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User profile for user: bryceorsmtn
bryceorsmtn Author
User level: Level 1
4 points

no disks appearing when attempting to reinstall macos

so, my mac recently had the flashing folder of doom pop up on it so i decided to go into the support thing to install a fresh version of macos, i’m scared that my mac could have hardware damage as no disks appear when attempting to reinstall, any way i could fix this? (i am aware that my OS is outdated)


MacBook

Posted on Jun 26, 2020 12:53 PM

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User profile for user: Kappy
Kappy
User level: Level 10
361,849 points

Posted on Jun 26, 2020 1:27 PM

You are correct. The HDD in that machine maybe dead. To be sure try booting from the Recovery HD to see if you can format the drive. This will be possible if the drive is still functional. Then you will need to partition and format the drive before installing OS X.


Drive Partition and Format Pre-El Capitan


  1. Restart the computer.
  2. Immediately, at or before the chime, press and hold down the "COMMAND" and "R" keys together.
  3. Release the keys when the Apple logo and progress bar appear.
  4. Upon completion the Utility Menu should appear.
  5. Select Disk Utility and click on the Continue button.
  6. After Disk Utility loads select the drive (out-dented entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the side list. 
  7. Click on the Partition button in Disk Utility's main window toolbar. 
  8. Set the number of partitions to one (1) from the Partition Scheme drop-down menu.
  9. Set the Format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.)
  10. Click on the Apply button.
  11. Quit Disk Utility after the process is completed.
  12. Select Install OS X and click on the Continue button.


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User profile for user: Kappy
Kappy
User level: Level 10
361,849 points

Jun 26, 2020 1:27 PM in response to bryceorsmtn

You are correct. The HDD in that machine maybe dead. To be sure try booting from the Recovery HD to see if you can format the drive. This will be possible if the drive is still functional. Then you will need to partition and format the drive before installing OS X.


Drive Partition and Format Pre-El Capitan


  1. Restart the computer.
  2. Immediately, at or before the chime, press and hold down the "COMMAND" and "R" keys together.
  3. Release the keys when the Apple logo and progress bar appear.
  4. Upon completion the Utility Menu should appear.
  5. Select Disk Utility and click on the Continue button.
  6. After Disk Utility loads select the drive (out-dented entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the side list. 
  7. Click on the Partition button in Disk Utility's main window toolbar. 
  8. Set the number of partitions to one (1) from the Partition Scheme drop-down menu.
  9. Set the Format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.)
  10. Click on the Apply button.
  11. Quit Disk Utility after the process is completed.
  12. Select Install OS X and click on the Continue button.


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no disks appearing when attempting to reinstall macos

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