When your MacBook keeps crashing and eventually becomes dead or unbootable, or Mac won't turn on at all, the primary thing you ought to do is to recover data from your problematic MacBook Pro or Air. Data always comes first.
Before trying any additional troubleshooting steps, take a moment to assess your situation first. Doing so can save you a significant amount of time and unnecessary effort.
| Scenario | Solution |
| You can enter macOS Recovery Mode | Recover data in macOS Recovery Mode |
| Mac can power on but won't boot | Boot Mac using a bootable installer |
| Apple Silicon can use Share Disk; Intel Mac can use Target Disk Mode | Use Share Disk or Target Disk Mode |
| No power or disk not detected | Take out the internal hard drive (for legacy Intel Macs only, high risk) |
How to Recover Data in macOS Recovery Mode
If your Mac has crashed but you can still boot into macOS Recovery Mode, you can recover your files using iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac, helping you retrieve important data even when macOS won't start.
There's no need to create a bootable drive to use this software. Simply install it on your Mac, then run a quick or deep scan to search for recoverable data. Once the scan is complete, you can preview and recover the files you need, including photos, videos, audio files, documents, emails, archives, and more, from your crashed or unbootable Mac.
Here are some preconditions for using this Mac data recovery software:
- macOS Recovery Mode is accessible
- Mac hard drive can be detected
- Network connection is available
To help you know every step clearly, here is the video about how to run Mac data recovery in Recovery mode using iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac when your Mac won't boot.
Create a Bootable Installer and Recover Data from Dead MacBook Pro/Air
If your MacBook is power on but unable to boot, creating a bootable installer is the ultimate solution to boot your Mac and recover data. Here is what you need: a healthy Mac, a USB drive, and a cable.
1. Create a bootable USB drive:
- Download the macOS full installer from the App Store on a working Mac
Note: Don't proceed with installing macOS at this time; purely download the installer. - Connect your USB drive to the Mac and open Terminal (Finder > Applications > Utilities)
- Type the appropriate command to create a bootable installer (e.g., macOS Tahoe). Keep reading the Apple official guide on how to create a bootable installer for macOS if needed
macOS Tahoe:sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Tahoe.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume
Change "Tahoe.app" to "Golden\ Gate.app" (if you need macOS 27 Golden Gate) and "MyVolume" with the name of your bootable USB drive.
2. Boot Dead MacBook to Recover Data Now
- Plug the USB drive into your MacBook Pro
- Restart your Mac while pressing down the Option key
- Release the key when seeing the startup disk options
- Choose the external USB drive and click Restart
Note: For MacBooks equipped with the Apple T2 Security chip, to boot from an external drive, you must first enter Recovery Mode, open Startup Security Utility, enable "Allow booting from external or removable media," and set the security level to "No Security" or "Medium Security." Review the official steps through Apple Support.
Once your MacBook Pro starts up, open Finder and check whether the internal hard drive is accessible. If you can access the drive, locate the files and folders you need, then back them up to another storage device to keep them safe for future use.
But if the hard drive is failing (it is a high possibility), you can use the data recovery software to rescue files from the corrupted, inaccessible, or unmounted MacBook Pro/Air hard drive.
Step 1: Download and install iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac on your MacBook Pro/Air.
Step 2: Scan the MacBook Pro/Air hard drive and preview the scanning results.
Step 3: Select the desired files and click Recover.
Within a few clicks, you'll recover lost data from the MacBook Pro/Air hard drive with this powerful data recovery software.
Physically Remove the Mac's Hard Drive and Recover Data (High Risk)
This method only applies to legacy Intel-based Macs. The SSDs in modern MacBooks are typically non-removable, and attempting to remove them carries a high risk of damage. It's not recommended for most users.
The preparations: a screwdriver, an external hard drive enclosure, and a USB connection cable.
The possible risks you should know before taking action:
- If you take the internal hard drive out of your dead MacBook, your MacBook Pro/Air might be damaged
- If the MacBook internal hard drive is dead due to a virus attack, your healthy Mac might be affected too
- If you are not an expert in Mac machines, you may fail to connect the MacBook hard drive to another Mac
- If you can accept these risks, go on following the detailed steps.
- Open your MacBook Pro/Air case and remove the hard drive carefully.
- Put your MacBook hard drive into the external hard drive enclosure.
- Connect the MacBook hard disk to the healthy Mac.
Whoops, what a way with full of risk! It's all for your sake to use a data recovery tool rather than taking out the built-in MacBook Pro/Air hard drive for data recovery.
How to Repair the Dead/Crashed MacBook Hard Drive?
Once you've backed up your Mac data or recovered the data from your crashed MacBook, you can proceed with the repairs without worrying about data loss.
Repair your dead MacBook Pro/Air with basic solutions
- Reset PRAM/NVRAM
- Reset SMC
- Boot in Safe Mode
- Repair with Disk Utility in macOS Recovery mode
Repair your dead MacBook via reformmatting & macOS reinstallation
Nevertheless, if the solutions above fail to fix a dead MacBook, another option is to erase the MacBook hard drive and reinstall macOS.
Note: Reformatting will fix the file system corruption and ERASE YOUR DATA; therefore, make sure you have recovered files from the crashed MacBook Pro/Air with iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac first.
- Reboot the Mac with the Command + R keys pressed so that you can boot the Mac in macOS Recovery mode.
- Select Disk Utility and then click on the Macintosh (or named macOS) volume.
- Click on Erase at the upper menu bar, then fill in the Name, Format, and Scheme boxes.
- Click Erase to confirm the erasure process.
- Right-click the Macintosh-Data (or named macOS-Data) volume and select Delete APFS Volume.
Next, go back to the macOS Utilities window and select the Reinstall macOS utility. Follow the on-screen instructions to reinstall macOS. Then, your MacBook Pro can boot up again.
FAQs
- Q1. If the deleted files on MacBook Pro/Air are recoverable?
-
A
Yes, but with some conditions. The deleted files are recoverable only when they are not overwritten by other data. Therefore, stop doing any further operation on your drive until you get your files back.
- Q2. If data on the crashed MacBook Pro/Air is sure to be recovered?
-
A
No. Files on dead MacBook Pro/Air can be recovered by Mac data recovery software only when your hard drive is not physically damaged. For example, if the drive has serious bad sectors or the drive has been broken, no software can help.
- Q3. Can iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac recover lost data from APFS SSD?
-
A
Yes. Since 2016, the MacBook Pro/Air with Touch Bar has used SSD that is directly soldered to the computer's logic board and people are wondering can they recovered lost data in this case? In fact, iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac can recover lost data from corrupted APFS SSD with ease.
- Q4. What should I do if the MacBook Pro/Air hard drive is physically damaged?
-
A
It depends on whether the files on this drive are important for you or not. If they are too valuable to be lost, you can send the MacBook Pro/Air to a local data recovery lab for help, which will cost much usually. Or if they are not, you can replace the drive with a new system drive.
- Q5. Can software recover data if my MacBook has no power?
-
A
No, standard data recovery software cannot work if your MacBook has completely no power.
- Q6. Does Target Disk Mode work on Apple Silicon?
-
A
No, traditional Target Disk Mode does not work on Apple Silicon M-series Macs, but Apple replaces it with a built-in feature called Share Disk.
- Q7. Can I remove the SSD from a modern MacBook?
-
A
No, you can't. Modern MacBooks do not use a removable SSD module. The storage chips are soldered directly onto the main logic board, making the SSD an integrated component of the computer and preventing physical removal or replacement.