I am trying to install Big Sur from Thumb drive and when I reboot (holding option key) the black screen with Grey lock appears.
I don't recall to set any firmware password. I tried current, old, and apple's ID password nothing worked.
I try to do this because seems need 10.2Gb to install directly from hdd and I don't have anything else to delete or remove from hdd that would sum this amount.
Thanks in advance.
MacBook Air
Bodao wrote:
I am trying to install Big Sur from Thumb drive and when I reboot (holding option key) the black screen with Grey lock appears.
I don't recall to set any firmware password. I tried current, old, and apple's ID password nothing worked.
That is the first problem you need to solve because if you cannot, then everything else is irrelevant. If you don't know the firmware password, then you will need to take the Mac to Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider along with valid proof of purchase and corroborating ID so they can remove the firmware lock. I recommend calling them first to confirm what they will accept for proof of purchase and ID.
Set a firmware password on your Mac - Apple Support
I try to do this because seems need 10.2Gb to install directly from hdd and I don't have anything else to delete or remove from hdd that would sum this amount.
If you don't have enough free storage space on the internal drive, then you are not going to be able to install macOS from a bootable macOS USB installer since from what I've read on these forums and Apple's documentation, you will need even more free space on the destination drive to install macOS. It is a bit counter-intuitive. You need to free up at least 35GB of storage on the internal drive (45GB if using a USB installer or Internet Recovery Mode).
FYI, you should always have at least 20GB of free storage space available at all times for the normal operation of macOS. Even 20GB of space can quickly disappear depending on the workload. More free storage is best as you can see by trying to upgrade macOS to a new major version. If you completely run out of space on an APFS volume, then you won't even be able to move or delete anything to free up space which means you will need to erase the drive followed by reinstalling macOS & restoring from backup.
As for your bootable macOS USB installer, here are the instructions for creating it:
Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support
Macs can be picky about the drives used for booting. Plus the quality of USB sticks can be extremely poor. You may need to try using a different USB stick, possibly even a different brand. Also, make sure to connect the USB stick directly to the Mac. Disconnect all other external devices in case one of them is causing a problem. Try using another USB port (if a laptop, use one on the other side). If you are using an USB adapter, then you may need to try using a different one.
Bodao wrote:
I am trying to install Big Sur from Thumb drive and when I reboot (holding option key) the black screen with Grey lock appears.
I don't recall to set any firmware password. I tried current, old, and apple's ID password nothing worked.
That is the first problem you need to solve because if you cannot, then everything else is irrelevant. If you don't know the firmware password, then you will need to take the Mac to Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider along with valid proof of purchase and corroborating ID so they can remove the firmware lock. I recommend calling them first to confirm what they will accept for proof of purchase and ID.
Set a firmware password on your Mac - Apple Support
I try to do this because seems need 10.2Gb to install directly from hdd and I don't have anything else to delete or remove from hdd that would sum this amount.
If you don't have enough free storage space on the internal drive, then you are not going to be able to install macOS from a bootable macOS USB installer since from what I've read on these forums and Apple's documentation, you will need even more free space on the destination drive to install macOS. It is a bit counter-intuitive. You need to free up at least 35GB of storage on the internal drive (45GB if using a USB installer or Internet Recovery Mode).
FYI, you should always have at least 20GB of free storage space available at all times for the normal operation of macOS. Even 20GB of space can quickly disappear depending on the workload. More free storage is best as you can see by trying to upgrade macOS to a new major version. If you completely run out of space on an APFS volume, then you won't even be able to move or delete anything to free up space which means you will need to erase the drive followed by reinstalling macOS & restoring from backup.
As for your bootable macOS USB installer, here are the instructions for creating it:
Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support
Macs can be picky about the drives used for booting. Plus the quality of USB sticks can be extremely poor. You may need to try using a different USB stick, possibly even a different brand. Also, make sure to connect the USB stick directly to the Mac. Disconnect all other external devices in case one of them is causing a problem. Try using another USB port (if a laptop, use one on the other side). If you are using an USB adapter, then you may need to try using a different one.
Did you format the thumb drive APFS with Disk Utility? If you don't it won't make itself bootable.
If you hold the Option key on boot and connect the thumb drive, does it show among the potential startup drives? If not, then the OS was not installed properly on it.
Get a couple external hard drives to store photos and music and movies you want to archive away for later use, and make sure they stay healthy. That should free up some space. Generally speaking the space requirements for OS installs are not just the minimums.
https://krypted.com/mac-os-x/free-space-required-for-modern-macos-upgrades/
If I am not mistaken - the Bootable Installer USB Drive needs to be, at least 16 GB Capacity.
The Destination Drive, USB Drive, from my experience, should be Formatted as HFS Journaled with the Partition Map GUID
Totally agree for the Internal Drive - APFS
Though, maybe am reading this backwards
User wrote " I am trying to install Big Sur from Thumb drive and when I reboot (holding option key) the black screen with Grey lock appears. "
Thinking the Thumb Drive is the Bootable Installer and the malfunction ?
Open to more insights 😀
Those with USB-C machines may want a USB-C power pass through hub like one of these, as both are driver/firmware agnostic, and take the computer's USB-C power cord for power:
https://www.siig.com/search/JU-DK0F11-S1
https://www.smklink.com/products/usb-c-multi-port-hub
High Sierra and higher format solid state & flash drives APFS automatically, unless you never format them for use with Mac OS booting.
Try to boot from a thumb drive and get black screen with Grey lock.
