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Startup disk in mac book pro missing

Hi,

I have a MacBook Pro (early 2015) It had been working very well. A couple of weeks ago I took it out of the office and when I brought it back I was unable to boot. To cut a long story short, the Startup disk is showing as missing. I tried all the trouble shooting and seem to be unable to identify and fix the problem. I was able to download the OS X on my external hard drive so I can operate the Mac now. But the problem has not been solved. What do I do from here to repair the disk. Or is it that i must purchase a new hard drive?

Posted on Feb 10, 2017 2:21 PM

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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Feb 10, 2017 3:37 PM

You mentioned troubleshooting, did it include these:


NVRAM reset


Shut down the MacBook Pro. Start it and immediately hold down Command, Option, P and R keys at the same time. Wait until you hear the startup chime for the third time before letting go.


Also, SMC reset may be needed (that usually doesn't fix a missing boot partition, though).


  • Shut down the computer.
  • Plug in the MagSafe power adapter to a power source, connecting it to the Mac if its not already connected.
  • On the built-in keyboard, press the (left side) Shift-Control-Option keys and the power button at the same time.
  • Release all the keys and the power button at the same time.
  • Press the power button to turn on the computer.


Restart and hold down the D key to enter the Hardware Test. Follow the instructions.


When booted externally, use Finder's Go menu to open Utilities. Launch Disk Utility and look for any signs of your internal drive in the list of hard drives on the left. If you find it look for First Aid and try to use it on the disk.


Refer to the following to see if it takes you anywhere you haven't been yet.

About the screens you see when your Mac starts up - Apple Support

2 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Feb 10, 2017 3:37 PM in response to revkent

You mentioned troubleshooting, did it include these:


NVRAM reset


Shut down the MacBook Pro. Start it and immediately hold down Command, Option, P and R keys at the same time. Wait until you hear the startup chime for the third time before letting go.


Also, SMC reset may be needed (that usually doesn't fix a missing boot partition, though).


  • Shut down the computer.
  • Plug in the MagSafe power adapter to a power source, connecting it to the Mac if its not already connected.
  • On the built-in keyboard, press the (left side) Shift-Control-Option keys and the power button at the same time.
  • Release all the keys and the power button at the same time.
  • Press the power button to turn on the computer.


Restart and hold down the D key to enter the Hardware Test. Follow the instructions.


When booted externally, use Finder's Go menu to open Utilities. Launch Disk Utility and look for any signs of your internal drive in the list of hard drives on the left. If you find it look for First Aid and try to use it on the disk.


Refer to the following to see if it takes you anywhere you haven't been yet.

About the screens you see when your Mac starts up - Apple Support

Feb 11, 2017 9:20 AM in response to revkent

Boot to the Recovery Volume (command - R on a restart or hold down the option/alt key during a restart and select Recovery Volume). Run Disk Utility Verify/Repair Disk and Repair Permissions until you get no errors. Then re-install the OS.


OS X Recovery


OS X Recovery (2)

Startup Issues - Resolve


Startup Issues - Resolve (2)


Startup Issues - Resolve (3)

Startup disk in mac book pro missing

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