Question Mucked-up reinstalling OSX on MacBook Pro

[tcsenter]

Apple flunky, here (yes, I'm a PC guy) with little experience in Macs. Neighbor's MacBook Pro (2012-ish Intel Core) had a defective memory module according to Apple store techs, who talked them into buying a new MacBook instead of fixing it. So he came to me about replacing (and upgrading) the RAM, which I did. I have quite a spare parts collection and already had some DDR3 SODIMMs here. Everything was working great, then he asked if I could erase/reset the current user/owner account so they can give it to a younger sibling who is in school (which I've never done before on Mac). It definitely NOT stolen, BTW. I tried to follow an online guide to reset everything back to factory settings for selling/transferring to another person, but in my late-night intoxicated status, apparently did something wrong. I think I erased the wrong partition/volume?



It won't boot to OS X 10.7 Lion (I presume because I erased it), but still boots into recovery mode when pressing Command + R. When I boot using Command + R, while connected to internet with LAN cable or Wifi, a screen appears "Starting Internet Recovery" with a progress indicator, and appears to be downloading the recovery/install bits. Then Mac Utilities loads giving the options; Restore from Time Machine Backup (there are none available), Reinstall OS X, Get Help Online, and Disk Utility. I select Reinstall OS X. OS X installation screen appears asking the typical install prompts, accept the license agreement, select which drive to install to (there is only one choice). But after a few minutes it errors out with "Cannot download additional components needed to install Mac OS X" and returns me to Mac Utilities.

Now what? I appreciate any help.

 

[TheStu]

Yes, you for sure erased the wrong partition. I'm not sure why it's erroring out during the Internet Recovery, I've literally never had that process fail on me, it's a total life-saver. If the Apple Store is close enough, they should be able to help you out to get the latest compatible version of macOS installed on there.

Also, if you have another Mac available you can download macOS from the Mac App Store and make a bootable USB drive that way. I haven't done it in forever, but you should be able to go through this and get the info you need: https://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac-software/download-old-os-x-3629363/

 

[tcsenter]

Would it matter if I have not yet reformatted the disk/partition after erasing it? Seems that should not matter since it would be in that state in the event of replacing the hard drive with a new (unformatted) one.

 

[TheStu]

I'd recommend reformatting the partition "Untitled" before you start the install. You want GUID partition table and HFS (Journaled). If APFS is available then use that with the GUID partition table.

 

[Steltek]

There are data recovery softwares that run on MacOS, but you'd probably have to pull the hard drive and put it in another Mac (or in an external USB enclosure that you can use on another Mac) to be able to run most of them.

Since the neighbor has the newer Macbook Pro, you ought to be able to use it to download an installer for a newer version of OSX. Might the machine you are working on meet the cutoff requirements to run Catalina? If not, it surely would run either Sierra, High Sierra, or Mojave all of which you should be able to download installers for using the other Macbook Pro using TheStu's link above.

 

[nerp]

So yeah, delete all the partitions then restart and CMD-R your way back into recovery mode to reinstall.

One thing to note is that if there is spotty internet at any point during the install process, it can fail. Make sure you have a strong signal or use LAN for best results.

Some useful info here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201314

You can reinstall the version of MacOS that was on the machine, or install the LATEST version of MacOS that the machine supports, or even reinstall the OS that came with the computer back in the day.

 

[tcsenter]

Bahhh, I gave up (reluctantly and apologetically) and told them they will need to take it somewhere else (e.g. Apple Store). I tried to get the install bits from App Store using another Macbook, but according to other reputable guides, there is this truth table like 'If you have a Macbook prior to this version, this won't work, you'll need to use a different Macbook or download an older version. But that old version won't be available if you have never installed that version of OS X before on these particular Macbook models. If you have never "purchased" another version, you won't be able to redownload it from "Purchased" category. You'll need to do this, but that won't work either if this or that.' I'm like redacted me and gave up. We'll see what the Apple store techs figure out. Offered him a refund on the memory upgrade while letting him keep the upgrade.

Profanity, even abbreviated, is not
allowed in the tech forums.

AT Mod Usandthem

 

[tcsenter]

Well the Apple Store got him up and running again, did not even charge for labor (pretty nice considering it's many years out of warranty). He said it took them 45 minutes. Not sure if they upgraded/installed newer version than Lion or not, but all is well (he did not want any refund from me).