Need help with internet recovery for my mac

Hey there, just recently I was gifted a mac computer by some friends of mine. After getting it and turning it on I got an error where a grey folder with a “?” Would flash onscreen, so I tried to start up internet recovery to fix it. However, despite trying with an Ethernet cord and wireless connection in two separate places the mac would just get stuck on the “starting internet recovery” screen or have “24:00” under the spinning globe even after leaving it plugged in for hours- I need some advice and/or help, thank you in advance!

Posted on Oct 5, 2023 12:43 AM

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3 replies

Oct 5, 2023 1:22 AM in response to _toastsenpai

Try press cmd+R on startup instead of option+cmd+R to start from built in recovery instead of internet recovery


If you have access to another Mac you can also download the latest macOS version supported by this Mac from this link:

How to download and install macOS - Apple Support and make a bootable disk to boot the broken Mac from:

Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support


For completeness here are the instructions on what to do when you see a file symbol with a question mark on your Mac: This means that your startup disk is not avaliable or that it does not contain a working version of macOS


Turn off your Mac

Press and hold the power button on your Mac for up to 10 seconds, until your Mac turns off.

Every Mac has a power button. On laptop computers that have Touch ID, press and hold Touch ID.

Start up from macOS Recovery

To start up from macOS Recovery, press the power button to turn on your Mac, then immediately press and hold these two keys until you see an Apple logo or other image: Command (⌘) and R. 

When in macOS Recovery, your Mac shows a list of utilities, including Disk Utility:


Use Disk Utility to repair your startup disk

Select Disk Utility from the list in macOS Recovery, then click Continue and follow the steps to repair your startup disk with Disk Utility. These steps also describe what to do if Disk Utility can't repair your startup disk, or Disk Utility doesn't see your startup disk.

When done, restart your Mac: choose Apple menu  > Restart.

Reinstall macOS, if necessary

If the question mark returns after restarting your Mac, repeat steps 1 and 2 to turn off your Mac and start up again from macOS Recovery. Then follow the steps to reinstall macOS.

If you need help

Learn what to do if you can't start up from macOS Recovery.

If the question mark isn't persistent, but appears only briefly before your Mac starts up, make sure that your startup disk is selected in Startup Disk settings. If that doesn't help, reset NVRAM and check the setting again. 

If you still need help, please contact Apple Support.


Need help with internet recovery for my mac

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