Missing Startup Disk MAC
Hello, I am trying to manually put in the command to boot to the system disk on a MAC OS X system. It's an iMac A1311. When the system boots, it goes to the recovery options every time. If you try to select a startup disk, there is none.
I have attempted First Aid, which comes back with error 8. However, I have booted up in single user mode and ran fsck -y which came back okay. I see the boot.efi file in /System/Library/CoreServic
% sudo systemsetup -setstartupdisk /System/Library/CoreServic
I am way more familiar with Command Prompt then Terminal, so maybe I'm missing something. Suggestions?
I have attempted First Aid, which comes back with error 8. However, I have booted up in single user mode and ran fsck -y which came back okay. I see the boot.efi file in /System/Library/CoreServic
% sudo systemsetup -setstartupdisk /System/Library/CoreServic
I am way more familiar with Command Prompt then Terminal, so maybe I'm missing something. Suggestions?
SOLUTION
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You may have to mount the disk first. In single user mode, the boot disk is not mounted, otherwise you can't run fsck on it.
Have you tried to boot into Recovery Mode and tried to reinstall the OS? If you don't use disk utility, to erase the disk first, you can reinstall the OS without erasing the data. You may still want to back up your data by booting up onto an external disk and migrating the data from it.
Have you tried to boot into Recovery Mode and tried to reinstall the OS? If you don't use disk utility, to erase the disk first, you can reinstall the OS without erasing the data. You may still want to back up your data by booting up onto an external disk and migrating the data from it.
ASKER
Serialband, I forgot you can install the OS and all of their items will still be there. I always forget that. Will their programs still be there? Also, can you give me an example of mounting the internal HDD in single user mode?
Merete, I will look into figuring out how to backup their data.
Thank you for your suggestion, Davis. I will take it into consideration.
Merete, I will look into figuring out how to backup their data.
Thank you for your suggestion, Davis. I will take it into consideration.
ASKER
I did just try to image the internal HDD to an external in Disk Utility, and an error came back.
The operation couldn't be completed. (com.apple.diskutility error 3.)
The operation couldn't be completed. (com.apple.diskutility error 3.)
You said in your question that the volume gave an error in Disk First Aid which either means you are using a very old utility that does not recognize the newer filesystem, the volume header or journal is damaged, or the drive is failing. On newer OS X versions, it should be the Disk Utility, not First Aid.
The scuttlebutt from that error 8, is that only a fresh installation will fix it. I did not find an explicit definition; but, it seems to mean it is too damaged to fix.
Since you were, BTW, able to access the volume, backing up the users files should be relatively easy. Backing up the software may be a different problem altogether.
The scuttlebutt from that error 8, is that only a fresh installation will fix it. I did not find an explicit definition; but, it seems to mean it is too damaged to fix.
Since you were, BTW, able to access the volume, backing up the users files should be relatively easy. Backing up the software may be a different problem altogether.
ASKER
Davis, I apologize, but maybe I am getting confused. In Disk Utility, the operation, or icon, is called First Aid. That is what I was referring to. I have made a Mac OS X Sierra bootable USB and attempted to repair with Disk Utility that way too, but to no avail.
How do I backup the user's files? I know it sounds like a newbie question, and it is, but I'm WAY more used to PC.
How do I backup the user's files? I know it sounds like a newbie question, and it is, but I'm WAY more used to PC.
Do you have another apple you can connect to your network along with this one?
This article says to use target disk mode from a second apple:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202841
This article says to use target disk mode from a second apple:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202841
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ASKER
The external drive with Mac installed allowed me to backup the customer files. From there we disassembled and replaced the failing HDD. Thank you for your help!
All the Best