How to use Internet Recovery to install macOS to a new SSD

Written By: Taylor Dixon

Comments: 151

How to use Internet Recovery to install macOS to a new SSD

Difficulty

Very easy

Steps

Time Required

30 minutes - 1 hour

Introduction

Internet Recovery has a number of useful applications. This guide will show you how to use Internet Recovery to install a fresh copy of macOS to a blank or corrupted SSD.

Internet Recovery is only available on Apple computers made after 2009. If your computer was released in 2010 or 2011, you may need to update to the latest version of macOS to enable Internet Recovery.

Step 1

Shut down the computer.
If you're installing MacOS to a new drive with Internet Recovery, you can skip this step.

I thought this guide is for a completely new SSD, but in this example MacOS appears to already be running. Is the target SSD connected internally via SATA or is this guide for a USB based second SSD that will also run the OS?

In the latter case, is the intent to run internet recovery on the new SSD and then open the machine up and connect it directly, replacing the old disk?

orun bhuiyan - 21/04/20

Sorry for the confusion, Orun! The new SSD guide shares a few steps with the general “boot to internet recovery mode” guide. If you’re installing MacOS to a new drive, you can skip this step. :)

Taylor Dixon - 21/04/20

Just to clarify, I have a late 2009 MacBook 6,1 running El Capitan and will be upgrading to a new SSD. Will Internet recovery work with this computer? The article states “after 2009”. Also I want to upgrade to High Sierra at the same time is there an option to select which OS or how does it decide?

nathan davis - 28/02/21

My current hard drive won’t read. I don’t care about saving anything on the computer at all and had planned on starting fresh. Can i just install the drive then do internet recovery mode or do i still have to have a backup usb with the os preinstaled?

J H - 13/05/21

Hi all,

I recently purchased a Mac mini so that I could have iMessages on my Android phone. It was petty and so that my lesser than iPhone user people could stop complaining about the lack of blue messages.

I ended up updating from the OEM hard drive to an SSD. I obtained a copy of Yosemite from the link below and installed an update to make sure it worked on the original drive.

I had trouble with my Bluetooth keyboard so instead of going through all of that, I ran the installer again but selected my new drive and install the iOS onto the external drive without any issue. I then installed the SSD and it is working so far. Knocking on wood.

Hope this is helpful and I haven't done anything wrong or caused anyone any issues.

nick peloquin -

Step 2

Once the computer is completely shut down, press the power button, then immediately press and hold the key combination cmd + option + R.

Does this option still work if using a Bluetooth keyboard?

Chad Neumann - 17/09/19

Chad, this option should still work if using a bluetooth keyboard. If you’ve paired the keyboard to the computer already, then it should connect quickly enough to register the keypresses. That said, it’s definitely less reliable than using a wired keyboard! And every bluetooth keyboard is different—one might work, and another might not. Good luck!

Taylor Dixon - 17/09/19

In my case, the SSD was completely new, and the only way I got internet recovery to work was to press Cmd+Opt+Shift+R, which installs the macOS version which came with my Mac (a Late 2012 21.5’’ iMac).

Adrià - 20/09/20

If you have a PC/Windows keyboard plugged in, then use Window+Alt+R for youngest compatible Mac-OS download.

Ian Kjos - 12/11/20

Thanks for the tips! The BT keyboard didn’t work so I used a handy Windows one.

lucas -

MacBook 2009 A1342 DOES NOT WORK, it always shows the ‘folder’ with a ? inside and there is nothing i can do. +, i already bought a copy of Lion 10.7 on app store but cant access it either HELP PLEASE ;-)

Simon Saint-Pierre - 27/03/21

Mine shows the same thing a folder with a ?, I couldn’t copy my hard drive as it crashed and the computer wouldn’t boot up. Now I’m starting with a brand new ssd I need to know how to or what to do.

sweetbrandigirl2004 -

On my MBP mid-2012, the Cmd+Opt+Shift+R worked for me too with a brand new SSD. Thx Adria!

cat. - 19/04/21

Oui pour moi aussi, avec mon MBP 13" mi 2012...

Mickael Cambray -

I have the A1224 and i can’t get to that back screen, I’ve tried com+opt+R and also opt+com+shift+R. It just go straight to log in screen. Any ideas that might help me get there?

Art -

I have MacBook A1280, I have tried all the keys combination but none is working. Keyboard perfectly working on pc but can't access Mac os partition.

Michael Deborn -

For me, press together button to turn on + option worked

Ana Beatriz -

Step 3

When the spinning globe animation appears, you can release the keys.
The globe will spin while Internet Recovery starts up. If you are not using a wired internet connection, a choose network prompt will appear. Use this menu to connect the computer to a WiFi network.

when i want to input wifi password the keyboard is not working

pika - 01/01/20

Mine just gets stuck at WiFi connection…

Kelly Cairns - 21/03/20

Hi.

In this step choosing the network I can't type my password to get my connexion.

It shows me locked.

Thanks

Francisco

Francisco Hernandez - 20/05/20

Hi,

In this step after connecting to WIFI it will be there forever no progress. If I click on another network it’s getting error’ed out with a globe and exclamation mark in it and error is “apple.com/support -1005 F”.

Please assist me with some information on how to overcome this phase.

—

Raghu.

raghuvaran45.rv - 06/12/20

did you fixed it?

i had same problume can you help me

thank you

vazisda -

-3511 F Eror , whats does it means?

Shuhrat Safarov - 22/12/20

Mine is stuck flashing a folder with a question mark on it. Now what?

lauren borkowski - 04/01/21

cant get passed folder with ? mark inside PLS HELPà

Simon Saint-Pierre - 27/03/21

Even if your keyboard is AZERTY, write your password as using a QWERTY one. Just did it now.

You're welcome ;)

Nicolas Vaché - 24/04/21

thank you sooooo much

Geraldine Portal - 28/04/21

I can’t get passed this… entered WiFi password and it just spins forever trying to login…

Tom Baker -

Same to me… did you fix it?

Fritz Denner -

Cela ne se connecte pas alors que le code est bon, comment faire ???

coraline.mauna -

Bonjour, je rentre mon mot de passe wifi, mais cela me refuse l’accès ?

Ebrard Alexis -

faite attention si vous êtes français ou autre et que votre clavier est en azerty, car moi j’ai finalement compris que dans le ordi c’était en qwerty voilà pourquoi il n’acceptait pas le bon mot de passe

Marine Leclaire -

After connecting to the network, globe keeps spinning, no progress bar appears underneath. Please advice how to proceed. Thanks

miguelcruden -

After inputting the WiFi password it gets stuck on the revolving globe showing 24:00 for ever. What might be the problem and how to fix this issue? please help!

Srinivasa Rao Buddha -

Solution: You need to set your DNS-server to 8.8.8.8 at your router.

Pavel Veter -

If you are in Malaysia and using Time Internet, this will not work. I used my mobile phone (Maxis) and a hotspot to get around the problem. Not sure if its the way the router is configured with my Time connection.

james_abela -

Indeed. Cannot get past Time internet and need to use the hotspot. Thank you very much james_abela.

Y MY -

A solution for me when stuck on entering wifi password and nothing happening was instead tether to my phone, i.e. mobile hotspot and that fixed it

Lorenzo Monsif -

I put the wifi and then it gets me stuck on the password part, I’m unsure if I type my devices password or my wifi password

Olivia -

You need to act as if you have an US keyboard with the order QWERTY and not QWERTZ that also fixed my issue

ay luna - 01/03/23

Another issue I’m having is that whenever it finishes to load my computer turns off and then I’m back on the globe screen. I really need help.

Olivia -

So no answer for somebody with the same problem of flashing folder with question mark? I have a MBP 2010, upgraded to 1TB Crucial SSD. Opt- CMD- R only gives me flashing folder with question mark. Come on Crucial , help out. Thanks!

BBfreak 8 -

I wrote the good password in the US keyboard. But it’s still loading how can it works? I only see something charging without any progress…

Can someone help me ?

manon -

The typical problem when you get a flashing folder with a question mark on the screen is a problem with the hard drive. If you have changed the drive for a new one it might not be compatible or poorly seated, or you did not start internet recovery correctly/in time. If you have not changed your drive and your Mac suddenly have gotten this error, the hard drive is most likely defective and needs to be replaced, in my experience. @bbfreak8

Roger_L -

Nel momento in cui inserisco la mia password, la rotella dell’attesa comincia a girare ma non fa niente per ore. Ho provato diverse volte ad accenderlo con lo stesso procedimento e non fa niente. Se cambio password me la dà errata. Come posso risolvere?

Francesco -

I am not able to type the password for wifi.

Please help

praphul singh -

As with other comments here, I'm on the screen to select my network, and the roadblock is the password. I put in the password for the network, gets bounced back. I try my password for the Mac itself, gets bounced back. Apple ID, gets bounced back. It's not specific as to what password it's looking for, but nothing works. A ridiculous flaw with seemingly no solution! Makes me think twice (or more) before buying any more Apple products in the future. My shortlist for the holiday season was an entry level MacBook Air and an IPAD, but now I'm not too sure if we have to look forward to more of this sort of thing.

Michael Selinger -

Step 4

Once a network connection has been established, a progress bar will appear underneath the spinning globe.
This process is prone to timing out. If you receive an error, try again using a cable connection to reach the internet rather than WiFi. Depending on your model, you may need an adapter to accomplish this.

Coloco la clave wi fi la reconoce pero no me carga nada, se queda conectado pero sin cargar nada

federicorabanez - 18/12/19

de que año es la maquina? Podría ser que la red no tiene conexión? Tal vez pueda probarlo con una conexión por cable.

Taylor Dixon - 18/12/19

Coloco la clave wi fi, y la reconoce pero el globo continua rotando hasta que se detiene y muestra error casi que indefinidamente. Algunas veces se congela y muestra error 2002F… no se que hacer

Luis Hartmann - 21/08/20

1008F fehler

Mirza Delić - 27/08/20

https://support.apple.com/de-de/HT206989

VauWeh - 27/08/20

-2003F Fehler

Thorsten Schuster -

Hi, what if nothing happens once a connection is established? It just connects to the wifi and then goes back to previous page

Allie Wilson -

I get the spinning globe and progress bar, then it goes to grey screen with apple logo and spinning loading icon then just goes to grey screen :( 2011 macbook pro.

Plz help.

morgan phone -

It happened the same to me! Could you find a solution? Thanks

Christian Cinetto -

I have exactly the same problem on a 2011 macbook pro, nothing happens after the internet recovery loading

furansu-182 -

And I have the same problem on my pro 15 2011😔

defsokal -

I cannot type in my password, that includes numbers. If I want to type in for example number 3, instead a # appears. Is there a way to fix that problem?

Kaweh1395 -

The process just skips the Wi-Fi connection process. It loads the disk utility but no Wi-Fi connection. Try to load operating system it says you need Wi-Fi connection? How do I get to Wi-Fi connection process?

jim anderson -

Step 5

When Internet Recovery has loaded, you will see the macOS recovery screen.

After I entered password and loaded up internet recovery a Question Mark appears and flashing. What do I do next?

Dennis Fessler - 04/04/20

Never mind. When I tried a second time it went to the Disk Utility. I was able to complete the process.

Dennis Fessler - 04/04/20

Quanto tempo ci mette di solito a ricaricarsi Internet Recovery ???

Betty Bi - 02/10/20

Apple und die Time Maschine die alles kaputt macht. Statt Itunes hätten sie lieber die Time Maschine raus nehmen sollen aus Catalina Betriebssystem Apple

Planet der Giganten - 17/11/20

mi Mac lleva más de una hora y está hasta la mitad de la barra

Matías Fonseca५ప - 21/01/21

A mi me carga hasta la mitad luego se reinicia,mi máquina tiene el problema que se reinicia constantemente pero me deja acceder al modo seguro

asesino97ful - 30/03/21

Can I backup data from internet recovery to an external drive before reinstalling operating system?

Sara - 08/04/21

So, if I have a time machine backup, I chose that? I am replacing my SSD and going from the stock unit to the 1G.

acm332 - 02/06/21

Bonjour

Merci pour votre article.

J’ai une question à laquelle je n’ai trouvé aucune réponse. Comment désactiver la mise en veille lors d’une clean install? Je dois rester constamment rester devant l’écran pour éviter une perte de connexion et un temps d’installation plus long…

Layanah -

I tried. It it didn’t go beyond globe and I tried for couple of hours. Pls advise

San D -

Saludos. Al entrar el password pasan unos minutos y se apaga. Que puedo hacer?

Melissa -

it doesn’t send me to macOS but to a white screen, what do i do?

julia -

I have te same problem. It finishes the load screen, and then the screen turns white, the laptop starts to get hot and then turns off...

Tobal -

Same, white screen with little apple in middle. Did you guys figure it out?

Jennifer Casares -

nach dem runterladen bekomme ich eine Fehlermeldung. Habe keine Festplatte angeschlossen.

Hab beim löschen versehentlich mcOS nicht sofort neu installiert

Ceddi^-^ -

After following all the steps and waiting an hour I get message

Can’t download additional components to install Mac OS system

Whe press OK goes back to start and again does same after an hour ?

Ant advice ?

Amr

Marzouk -

What size it takes? It writes "About 13 hours and 27 miniutes remaining.

What is the system size??

Plz

Esmail Alsawraqi -

Step 6

Before you can install macOS to the new drive, you'll need to format the drive so the installer can recognize it.
Open Disk Utility from the recovery menu, select your drive, and click the Erase button toward the top of the Disk Utility window.
Make up a name for your drive, and make sure the format is set to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) or APFS. If there is a "Scheme" option, set it to GUID Partition Map.
If you don't see your drive listed in the Disk Utility menu, select Show All Devices from the View section of the menu bar.
Once the new drive is formatted, press Command + Q to exit Disk Utility and return to the recovery menu.

Bought the OWC recommended drive from fixit (for 2012 Macbook air) and it was pre-formatted—so was able to move right on to restoring from time machine backup — worked great!

David Kittlesen - 11/01/20

When can I use Time Machine to restore my data. Can I use it in this step or I have to install MacOS first, then use time machine?

ahmad albulihy - 02/02/20

Ahmad, I was under the impression that you needed to install MacOS before you can restore a time machine backup. That said, now that you ask I am not sure! It could be possible to restore your data and the OS with Time Machine. If you already have a TM backup at this step, give that a try and let me know how it goes.

Taylor Dixon - 06/02/20

I’m upgrading to a SSD on my 2011 iMac, running MacOS High Sierra. Updating to Catalina is prevented by the age of the computer.

Should I choose APFS as the format for the new SSD, rather than Mac OS Extended (Journaled)?

It appears to be compatible with High Sierra, and some quick research indicates that APFS is meant to be optimised for flash based storage like an SSD.

Andy Waller - 23/02/20

I think I’ve answered my own question. After futher reading of this article. I’m going to stick with MacOS Extended (Journalled) to ensure that I maintain compatibility with my existing Time Machine backups to the new drive. Its also mentioned that during installation of High Sierra, it will decide which disk format is more appropriate automatically.

It would certainly be interesting to see how much faster APFS is for SSDs.

Andy Waller - 23/02/20

I bought the recommended OWC SSD, but mine isn’t recognized by my 2015 (early) MacBook Air 13”. I installed the new drive into an OWC Envoy Pro, with the intent of cloning the original drive onto the new drive, then installing the new drive into the computer, and sticking the original drive into the Envoy Pro. Is this what I’m doing wrong, should I just install the new drive into the computer, and move the original drive into the Envoy Pro?

Robb M - 12/07/20

UPDATE: In response to my question - yes, I was doing it wrong. I just installed the new drive into my MacBook Air, and used Internet recovery to format the new SSD. It worked great.

I differed, though, from the instructions here. The article recommends to use internet recovery to install the OS, and then use super duper to replicate the original (cloned) drive onto the new drive. Except when I went to install the OS using Internet Recovery, it was going to install Catalina, which I don’t want to do. (Catalina doesn’t support Aperture, which is my favorite Apple application). So instead of using internet recover for that, I used Utilities to restore the original drive onto the new drive. It worked perfectly.

Robb M - 13/07/20

I got a problem, says Operation failed. The volume couldn’t be unmounted because it is in use by the process 637(hextcache)

Couldn’t unmount disk.:(-69888)

Karnasc - 07/10/20

I can’t see the new drive, and I don’t have the View section of the menu bar… I am stuck here now

Alfonzo Altamar Pereira - 27/04/21

Got the same problem, no view section, and can't see the new drive :( any idea please?

Laurent Leborgne -

Make sure to use cmd + option + R to boot into the latest version of Internet Recovery, and the new drive should show.

Ke X -

How to i save files, photos and programs before erasing it?

borghildkr -

Hallo, mein Mac Book zeigt die neue SSD (OWC Aura Pro X2) nach dem Einbau nicht unter Festplatten an. Woran könnte das liegen?

Manta -

Step 7

Back at the recovery menu, select Install macOS .

Can I choose which OS version to install at this point? I will want to install Mojave, but since there’s a newer OS (Catalina) out now will that version be installed without giving me a chance to choose?

Lee Wolf - 01/03/20

Lee, unfortunately I do not think this interface will let you install older versions of macOS—it just automatically grabs the newest version. If you want to install Mojave, you’ll have to make a USB installer!

Taylor Dixon - 05/03/20

When trying to install os x, itsays this disk is locked. Is there away to unlock it?

Anthony Ford -

I cannot reinstall Monterey. It says the selected volume is not large enough to install on. A minimum of 27.44 is required. How can I solve this? Thank you.

JEO -

If using the reinstall OS option, is the recovery utility smart enough to select the most recent compatible OS? My iMac is a late 2015. It is not supposed to be able to run the most current MacOS

Mark Bergman -

Hi, problem is it installed until 2 minutes and it says error and to try running the installer again later. How can I fix this? Thanks

biiju.inside -

Mine will only install the oldest since something went wrong? what do I do to fix AFSP is not in my list and that would make it easier to fix?

Lou -

en mi caso mi MacBook pro-2013 le presione cmd + R y me salió el instalador de macos Lion lo que no entiendo por qué no me permite instalar nada más reciente será acaso que hice algo mal?

pepito kun -

Step 8

Follow the prompts to install macOS, selecting the newly formatted disk as the target for the installation.

i am getting a pop up.. ‘‘the request to the recovery service is timed out’’ can you please suggest the possible solution here?

Akshay Bhadoriya -

are you using wifi or ethernet? if wifi, perhaps it’s not connecting

Ralph R Aguilar -

Hi, I have a 2009 iMac that I have just upgraded the HDD to SSD. I have deleted all the info I had on my old HDD, so I cannot clone or anything. I have followed the steps above but on my last step it asks me for the apple ID and password. Once I insert them it directly says the pass is wrong. But because of the 2FA it passes the check to my iPad before approving the login. I don’t have any other Mac Device around, only Windows devices. With the TransMac and an *.dmg image of the 10.8 Mac X version I have made a bootable stick drive. It sees the removable drive, It seems to boot from it but it doesn’t work. Please help me!

Danut Gabriel -

Ici, Mavericks pour moi...

Mickael Cambray -

My machine defaulted to Mavericks as the downloadable version (10.14.5). The problem with this is that the encryption is so old, that after it boots, it can't talk to the apple store (bad password errors). This was a helpful link to install Catalina without the apple store: https://wccftech.com/how-to/how-to-downl... The installer isn't apple but it pulls the OS from apple. Once this installs, iCloud and the store will work as expected.

Martin Christeson -

Step 8, is it only mojave it downloads or can i skip straight to 10.15? my mac is currently on 10.15 but i want up upgrade my drive from a 250 hdd to a 1tb hdd.

Gerald saliva -

I keep getting there was an error in the setup

Andrew Rodriguez -

“An error occurred while preparing the installation. Try running this application again”

Andrew Rodriguez -

After following these steps, the MacBook keeps showing the same message: Failed to establish connection to the server

Manuel Zafra -

I'm getting a blinking folder with a question mark, and a prompt that says "support.apple.com/mac/startup". So.... how f**ked am I? :-D

Julian -

Ever solve this? I have the same issue.. catilina downloads then on reboot .. get the folder with ?

Stephen Roper -

Hello,

I have a problem on mine, dated mi 2012 and when I follow the exact same steps after putting a new SSD and installing Catalina, it says « installer resources not found ». Could you pléiade help?

Math -

Excelentes explicaciones. Enhorabuena al autor!

Juan -

Conclusion

Your computer may restart several times during the installation of macOS. Once the installation is complete, you can use Migration Assistant to transfer data from your old drive to the new one.

Author

Taylor Dixon

Member since: 26/06/18

68299 Reputation

40 comments

Perfect, it is soooooo easy

Cheers

Michael

Michael Clark - 31/10/19

Hi there, will this work when upgrading an Early 2011 Macbook Pro with a new SSD and RAM? I don’t want to keep or clone any data that I currently have on the computer. I just want to do a clean install of MacOS without transferring over any old files. Thank you!

Fiona B. - 30/07/20

Fiona, the Early 2011 MacBook Pros didn’t ship with internet recovery, but as long as it had a recent-ish version of MacOS before the SSD upgrade the firmware should have updated, which enables internet recovery! This is a great method for installing a fresh copy of MacOS to a new SSD.

Taylor Dixon - 03/08/20

Hello. Thank you for the article Taylor. I use a MBP 9,2 and wish to replace my ageing 500GB HDD with 500GB SSD and undergo a clean install of macOS. I’ll follow this article and install by the Internet Recovery method. I have a Time Machine backup, from which I want to restore only certain files and folders pertaining to my studies and work. I also want to restore only Keychain. Can you advise me regarding these or direct me by providing helpful links? Thank you.

Rohit Sorkhel - 04/08/20

My situation:

(a) Running Mojave on early 2015 MBP, original SSD

(b) Want to upgrade SSD to 1TB

I was planning to:

(1) replacing the SSD,

(2) install Catalina on new SSD from internet using this guide, and

Would that work or should I anticipate some hiccups, especially with step (c). Also my Time Machine backups can they still be written to the same network location as my current location?

Sriram Karra - 06/09/20

Last time I upgraded a Mac HD with SSD I lost the ability to continue to upgrade the OS, so that Mac is stuck in the past. I resorted to an older Mac that has latest OS but now hard drive is failing there. If I do this upgrade, will I again lose the ability to upgrade to latest OS (and maybe even end up going backwards from the current one (10.15.7) ?

Benjamin Huygir - 06/10/20

I could not reinstall OS vis internet recovery - MacBook Pro 13” mid 2010. I tried all three ways in internet recovery but had no prevail. Any suggestion will be appreciated

Prince Ren - 12/10/20

Super, merci beaucoup.

d.balkwill - 20/11/20

I put in new hard drive, pressed the power button and held down the option- command- R buttons and a file with a question Mark has popped up. Now what?

lauren borkowski - 04/01/21

Is it work on Hackintosh catalina?

midhilaj m - 19/01/21

Hey, does this works nowadays in 2021 with a Vintage Mid 2010 iMac 27”. I heard that given the model becomes vintage by Apple, there is no more support, and that includes the Internet Recovery mode. Is that truth? Are there any other way to install a fresh copy of the last supported OS version for this mac (High Sierra) ? I don’t know but maybe a bootable pen drive?

Juan Pablo González - 30/01/21

I keep getting “can’t download the additional components needed to install Mac Os X.” Please advise

Mayra Terrones - 14/02/21

Great instructions! I followed them but my issue is that my external backup is for High Sierra but my Mac base offers Lion as my option. After selecting a restore point on the external SSD and transferring the data all I have is Google chrome that isn’t working and none of the apps appear on my screen. Did I miss a step?

Larry Womac - 20/02/21

I been trying to install it, but it keep returning to the installation process, it seems like a infinite loop at the installation.

What should I do to finish the installation please.

My macPro Late 2013 retina A1502, I was using high sierra before, my ssd has broken in 2017, since then I was using the external HD.

Vagner Pereira - 25/02/21

Tried to install in my 2010 MBP

it won’t let me format the disk so it can be read. help !? Please

jose caro - 02/03/21

I used this guide to successfully install MacOS on a new SSD, as a first step in replacing my Mini’s HD, by putting the new SSD in the enclosure and connecting it with the USB cord to the Mini. Up to that point, I agree with the other commenters that the guide is very helpful.

What this guide fails to mention, though, is that once the OS is installed on the new new SSD, the computer will reboot, then start the routine to initialize a new computer, presumably because it’s rebooting using the new drive’s OS, which triggers that process. To get around this, I had to shut down the computer, unplug the SSD’s USB cord, then restart the Mini from its original HD.

Mentioning this would be a helpful addition to the guide, so people don’t panic when they see the menu for setting up a new Mac.

Scott Exo - 16/04/21

taylor my dude you’re the best.

nursema karabay - 26/05/21

I have a MacPro flashed from 4.1 to 5.1 It had disc recovery partitions but has somehow lost them. How do I put them back?

rdmahon - 08/06/21

I’ve got a late 2014 iMac 27” that has failed so spectacularly that it appears the moment it tries in any way to access the internal storage it crashes and immediately reboots. The fusion drive seems to have gotten progressively worse, as I was originally able to restore to and boot from an external driveThis means that I can no longer use the regular or internet recovery modes, and it won’t boot to an external drive either. Thunderbolt target disk mode works, except it crashes my other Mac as soon as I try to access the internal drive! I assume replacing both parts of the fusion drive will fix the problem, but I’d like confirmation that there’s no other likely explanation. I wish I knew whether it was the SSD or the HD that has failed, but I’m not about to open the iMac twice to find out - it makes more sense to convert it 100% to SSD.

timpetus -

this is useless literally the ssd is in and the erase button is grayed out tried all of the solutions but still doesnt work and left with a macbook that just has a question mark folder flashing unable to use

Alex Ceniccola -

THIS MIGHT HELP SOME PEOPLE!! This is for everyone how has the problem that after installing the new ssd card and then when they are in internet recovery mode that you can’t get a internet connection and it goes back to the same page and wants you to choose a network again.

I bought the OWC Aura Pro X2 which is 960 gigabyte (1 terabyte) and had this problem, what I did was to buy a adapter so that I could use a ethernet cable as internet connection instead.

I bought Apples Thunderbolt-to-Gigabit Ethernet-adapter which solved the problem and got me through to the internet recovery menu with time machine backup, disk utility exc.

Now everything is working great. :)

anton_fest -

used remote recovery to restore time machine backup on to a new external ssd drive. Seemed to work ok BUT I can NOT load off new ssd. Restart always automatically returns to old Macintosh HD in the iMac. Tried to use preferences to change startup drive BUT new ssd just shows up in light grey and I cannot force system to use it as startup drive. Any ideas?

Ken -

thank you very much for this gudie. i would not have done it without. runs very smooth with ssd.

generally very happy with ifixit guides, e.g.battery change on iphones.

thank you!

H. M -

Please help! I have an early 2009 iMac and upgraded to an SSD. But I’m pretty sure these models don’t have I fermer recovery? What do?

Nicholas Landsman -

I'm following the instructions but after installing MACOS, I get a message telling me to to to apple support. Any ideas?

James Botterill -

Some changes since this guide was written:

1] After power on, wait until you hear the chime, then IMMEDIATELY hold down opt-cmd-R. Too slow, you get a flashing folder with a question mark in the middle. Hold power key 5 secs to power off and start again.

2] I did not get select network dialog, but the WiFi icon was in the upper right menu bar. I used this to select my wifi network.

3] Disk Utility looks different for Monterey. The sidebar includes the recovery volume and defaults to it. Fortunately, Erase is greyed out for this volume. You new drive is the one listed above it.

4] Monterey is the only option for install.

YMMV

Dave Rost -

Moin, die o.g. Anleitung läuft bei mir leider nicht.Mac Mini 2019 Vierkernprocessor 3,2 Ghz.SSD 160 GB.Nach der Kugel kommt ständig das Ausrufzeichen und die omlnöse Fehlermeldung -1008 F.Habe das Gerät abgemeldet/deaktiviert.Trotzdem kommt nach der Weltkugel die Meldung dem Warndreieck und -1008.Das Gerät lief bis gestern einwandfrei ind ich wollte das neue OS aufspielen.Sicher habe ich etwas gelöscht was nicht darf.MfG E.Duw

sporvagn1949 -

Moin, Apple hat da eine Supportseite für den Fehler. Welches OS war denn bisher drauf? Und welches wolltest du installieren? Wenn du den Mac schon aus deiner iCloud-Liste gelöscht hast, ist es vielleicht die auf der Seite beschriebene Tastenkombination.

Fabian Neidhardt -

Hello, I have an Early 2011 Macbook Pro and installed a new SSD replacing the original HD with the iFix it kit: MacBook and MacBook Pro (Non-Retina) SSD Upgrade Bundle. I also installed the old HD in a case and have a cable hooking it up to my computert which is the only way, now, for me to get the OS to work. I have tried to turn on the computer without the old HD hooked up via cable, with cmd opt+R and, cmd opt SHIFT +R and a gray screen with a lock and password bar comes up. I have tried ALL passwords I have ever used and the screen will not progress to the spinning globe, just keeps asking for a password. Should I try the cmd opt+R with the old HD hooked up via cable? Thank you

Shannon Mikus -

Sehr gut beschrieben und einfach nachzuvollziehen. Vielen Dank!

mvh51 -

My name is Berth

Thanks for your article.well written.

I just installed macOS X on my Mac 2011-2012 with no internal drive shown at all. It appears that I can’t use the Safari browser and therefore can’t use other browsers freely ,no more pages app,or Book app.

Can you please tell me how to solve that problem

Lumojou@gmail.com

Lu Mojou -

Your guide was easy to follow with great call outs and warnings! Top notch.

Bobby Terrell -

Great article! This worked smoothly for me

Brett Eckles -

I'm a complete newbie and you helped me through this step by step - thank you!!!! I am very grateful and also very proud to have managed this thanks to your help!

almut -

hi i'm getting 'The recovery server could not be contacted' My internet is connected though.. any remedy from anyone.Please.. thank you

Unknown Abbyss -

hello

mac book pro 2013 dont show samsung 990 pro 1 tb

neo zorb -

my situation is different. I have no recovery section or hard drive recognized as I mistakenly used disk utility and deleted the top two hard drives from the Mac Book Pro.. what I have now is a Mac with a flashing folder and no way to get to internet recovery. I am going to buy a new hard drive if I can find a cable to hook up to the drive cable in the Macbook.. I need an internal hard drive or a way to trick a program into believing I am using an internal when I will be using an external...if that's possible... or do I have a MacBook Pro paperweight? it was running El Capitan when I deleted the main hard drives from the system files. model #A1286 S# W89404PH7XJ. MY EMAIL IS davidpclouthier@gmail.com

David Clouthier -

Amazing! This helped me reinstall MacOS without removing the SSD.

Magnus Vacuum -

after goimg through ssteps smoothly when i reinstall Sierra I get a pop up stating ... no bag entry... any suggestions ?

Gemini Lounge -

Early 2011 Macbook Pro. New Keyboard, dvd-optical drive replaced with new SSD, Old SSD I replaced in 2012 still working fine. Added 16GB of RAM instead of the 4GB it had. All that is recognized by the computer. <Command> + <R> starts up Internet Recovery but it couldn't reach the server. With or without the SSDs formatted Apple Files System or not. GIving up on Apple crap. FreeBSD 14.1 installed no problem and runs well. To hell with Apple if they want to kick their customers in the nads. They want us to fork out more money to them. Well I did that from 1999 to 2012 and I've given up on it. When High Sierra slowed down so much despite my limited use of the computer, I knew it were their software and not their hardware. They won't get anymore money from me.

Michael Hunt -