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User profile for user: Herbie1
Herbie1 Author
User level: Level 1
5 points

Accidentally erased MacBook Pro retina 2012

While meaning to just erase data before selling my 2012 MacBook Pro retina, I’ve successfully erased the whole thing. Idiot.

It gives me the question mark in a folder icon or I can start it up in recovery mode. But. It can only download the OS from the internet, and it wants the password to my home network, yet it won’t let me type anything into the password box.

There is nothing else available on the screen.


I have a downloaded copy of Lion, but I can’t get to mount a .dmg (to try making a bootable installer on a USB drive) because I’m having to use my MacBook Air that is running Catalina, and Lion says it wants Snow Leopard, the previous OS, which of course I don’t have. So I’m stuck.


Does anyone have any ideas??

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 10.12

Posted on Mar 27, 2022 5:44 AM

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User profile for user: leroydouglas
leroydouglas
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User level: Level 10
191,436 points

Posted on Mar 27, 2022 5:47 AM

Herbie1 wrote:

While meaning to just erase data before selling my 2012 MacBook Pro retina, I’ve successfully erased the whole thing. Idiot.
It gives me the question mark in a folder icon or I can start it up in recovery mode. But. It can only download the OS from the internet, and it wants the password to my home network, yet it won’t let me type anything into the password box.
There is nothing else available on the screen.

I have a downloaded copy of Lion, but I can’t get to mount a .dmg (to try making a bootable installer on a USB drive) because I’m having to use my MacBook Air that is running Catalina, and Lion says it wants Snow Leopard, the previous OS, which of course I don’t have. So I’m stuck.

Does anyone have any ideas??


See if you are presented with an installer in Internet Recovery—


How to reinstall macOS

Recovery (both M1 and Intel) — How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support


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User profile for user: leroydouglas
leroydouglas
Community+ 2025
User level: Level 10
191,436 points

Mar 27, 2022 5:47 AM in response to Herbie1

Herbie1 wrote:

While meaning to just erase data before selling my 2012 MacBook Pro retina, I’ve successfully erased the whole thing. Idiot.
It gives me the question mark in a folder icon or I can start it up in recovery mode. But. It can only download the OS from the internet, and it wants the password to my home network, yet it won’t let me type anything into the password box.
There is nothing else available on the screen.

I have a downloaded copy of Lion, but I can’t get to mount a .dmg (to try making a bootable installer on a USB drive) because I’m having to use my MacBook Air that is running Catalina, and Lion says it wants Snow Leopard, the previous OS, which of course I don’t have. So I’m stuck.

Does anyone have any ideas??


See if you are presented with an installer in Internet Recovery—


How to reinstall macOS

Recovery (both M1 and Intel) — How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support


Reply
User profile for user: Herbie1
Herbie1 Author
User level: Level 1
5 points

Mar 28, 2022 1:59 AM in response to leroydouglas

Thanks for your help. With this article, and another post from a while back that suggested I try using the tab key to get into the password box, I’ve done it! Now running Mountain Lion instead of Catalina, but hey, what’s a bit of updating? The MacBook is alive!

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Accidentally erased MacBook Pro retina 2012

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