Want to highlight a helpful answer? Upvote!

Did someone help you, or did an answer or User Tip resolve your issue? Upvote by selecting the upvote arrow. Your feedback helps others! Learn more about when to upvote >

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

User profile for user: I_like_Vintage_PCs
I_like_Vintage_PCs Author
User level: Level 1
50 points

MacBook Pro Problems?

I am working on a MacBook Pro for someone, and I don't know what is wrong with it. When I first got it, the user was complaining that iMovie was crashing. They would launch it and nothing would happen, and in task manager you could see it said (not responding) no matter how long you would wait. It was running OS X 10.9, so I decided to try and upgrade in to el capitan, it went through, and began to install, but it failed with the *OS X could not be installed on your computer; File system verify or repair failed; Quit the installer to restart your computer and try again* error, every time. I tried to boot to OS X 10.9 as normal, but it is now in recovery mode. I tried repairing. It failed and told me I need to reformat. I tried to erase, restore, and re partition, and all that failed (probably because it can't erase itself), but I had no luck creating a second partition either. Reinstalling OS X failed too, with the error *Could not find installation information for this machine; contact AppleCare*. I cannot restore from time machine as I don't have record of any backups. It also won't boot off my snowleopard disk, it shows the apple logo but no loading wheel, and I can audibly hear the disk stop spinning after 30 seconds or so. WHAT'S WRONG??? How can I fix this? Please help!!!


Thanks!

-I_like_vintage_PC's

MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9.4), It' is in recovery mode, messed up.

Posted on Nov 18, 2015 1:24 PM

Reply
7 replies
User profile for user: spudnuty
spudnuty
User level: Level 5
7,116 points

Nov 19, 2015 6:53 AM in response to I_like_Vintage_PCs

This comes back as a MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012).

The original OS was 10.7.4 Lion so:

" It also won't boot off my snowleopard disk"

Which you would expect.

The latest update of Mavericks (10.9.X) would be 10.9.5.

Here's the site for recovery mode:

OS X: About OS X Recovery - Apple Support

"Some drive partition configurations can result in the OS X Installer reporting that it cannot create a Recovery System. If this happens, you might want to quit the installation and create an external OS X hard drive with a Recovery System first. You can continue installing OS X on your computer's startup drive after creating an external Recovery System."

I usually use an external drive and clone the internal hard drive before attempting any repairs.

Reply
User profile for user: OGELTHORPE
OGELTHORPE
User level: Level 9
57,305 points

Nov 19, 2015 7:06 AM in response to I_like_Vintage_PCs

Though in theory my suggestion will not touch user data, you should have it backed up.


Boot the MBP with the OPTION + COMMAND + R keys.


The result should be a display with a revolving globe.


That will connect you to the Apple servers.


This will verify your MBP and allow you to install the original OSX (Lion) by following the directions.


However, from the 4 option menu, you may use Disk Utility>First Aid to determine if the HDD is functional or not prior to reinstalling the OSX.


If you have installed Lion successfully, then you can install a newer OSX from your App store account.


As guidance, look at this link:


http://osxdaily.com/2014/12/14/reinstall-os-x-mac-internet-recovery/


Ciao.

Reply

MacBook Pro Problems?

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.
Learn more Sign up