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Hi,
I tried to reset my macbook air and now it turns on with a black screen with a blinking folder containing a question mark. The mac wont respond anymore. Could you please assist me in how to solve this issue?
MacBook Air 13″, macOS 10.15
The solution is to boot macOS Recovery again and use Disk Utility to completely erase the entire storage device.
Follow these instructions: Erase and reformat a storage device in Disk Utility on Mac - Apple Support.
Pay attention to Step 4. "The device" in its context refers to the entire storage device, meaning not a volume or partition subordinate to that device.
For the file system format select Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
Steps 1 and 8 are optional and inapplicable respectively.
Then, you should be able to install Yosemite.
The solution is to boot macOS Recovery again and use Disk Utility to completely erase the entire storage device.
Follow these instructions: Erase and reformat a storage device in Disk Utility on Mac - Apple Support.
Pay attention to Step 4. "The device" in its context refers to the entire storage device, meaning not a volume or partition subordinate to that device.
For the file system format select Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
Steps 1 and 8 are optional and inapplicable respectively.
Then, you should be able to install Yosemite.
In that case follow these instructions: What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your Mac - Apple Support.
It sounds as though you are at Step 7, erase your hard drive and reinstall macOS. If you follow that link, its Step 8 explains how to reinstall macOS. Scroll all the way to the end of that document which describes "Other macOS installation options." Those options differ for the macOS version that had been installed prior to erasing it. I would follow the second one:
Or, just give away that Mac the way it is and let its next owner decide what to do. That's easiest.
I tried to reset my macbook air ...
What were you trying to do exactly, and why?
Excerpted from If your Mac doesn't start up all the way - Apple Support:
"Learn what to do if your Mac starts up to a question mark."
Hi John, this is my old Mac and I tried to reset it in order to give it away. so I restarted, waited until the computer turned off, hold Command + R until the Apple logo appeared. then went to disk utility, earased data and when finally tried to reinstall mac, I had a black screen with a blinking folder with a question mark. What did I do wrong, and how can I solve it please? Thanks a lot in advance.
Assuming no hardware modifications were performed, erasing the Mac completely should have left it in its original factory configuration prior to installation of the operating system that shipped with it. For that to result in insufficient memory makes no sense to me.
I was able to go back to the screen and disk utility. Re tried, and now faced same issue but this time with no option to select a hard disk to start the macOS Yosemite. I will try and go again to disk utility. but how to I select a hard disk and perform first aid on it? Sorry again! Thanks a lot in advance!
I was following those steps, but after trying to reinstall macOS, there was not enough memory and then I turned it off and screen is black. What do you do when the mac does not respond at all?
reset macbook air
