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MacBook starts to a circle with a line through it after factory resetting

So, I tried to factory reset my MacBook Air, and ended up deleting the Macintosh HD volume, and now every time I start the computer up, I get the 🚫 icon at the startup screen, and for whatever reason I cannot back it up back to the original setting. Anyone know how to fix this?

Best Answered by

Jenny Zeng

Answered on Tuesday, December 3, 2024

When your Mac starts up to a prohibitory symbol, which looks like a circle with a line through it, you need to reinstall macOS.

What the symbol means is that your Mac has detected an operating system but it's not one that your Mac can use. This is likely a result of an improperly-done factory reset, in your case. The solution is rather straightforward. Just format your startup disk and reinstall macOS. Here're the steps:

  1. Hold down the power button to force shut down your Mac.
  2. Press the power button, then immediately hold down Command + R.
  3. Release the keys when seeing the Apple logo.
  4. Click Disk Utility > Continue.
  5. Click View > Show All Devices.
  6. Select the top-level startup disk (e.g, Apple SSD) and click Erase.
  7.  Name it Macintosh HD.
  8. Set the Format as APFS if running macOS 10.13 or later, or Mac OS Extended (Journaled) if running macOS 10.12 or earlier.
  9. Set the Scheme to be GUID Partition Map.
  10. Click Erase again.
  11. After the drive is reformatted, exit Disk Utility.
  12. Choose "Reinstall macOS" and follow the instructions to install a working operating system.

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Mac Boots to A Circle with Line Through it 🚫, How to Fix?