Hi all, so I have a Macbook 7,1 that was running linux but got corrupted so I decide to reinstall High Sierra on it but now the Option key dont start the screen to select which device I want to boot from. I tried all the Command + R combos and none of them start the recovery boot. Tried the SCM, NVRAM resets to no luck. I check the keyboard, and all the keys works. I been searching for days but can't find a solution to this. Any ideas? Thanks.
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Macbook Command+R or Option don't work.
- Thread starter inugamiz
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To start from recovery on that model there has to be a recovery partition. It's possible and likely that when Linux was installed the entire drive was erased along with the recovery partition.
If that's the case, you'll need to build a High Sierra installer on a USB thumbdrive, I guess, and start from scratch. You'd need another Mac to do that.
There's also the possibility that I'm completely wrong. I was a lot younger and sharper when that model came out.
If that's the case, you'll need to build a High Sierra installer on a USB thumbdrive, I guess, and start from scratch. You'd need another Mac to do that.
There's also the possibility that I'm completely wrong. I was a lot younger and sharper when that model came out.
Try booting from an external bootable.
BrianBaughn beat me to it...
Do try an external bootable. A High Sierra installer on a USB thumb drive would be ideal I think.
During boot, what you would be looking for is "something different"
Don't just restart with an external drive connected... Shut off completely. Then, press and release the power button, immediately holding Option.
Do you get a boot chime, then the normal Apple icon? You're still holding Option.
You should get at least one boot drive icon.
If not, what exactly happens after the boot chime?
BrianBaughn beat me to it...
Do try an external bootable. A High Sierra installer on a USB thumb drive would be ideal I think.
During boot, what you would be looking for is "something different"
Don't just restart with an external drive connected... Shut off completely. Then, press and release the power button, immediately holding Option.
Do you get a boot chime, then the normal Apple icon? You're still holding Option.
You should get at least one boot drive icon.
If not, what exactly happens after the boot chime?
Holding Option should always get you the drive chooser even if there's no recovery partition. What does happen when you hold Option? Does it boot into Linux?
OK so got able to create a USB bootable with High Sierra, I took the HDD out and format it into NTFS just to delete everything on my windows pc and that force the USB to boot. I format with disk utility and now is back on High Sierra and everything works but the option key to boot the installer again (as a test) don't work at all. It just boot the HDD like nothing but when mac boots I can see the USB with the installer.
Tries to but since the Linux was corrupted it stays on black screen. After successfully install High Sierra the Option key or Command + R dont work if I want to boot the same bootable USB or get into Recovery. It just boot into the OS directly.
If I understand correctly then by erasing the HDD, it made the USB drive the only bootable volume and therefore forced the Mac to boot from it.
I make a bootable via transmac on a PC, i erase the HDD of the macbook and for some weird reason the mac boot the usb. After installing it it only let me boot the hdd, not the usb or the select the bootable devices while holding Option.
If the HDD dont have any data then yes, the USB drive boot and can use the disk utility and format the HDD. After installing High Sierra then cant boot the USB or any buttom combo like Command + R. Then only one that works is to reset SCM since while holding Shift, Control, Option the laptop dont boot. Tried to update the EFI firmware to the latest release and says is not compatible even when is the only one and says is 71 and mine is 68.
I believe that the NTFS format is your problem - you have to format in Mac Journaled I think.
It is formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled). The NTFS is only to delete everything on the HDD on the PC.
I don't believe that the formats of the HDD and USB drive have any bearing here: it seems like the firmware simply doesn't "want" to show the boot menu. I'd be interested in seeing the output of "sudo firmwarepasswd -check" and "sudo firmwarepasswd -mode".