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Late 2012 Mac Mini random restart and prohibitory symbol (circle with line through it)

Late 2012 Mac Mini randomly restarted and displayed the prohibitory symbol (circle with line through it). A Mac user since 1984, I’ve never seen this symbol. I backup with Time Machine to an external drive. Did it try to update the OS? I did not update, so I am a version it two behind, but I can’t determine the OS. Please advise.

Mac mini, macOS 10.12

Posted on Sep 27, 2020 10:23 AM

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Posted on Sep 28, 2020 7:19 PM

This symbol usually means there is an OS detected but it is not compatible with the Mac. Many times it may be due to a corrupt file system or a failing drive. However, recently I've encountered this symbol when the Mac's drive had been erased with no system files on it.


Here is an Apple article with instructions for what you can do to resolve the issue:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210901

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 28, 2020 7:19 PM in response to longhorn89

This symbol usually means there is an OS detected but it is not compatible with the Mac. Many times it may be due to a corrupt file system or a failing drive. However, recently I've encountered this symbol when the Mac's drive had been erased with no system files on it.


Here is an Apple article with instructions for what you can do to resolve the issue:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210901

Late 2012 Mac Mini random restart and prohibitory symbol (circle with line through it)

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