upgrade to Catalina". Quite shocking.

Good luck anyway.

Oct 10, 2019 12:32 PM in response to paulfromuc

Do you get the boot menu when you hold option at boot? Does the USB installer that you created show up there?


If so, what happens if you try a different bootable USB medium? You could try making live Linux USB, for instance, and seeing if that behaves any better. I suspect it may just be a problem with the USB Mac installer you made at this point.

catalina killed my MacBook pro

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