Macbook Pro won't restore

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Level 1

8 points

Macbook Pro won't restore

I am switching MacBook pros and restoring the other one (2017 pro). I have had countless unsuccessful attempts in restoring.

After restoring the hard drive, I received an error that it was corrupt. I tried rebooting and holding cmd + r, and received the screen with the globe to connect to wifi. Did this, and then after loading I Selected to reinstall macOS. After quite some time of "installing" I receive the error pictured.

*Since it's a small photo, it says "An error occurred while preparing the installation. Try running this application again"

When trying restore form time machine back up, I receive no results.

When going to disc utility and hitting first aid, it says the message below - found corruption that needs to be repaired.

*again small photo, says "First aid found corruption that needs to be repaired. To repair the start up volume, run first aid from recovery. Click done to continue.

Verifying storage system.

Storage system check exit code is 8.

Operation successful."

When trying to start in recovery mode, no mater which of the three key options I try when rebooting it always brings me back to the spinning globe where I enter my wifi password, and then back to square one. Does not seem to let me into recovery mode.

Any help is greatly appreciated! When doing this before it's always been seamless

MacBook Pro 15", macOS 10.14

Posted on May 11, 2020 5:31 PM

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Answer 1

HWTech

Level 9

68,696 points

May 11, 2020 7:16 PM in response to meaghan234

I just noticed your earlier post saying you cannot boot into Internet Recovery Mode. You cannot erase the drive while booted from it. If you are having trouble booting into Internet Recovery Mode, then try a PRAM reset (hold the PRAM reset for a full minute so it activates several times). Then try booting into Internet Recovery Mode again using Command + Option + R to access the Catalina installer.

I saw another user post a similar screenshot when trying to erase a former Catalina boot drive with an older version of Disk Utility. Normally the top most option is the physical drive, but the physical drive appears to be labeled "Apple SSD SM05....", but I cannot be sure because the screenshot is cut off.

If you still cannot boot into Internet Recovery Mode using WiFi, then try connecting the computer directly to the router with an Ethernet Cable and a USB-C to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter.

If you have access to another Mac, then you can create a bootable macOS USB installer using these instructions:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372

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Answer 2

HWTech

Level 9

68,696 points

May 12, 2020 1:23 PM in response to meaghan234

If pressing Command + Option + R doesn't boot you into Internet Recovery Mode and you tried it with an external USB keyboard, then you likely have a defective Logic Board.

If you have access to another Mac, then see if you can create a macOS 10.15 Catalina USB installer:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372

macOS and the App Store can be finicky about allowing you access to download macOS installers on very new computers, but in theory it should be possible to acquire the Catalina installer so that you can make a bootable USB installer for the older computer.

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Answer 3

HWTech

Level 9

68,696 points

May 12, 2020 12:57 PM in response to meaghan234

If you are getting a blinking folder with a question mark when trying to boot into Internet Recovery Mode, then you may not be pressing the keys soon enough or you have a bad key on the keyboard. Press and hold the keys almost immediately after pressing the power button (you may have a second or two to do this). Try using an external USB keyboard to boot into Internet Recovery Mode.

Try performing an SMC reset and a PRAM reset (hold the PRAM reset for a full minute so it activates several times -- if you look closely you may notice the display backlight flash on about every 20-30 seconds -- easier to see in dim lighting).

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Answer 4

meaghan234 Author

Level 1

8 points

May 12, 2020 1:12 PM in response to HWTech

I did the SMC reset (which I do daily, unfortunately this one has battery issues and doing the SMC reset is the only way I can get it to start charging, hence why I'm switching to a different one), and then followed up immediately with the PRAM reset for over a minute - could see the screen lighting up and then going black again every 10 seconds or so, however when releasing the keys and letting it try to boot afterwards I continue to get the flashing folder with a ?. Is it possible that there could be a bigger issue at hand within the computer that will require more than booting into recovery mode?

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Answer 5

meaghan234 Author

Level 1

8 points

May 11, 2020 5:47 PM in response to HWTech

I continue to receive this error when trying:

Erase process has failed. Click done to continue"

Details: Unmounting disk.

Can't unmount disk.

Operation failed...

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Answer 6

HWTech

Level 9

68,696 points

May 11, 2020 5:41 PM in response to meaghan234

While in recovery mode you need to use Disk Utility to first erase the whole physical drive as GUID partition and MacOS Extended (Journaled). With later versions of macOS you may need to click on "View" within Disk Utility and select "Show All Devices" before the physical drive will appear in the left pane of Disk Utility. See this Apple article for details:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208496

After erasing the physical drive quit Disk Utility and select "Retinall macOS" or "Restore from Time Machine".

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Answer 7

meaghan234 Author

Level 1

8 points

May 12, 2020 11:56 AM in response to HWTech

Thank you, that is helpful. I did try this a few times and keep getting a flashing file folder with a question mark. Am I doing this incorrectly?

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Macbook Pro won't restore

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