The Ultimate Guide To MacOS Recovery

    

Apple has never failed to surprise us with the novel innovations they introduce each year. Not only are their devices and the applications exceptional, but the features they introduce in them are commendable as well. They make the users’ life more comfortable and easier than it ever was. Did you know your Mac has a built-in repair service that enables you to recover your Mac’s operating system if something goes wrong? This super-amazing feature goes by the name of MacOS recovery.

You can easily install the most recent operating system that was installed on your Mac, If you know the proper use. You can also install the operating system that came with your Mac and even upgrade MacOS to the most current, compatible version.

If case something goes wrong with your built-in hard drive, MacOS recovery lets you repair or erase a disk. MacOS also makes it possible for you to get online Apple support, even if the rest of the computer is borked.   But, before plunging into the intricate details of how to recover data using MacOS recovery, let us familiarize you with the whole concept of Recovery. Without any further ado, let us move forward on to the next segment.   Let us start with common symptoms that can lead to data loss in the long run.

Macbook Pro Power Button Stops Working

If you have a MacBook Pro with butterfly switches, there are chances of something getting caught in the switch. Even a stray hair or a crumb of food can cause a key to become unresponsive. If opening and closing the lid or plugging into AC power causes the Mac to power on, but the power button won’t, all you need to do is hold the Mac at a 90° angle and blast those keys with compressed air.

And if that does not work out, you must contact Apple Support, as the keyboards on new MacBooks and MacBook Pros are non-user serviceable.

Mac Chimes Over And Over Again

There are chances that this issue might be due to improperly inserted RAM or lack of a good power connection. To resolve the issue, you can try clearing your NVRAM. There are also chances of the boot-loader being corrupted. Booting into Recovery can help you resolve the issue.

Mac Refuses To Power On At All

The MagSafe connector that you are using turns green when you are plugged in. If it does not, and you are sure that you are getting AC power, you are most likely to need a new adapter. There are chances that your MacBook might have a dead battery. Plug in another charger to verify. Using a USB-C charged MacBook model there is no visible sign of the cable not working without the Mac turned on.

The best you can do to make sure that you are getting power is to try another cable. If the cable happens to work, you know what to do. If you are using iMac, there is surge protection within the iMac. You should try unplugging for 2 minutes and then plugging back in to see if it turns on correctly.

And in case it doesn’t, you must check the cabling and connections and make sure that you have AC power. Replace the cable if it is crimped or cut. If you are using a Mac with user-serviceable RAM, double-check the RAM is inserted correctly.

Macbook Boot Hangs On Apple Logo

Do you see a progress bar? If you do, there are chances that Mac is installing updates. Leave it for an hour or so, and if the “time remaining” indicator has not appeared by then, try clearing your NVRAM. Booting into the verbose mode to see if you can get more details is your second best option.

Stages Of Macos Recovery

Ge1: Recover Macos

All the symptoms listed above are ruled out and your Mac still refuses to work correctly, you should opt for Recovery. All you need to do is boot into Recovery Mode and open the Disk utility. Clicking your internal disk and clicking mount in the toolbar would be the next step. Click First Aid in the taskbar and proceed to complete a check if it mounts.

Everything goes the way it is supposed to, reboot, and cross your fingers. If the internal drive does not mount, there are chances that it might be corrupt. You will want to look into recovery options if you don’t have a current backup.

Stage 2: Re-install Macos

If stage 1 does not work out for you; your next best option would be to reinstall. Booting into Recovery and then entering Disk Utility to mount your internal drive would be the first step to do that.

If you can mount your internal drive from Disk Utility, a reinstall should be able to keep your user profile and applications intact and allow you to reinstall only the core OS. The last step would be closing the Disk Utility. When the Recovery menu appears again, click “Install MacOS” and follow the Wizard to completion.

Stage 3: Hard Re-install Macos

One of the most significant parts of this stage involves formatting your drive. This step is sure to destroy all your data and enable you to start your Mac from scratch. You have to boot into Recovery Mode and open Disk Utility to do a hard reinstall.

If you are given the option, select “MacOS Extended.” And if that option does not appear, choose ‘APES.’ Format the drive. Close Disk Utility and open Install MacOS and go through the wizard to install MacOS on the empty drive.

Stage 4: Super Hard Re-install Macos

If your Stage 3 reinstall fails and APFS still seems to have some bugs, you will need to take a few extra steps. Getting an error message that says, “could not create a pre-boot volume for APFS” is not very progressive.

This stage involves booting into recovery mode from an external USB drive. Until you reach the disk utility, all you need to do is follow the stage 3 directions. And once you reach the utility, select your internal drive and click the Delete volume toolbar button. This will lead to the vanishing of all the data in your internal drive.

Close Disk Utility once and re-open it. You’ll see an external drive named something like “Customer 0.” Select it. After choosing the format from the toolbar, select “MacOS Extended” as the type and format the drive. Run Install MacOs after closing Disk Utility. The MacOS installer is most likely to reformat the volume as APFS.

He Troubleshooting Toolkit

The toolkit will help you resolve the issues you are facing in your MacBook.

Clear your NVRAM- Clear your NVRAM and shut down your Mac or force it to shut down. It can be done by holding the power button for 10 seconds. Keeping the Command-Option-P-R keys pressed down as you power on again might be a good idea. Press down all the keys at once until the Apple logo appears and disappears twice, or you hear the second chime.

Boot into verbose mode- To get into Verbose mode, turn off your Mac. Hold down the power button for 10 seconds to force a shutdown if needed. You ought to set console logs to scroll by as your Mac attempts to boot. You will want to focus on looking for errors in case you are having boot trouble.

Boot into recovery mode- You can either accomplish this via the recovery partition or via the Internet or even via a flash drive.

Via the recovery partition- If your drive is intact, shutting down and then holding Command-R while you start it back up will bring you into the recovery environment.

Via the Internet- If you want to gain access to the newest OS recovery partition for your Mac or if the recovery partition isn’t working, internet recovery is the best solution for you.

Via the Internet via Boot selection- Shut down your Mac and hold down the Option or Alt during power on. You are most likely to get prompted with a screen asking what drive to boot from. It also offers to let you connect to the network wirelessly.

Via a flash drive- To use a USB recovery drive, insert it into your Mac and hold down the option key while starting your device.

The Ultimate Guide To MacOS Recovery