can't get past internet recovery

[arken79]

Recently my macbook air froze, so I turned it off then back on. This had always worked for me in the past. However, this last time when
I turned my computer back on I got a flashing folder with a question mark. Using my windows computer I went to the apple support website and followed their instructions. (Turn on computer and immediately press command R). When I did this the macbook air went into internet recovery mode. The problem is that my computer wants me to chose a wifi connection and type in a password. I use ethernet, because wifi is not an option for me. I have an adapter that lets me use one of the usb ports. I have no wifi password because I don't use wifi.

Is there anyway I can use ethernet instead of wifi to complete the internet recovery, or is there a way to bypass the internet recovery?
I tried several how to websites and videos but none seemed to work for me.

Thank you in advance for any help or advice you can give me.

 

[MacInWin]

Recently my macbook air froze, so I turned it off then back on. This had always worked for me in the past.

Not a good practice. May have cause the rest of your issues.

I'm going to presume that this adapter from USB to Ethernet has some sort of driver you installed as well, because the problem you have is that you cannot boot the MBA to get that driver to run to connect through Ethernet.

If you have no wifi, about all I can suggest is to take the MBA to where WiFi is available (coffee shop, internet cafe, etc.) and do the recovery there. It's going to be a long download, so be prepared to spend some time (and maybe money) for the connection/download/reinstall.

 

[Rod]

Welcome arken79 to these forums, Jake's nailed it I'm afraid. The folder with the ? in it means the device cannot find a viable Operating System (OS) to start up from. This usually indicates damage or corruption of the OS.
The good news is that you are able to get to Internet Recovery which can be problematic at times.

The process is a time consuming one I'm afraid so a fast WiFi internet connection would be ideal but the last time I did this at home overnight. By the morning it had completed successfully and I was greeted with the Setup Wizard. You will need to maintain the WiFi connection while you go through the initial setup, language, location, iTunes account, email accounts etc, just like setting up a new device.

So be prepared to spend several hours on the whole process. It's likely that you will not be able to use your ethernet connection until it is complete.

Last but not least Internet Recovery may not instal the macOS you were using. Usually it will instal the OS that was on the device when purchased. If that is unavailable or obsolete it will choose the closest available OS. So it may not be the OS you had before, depending on if you have kept up with updates. In that case you may need to update the OS after it's back and running.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

...Turn on computer and immediately press command R). When I did this the macbook air went into internet recovery mode.

Starting up your computer with Command-R held down doesn't get you into "Internet Recovery Mode". It gets you into the Recovery Partition.

Starting up your computer with Option-Command-R held down gets you into Internet Recovery Mode.

You should try both, run Disk Utility/First Aid in both, and see if one of the two solves your problem:

Use macOS Recovery on an Intel-based Mac

If neither of those work, you should try booting up in Safe Mode. When your Mac boots up in Safe Mode it will run FSCK (file system check) invisibly in the background and repair any problems found:

Start up your Mac in safe mode

 

[Rod]

I may be wrong here but I think starting up with Command + R will take you to Internet Recovery if no OS (including the Recovery Partition) is found. Consistent with the Folder with a ? in it. If so it may not boot into Safe Mode either but it's still worth a try.

 

[arken79]

Not a good practice. May have cause the rest of your issues.

I'm going to presume that this adapter from USB to Ethernet has some sort of driver you installed as well, because the problem you have is that you cannot boot the MBA to get that driver to run to connect through Ethernet.

If you have no wifi, about all I can suggest is to take the MBA to where WiFi is available (coffee shop, internet cafe, etc.) and do the recovery there. It's going to be a long download, so be prepared to spend some time (and maybe money) for the connection/download/reinstall.

actually, the ethernet adapter is plug and play. All I had to do was plug it in and start using it, no drivers had to be installed.

 

[pigoo3]

The problem is that my computer wants me to chose a wifi connection and type in a password. I use ethernet, because wifi is not an option for me. I have an adapter that lets me use one of the usb ports. I have no wifi password because I don't use wifi.

Do you have this ethernet adapter connected to the MacBook Air when you're booting into the Recovery Partition?

If not...it's very possible the MacBook Air may auto-detect the ethernet adapter when it's asking for the WiFi password...and maybe give you an ethernet option.

Or even better...if the MacBook Air does auto-detect the USB ethernet adapter...you may not need to do anything...since it will automatically know it's connected via ethernet.

Nick

 

[Rod]

Hmm, unknown territory there. Worth a try though, obviously being able to do this at home would be much better.
Maybe, if you get to Internet Recovery first, then plug in the ethernet dongle when it asks for WiFi. It's a drop down menu I think. Maybe you can select the dongle.

 

[arken79]

Thank you to everyone who has advised me so far. I have now bought a bootable installer usb drive. On the plus side I'm not stuck at the internet recovery anymore. I can get to the terminal, and **** utility, but I'm not sure what to do next. Also I'm getting a message that there is not enough free space on the usb to install the operating system. I cannot remember how much space I had on my computer, but I know it wasn't maxed out. Any tips or advice will be appreciated greatly.

 

[IWT]

I cannot remember how much space I had on my computer,

Click on the Apple icon  on the top menu bar, far left. Choose "About this Mac".

Then Click on "Storage" - and wait! - it will tell you the storage capacity, how much you have used and for what purpose and how much Free space there is.

Please post back results.

Ian

 

[arken79]

when I click on the apple icon the only options are startup disk... restart and shut down.

 

[MacInWin]

OK, I think you are in the Recovery mode. The screen should show you a box with four options. it looks like this:


That happens to be for Monterey, but the four options are the same. Confirm you have that and we can work from there.

 

[pm-r]

Using my windows computer I went to the apple support website and followed their instructions.

Does your Windows computer have Wi-Fi Sharing you could possibly use for Wi-Fi access???



- Patrick
=======

 

[arken79]

No, I don't have wifi access at all

 

[MacInWin]

No, I don't have wifi access at all

How do you get to the Internet? Like here, for example?