Restoring an iMac without a mouse

Question

Level 1

4 points

Restoring an iMac without a mouse

Hello everyone.

My iMac (late 12, 27 inches) cannot boot since yesterday. In fact, I can see the apple logo, but the progress bar stucks when it s fully loaded. I have booted from my recovery disk, but I cannot use my mouse since it doesn't move on the screen. I managed to go until the window where I have to choose an installation disk. Using various keyboard shortcuts, I selected the macintosh HD, but then I cannot find the way to go back and press the install button. Any ideas?

I have been trying for about 10 hours without any luck.

Looking forward to your reply. Hope we can find a solution.

Posted on May 30, 2017 4:11 AM

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Answer 1

BobHarris

Level 9

56,819 points

May 30, 2017 3:49 PM in response to m.dirhalidis

Bummer! 😟

Just to double check some things.

Is it a USB or Bluetooth Mouse?
If USB, is it plugged directly into the iMac, or is it plugged into the USB keyboard, or a USB Hub?
Do you have another USB based mouse you can try? Even borrow one from a neighbor if you do not have one. It does NOT need to be an Apple mouse. ANY USB mouse should point and click (extra buttons may not work, but you only need to be able to move the pointer and click)

Update: Have you tried more than 1 USB port on the back of the iMac? I forgot to ask this.

Have you tried running the Mac Hardware Diagnostics

<https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201257>

Of course, if it too wants you to use your mouse, you may be out of luck there too.

You've already done the SMC and NVRAM resets. Not sure what else I can suggest, beyond, lugging the iMac into an Apple Store (been there done that, at least twice with my 1st generation 27" iMac).

If you decide to take it in, then make a Genius Bar appointment in advance at your local Apple store, because you do not want to lug that monster in and then have to return the next day because they are all booked up.

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Answer 2

m.dirhalidis Author

Level 1

4 points

May 30, 2017 12:42 PM in response to BobHarris

Hey! Thank you for the immediate reply.

Unfortunately, I have tried all the above without any success. Moreover, although I have tried several times to boot in safe mode, it just won't work. Safe mode does not start and while I'm pressing shift, I can only see the same boot image as always.

In fact, the following picture shows what I see the last days. This is where it stops. Nothing happens when the bar has loaded. And it takes about 5 minutes to fully load. What could the problem be? And why can't I boot in safe mode?

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Answer 3

BobHarris

Level 9

56,819 points

May 30, 2017 6:06 AM in response to m.dirhalidis

You should also try an SMC reset and an NVRAM reset

You might also try booting into Safe mode

<http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1564>

This will not load any 3rd party additions, it will clear some kernel caches, and it will load some more conservative Apple drivers. This just an experiment, but can often times eliminate any 3rd party interference

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Answer 4

BobHarris

Level 9

56,819 points

May 30, 2017 6:14 PM in response to m.dirhalidis

I was wondering whether I can legally download a copy of MacOS so as I can burn it to a CD or save it in a USB flash disk so I can boot from there and conduct a clean installation. Is this possible? Does anyone have an idea?

The Apple way

The Easy GUI way 🙂

<http://diskmakerx.com/>

This can be done from another Mac, but I suggest you login using your Apple ID to do the download. If it is a friends Mac, then make sure you logout of your Apple ID account when you are done.

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Answer 5

m.dirhalidis Author

Level 1

4 points

May 30, 2017 4:51 PM in response to BobHarris

Thank you so much for all your help! I really appreciate it. I have run the hardware diagnostics as well. No errors were found.

I was wondering whether I can legally download a copy of MacOS so as I can burn it to a CD or save it in a USB flash disk so I can boot from there and conduct a clean installation. Is this possible? Does anyone have an idea?

Thank you again.

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