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shindiana

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 13, 2024
2
0
Hello everyone,

I own a mid 2017 13 inches MBP. Used it for years without any issue.

For the last 2 years, I started using it with an LG monitor connected to it via USB-C, with the laptop in clamshell mode.

I would usually plug the UBC-C cable to my MBP (closed) every morning and it would boot automatically this way without the need to open the laptop and press power button.

But then I noticed that I was no longer able to start the MBP the classic way by opening it and using the power button. Doing that, I ended up with the ? screen stating that I need to go to support.apple.com/mac/startup

I did go through the link, followed the procedure but could not solve my issue.

I also resetted NVRAM. Booted up with CMD + R to utility disk to try to erase my disc and reinstall Mac OS. But here is the catch.

In disk utility, my Macintosh HD doesn't appear!

If I try to reinstall MacOs in recovery options, the first steps work until I am prompted to choose the disk where I wish to install MacOS. But the list is empty, no disk available to install the OS, and I cannot go further.

Then I tried to boot up the computer by connecting it to my external monitor. Then, in settings > startup disk I can see my Macintosh HD and ask the computer to restart on it. From there, tried to go back to disk utility but I could not reinstall Mac OS.

Is that a known issue with Mac laptops used extensively with external monitors in clamshell mode? If yes, do you know how I should proceed?

I am just trying to erase my MBP content and do a new clean install as I want to trade it for a Mac mini.

Thank you very much in advance.
 
When you're in disk utility, did you go to the top menu bar and click View and select Show all devices? Do that and see if you can see the top Disk device and erase that. If nothing shows up there, I'd say your SSD might be bad.
 
When you're in disk utility, did you go to the top menu bar and click View and select Show all devices? Do that and see if you can see the top Disk device and erase that. If nothing shows up there, I'd say your SSD might be bad.
Hello,
Many thanks for your response.
Yes I did but nothing is available besides the disk image.

So the SSD might be affected :(
 
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