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tilen146 Author

Level 1

9 points

MacBook Pro wont't boot post update

Hi,

I have a 2017 MacBook Pro which I attempted to upgrade to macOS Monterey today. Previously it was on Big Sur.

After downloading and clicking "Upgrade Now" I went outside and let it do its thing.

Returned half an hour later- and my computer won't boot. It's stuck in a loop like so:

Turns on
Fans run
Apple logo appears
Progress bar completes
Shuts off
Repeat

I've tried to boot into Recovery mode by holding down Cmd+ R after it turns on.

But it always shuts down after the apple logo.

I'll mention that the update took all day to download and then got stuck and didn't move anywhere for about an hour. So I restarted the computer. Take two was much faster. Not sure if that has anything to do with it.

It's getting late so I'll be heading to sleep soon. I closed the lid but I can still hear the fans turning on and off. Btw, it's not charging. Nothing connected to it.

This is literally a nightmare

All I've done is attempt to install an official software update and it wrecked my computer.

If I can't solve this on my own with the help of the community I'll probably have to pay to get it fixed. And even then I'm not sure what'll happen with all my data and work on it.

Any help appreciated.

Tilen

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 11.6

Posted on Oct 26, 2021 5:05 PM

Top-ranking reply

tilen146 Author

Level 1

9 points

Posted on Oct 27, 2021 5:17 AM

Alright sorry for my late response.

First off, I just want to say that I appreciate your help. Thank you.

I've spent one hour on the phone with Apple support today. Tried all different boot modes and...no change. Still gets stuck in the same loop every time I turn it off.

I'm taking it to a certified technician tomorrow. I've no doubt I'll have to pay for it since I no longer have warranty.

What's worse perhaps is that I'll probably lose all data on it.

It's ridiculous that an official software update of all things totally ruins a computer like this.

You'd think when you buy a MacBook Pro you invest into a reliable machine...

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tilen146 Author

Level 1

9 points

Nov 17, 2021 3:25 PM in response to K Shaffer

I appreciate your wisdom but I’m not sure if you’re saying there’s something I can do about the computer that’s currently in repair or suggesting it’s better to buy a new one.

How could I possibly get the firmware updated? I thought a dead logic board meant that either a trace of circuitry is broken/ melted or that a chip got smoked (although the tech apparently couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary).

And even if I demand the broken thing back I’d probably still have to pay for diagnosis.

Dec 13, 2021 11:52 AM in response to tilen146

UPDATE: So after reading what seems to be very little on the issues Montery Caused on Older Laptops, I was finally able to fix my 2017 Macbook Pro. I had to download the full Big Sur OS and create a Bootable USB drive. I then booted up my Mac, and wiped the existing drive (Yes I thought I was losing all my data, but was fine with it). Once I deleted the Partition, created a new partition and started the Big Sur Software install. The Machine seemed to be loading the old OS correctly. After a reboot, the progress bar got stuck with the apple logo. Tried a couple times restarting, but then decided to take out the USB drive and boot up holding Option R keys. This ended up booting up the laptop, and it launched the initial configuration screen of Big Sur. Once going through the setup, I restarted the machine a couple times to make sure it booted up correctly and it did. I ended up finding a volume called Macbook data, which ended up keeping all the data from my laptop before I re-installed the OS. Looks like i might have lucked out, but I hope that it helps anyone that has the same boot loop issue. I wasn't going to give up without a fight.

Key things: Bootable USB with Big Sur OS

Keep rebooting laptop if it gets stuck, but give it time to process as sometimes its extremely slow.

Hope this helps others.