The System cannot be restored | Data recovery

Parthiwaits wrote:

Question here is, with the above error is it possible to recover the DATA. If yes, what do we need to do?

While an AASP may be able to run a service utility to attempt recovery of data from the internal SSD, it is very doubtful any of them are interested in such an endeavor because it would be an extremely slow process using USB2 data transfers and tying up their resources for unlikely success. It would also require a lot of the Logic Board to being functional, including the USB-C ports.

You can try contacting a professional data recovery service to see that they have to say about it, but if you have already had someone attempting to repair the circuits on the Logic Board the professional service will most likely decline service, or drastically increase their price due to the extra unknowns.

Does any other Chip need to be fixed for this issue? Do we have any tool to connect and recover the DATA?

What does the tech/repair shop who has been attempting repairs have to say? It would seem they should have the information you are seeking. If you are performing the Logic Board repair yourself, then you should ask those who have given you the instructions or knowledge to perform such a repair.

Only someone who is extremely knowledgeable in Logic Board repairs and data recovery for the 2018-2020 T2 chip Logic Boards may be able to say. Those techs/repair shops are extremely rare. The techs which may have that knowledge don't tend to post on the Apple forums because the moderators tend to edit or remove their posts so most users with that more technical hardware knowledge have given up trying to assist people here, at least in that regard.

Were you performing a DFU firmware Revive or a Restore? Unfortunately the Apple Configurator error message does not distinguish between them and always references "restore" even when a "revive" was being performed.

From my own personal experience, if either a Revive or Restore fails, then there isn't anything you can do. The Logic Board is probably now in a broken state since the T2 firmware or even system firmware was not completely restored. Since both of these firmwares are necessary to do anything with the laptop, you probably won't be able to access any data on this laptop.....chances are it was probably already inaccessible before the failed "Revive".

You can contact a professional data recovery service to see if they can do anything for you, but I doubt even they will be able to recover any data from the internal SSD since it is hardware encrypted. If the T2 security chip is bad, then there is no hope since the T2 chip holds the encryption keys to access the data on the internal SSD.

FYI, the Logic Board on the MBPro 16" (2019) has an extremely high rate of failure so my guess is the Logic Board was the problem all along. I would suggest purchasing a new laptop instead of repairing this laptop since there have been multiple users posting on this forum recently that they've had to have the Logic Board replaced a second or third time within days of the original Logic Board replacement. In fact several people on this forum have mentioned that some Apple locations are refusing to replace the Logic Board for the third time. Plus the battery is likely getting to the point where it may need to be replace sometime soon which would easily add another $200 US to an already expensive Logic Board repair. Just my 2 cents.

People should always have frequent and regular backups of their computer and all external media (including the cloud) which contains important & unique data. Apple includes Time Machine backup software with every copy of macOS to make it extremely easy for users to backup their computer. As you have just discovered, there are a lot more new ways to permanently lose access to your data with these newer Macs due to all the hardware, software, and security changes. Unfortunately many people discover this the hard way. Maybe you still have copies of some of your files stored in the cloud, or on a USB stick or an external drive, maybe you sent someone a copy, etc.

if you can't Restore a coy of MacOS, install the same version from fundamental sources anew. DO NOT ERASE anything!

MacOS code does not modify itself. Every installed instance of the same revision of MacOS is IDENTICAL.

By design, a re-install in place does not modify any user directories. Your files will be in the same state after a re-install of the same version of MacOS.

How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support

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this article looks like it applies

How to revive or restore Mac firmware - Apple Support

in that case, HWTech's post referencing the Target disk mode article is your best bet.

if you can get the damaged Mac into target disk mode, as indicated by a connection symbol such as Thunderbolt or firewire floating around the screen, you might be able to connect to it and 'use it like an external hard drive' from another Mac.

Parthiwaits wrote:

@Grant Bennet-Alder

Thanks for the response, yeah do have another Mac with same configuration. Will the error Mac get detected if we try accessing from other?

It depends on the problem with your laptop. In my own personal experience it is very doubtful, but it never hurts to try. I'm assuming @Grant was thinking of using Target Disk Mode to attempt to access the data on the broken Mac, but not certain.

Do you have another Mac running at least macOS 10.15.6 or later?

if not, your Mac needs service.

it was never clear to me whether the Author was attempting a restore or recover, or whether the message just appeared. I realized we had not described in detail what a restore or recover actually WAS, so I posted a link to a high-level article provide that information in an undistorted way.

I honestly have not give recovering the Author's data a moment's thought.