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Having a hell of a time making a USB install disk for an old MBP

TitanTiger

TitanTiger

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 8, 2009
422
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Here's my scenario:

A friend has a 2011 17" MacBook Pro running Yosemite 10.10.5. It won't boot up. The Apple logo and progress bar show up but it only gets about 1/4 of the way done before it stalls and never boots up. I was able to remove the hard drive and put into an external enclosure and save off all his files, so we could wipe and reinstall OS X. Problem is I can't figure out any way to do it that works. My Macs either have Catalina or Big Sur on them so I can't just launch the installer for Yosemite or higher and tell it to install it to that external drive. It won't allow me to launch the installers for Yosemite through Sierra.

So I've been trying to create a USB installer disk to do this and they all fail for a various reasons. It says the installer file isn't valid, or it gives some cryptic error message. I've tried using the Terminal commands and I've tried using Diskmaker X. It all fails.

It just doesn't seem like it should be this hard. What am I missing here?
 
I don't think you will be able to create a Yosemite USB installer unless you have a Mac capable of running Yosemite AND you are currently booted form a OS that is formatted HFS+ (not APFS). A fresh Apple download from Apple comes as a DMG and when running the included PKG to create the Yosemite installer it will first check to see if the installer can be launched on your current Mac.

You may have to buy a bootable USB installer from eBay, boot the 2011 MBP from the Yosemite USB installer and install Yosemite on the reinstalled drive in the 2011 MBP.

Is the Yosemite installer you have one you had archived or a recent download? The reason I ask is because sometimes the installer certificates expire. The most recent expiration was the late October 2019, but I do not recall Yosemite being effected, but I'm not sure.
 
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🤔
Try resetting NVRAM...

Reset NVRAM on your Mac - Apple Support

If one or more settings stored in NVRAM don't work as expected on an Intel-based Mac, resetting NVRAM might help.
support.apple.com support.apple.com
Apple said:
Option key
plus
Command key
plus
P key
plus
R key


Shut down your Mac, then turn it on and immediately press and hold these four keys together: Option, Command, P, and R. You can release the keys after about 20 seconds, during which your Mac might appear to restart.

  • On Mac computers that play a startup sound, you can release the keys after the second startup sound.
Click to expand...
And the SMC...

Reset the SMC of your Mac - Apple Support

The SMC is responsible for managing power on your Mac. Resetting it can resolve certain uncommon issues related to power or thermal management.
support.apple.com support.apple.com
Apple said:
  1. Shut down your Mac.
  2. On your built-in keyboard, press and hold all of these keys:
    • Shift
      macos-catalina-sidecar-sidebar-shift-icon.png
      on the left side of your keyboard
    • Control
      macos-catalina-sidecar-sidebar-control-icon.png
      on the left side of your keyboard
    • Option (Alt)
      macos-catalina-sidecar-sidebar-option-icon.png
      on the left side of your keyboard
  3. While holding all three keys, press and hold the power button as well.
    Notebook keyboard with all 4 keys pressed
  4. Keep holding all four keys for 10 seconds.
  5. Release all keys, then press the power button to turn on your Mac.
Click to expand...
Then try Internet Recovery again.
 
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CoastalOR said:
Since it is a 2011 17" MBP you may be encountering "Radeongate" (dGPU problem) which can prevent successfully completing the hardware check during boot.
Click to expand...
TitanTiger said:
What does that mean? Is it DOA?
Click to expand...
I have not heard of that specific problem, though I was thinking hardware problem after @TitanTiger stated it froze at the same spot.

I still recommend trying what I suggested above. If that doesn’t work and the system has multiple RAM cards installed, try one RAM module at a time.
 
TitanTiger said:
What does that mean? Is it DOA?
Click to expand...
There was a flaw with the dGPU solder on the logic boards of the 2011 15" & 17" MBPs that heat over time could cause the solder to fail. Apple had a 4 year extended repair program that ended a few years ago. The fix from Apple was to replace the logic board with another board which still had the same flaw.

You can Google "Radeongate 2011 MacBook Pro" for more information and some possible workarounds.

EDIT: Here is a long thread on MacRumors:
forums.macrumors.com

Force 2011 MacBook Pro 8,2 with failed AMD GPU to ALWAYS use Intel integrated GPU (EFI variable fix)

If you don't have time to read my story (which also describes some interesting technical approaches) just scroll down this thread until a "100% WORKING SOLUTION" text Discrete AMD GPU of my 2011 MacBook Pro 8,2 has finally failed because of the reasons mentioned here (...
forums.macrumors.com forums.macrumors.com
 
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MacCheetah3 said:
🤔
Try resetting NVRAM...

Reset NVRAM on your Mac - Apple Support

If one or more settings stored in NVRAM don't work as expected on an Intel-based Mac, resetting NVRAM might help.
support.apple.com support.apple.com

And the SMC...

Reset the SMC of your Mac - Apple Support

The SMC is responsible for managing power on your Mac. Resetting it can resolve certain uncommon issues related to power or thermal management.
support.apple.com support.apple.com

Then try Internet Recovery again.
Click to expand...

Resetting NVRAM worked! Didn't even have to do internet recovery. It just booted to the login screen.
 
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NVRAM stores peripheral data such as volume, display resolution and brightness, startup-disk selection, and time settings.
Click to expand...
www.ifixit.com

How to reset NVRAM on a Mac

Nonvolatile random-access memory (NVRAM) is a small amount of memory that your Mac uses to store certain settings and access them quickly. Older Macs store similar settings in Parameter RAM (PRAM). The steps for resetting NVRAM and PRAM are the same.
www.ifixit.com www.ifixit.com
 
Welp, we might be back to the Radeon graphics card problem. When I opened the lid this morning, it was black screen and unresponsive even though I could hear the fans. Rebooted it and we're back to hanging.
 
That's unfortunate.

It does appear more likely to be a critical hardware problem. Nevertheless, before jumping to that, I would recommend circling back to my earlier posts:

NVRAM and SMC resets then, if possible, RAM models

After that, you may need to consider Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider to run diagnostics, look it over.
 
MacCheetah3 said:
That's unfortunate.

It does appear more likely to be a critical hardware problem. Nevertheless, before jumping to that, I would recommend circling back to my earlier posts:

NVRAM and SMC resets then, if possible, RAM models

After that, you may need to consider Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider to run diagnostics, look it over.
Click to expand...

I think he's going to take it to the local Apple repair shop to have them do just that.
 
OP wrote:
"I think he's going to take it to the local Apple repair shop to have them do just that"

It's not worth fixing anymore.
The "replacement" logic board (if one can even be found) will have the same fault as the original, and may fail again.

The only real solution if your friend wants to keep using it is to permanently disable the discrete graphics card, and then run it using the integrated graphics.

There is (was?) a long-running "sticky" thread here on how to do that.

Otherwise, it's time to start shopping for a replacement.
 
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