Unable to recover mac through Internet mode

Is this the Retina or non-Retina (aka unibody) version?

Just curious if Filevault was enabled & you were trying to reinstall macOS over top of itself?

I would make sure to erase the whole physical drive to see if that makes any difference. Within Disk Utility you may need to click "View" and select "Show All Devices" before the physical drives appear on the left pane of Disk Utility.

Otherwise with it failing to POST would imply a hardware issue of some sort.

Bad memory or a bad memory slot could possibly cause a POST issue, but usually it would give you repeating beeps. With the non-Retina (Unibody) model, the memory slot nearest the Bottom Case tends to fail a lot due to cracked solder joints. Pressing on the center of the Bottom Case can cause it to Kernel Panic, freeze, or have graphical glitches on screen.

With the non-Retina model, the internal HD SATA Cable tends to have a high rate of failure on the 13" model specifically. I've never seen it cause a Kernel Panic though. You could try installing macOS onto an external USB drive to compare results.

Try running the Apple Diagnostics (some of these older 2012 Macs may not be able to access the online diagnostics because Apple broke that ability years ago with a firmware update).

You can try running Memtest86 to check for bad memory if the Apple Diagnostics don't report a problem. For these older non-USB-C Macs if the default Memtest86 configuration doesn't find a problem, then I find that changing the CPU option to "Round Robin" or "Sequential" tends to reveal problems usually by causing the test/system to freeze.

Among other causes, FIPS kernel POST failed can be due to defective memory, but memory is one of the few components you can replace on that Mac. If its memory is ok then it's a problem only Apple will be able to fix... but Apple no longer fixes Macs that old... in which case you're probably out of luck.

Run Apple Hardware Test, whose results can only be considered conclusive only if they identify a specific fault:

Apple Hardware Test (archived)

If it identifies defective memory consider it good news, because you might be able to fix it. If that were the case AHT would report an error resembling

Alert! Apple Hardware Test has detected an error

4MEM/9/40000000: xxxxx

... etc

Matti Haveri wrote:

srinivas_31 wrote:

I used to have 8 GB RAM initially. I upgraded it to 12 GB(8 + 4) RAM seven years ago.

Maybe you could try to re-install the old RAM if it works better.

I would even suggest first removing the stick of RAM in the slot nearest the Bottom Case since I know that particular memory slot tends to fail a lot. It is rare for the other memory slot to fail.

It is also possible the RAM has become loose. Those plastic locking levers are not the best, plus it is possible to loosen the first module when installing the second module. Make sure each stick is completely latched in place on both sides (black plastic latches which have very small triangular protrusions that can easily get worn down too).

So the latest supported system seems to be Catalina, right?

Did you try SMC and especially PRAM (cold boot with Option-Command-P-R when the Mac chimes until it chimes 3-4 times or continues to boot) reset before trying Internet Recovery (cold boot with Option-Command-R when the Mac chimes (reboot the router before trying, just in case)?

srinivas_31 wrote:

I used to have 8 GB RAM initially. I upgraded it to 12 GB(8 + 4) RAM seven years ago.

Maybe you could try to re-install the old RAM if it works better.

Does Shift-Option-Command-R Internet Recovery produce the same error (the macOS that came with your Mac, or the closest version still available)? Apple's Recovery servers have been flaky at least for Sierra and High Sierra but this failure is different because those versions succeed with workarounds.

Maybe it is a hardware like RAM or maybe storage failure. When has that Mac last worked?

Maybe others can chime in for more troubleshooting.

srinivas_31 wrote:

I checked both RAM's 3 combinations ( Having one RAM and Two RAMs). There is no difference in the experience. I am unable to recover. For now I inserted only one RAM(4 GB). HDD also has no issues. I tried all possible combinations suggested so far.

Sounds like it is time to retire this laptop as it must be a Logic Board failure.

Which specific Mac model??

Does SMC and PRAM reset help, before trying Internet Recovery (Option-Command-R in Intel Macs).

srinivas_31 wrote:

I used to have 8 GB RAM initially. I upgraded it to 12 GB(8 + 4) RAM seven years ago.

You are providing conflicting information, which will complicate further attempts at troubleshooting.

The Retina Mid-2012 13" MBP has no user-replaceable RAM, while the non-Retina Mid-2012 13" MBP supports a maximum of 8 GB RAM. Other configurations are not supported.

If you modified that Mac in an unsupported manner the result will be unexpected behavior. That means it may work, or it may not, or it may work for a while until it doesn't work any more.

I recommend that you do exactly nothing until you:

1. conclusively identify the Mac's exact model designation
2. confirm (or revert to) that Mac's supported hardware configuration, and
3. confirm operational hardware.

Operational hardware is a fundamental prerequisite for installing any operating system.

srinivas_31 wrote:

To erase physical drive I need to see Disk utility option right. I am not able to see that even in Recovery mode.

You can boot from either Recovery Mode (Command + R), Internet Recovery Mode (Command + Option + R), or bootable USB installer.

When you boot the installer (regardless of the method), you will be greeted with a screen with multiple options such as "Restore from Time Machine", "Reinstall macOS", "Safari", and "Disk Utility".....they are all on the same screen. I know on later Macs that Apple boots to a different screen which must be "quit" to reveal the traditional installer screen.

See the following Apple article for some details & examples:

How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support