I have a late 2011 MacBook Pro that displays a white screen and flashing question mark at start up. I have held down the option key at start up and was prompted to select a network. A globe appeared and internet recovery appeared as well. A few seconds later a explanation point and the words Apple support appeared. I tried holding the command-r keys and got the same result. Any ideas?
MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.4)
That’s an Internet Recovery timeout. What kind of network are you trying to connect to? A wired Ethernet connection works best. WiFi works too, with or without a password.
What’s tricky is if the network (WiFi or Ethernet) needs some sort of “splash screen”, such as at a cafe or hotel. That would typically come up when you first open a web browser and it directs to a page where you accept the terms or like a hotel where you might need to enter a room number and name.
If your machine is Internet Recovery capable and there’s no Recovery HD partition on your boot drive, it will default to Internet Recovery.
That’s an Internet Recovery timeout. What kind of network are you trying to connect to? A wired Ethernet connection works best. WiFi works too, with or without a password.
What’s tricky is if the network (WiFi or Ethernet) needs some sort of “splash screen”, such as at a cafe or hotel. That would typically come up when you first open a web browser and it directs to a page where you accept the terms or like a hotel where you might need to enter a room number and name.
If your machine is Internet Recovery capable and there’s no Recovery HD partition on your boot drive, it will default to Internet Recovery.
rayfromlee wrote:
I was trying to connect in a cafe and, yes, a splash screen normally comes up. Thank you, I will try elsewhere.
What's your goal? It sounds like your boot drive is damaged or corrupted. Do you have data on that drive that isn't backed up? Once you get Internet Recovery working, you might be able to use Disk Utility to see if the issue can be repaired using "First Aid". If it can't be repaired, then you would either need to reformat or install a new drive. It's reasonably inexpensive to install a new SATA hard drive (or even an SSD) and then hold onto an old drive for data recovery in the future.
The one place I'd recommend (if convenient) for getting Internet access is an Apple Store. It's fast and connects directly.
I was trying to connect in a cafe and, yes, a splash screen normally comes up. Thank you, I will try elsewhere.
Start up problem late 2011 MacBook pro
