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User profile for user: erna33
erna33 Author
User level: Level 1
8 points

Anyone could possibly help me?

Hi! So i am using a macbook air early 2012 i believe. I used to have it at macos catalina but then my computer started having problems so smart me thought i could fix it on my own. The problem was my mac would freeze and restart all the time so i went and deleted my startup disk and redownloaded a new startup disk. When i downloaded the new startup disk it and it downloaded on macos mountain lion. I was like awww cmonnn i have to upgrade it all the way to macos catalina or what ever it is now. Yep, there is a problem and a big one. It wont download the upgrades and when i turned it on after a long time of keeping it shut down it says i no longers have any startup disk anymore and cant open recovery mode. I wanted to have a few ideas to know what i can do to try and make it better or should i just leave it to the professionals?

iPhone 8 Plus

Posted on Mar 13, 2020 2:48 PM

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User profile for user: D.I. Johnson
D.I. Johnson
User level: Level 7
23,777 points

Posted on Mar 13, 2020 4:03 PM

Hello, erna33.


Sorry to hear you're having this problem with your MacBook Air.


Please have a look at this support document:

How to reinstall macOS from macOS Recovery - Apple Support


You'll want to focus on the Option-⌘-R restart. This will allow you to upgrade to the newest compatible macOS. But you make that choice.

I think you will want to erase your disk at this point and do a clean install. You will need to enable your wi-fi connection before you proceed because the Mac will need to reach out to the net for installers.


If you truly cannot get into Recovery mode, then it's probably time to consider getting the laptop to an Apple Authorized Service Pro.


Or, if you have access to another Mac, you may be able to create an installer on a USB flash drive.

Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support


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User profile for user: D.I. Johnson
D.I. Johnson
User level: Level 7
23,777 points

Mar 13, 2020 4:03 PM in response to erna33

Hello, erna33.


Sorry to hear you're having this problem with your MacBook Air.


Please have a look at this support document:

How to reinstall macOS from macOS Recovery - Apple Support


You'll want to focus on the Option-⌘-R restart. This will allow you to upgrade to the newest compatible macOS. But you make that choice.

I think you will want to erase your disk at this point and do a clean install. You will need to enable your wi-fi connection before you proceed because the Mac will need to reach out to the net for installers.


If you truly cannot get into Recovery mode, then it's probably time to consider getting the laptop to an Apple Authorized Service Pro.


Or, if you have access to another Mac, you may be able to create an installer on a USB flash drive.

Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support


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User profile for user: D.I. Johnson
D.I. Johnson
User level: Level 7
23,777 points

Mar 13, 2020 4:42 PM in response to erna33

Very good! 🙂 I look forward to hearing fo your progress.


Meanwhile, please check this out regarding the path from Mountain Lion to Catalina:

How to upgrade to macOS Catalina - Apple Support

"To upgrade (to Catalina) from... Mountain Lion, first upgrade to El Capitan, then upgrade to Catalina. To find your macOS version, Mac model, memory, and storage space, choose About This Mac from the Apple menu . If your Mac isn't compatible with macOS Catalina, the installer will let you know. View the complete list of compatible computers."


All the links you will need to upgrade from Mountain Lion to El Capitan and then to Catalina are in the support document.


Good luck. I hope it goes well. 🤞🏽

And you're welcome.

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User profile for user: erna33
erna33 Author
User level: Level 1
8 points

Mar 25, 2020 7:59 AM in response to D.I. Johnson

Okayyy so im back with some news. I couldnt go anywhere right now because most of them were closed cuz of the coronavirus that is going on. I have contacted a friend of my dad which really knows how to fix pc and i will go to him tomorrow! I opened recovery mode right now and im trying it one last time to download os x mountain lion. I hope it goes well! A startup disk which was gone just appeared on its own i didnt touch anything so i guess i really messed something up on this computer haha.

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User profile for user: D.I. Johnson
D.I. Johnson
User level: Level 7
23,777 points

Mar 13, 2020 4:28 PM in response to erna33

That's a good start. That's the Recovery installer for Mountain Lion, macOS 10.8.

The first thing to do from there is use Disk Utility to erase and format the internal drive. Choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled) as the format and GUID as partition scheme.

When that is done, quit Disk Utility and come back to this screen to Reinstall OS X.


I would suggest that you consider what I posted earlier about upgrading to the most recent compatible OS. If you can do that, it's easier than having to take the steps to upgrade from Mountain Lion back up to Mojave or Catalina.



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User profile for user: D.I. Johnson
D.I. Johnson
User level: Level 7
23,777 points

Mar 13, 2020 5:26 PM in response to erna33

In your original post you stated that your MacBook was having problems, was restarting and was freezing. And now disk utility is having trouble discovering the device. I'm wondering if your startup drive is failing.


If this were my Mac, I'd buy an inexpensive external drive in a case and proceed to create that bootable USB flash drive. Then I'd install Mojave (probably) on the external drive and see what disk utility or maybe DriveDX could tell me about the health of internal drive.


If it's the original still in the computer, I'd bet $ the thing is failing.

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Anyone could possibly help me?

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