Mac Mini 2018 Reboot Loop?
I have a newly acquired Mac Mini 2018 that cannot get out of reboot loops.
I’ve already formatted the drive using target disk mode and trying to install a fresh copy of Mojave. There is nothing to restore or backup at point. I’ve tried:
- resetting pram and nvram
doesn’t make any difference just reboot loops
- making a bootable usb using the Apple Mojave install image and terminal instructions
the usb can be read, I boot holding down Apple key. The option will be given to install Mojave, once I hit enter, it doesn’t take me to MacOS utilities, it reboots and continues to loop
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use internet recovery to install OS i can successfully enter internet recovery mode, hardliners Ethernet. the progress bar goes to the end in about 5 minutes and instead of entering the installation program, it gets into a reboot loop and will restart in internet recovery mode and start the process all over again
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hold down d during boot to get diagnostic mode
this doesn’t do anything. I don’t know if this is because the drive is clean. I can hold down Apple D and it will take me internet recovery and then restart loop.
- hold down shift during boot to safe mode.
this doesn’t work because there is no OS on the internal ssd
- install Mojave on an USB and hold down Apple to boot, I can get the drive to appear but hitting enter will just restart instead of trying to load the OS
any ideas? Is this computer a lemon?
Solution 1:
Wiping the entire internal storage may have been a bad idea, as it also contains the Recovery Partition, and some 'keys' used to authenticate Secure Boot. (Also note that by default, you can't boot to a USB external: you need to set the Secure Boot options to allow that.)
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT208198
Your best bet is to install it from another Mac using Target Disk Mode.