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NEED HELP!

I have a macbook pro retina model. Today it restarted on it's own, and now I'm not able to turn it on without it turning off in 5 sec. I believe it's a kernel panic, i tried almost everything on the support page, but nothing helps. Ultimately I want it to actually start up, but not delete everything on my computer.


Things that I have done..


-powered it down held command option p r

-command s typed fsck -fy and rebooted

-at start up held d to test. That was bad, it sat at 1 second for 2 hours, meaning the bar didn't move

- Tried things on the recovery disk

-I don't have any time machine saves

-Can't seem to re-install mountain lion, I couldn't select Macintosh HD

-Not sure if that's what you're supposed to do

-Tried verifing disk and fix problems, says it can't

-I had BOOTCAMP but I thought if I got rid of it I could free more space on my hard drive

-partitions still stayed the same

-I belive it's up to date, I know it's using mountain lion, not sure if it's 10.8.2, 10.8.1, or just 10.8


I then decided, this is ridiculous, this is a new computer, Why would it break down??? So I came here for help, hopefully somebody could help before i go back to school, and that I don't have to go to the apple retailer. If that's the best decision, then so be it. Thanks in advance!

MacBook Pro with Retina display, iOS 1.x

Posted on Jan 20, 2013 3:49 PM

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22 replies

Jan 20, 2013 5:58 PM in response to qw01

qw --


1. If it was a kernel panic, a grey screen would have come down on your screen, with warning to restart your Mac, in white lettering and in several different languages. Let us know if you saw that, OK?


2. What is connected to your Mac? Scanner, printer, hub, external HD? If anything other than an Apple mouse is connected by a cable, disconnect them, and try restarting again.


3. Did you make any changes to your system in the last few days? Adding new RAM, or any major software or hardware additions?


Let us know about all of the above, OK?

Jan 20, 2013 6:04 PM in response to qw01

Just hold down Option when you turn it on. If the hard drive is OK you should get a prompt for what to boot into. Recovery should be an option. This will let you reinstall the OS without overwriting your data or programs. If it is just an OS corruption problem, this will fix that and allow you to boot up. BTW, be aware that since it is a newer MacBook Pro, it'll need to connect to the web and download it's OS install when you run through this process. Make sure you're around WIFI at your house and also plug it into power... it's going to take a while. If need be, feel free to plug it into ethernet, but as long as WIFI is available, that'll be find as well.

Jan 20, 2013 6:20 PM in response to SwankPeRFection

@SwankPeRFection I'm able to get in recovery, i'm using it to type this in fact haha. I tried to re-install the OS but it gave me 2 options to save it BOOTCAMP and another one. It would let me click on them. I can retry it to see what the options were and reply again. Also, Where should I save it because I read that it's good to put it on an external HD and I don't have one

Jan 20, 2013 6:25 PM in response to qw01

When you reinstall, you need to pick the Macintosh HD partition as the place to install the OS. You cannot pick Bootcamp... that's your Windows install that you did.


Also, while you're at it, reboot with Option down and pick the Bootcamp partition and see if it starts. If it does, then it's just OSX that's messed up. If it doesn't then you either did something to corrupt the drive altogether or there's a good chance your SSD hard drive is biting the dust. Either way, you'll still need to try reinstalling the OS to see if it stabalizes.

Jan 20, 2013 6:33 PM in response to SwankPeRFection

@SwankPeRFection that's what I thought. I went to go try it again and it said "Could not write installation information to disk. contact AppleCare


I was able to get int windows earlier, safari or internet explorer didn't work. Safari was the last thing I was on when it restarted. Would there be a correlation?


What other way is there to download OSX if I can't through recovery?


Would it be a safe bet if I took my computer to an apple retailer? if so does it cost anything?

Jan 20, 2013 6:41 PM in response to qw01

It's been my experience that Kernel Panics are usually from a hardware problem -- the RAM went bad, something toxic connected to it, etc. I not at all sure a reinstall will have any effect, or even if it can be accomplished.


In the article I linked for you, it recommends a SAFE BOOT. I would try that next, if it were my Mac.

Jan 20, 2013 6:50 PM in response to TildeBee

I tried safe boot, but nothing happened. Holding shift when starting up right?


I read the article before but it hasn't worked for me. I did read the reoccuring one, and that's kind of where am at. I'm currently in the recovery option, and i'm not able to do anything from here. Do you know if there's something I can do in recovery. I'm going to try safe boot again here shortly. thanks for helping me out by the way!

Jan 20, 2013 6:56 PM in response to TildeBee

I just re-read this:


Important: If Disk Utility is unable to repair the internal drive, you should bring the Mac to a Genius at an Apple Store, or an Apple Authorized Service Provider for service and support. Be sure to ask that, if the drive needs reformatting or replacing, they contact you about escalating your case to a special data recovery service.


This is kind of where i'm stuck. I went into disk utility and tried to verify disk and it said i needed to repair disk so i clicked repair disk, and it said unable to fix disk

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