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Prepare a bootable installer flash drive for MacOS Monterey completely on Windows?

Hi,


I shut down my MacBook when it was reinstalling the operating system via the built-in recovery mode (in order to attempt to restart the installation, because the process would take 10 hours long!), and when I launched my MacBook again it showed a question mark on a folder icon, indicating that no bootable partition could be found. So my MacBook is totally unbootable now.


Then, I shut down my MacBook by holding the power key and restarted, after which I immediately held Command + R, trying to enter the built-in recovery mode again, but I could only enter the internet recovery (the built-in recovery isn't available anymore). I chose a Wi-Fi to let it connect to the internet and then waited for about 15 minutes. However, an exclamation mark was shown, with an error code -1008F.


Then, following If your Mac starts up to error -1008F - Apple Support, I tried holding Option + Command + R to open the latest version of internet recovery. However, after waiting another 15 minutes the error code -2100F was returned and I have no idea how to get rid of it.


Then, I tried entering the internet recovery by holding Command + R again after disabling the activation lock via my iPad. That didn't help - After waiting another 15 minutes, still, the error code -1008F was shown.


Seeing that the internet recovery seems not to work, I considered preparing an installer flash drive for MacOS. But I only have one MacBook, which is already broken, and a laptop running on Windows. So I decided to make an installer drive for MacOS (Monterey) on Windows.


However, I can't find any downloadable DMG file for the system offered by Apple officially, and unfortunately I don't have any backup for such DMG files.


My questions:


  1. Are there still other ways to fix the internet recovery?
  2. Is it still possible to prepare a flash drive for booting MacOS on Windows, without any given DMG file? (Where can I obtain a DMG file for installing MacOS on Windows?)
  3. If both of these approaches wouldn't work, what should I do alternatively?


Please help ASAP!!!


Thanks,

Lutalli

MacBook Pro

Posted on Jul 8, 2022 4:17 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jul 8, 2022 4:42 AM

Take you MacBook to another network and try internet recovery from there. There is something wrong in your network, so it cannot create a connection to Apple’s servers.

You can try restarting your modem and router.

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12 replies

Jul 9, 2022 7:18 AM in response to Lutalli

I am correct - Waiting patiently is the way out. At the beginning it said "12 hours" or "11 hours" left, but only after about 2 hours it suddenly turned into "3 hours", and after a short while suddenly into "15 minutes", and soon the installation was finished! So that horrible duration was just a confusing, incorrect estimation.


Summary:

  • The error "-1008F" that occurs when you try to enter the Internet Recovery probably indicates a problem with your internet connectivity (speed). Try place your MacBook next to your router, or use an ethernet cable (if you have one) to maximize the data transmission speed.
  • If you see an estimation of an unbelievably long installation time, like 12 hours, just try waiting a couple of hours patiently to see if everything turns normal in a sudden.


Problem solved. Thanks for everyone who replied me!

Jul 9, 2022 3:28 AM in response to Matti Haveri

Sadly I don't have an ethernet cable.


However, since many people are saying that the error "-1008F" could be due to an internet connectivity problem, I conjectured that the error appeared because my internet speed is not good enough. Thus I tried - which is a pretty simple way - placing my MacBook directly near my router and entering Internet Recovery again. Surprisingly it worked - I entered Internet Recovery successfully!


Nevertheless there's still a problem: During the system installation, it keeps saying something like "About 11 hours and 55 minutes remaining" and stuck there. I don't understand why it would take so long (my network connection is not so slow). That's actually the problem I encountered for the first time I was trying to reinstall my system and that's why I shut down my computer (I didn't have that patience), as described. Any solution to that?


What I am going to do now is to wait firstly 1 - 2 hours and see what happens, because that 11-hour is probably an initial estimation which could be unprecise and it might change afterwards.


I'll come back to this thread if it keeps getting stuck.

Prepare a bootable installer flash drive for MacOS Monterey completely on Windows?

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