How to exit 'Recovery Mode' without formatting my MacBook..

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How to exit 'Recovery Mode' without formatting my MacBook..

I was updating my MacBook Pro to the El Capitan software and as it was installing, I accidentally knocked the charging cord off and went to bed.. When I woke up in the morning and tried to log in, it would just keep taking me back to login screen to login over and over.. After googling it, I held down the power button and when it shut down, I released it and pressed it again, which I think puts it into 'Recovery Mode'.. When it restarted, I had to set it up again as if it was brand new.. After doing so, I found that it's completely been wiped.. There's no apps, documents, photos, or music left.. BUT, the storage details in 'About This Mac' suggest that everything is still there.. It's got 400Gb still in use, so I can only hope it's still there.. I shut it down and it returned to the original login screen, so I logged in with my original password and it took me to the new login screen of 'wiped Mac' and I logged in again only to go back to the wiped version..

Can anyone please, please, please help me get it back to normal again..?

Thank you very much..

James

MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2011), OS X El Capitan (10.11.3)

Posted on Feb 2, 2016 10:55 PM

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Answer 1

chroot

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1,102 points

Feb 2, 2016 11:04 PM in response to jamesRPM

To boot into recovery mode you need to hold down Command + R when the startup chime sounds. Are you sure you are logging into the same user account?

Open Finder, select Go from the menu bar then Go to Folder.

Type /Users into the text box then click Go. Make sure the slash ( / ) is at the start of the path name.

Are there other home folders located in the Users folder?

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Answer 2

jamesRPM Author

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Feb 2, 2016 11:30 PM in response to chroot

It's hard to explain because I'm not very good with Macs, but when I restart it, it takes me to the original login screen.. This has my picture as the avatar and accepts my current password.. Then a loading bar starts and it takes me to login screen where the new avatar is and I have to enter the password that I used when I first got my Mac..

I just did what you said, and my original user name is there, PLUS the new one it made it make.. Under my original username, is all my documents.. Do you know how I can login to my original login..?

Thank you again..

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Answer 3

chroot

Level 4

1,102 points

Feb 2, 2016 11:50 PM in response to jamesRPM

Are you using FileVault? FileVault being used would explain the two login screens.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204837

The first login screen is to enter the FileVault password to unlock the startup disk. The second login screen is to login to the user account. It seems like you may have created a second user account during the setup assistant after OS X El Capitan installed. If your original user account is not available in the login screen, try using the user switching menu to switch accounts.

If the fast user switching menu is not available in the menu bar then enable it through System Preferences -> Users & Groups.

https://support.apple.com/kb/PH22000?locale=en_US

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Answer 4

jamesRPM Author

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Feb 3, 2016 3:55 AM in response to chroot

YES..!! Firevault was on.. I turned it off and now it's decrypting and has been for the last 3 hours and says it still has 2 hour to go.. Does that sound right to you..?

Before turning it off, I logged out and back in after changing the 'show fast user switching menu as 'Full Name' and it still made me login to the newer username with no option of the older one..

I'll keep you updated on how it goes after the decrypting..

Thank you again..

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Answer 5

jamesRPM Author

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Feb 4, 2016 4:36 AM in response to chroot

Hi again..

After turning Firevault off and decrypting, I restarted my Mac and it's given me a list of options.. Time machine, Reinstall OSX, Ask online for help, or repair or erase startup disc.. I chose ask for help online so I could try and contact you again.. What do I do..?

Please help.. Please...

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Answer 6

chroot

Level 4

1,102 points

Feb 4, 2016 4:45 AM in response to jamesRPM

FileVault is actually irrelevant to the issue and the issue most likely will not be resolved in recovery mode. Based on one of your previous replies it seems like you are logging into a new user account instead of your original one which contains your data. To resolve the issue, you will need to login to the other account.

How many user accounts do you see in System Preferences -> Users & Groups other than the Guest and Shared accounts?

How many home folders are in the /Users folder other than Guest and Shared?

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Answer 7

jamesRPM Author

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Feb 6, 2016 10:10 PM in response to chroot

Installed El Capitan successfully.. Now it asks me for my original login username and password THEN takes me to the new username; the one with nothing.. I can still access everything by going into 'Users' like you told me, but how do I get it back to how it used to be..? I tried going into Users in System Preferences and using the minus sign to delete the new one, but it was 'ghosted' and wouldn't let me click it..

How do I get it back..? 😟

Thanks again..

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