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My Mac won’t reinstall Software!!!

I was using MAC OS Catalina and liked it. I kept ignoring the updates, then went to bed with the power cord connected. I must have selected the option “try update tonight” because the next morning my computer started up and instead of an Apple Logo, I saw a Grey Screen with a Dark Grey Folder image with a “ ? “ - Ugggg it began. I headed to my phone and googled this on the APPLE SUPPORT Page.


I did the main reset option + command + r + i …. Nothing.


I then started up in recovery mode command + r and a globe appeared and loaded for about 15 minutes.


Then the Apple Logo! It loaded and opened the recovery page.


I ran the “first aide” on all Disks and all clean.

I Reinstalled…. “MAC OS El Capitan” ?!?! So weird THAT was what was available. 🤦🏻‍♀️


I tried to reinstall it and went through the setup and then came the time to “select a disk” …. But, guess what? No disk was available.


I called Apple Support and the same thing happened again.


Then I spoke to a tech manager and again… nothing.


no idea what is going on or if I can just wipe my entire computer and set it up with MAC OS Big Sur or another program, like MAC OS High Sierra???


Does anyone have some tips? Has anyone else seen this happen before?


Send help and save me from an Apple Tech Appointment and I’ll be forever grateful.


Thank you so much and I wish everyone that reads this a beautiful day today.


Thanks so much,

Jen



MacBook Pro

Posted on Sep 13, 2021 8:36 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 13, 2021 9:09 AM

Yeah, a hardware failure seems a distinct possibility.


Which Mac? an iMac?


SSDs can fail, and an iMac with a hard disk drive can definitely fail.


Pending a repair or replacement (if this is a hardware failure), do you have an external Thunderbolt or USB 3.x (not USB 2.0!) storage device that you can connect, and can wipe and re-install macOS on?


See if Apple Diagnostics shows anything: Use Apple Diagnostics to test your Mac - Apple Support


Or for June 2013 and older Macs: How to use Apple Hardware Test on your Mac - Apple Support



Similar questions

2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 13, 2021 9:09 AM in response to JennyInUtah

Yeah, a hardware failure seems a distinct possibility.


Which Mac? an iMac?


SSDs can fail, and an iMac with a hard disk drive can definitely fail.


Pending a repair or replacement (if this is a hardware failure), do you have an external Thunderbolt or USB 3.x (not USB 2.0!) storage device that you can connect, and can wipe and re-install macOS on?


See if Apple Diagnostics shows anything: Use Apple Diagnostics to test your Mac - Apple Support


Or for June 2013 and older Macs: How to use Apple Hardware Test on your Mac - Apple Support



My Mac won’t reinstall Software!!!

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