MacBook Air -5101F error

Hello, so my gf wanted to erase some stuff from her MacBook Air 2017, unfortunately she erased a wrong folder and now after you turn it on, it shows a flashing folder with a question mark... I tried these stepps and nothing worked:

- cmd+r starts an internet recovery which leads to 5101F, (I tried my wifi with no password, tried mobile hotspot, tried ethernet trough gigabit ethernet adapter, same result)

- opt+cmd+r and shift+cmd+opt+r leads to same result as cmd+r

- after I use opt+cmd+p+r , I get to chose an option to select specific wifi connection on next startup, but I get the same result,(I dont know why, but even if I have ethernet cable connected I still have to choose a wifi)

And that's it, I'm out of ideas, any suggestions? Please?

Earlier Mac models

Posted on Mar 23, 2024 11:35 AM

Top-ranking reply

HWTech

Level 9

69,722 points

Posted on Mar 24, 2024 6:53 PM

Those large negative errors indicate some sort of network issue. It could be just about anything from your local network, your router/modem, your ISP, or even your local regional Internet having issues, or possibly even Apple's servers (the latter is rare to be down, so unlikely). Unfortunately Apple does not provide any documentation of these error codes and no easy way of getting any log details of the failed attempt.

Try power cycling the router (even the modem if you can). Make sure to wait at least five minutes for them to finish booting before making another attempt.

Try accessing Internet Recovery Mode from another physical location which would bypass your home network & ISP.

If you have access to another compatible Mac, then you can create a bootable macOS USB installer. Generally you will need another Mac from:

2015 to 2021 to create a macOS 12.x Monterey installer
2013 to 2020 to create a macOS 11.x Big Sur installer
2012 to 2019 to create a macOS 10.15 Catalina installer
Late-2009 to 2018 to create a macOS 10.13 High Sierra installer

You can confirm compatibility by using the information in this article:

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

View in context

MacBook Air -5101F error

Similar questions