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Recovery Mode key shortcuts (all three) not responding

Hi guys, Im trying to erase an old Mac I have in order to use it as a backup machine but I cannot reach recovery mode from the starting screen. Any suggestions? 🤔

MacBook Pro

Posted on Mar 20, 2020 10:35 AM

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Posted on Mar 21, 2020 9:34 AM

First High Sierra is not officially supported on a 2008 system. AFAIK Apple only officially supports up to 10.11 on this system.


You will either need to reinstall from an original retail DVD of OSX 10.6 Snow Leopard or you will need access to another Mac to create a bootable macOS USB installer (macOS 10.11 El Capitan).

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Mar 21, 2020 9:34 AM in response to Anastasio13

First High Sierra is not officially supported on a 2008 system. AFAIK Apple only officially supports up to 10.11 on this system.


You will either need to reinstall from an original retail DVD of OSX 10.6 Snow Leopard or you will need access to another Mac to create a bootable macOS USB installer (macOS 10.11 El Capitan).

Mar 21, 2020 4:00 AM in response to Anastasio13

Hmmm, do you have Filevault enabled?


Sys Prefs>Security & Privacy>Filevault


Oh wait, older Macs can't do some things like Restore...


1. Start up from macOS Recovery

To start up from macOS Recovery, turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold one of the following combinations on your keyboard. Command-R is generally recommended, especially if you never installed macOS Sierra 10.12.4 or later… https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204904#notupdated

Command (⌘)-R

Install the latest macOS that was installed on your Mac.


Option-⌘-R

Upgrade to the latest macOS compatible with your Mac.


Shift-Option-⌘-R

Install the macOS that came with your Mac, or the closest version still available.


Do you have an Old Install Disc for it?

Mar 21, 2020 1:30 AM in response to BDAqua

It does, actually the Command + R seems to be forbidden while the Option + Command + R doesn’t do a thing. The other option, that I don't remember as I found it online, brings on the Recovery Disk but when I choose it, it just takes me to the starting screen. My feeling is (and I saw that later) is that the HD does not have any specific partition section for the OS thus it cannot be reseted.

Recovery Mode key shortcuts (all three) not responding

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