MacBook Pro stuck on Windows, no macOS or Boot Camp available
Anonymous user -
Hello everyone,
I'm stuck on my MacBook Pro early 2015 model 12,1 - Intel i7.
It is currently only running Windows 10, macOS has disappeared (I can't access it anymore, not even through the classic shortcuts like Cmd+R or Option+Cmd+R), and Boot Camp is not installed. Apple Software Update isn't working either.
I no longer have any Apple drivers: the sound doesn't work, the headphone jack is stuck on red, the battery drains quickly, and the system is slow.
I tried Brigadier (to download the Boot Camp drivers), but the created folder is empty. The “OSX Reserved” partition is in exFAT, which seems abnormal to me, and I can't do anything with it.
I would like to either reinstall macOS or install all the Boot Camp drivers to properly fix Windows. Is this feasible from Windows?
Thank you
1 réponse
Hello,
A MacBook Pro from early 2015 was delivered with OS 10.10, also known as Yosemite. However, you will no longer find this version on the Apple website.
On the other hand, this Mac is capable of running all subsequent versions of macOS up to Monterey, which is macOS 12.
So I see only one solution at this point, which is to boot from another drive instead of its internal SSD.
To do this, you will need another drive, hard disk, SSD, or USB stick on which a compatible version of macOS will be installed.
Once the Mac has booted from this external drive, you need to launch Disk Utility to then completely erase the current internal SSD, including its recovery partition, if it still exists, and any remnants of a Boot Camp partition if applicable. Thus, a total wipe and reformat to "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" or "APFS" depending on the version of macOS that you will have available from the boot drive. APFS being the new Mac format usable starting from High Sierra, which is macOS 10.13.
Since your Mac can no longer use the Mac system and format, you will need to find someone who can help you create the compatible boot drive, and thus one on which a version of macOS compatible with your Mac will be installed and also capable of reinstalling macOS.
I wrote a procedure to create a USB drive for booting and installing macOS 10.13, also known as High Sierra here,
This procedure is written for High Sierra, but you can easily adapt it for a newer version, since your Mac supports the following versions up to Monterey.
There's no need to go below High Sierra; it offers no benefit in your situation.
If afterwards, you want to reinstall Windows, you will need to do so with the help of Boot Camp.
Important Note: In the case you wish to reinstall Windows, with Boot Camp then, you must not go up to Monterey which no longer supports Boot Camp. The last version of macOS that supports Boot Camp is macOS 11, also known as Big Sur.
Best regards.
*_Francis_*
Have a good day, good evening, good night ;)
iMac mid-2011 - MacBook Air M1 - iMac 2010 - iMac G5