SSD works fine but will not show/erase in disk recovery - help!

[melonminder]

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to reinstall my mid-2015 MBP retina A1398 running Big Sur before sale -i.e. wipe all user data. Two years ago I upgraded the SSD myself to a 2TB model - can't remember exactly the procedure I used but I got it working and it's been fine in daily use ever since.

The problem is that now the SSD is recognised fine in MacOS Disk Utility but:

• Mac boots into internet recovery (i.e. cannot find a boot volume) when doing CMD-R (or any variants thereof)
• Won't allow me to reinstall from internet recovery menu - no disk available when it tries to install Yosemite
• Disk Utility in recovery mode does not show any drives of 2TB size, or anything close. Erase is greyed out (see pics)
• Therefore I can't actually find a drive to reinstall to

Wondered if anyone can help identify the problem from the screenshots. I could upgrade to Monterey and try secure erase instead, but that won't work on this model (needs a T2 chip) so I'm kind of stuck now. Can't see how it boots and is recognised by the OS normally but not from recovery menu. Any help gratefully received!

I've tried all combinations of boot menu commands - have cleared NVM (was the same pre and post this) and turned off FileVault - all to no avail.

 

[DeltaMac]

Your mid-2015 likely boots to either El Capitan, or maybe even Yosemite system in Internet Recovery.
Neither of those will see your PCIe 2TB drive.
The "OS X Base System" is NOT your internal SSD, and is simply the system used by your Internet Recovery boot (keep in mind that YOUR internet recovery can't see that third-party PCIe drive at all.)
If you want to wipe the SSD, you will need to be booted to a minimum of High Sierra. Better still, if you want to end up with Big Sur installed, boot to Big Sur. You will want to download the Big Sur full installer, then (the most important step) make a bootable installer from that full installer app. I have an external USB SSD that I use for all kinds of installs, and you can use something like that, or just use a 16GB thumb drive.
(edited to show High Sierra as minimum - thanx for the reminder @Audit13 )

 

[melonminder]

OK understood thanks. I was trying to avoid the bootable drive option but didn't realise it would actually mean a difference in recognising the SSD. Yes it tries to internet-recover to Yosemite. I will dig out a USB and give it a try!

 

[Fishrrman]

Wait a minute.

I'm looking at this image you posted above:

See "INTEL SSDPEKNW020T8...." ????

THAT is your internal drive.

Go back to the version of disk utility that showed this to you (I'm thinking you got it when you booted to INTERNET recovery -- Command-OPTION-R).

VERY IMPORTANT STEP after you open disk utility:
Go to the view menu and choose SHOW ALL DEVICES.
NOW you should see the intel SSD again.

Click on it (the topmost line).
Then click ERASE.
Erase to APFS, GUID partition format.

Then quit disk utility and open the OS installer.

Start clicking through.
The MBP will restart one or more times, and the screen will go dark one or more times with no apparent indication of activity. BE PATIENT.

When done, you should see the initial startup screen (choose your language).
IMPORTANT:
When you see this, press the power button down CONTINUOUSLY until the screen goes black and the MBP shuts off.

It's now ready to hand over to the new owner, who will AGAIN get the startup screen on "first boot", and can then set it up just like a new MBP...

 

[Audit13]

With an NVMe drive, you must load High Sierra or newer. Depending on the MacBook current firmware version, firmware updates will require an OEM drive in order update.

 

[DeltaMac]

@Fishrrman - The OP only sees the PCIe drive while booted to the internal drive system, probably Monterey. The screenshots showing NO internal drive are while the OP is booted to Internet Recovery, which is Yosemite -- too old to show the PCIe drive. Yosemite doesn't understand that new-fangled tech.
If OP boots to the internal drive to open Disk Utility, you can't erase the drive that you are booted from (not completely, anyway)
OP wants to end up with Big Sur, I believe. Best bet would be booting to an external Big Sur installer, which will certainly let OP erase the internal drive, and immediately install Big Sur. It's safer on the system to just do a command-Q when you see the choice to set up a new user/restore from backup

 

[melonminder]

@DeltaMac yes thanks that's the plan.. waiting for it to download. Currently on Big Sur and trying to end up on Big Sur, just minus my data

 

[Fishrrman]

Delta:
"The screenshots showing NO internal drive are while the OP is booted to Internet Recovery, which is Yosemite -- too old to show the PCIe drive. Yosemite doesn't understand that new-fangled tech."

Seems to me internet recovery (command-OPTION-R) will always try to offer the most recent version of the OS that the Mac can use. Which in this owner's case would be Monterey...

Command-SHIFT-OPTION-R will offer the earliest version that will install on the Mac.

The OP said he was trying to "wipe" the drive and install a clean version of the OS before selling it.
Doing it the way I suggested in my post above will result in exactly that.
Chances are, the buyer would probably want to upgrade the OS, anyway.

Just my opinion, nothing more.

 

[DeltaMac]

Yes, I agree... except that the OP reported that Internet Recovery was offering Yosemite.
Anything older than High Sierra will NOT show the PCIe drive that the OP has installed.
Booting to OPs choice for system, from an external installer, at least allows the OP a method to control what system gets installed the first time. Internet Recovery will sometimes only offer you what it "thinks" you want.
For example - this MBAir that I am using atm -- Cmd-Option-R offers Monterey, as you might expect - highest version that it will support. Cmd-Shift-Opt-R offers Sierra, which is what it shipped with. But, it will, in fact, boot to Yosemite, which makes it more useful for the common customer support, testing a variety of software that might not work on newer systems. Point being, official internet recovery is not always accurate, and you may not be "locked in" to what Apple offers.

 

[melonminder]

OK so I've made a Big Sur recovery disk and am able to select that and start installation by holding down Option at startup.

However, it's not actually helping me to erase the disk, which is the main point - as recovery options always send me to the internet recovery screen and that cannot see the SSD as before.

I could go through with the installation of Big Sur from the USB, but then will that actually leave me any better off? I'll still have Big Sur, my data won't be erased and, I presume, I still won't be able to see the drive in recovery mode again to erase?

 

[melonminder]

It's OK - answered my own question - just hadn't gone far enough into the backup installer to realise you could erase the disk from there. Erase worked OK and now installing Big Sur.