question mark on macbook screen

i’ve tried the command and R combination after turning it off and back on but it won’t work

Posted on Dec 24, 2023 10:22 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 25, 2023 5:25 AM

If your Mac starts up to a question mark means that your startup disk is not avaliable or that it does not contain a working macOS version


Please try these steps to resolve the issue


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.


What is not working on booting from macOS recovery?

1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 25, 2023 5:25 AM in response to bfosdick

If your Mac starts up to a question mark means that your startup disk is not avaliable or that it does not contain a working macOS version


Please try these steps to resolve the issue


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.


What is not working on booting from macOS recovery?

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question mark on macbook screen

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