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I Think I Just Broke My New iMac

ghsDUDE

ghsDUDE

macrumors 68030
Original poster
May 25, 2010
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So, I just purchased a 5K iMac and I went to reset it this week because I wanted to do a fresh install after transferring over files and seeing some junk that I couldn't remove.

I encrypted the HD in FileVault when I first bought it and went to restart it in disk utility and delete everything. (I forgot to undo this before deleting the HD).

It won't let me erase my HD and when I go to login regularly this black screen appears. How do I get this thing to work again?
 

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I think I'm screwed. I can't do anything in Recovery (HD won't appear) and when I start normally and login that black screen with white circle appears.

I can't believe this happened. On hold now.
 
Guy said he can't do anything and it's likely because I encrypted the HD and forgot to decrypt before trying to reset iMac as new.
 
ghsNick said:
Guy said he can't do anything and it's likely because I encrypted the HD and forgot to decrypt before trying to reset iMac as new.
Click to expand...
I'm pretty sure we can get you fixed up.

Is this a Fusion drive model, or just a single drive?

Assuming it is not a Fusion, try this.

Hold command-option-r at boot. When prompted select language and login to your wifi. You will see a spinning globe while the recovery utility downloads. Once that is done you will see the recovery screen. From there go to the Utilities menu and launch Terminal. Then enter the command below exactly like I have it including the quotes. That will wipe the encrypted volume. I am assuming here you left the drive at its default volume name Macintosh HD.

Code: 
diskutil cs delete "Macintosh HD"

Okay... now quit Terminal and launch Disk Utility. Go to the erase tab and select the disk at the top left of the left column. Then select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and apply that format. Then quit Disk Utility and click reinstall OS X at the top and what for the ~6GB OS to download and install. That should get you back in business.

Edit Feb. 2018: If you are on High Sierra, make sure you check "show all devices" like in this screenshot so you can select the drive at the very top to erase.

Screen Shot 2018-02-08 at 11.23.57 AM.png
 
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Weaselboy said:
I'm pretty sure we can get you fixed up.

Is this a Fusion drive model, or just a single drive?

Assuming it is not a Fusion, try this.

Hold command-option-r at boot. When prompted select language and login to your wifi. You will see a spinning globe while the recovery utility downloads. Once that is done you will see the recovery screen. From there go to the Utilities menu and launch Terminal. Then enter the command below exactly like I have it including the quotes. That will wipe the encrypted volume. I am assuming here you left the drive at its default volume name Macintosh HD.

Code: 
diskutil cs delete "Macintosh HD"

Okay... now quit Terminal and launch Disk Utility. Go to the erase tab and select the disk at the top left of the left column. Then select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and apply that format. Then quit Disk Utility and click reinstall OS X at the top and what for the ~6GB OS to download and install. That should get you back in business.
Click to expand...
I'll try this - it is Fusion drive so will that change anything?

FYI - I see Fusion Drive in Disc Utility but cannot find my partition that says Macintosh HD.
[doublepost=1463849623][/doublepost]Oh dang! It worked...but it separated the Fusion drive?

Is there a way to get it as Fusion Drive again?
 

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Weaselboy said:
Okay... open Terminal again and run the command below then paste up the output and we can manually fix the Fusion.

Code: 
diskutil list
Click to expand...
Just did that. Here's a picture.
 
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Weaselboy said:
This is easier than PM I think. Plus it can others who run across this later. :)

Paste up the output of that command here.
Click to expand...
Just did above. I can only take pictures since my computer is messed up :)
 
ghsNick said:
Just did above. I can only take pictures since my computer is messed up :)
Click to expand...

No problem...

Okay, now run this in Terminal still from Internet recovery.

Code: 
diskutil cs create fusion disk0s2 disk1s2

Then let that complete... toward the end you will see something like this when it finishes:

Code: 
Waiting for Logical Volume Group to appear

Discovered new Logical Volume Group "DBFEB690-107B-4EA6-905B-2971D10F5B53"

Core Storage LVG UUID: DBFEB690-107B-4EA6-905B-2971D10F5B53

Finished CoreStorage operation

Make note of that long string in quotes starting with DBFEB... yours will be different, so note it exactly.

Substitute that string for the one in my command below then run the command. That will create the fusion drive and name it Fusion. Remember, take the UUID from inside the quotes after step one completes and use that in your command instead of the one I have here with DBFEB...

Code: 
diskutil cs createVolume DBFEB690-107B-4EA6-905B-2971D10F5B53 jhfs+ Fusion 100%

Then you can quit Terminal and install the OS to the drive called Fusion.
 
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Weaselboy said:
No problem...

Okay, now run this in Terminal still from Internet recovery.

Code: 
diskutil cs create fusion disk0s2 disk1s2

Then let that complete... toward the end you will see something like this when it finishes:

Code: 
Waiting for Logical Volume Group to appear

Discovered new Logical Volume Group "DBFEB690-107B-4EA6-905B-2971D10F5B53"

Core Storage LVG UUID: DBFEB690-107B-4EA6-905B-2971D10F5B53

Finished CoreStorage operation

Make note of that long string in quotes starting with DBFEB... yours will be different, so note it exactly.

Substitute that string for the one in my command below then run the command. That will create the fusion drive and name it Fusion. Remember, take the UUID from inside the quotes after step one completes and use that in your command instead of the one I have here with DBFEB...

Code: 
diskutil cs createVolume DBFEB690-107B-4EA6-905B-2971D10F5B53 jhfs+ Fusion 100%

Then you can quit Terminal and install the OS to the drive called Fusion.
Click to expand...
YOU DA MAN!!!

So did that happen because whenever you go to reset Mac with a Fusion drive an error occurs? Or was it because the FileVault was enabled?

I'm gonna send you a gift bc you just saved my iMacs life haha. I'll PM you the details!
 
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I joked with my wife and said "I can't believe Apple couldn't fix this" and she replied "well who did?" My reply..."Weaselboy!"
[doublepost=1463854800][/doublepost]Last question...I'm all set up and it's making me create a password for my iMac.

I prefer the option of using my iCloud password to login. Is there any way to manually enable that?
 
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ghsNick said:
C177

YOU DA MAN!!!

So did that happen because whenever you go to reset Mac with a Fusion drive an error occurs? Or was it because the FileVault was enabled?
Click to expand...

Excellent! Glad it worked out. :)

I'm not quite sure how you got sideways here. Can you remember what you did to break things? Were you messing about in Terminal, or just Disk Utility?

If just in Disk Utility, it can appear confusing with FileVault on, and sometimes people remove the FileVault volume and that breaks the Fusion volume.
 
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ghsNick said:
Last question...I'm all set up and it's making me create a password for my iMac.

I prefer the option of using my iCloud password to login. Is there any way to manually enable that?
Click to expand...

Just go ahead and pick a password and login then you can go into System Preferences and change it to use the iCloud login. This will walk you through it.
 
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Weaselboy said:
Just go ahead and pick a password and login then you can go into System Preferences and change it to use the iCloud login. This will walk you through it.
Click to expand...
Ill try it, but when I first logged in (before I had these issues today) it gave me the option during the Mac setup.

I pulled an image off a YouTube tutorial. Image 1

This is what I'm now seeing. Image 2

Mine is missing the checkbox on top. And the tutorial you sent won't allow me to use iCloud as an option now (even though I'm signed in).
 

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ghsNick said:
Ill try it, but when I first logged in (before I had these issues today) it gave me the option during the Mac setup.

I pulled an image off a YouTube tutorial. Image 1

This is what I'm now seeing. Image 2

Mine is missing the checkbox on top. And the tutorial you sent won't allow me to use iCloud as an option now (even though I'm signed in).
Click to expand...
I know the option has moved around over some of the OS versions, so I just find it easier to tell people to do it after. There is no harm and you get the same end result.
 
Weaselboy said:
I know the option has moved around over some of the OS versions, so I just find it easier to tell people to do it after. There is no harm and you get the same end result.
Click to expand...
I agree - I'm trying to use the method you suggested and it only allows me to change my password. It doesn't give me the option to use iCloud (even though I'm logged in).

Do you think that has anything to do with what we did earlier?
 
ghsNick said:
I agree - I'm trying to use the method you suggested and it only allows me to change my password. It doesn't give me the option to use iCloud (even though I'm logged in).

Do you think that has anything to do with what we did earlier?
Click to expand...
Hmmm... odd. I don't see that option on mine either now that I check.

I found a post here where someone says that option went away after they turned on two factor authentication for their iCloud account. I do have two factor on for my account so that might explain it. Do you have two factor on for iCloud?

Nothing we did earlier would have impacted this.
 
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