My iMac shows a flashing folder with a question mark in the center of it

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My iMac shows a flashing folder with a question mark in the center of it

I believe my Mac is a 2013. I bought it from someone online and they didn't wipe it before hand. When I tried to reset it to had to do so while in recovery mode, I'm not sure what happened but after countless attempts I tried another method by pressing the power on button then immediately holding down shift+command+option+r until a globe appeared on the screen at which point I followed the instructions just as an apple support representative instructed me to. A screen asking me to install the macOS Lion appeared and I followed the on screen prompts. The process was interrupted with an error saying something about not being able to load something. So I set an appointment to come into an apple store for further assistance. On just a whim I decided to attempt to turn on The Mac one last time at which point I was shown a flashing folder with a question mark in the center of it. I cannot get the Mac to load past that screen.

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40A35EUV,

Posted on May 15, 2023 7:45 AM

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HWTech

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May 15, 2023 9:26 AM in response to Spencer_Ash

If macOS 10.12.6+ was installed on this iMac at some point in the past, then the best option for Internet Recovery Mode is using Command + Option + R (without the Shift) so you can attempt to access the online installer for macOS 10.15 Catalina. Unfortunately for some Macs only the online installer for the older OS will be available regardless of the keys used.

If the online installer is the only one you can access, then you can try changing the system date to some time in 2017 (may need to be an earlier year). Most likely the problem is due to the installer's certificate being expired. Unfortunately Apple likes to provide cryptic and confusing error messages instead of actually informing the user of an outdated certificate or updating the certificates for their online installers. You will need to launch the Terminal app from the Utilities menu on the menu bar and use the following command to set the system date & time to Jan. 2, 2017 @ 11:33am (adjust the year even earlier if necessary):

date  -u  0102113317

Another option would be to create a bootable macOS USB installer using the instructions in this Apple article if you have access to another compatible Qualifying Mac:

Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support

A Qualifying Mac for creating a bootable macOS 10.15 USB installer is generally one from 2012 to 2019. For a macOS 10.11 USB installer generally a Mac from 2008 to 2015 will work. You can use this article to check for a compatible Qualifying Mac for the installer you want to create:

https://eshop.macsales.com/guides/Mac_OS_X_Compatibility

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My iMac shows a flashing folder with a question mark in the center of it

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