Won't connect to wifi

[Andrewesno]

Hey guys I'm new to the Mac thing coming from a windows computer, I brought a second hand 2009 13" macbook pro

160gb hd
4gb ram
2.2 GHz processor
Osx 10.9

I can't seem to figure out how to connect to the internet internet um trying to tether off my phone like I do know windows but I can't get wifi to turn on

In network port configuration, down the left side there is a list
Ethernet
Network settings
Isp
Internet
Server

All of them have a red dot and the word failed underneath them

I'm not sure what to do as this is my first Mac

 

[Quackers]

On mine if I set up a personal hotspot (on an iPhone 4S) and turn it on and plug the phone in by usb cable then click on the wifi icon in the top bar of the Mac and select "open network preferences" the hotspot shows up.
You can connect to it from there.

Other phones may be different.
Bluetooth can also be used I believe.

 

[Andrewesno]

It's like my wifi is non existent, I can't find it anywhere or how to set it up

 

[Quackers]

Is your phone set up as a hotspot (or similar)?
Is it plugged in to the Mac by USB?
Does clicking on the wifi icon in the top bar and opening network preferences "see" your phone's hotspot?

 

[blueroom]

Reinstall OSX from the CD or the recovery partition.

 

[Andrewesno]

I don't have the wifi icon at all

How do I reinstall the osx from the recovery pation I don't have the disks

 

[Andrewesno]

I ran the utility thing and typed in diskutil list and worked out my laptop doesn't have a recovery pation so the command r recovery won't work for me 🙁

 

[Barney63]

Posted in wrong thread Sorry

Barney

 

[Quackers]

Reboot the Mac and hold the Alt key down until the boot manager screen appears.
Does an entry for Recovery HD appear?

You will probably not be able to tell if there's a recovery partition in disk utility as it's normally hidden.

 

[Andrewesno]

i have attached a pic of my internet problem

also opened uo another thread regarding reboot problems as well

 

[Altemose]

i have attached a pic of my internet problem

also opened uo another thread regarding reboot problems as well

Click in the top left then "About This Mac". Hit "More Info" and then "System Report". On the side of System Report will be a Wi-Fi section. Select it and take a picture of the screen. If it doesn't recognize the card, either the Wi-Fi card is bad or was removed before purchase.

 

[Andrewesno]

Click in the top left then "About This Mac". Hit "More Info" and then "System Report". On the side of System Report will be a Wi-Fi section. Select it and take a picture of the screen. If it doesn't recognize the card, either the Wi-Fi card is bad or was removed before purchase.

i dont know if it is recognizing it or not

 

[Altemose]

i dont know if it is recognizing it or not

Try opening System Preferences and clicking Network. In the left towards the bottom, you will see a plus sign. Click it and choose "Wi-Fi" as the Interface and call it "Wireless". See if you can select a network in the right side of the window and hit Apply.

 

[Andrewesno]

Try opening System Preferences and clicking Network. In the left towards the bottom, you will see a plus sign. Click it and choose "Wi-Fi" as the Interface and call it "Wireless". See if you can select a network in the right side of the window and hit Apply.

this is all i can see

 

[Altemose]

this is all i can see

It appears that either the Wi-Fi card is not working or removed, or there is software corruption as a result of improper imaging by the previous owner. Either way, it should be fixable!

First of all, who did you buy this computer from? Does it carry some sort of guarantee? Since you have a 2009 MacBook Pro, your Mac does not support Internet Recovery.

There are two ways to go about this. One is to take it to Apple and they will wipe and reinstall OS X. There should not be a charge associated with it so long as you make a Genius Bar appointment. The second method is to download Mavericks from the App Store (Free Purchase) and make your own USB stick.

The fact that this second hand Mac is requiring all of work is astonishing. This isn't leaving a good impression on you I can tell, but the community here will help you fix it.

Give this a shot before wiping the Mac: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964

 

[Andrewesno]

It appears that either the Wi-Fi card is not working or removed, or there is software corruption as a result of improper imaging by the previous owner. Either way, it should be fixable!

First of all, who did you buy this computer from? Does it carry some sort of guarantee? Since you have a 2009 MacBook Pro, your Mac does not support Internet Recovery.

There are two ways to go about this. One is to take it to Apple and they will wipe and reinstall OS X. There should not be a charge associated with it so long as you make a Genius Bar appointment. The second method is to download Mavericks from the App Store (Free Purchase) and make your own USB stick.

The fact that this second hand Mac is requiring all of work is astonishing. This isn't leaving a good impression on you I can tell, but the community here will help you fix it.

Give this a shot before wiping the Mac: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964

just got it via the internet off someone who upgraded,

i have gone through all the steps here: http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/clean-install-mavericks/

i have downloaded mavericks 10.9.1 from the net and gone through the steps to make a bootable usb but it wont let me boot from the usb

im not to sure what to do now

 

[Altemose]

just got it via the internet off someone who upgraded,

i have gone through all the steps here: http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/clean-install-mavericks/

i have downloaded mavericks 10.9.1 from the net and gone through the steps to make a bootable usb but it wont let me boot from the usb

im not to sure what to do now

Hold down option at startup with the USB connected and select it from the list. Once it starts up hit disk utility and click your hard drive which will say something like "160 GB SATA Hard Drive" or something similar. Click it and hit Erase and call it Macintosh HD. Hit the little red button in the top left and hit "Reinstall OS X", select your hard drive, and get a cup of coffee.

 

[Andrewesno]

Hold down option at startup with the USB connected and select it from the list. Once it starts up hit disk utility and click your hard drive which will say something like "160 GB SATA Hard Drive" or something similar. Click it and hit Erase and call it Macintosh HD. Hit the little red button in the top left and hit "Reinstall OS X", select your hard drive, and get a cup of coffee.

i have tried that many times but it just continues to go straight to my login screen

 

[snaky69]

I'm starting to think you've got a dud. Seems like a hardware problem to me.

By the way, you can take a screen shot of your computer instead of posting pictures. That way the image will be both clear and right-side up.

http://guides.macrumors.com/Taking_Screenshots_in_Mac_OS_X

 

[Altemose]

i have tried that many times but it just continues to go straight to my login screen

What happens if you select the USB drive from the startup list when holding OPT at boot? You should be holding Option before you hit the power button and holding it until the boot selector appears!

Also, try holding D when you boot up to run a hardware diagnostic.

I'm starting to think you've got a dud. Seems like a hardware problem to me.

By the way, you can take a screen shot of your computer instead of posting pictures. That way the image will be both clear and right-side up.

http://guides.macrumors.com/Taking_Screenshots_in_Mac_OS_X

He cannot get online so he cannot post screenshots!

 

[snaky69]

What happens if you select the USB drive from the startup list when holding OPT at boot? You should be holding Option before you hit the power button and holding it until the boot selector appears!

Also, try holding D when you boot up to run a hardware diagnostic.



He cannot get online so he cannot post screenshots!

Is an ethernet cable that rare in a normal household? Surely the OP owns one or two of these.

 

[Altemose]

Is an ethernet cable that rare in a normal household? Surely the OP owns one or two of these.

Judging by the fact that the OP wants to tether his phone, he or she may not live in an area with Internet otherwise. Not everyone lives in cities or suburbs and some have to rely on dial up, 3G modems, or worse Edge to get online.

 

[simonsi]

Hi OP - can you tether by USB cable?

If you can then that will get around the being online issue and let you get better support from here and the internet generally while you fix your WiFi issue...

 

[Andrewesno]

Hey guys Yea I don't have access to Ethernet at the moment

Yea I have tried holding option to boot from usb but just goes straight to login screen

Haven't tried holding D yet though


I don't have a apple store anywhere near me it was just brought off someone who upgraded he did say the wifi wouldn't connect but I thought doin a fresh install would be easier then this haha

Yea I Googled how to screen shot but don't want to go through hassles of loading them into my phone then post them

I have tried tethering through my ipad and my Android xperia phone but both wouldn't work, iPad said it was connected but didn't connect to internet

 

[simonsi]

I have tried tethering through my ipad and my Android xperia phone but both wouldn't work, iPad said it was connected but didn't connect to internet

Yep, iPads don't support tethering at all AFAIK.

Does the xperia support bluetooth tethering?