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MacBook won't boot up and I can't figure out how to repair

On a regular button press start up, only the flashing file with question mark appears.

I booted up in recovery mode and ran the disk utility. The single drive I have was successfully verified, no repair necessary.

Then when booting up using option+cmmd+R to reinstall the operating system, with the wifi connection successfully established, when I get the screen to choose the disk to install the new OS onto, there are no disks listed and the Next button is grayed out.

It seems it can't see the disk, but the Disk utility verified its health.

What can I do next to reinstall the OS? Is this the right step?

MacBook

Posted on Apr 5, 2020 8:35 PM

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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Apr 5, 2020 8:57 PM

Question mark


Learn what to do if your Mac starts up to a question mark.


Internet/Network Recovery of El Capitan or Later on a Clean Disk


     If possible back up your files before proceeding.


  1. Restart the computer. Immediately, at or before the chime, hold down the (Command-Option-R) keys until a globe appears.
  2. The Utility Menu will appear in from 5-20 minutes. Be patient.
  3. Select Disk Utility and click on the Continue button.
  4. When Disk Utility loads select the target drive (out-dented entry w/type and size) from the side list.
  5. Click on the Erase button in Disk Utility's toolbar. A panel will drop down.
  6. Set the partition scheme to GUID.
  7. Set the Format type to APFS (SSDs, only if installing Mojave or Catalina ) or Mac OS Extended, (Journaled.)
  8. Click on the Apply button, then click on the Done button when it activates.
  9. Quit Disk Utility and return to the Utility Menu.
  10. Select Install OS X and click on the Continue button.


Similar questions

3 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Apr 5, 2020 8:57 PM in response to d_d_brown

Question mark


Learn what to do if your Mac starts up to a question mark.


Internet/Network Recovery of El Capitan or Later on a Clean Disk


     If possible back up your files before proceeding.


  1. Restart the computer. Immediately, at or before the chime, hold down the (Command-Option-R) keys until a globe appears.
  2. The Utility Menu will appear in from 5-20 minutes. Be patient.
  3. Select Disk Utility and click on the Continue button.
  4. When Disk Utility loads select the target drive (out-dented entry w/type and size) from the side list.
  5. Click on the Erase button in Disk Utility's toolbar. A panel will drop down.
  6. Set the partition scheme to GUID.
  7. Set the Format type to APFS (SSDs, only if installing Mojave or Catalina ) or Mac OS Extended, (Journaled.)
  8. Click on the Apply button, then click on the Done button when it activates.
  9. Quit Disk Utility and return to the Utility Menu.
  10. Select Install OS X and click on the Continue button.


Apr 6, 2020 10:12 AM in response to d_d_brown

Let's a couple of changes to see if you can proceed:


Internet/Network Recovery of El Capitan or Later on a Clean Disk


     If possible back up your files before proceeding.


  1. Restart the computer. Immediately, at or before the chime, hold down the (Command-Option-R) keys until a globe appears.
  2. The Utility Menu will appear in from 5-20 minutes. Be patient.
  3. Select Disk Utility and click on the Continue button.
  4. When Disk Utility loads select the target Volume (indented entry, usually Macintosh HD) from the side list.
  5. Click on the Erase button in Disk Utility's toolbar. A panel will drop down.
  6. Set the Format type to APFS (SSDs, only if installing Mojave or Catalina ) or Mac OS Extended, (Journaled.)
  7. Click on the Apply button, then click on the Done button when it activates.
  8. Quit Disk Utility and return to the Utility Menu.
  9. Select Install OS X and click on the Continue button.


See if it lets you finish. If it does not, then assume the internal disk has failed.

MacBook won't boot up and I can't figure out how to repair

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