Internet recovery not working

[Sponge Bob]

Hi all,
iMac EMC2544, replaced the 1TB HDD with a new compatible.

Trying the internet recovery method.

Doing the cmd+option+r getting the spinning globe. It can see my wifi, and has the symbol showing a strong signal.

Nothing happens from here. no progress bar, nothing. After 10-15 minutes it craps out with .2002f error.

I have tried this with/without the ethernet cable connected , same result.

I have researched this and I believe it's something to do with the router set-up, but I have made those tweeks and still no success.

Can anyone help here.I am willing to try starting from a USB if someone can tell me how. Or how to tweek the router properly. HUAWEI HG533

many thanks

 

[pigoo3]

A couple questions/statements:

1. Are you 100% sure the hard drive swap went ok?

2. How long have you been trying to do Internet Recovery? If not very long...maybe something is up on Apple's end.

3. It was mentioned that there could be a router setup issue. This is REALLY not the time to be trying to solve a router issue. If your internet connection with this router was fine BEFORE the HD swap...I would not have messed with any of the settings until I got the iMac up & running again.

4. Starting up from a USB drive would work. But this is something that would have needed to be setup ahead of time (before the HD swap). You could startup with an external drive with a bootable OS installed on it...or the computer could be started up with a bootable USB stick drive with a Mac OS installer on it. But again...this is something that would have needed to be setup before the HD swap. Unless you have a 2nd computer it can be done on.

HTH,

- Nick

p.s. Moved thread to better area.

 

[Sponge Bob]

A couple questions/statements:

1. Are you 100% sure the hard drive swap went ok?

2. How long have you been trying to do Internet Recovery? If not very long...maybe something is up on Apple's end.

3. It was mentioned that there could be a router setup issue. This is REALLY not the time to be trying to solve a router issue. If your internet connection with this router was fine BEFORE the HD swap...I would not have messed with any of the settings until I got the iMac up & running again.

4. Starting up from a USB drive would work. But this is something that would have needed to be setup ahead of time (before the HD swap). You could startup with an external drive with a bootable OS installed on it...or the computer could be started up with a bootable USB stick drive with a Mac OS installer on it. But again...this is something that would have needed to be setup before the HD swap. Unless you have a 2nd computer it can be done on.

HTH,

- Nick

p.s. Moved thread to better area.

Thanks Nick
all comments are very welcome.
I'm fairly confident the HDD swap OK, I was a fairly basic job, and I used a recommended replacement HDD.
I've been trying the internet recovery for about 24 hours.
I felt it was worth trying the router tweeking as it was only 1 or 2 changes.Unfortunately it didn't work.
With hindsight I would have made the alternative bootup method before starting this, but hey-** !
I will look into maybe trying to find on old version of OS/X from a CD and then upgrading.

Anyone else got any ideas ?

I'd love to hear from you,

cheers

 

[harryb2448]

Bob have you formatted the new drive to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and GUID partion map as suggested?

 

[Sponge Bob]

Bob have you formatted the new drive to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and GUID partion map as suggested?

Hi Harry,
I really haven't got a clue how to do this, can you advise ?

thanks

 

[harryb2448]

Well if you can ever get into Recovery, go to Utilities and choose Disk Utility and format the drive Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Have a read of this.


https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT201314


Then back to Utilities and opt for Reinstall OS. Whenever you download an operating system make a bootable USB thub drive to keep on hand.

 

[ferrarr]

It seems as though you have a few different threads all dealing with the same issues. The first issue is to get you connected with Apple's servers so you can initiate Recovery on your iMac.

Try NVRAM reset, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063.
Try SMC reset, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295.

 

[Sponge Bob]

It seems as though you have a few different threads all dealing with the same issues. The first issue is to get you connected with Apple's servers so you can initiate Recovery on your iMac.

Try NVRAM reset, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063.
Try SMC reset, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295.

yes unfortunately the conversation was meandering a bit and I wanted to get some help on the current internet recovery problem. Thanks to everyone who has offered advice.
When I finally get this fixed I will let you know how it was done.
cheers

 

[Sponge Bob]

I have finally fixed the problem.
I used my smartphone to create a WiFi hotspot, then connected the iMac to the internet through that ( the router wasn't going to let me connect ).
This allowed me to download the utilities and I formatted the new HDD.
The used Time Machine to load the last saved backup.
There is no problem connecting through the router now ! So I can't explain why it didn't let me do this when I was trying to do an internet recovery.
Now I will make a bootable USB.
Thanks for everyone's help and advice. Without these forums many people would be stuck, and my experience with Apple support is not great.
I have really learned a lot.

Sponge Bob

 

[pigoo3]

There is no problem connecting through the router now ! So I can't explain why it didn't let me do this when I was trying to do an internet recovery.

Yes this is pretty confusing. I've done Internet Recovery a number of times with my home WiFi network. And never had any issues.

Congrats on getting things settled. This sort of project is usually very straight forward. The unknown router issue created more drama than is usually experienced.

- Nick

 

[ferrarr]

Great job finding the work around. I suspect your router is set up to use WEP security, and Apple will not allow a connection to their servers using that as a security type.