MacOS Ventura no long can find start up disk

[just4alaf]

Tried to run apple diagnostics the other day and later tried to boot my iMac (2017 27”) just to find that it boots to a question mark. I’ve tried booting into safe mode but it won’t. Tried booting into recovery mode Command R and then tried Option Command . Ran disk utility to repair what disks it showed and also tried to reinstall OS but then is not a target disk to select. Unfortunately I didn’t have a current backup of my computer and can’t access it now.
Any suggestions.
Thanks

 

[TonyAguila]

Tried to run apple diagnostics the other day and later tried to boot my iMac (2017 27”) just to find that it boots to a question mark. I’ve tried booting into safe mode but it won’t. Tried booting into recovery mode Command R and then tried Option Command . Ran disk utility to repair what disks it showed and also tried to reinstall OS but then is not a target disk to select. Unfortunately I didn’t have a current backup of my computer and can’t access it now.
Any suggestions.
Thanks

That really sucks that you don’t have backup to recover from. What I suggest is to connect an external drive to the iMac, reboot into recovery (command-R), launch Disk Utility and format the external drive, and then try to install macOS onto it, instead of the internal drive. If this works, try first to migrate the data from your internal drive to the new system. The information might still be intact in spite of the damaged system.

If you are able to get over this part, next thing to seriously consider is getting more external drives for Time Machine. I have three of them, each 12 terabytes capacity. And that’s not even accounting for the clones I maintain using Carbon Copy Cloner.

By the way, your iMac should be capable of running macOS Ventura 13.7, Build: 22H123.

 

[Macsaviour]

A question mark appearing at boot generally means your Mac can’t locate a startup disk with a valid operating system. Since you’ve tried safe mode, recovery mode, and Disk Utility without success, here are a few further steps you can take.

First, try Internet Recovery by holding Option + Command + R as you boot. This mode loads macOS Recovery directly from Apple’s servers, which can bypass any issues with your startup disk. Once in Internet Recovery, you can try using Disk Utility again to verify or repair your drive.
Another option is to use Target Disk Mode. If you have another Mac, connect it to your iMac with a Thunderbolt or USB-C cable and boot the iMac while holding T. This allows you to access the iMac’s hard drive as an external drive on the other Mac, making it possible to retrieve any important files.

You can also try creating a bootable USB installer using another Mac. Insert the USB drive, restart your iMac while holding the Option key, and select the USB as the startup disk. You can then reinstall macOS if your drive appears as a target.

Finally, if you lack a current backup and can’t access your data, consider using Mac data recovery software from an external drive to retrieve any critical files before proceeding with a fresh installation.