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MacBook Pro mid 2014 13" no startup key combination works

S

stefandobra

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 11, 2020
9
2
I have catalina installed and can't update to big sur ("update not found / the requested version of macOS is not available) so i wanted to do fresh install from recovery mode but after trying all possible options I can't get anywhere. any combination of cmd R option/alt shift doesn't work. the only startup key combination that works is cmd+S. I also tried with bootable USB devices but the option/alt key doesn't work to select boot option. i tried with a live kali usb still not working. both those USB work on my MBA or iMac.

I tried the built in keyboard as well as my magic keyboard.

The only difference that I can see in Disk Utility is that the problematic MBP has "2 not mounted" compared to the other 2 and its the Preboot that is not mounted.

I really don't know what else to do.
 
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any help is appreciated, even sugestions of other places I could get help. thanks
 
Your Mac may well be included in the ones which have been stopped from updating to Big Sur by Apple.
This is because it has caused a lot of problems for some.
I believe the new release candidate for Big Sur may fix that issue - not sure.
It might be better to wait.
As for your keyboard issues I'm afraid I have no idea what might be wrong.
Have you tried just cmd + r to get into the recovery environment?
 
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thanks. my fault. I found out this issue with Big Sur last night and forgot to update the post here. more than happy to wait for the fix.
as for the main problem, no combination works....I want a clean instal and ssd format for the MBP and I can't find any solutions to going into recovery mode nor internet recovery. I tried holding them before I power on , just after, after the chime, I tried almost everything and nothing works.
 
stefandobra said:
thanks. my fault. I found out this issue with Big Sur last night and forgot to update the post here. more than happy to wait for the fix.
as for the main problem, no combination works....I want a clean instal and ssd format for the MBP and I can't find any solutions to going into recovery mode nor internet recovery. I tried holding them before I power on , just after, after the chime, I tried almost everything and nothing works.
Click to expand...
Have you tried Shift-Option-Command-R for internet recovery (make sure you can connect to the internet first)?

How to start up from macOS Recovery - Apple Support

macOS Recovery is the built-in recovery system of your Mac, with utilities to reinstall macOS, repair or erase your startup disk, restore from a Time Machine backup, and more.
support.apple.com support.apple.com

EDIT: I've also read that doing a PRAM reset helps with similar issues.
 
CoastalOR said:
Have you tried Shift-Option-Command-R for internet recovery (make sure you can connect to the internet first)?
Click to expand...
that combination also doesn't work.

CoastalOR said:
EDIT: I've also read that doing a PRAM reset helps with similar issues.
Click to expand...
I tried this as well but the key combination didn't work(or I didn't realise it worked or not). I did it from terminal. Still can't enter recoveryOS
 
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i now installed a fresh copy of catalina, and still, i cant enter recovery mode via cmd+R. also no other combinations work :|
 
stefandobra said:
yes, but i dont know if this worked or not as everything seems normal.
Click to expand...
Fair enough.
You may have a dodgy key.
Do both keyboards type properly in a text document - including the shift?
Maybe try the right hand cmd and option keys together with p and r to reset nvram also.
 
Quackers said:
Fair enough.
You may have a dodgy key.
Do both keyboards type properly in a text document - including the shift?
Maybe try the right hand cmd and option keys together with p and r to reset nvram also.
Click to expand...
yes...both tried the option key with cmd and L and opens the downloads folder. so I really have absolutely no clue....i tried pressing and holding the keys at different times as well with no luck
 
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