How to Fix No Startup Disk Error on Mac?

The startup disk is a hard drive inside your Mac that stores the OS data and system files. Sometimes, a Mac becomes unbootable, showing an error ‘no startup disk’ on the screen.

Before you lose any data or files from the unbootable Mac, try a few different approaches to fix the no startup disk Mac problem.

In this article, we have shared 4 solutions to fix the no startup disk error on your Mac.

How do you know if your Mac startup disk or hard drive is corrupted?

If you keep getting error messages or files with mixed names that won’t open, your hard disk is probably failing or corrupt.

If your primary drive has a problem, your Mac will progressively stop starting up and display the MacBook ‘no startup disk’ error.

How do I fix no startup disk error on Mac?

1. Repair Startup Disk in macOS Recovery Mode

• Turn on your Mac, and press and hold the power button until the Startup Options box appears. Then, select Continue after clicking the gear icon labeled Options. If your device has an Intel processor, press and hold the Command and R keys until an Apple logo appears.
• After you’ve chosen a user, you’ll be prompted to enter a password to proceed. You’ll then be taken to the macOS Recovery mode, where you may select Disk Utility from the menu, and click Continue.

• In the Disk Utility window, navigate to View, then Show All Devices.

• If the Startup disk appears here, select it and click the First Aid button before clicking Run. First Aid will scan the specified volume for faults and attempt to repair them.

2. Make startup disk appear in Disk Utility

• Turn off your Mac and unplug any devices that are connected to it.
• If you installed macOS on an external hard drive, double-check that the cable is in good working order and the connection is secure. Restart the drive.
• To enter Disk Utility in macOS Recovery and restore the startup disk, follow the steps in solution 1.

3. Reset your Mac’s NVRAM

• Shut down your Mac, then turn it back on while pressing and holding the Option, Command, P, and R keys together.
• Check that your preferred startup disk is selected in Startup Disk settings once your Mac has booted up.

4. Use Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Mac to recover data from a non-bootable drive

For the M1 chip system:

• Press and hold the Power /Touch ID button to turn on your Mac until Recovery mode appears.
• Select Options and click Continue.

• A macOS Recovery window appears. Click Next to open the login screen.
• Enter the Admin Password and click Continue. A Recovery mode screen appears.
• Before proceeding to the next steps, connect your Mac to an active Wi-Fi network.
• From the Utilities menu, select the Terminal option to open the Terminal box.

• Type this command in the terminal box: sh <(curl http://www.stellardatarecovery.co.in/StellarDataRecovery.xml) and press Return.
• Accept the License Agreement to open the user interface of Stellar Data Recovery.
• Select the drive you want to recover and select Scan.

• After the scan is completed, a dialog box is displayed with the message Scanning Completed Successfully! as shown below. Click OK to continue.

• Click Recover to recover data. An Activation window appears on the screen.

For T2 security chip and all other machines:

• Press and release the Power /Touch ID button to turn on your Mac.
• Immediately press and hold the Command + R button until the Recovery mode screen appears.
• Before proceeding to the next steps, connect your Mac to an active Wi-Fi network.
• From Utilities menu, select the Terminal option to open the Terminal box.

• Type this command in the terminal box: sh <(curl http://www.stellardatarecovery.co.in/StellarDataRecovery.xml) and press Return.
• Accept the License Agreement to open the user interface of Stellar Data Recovery.
• Select the drive you want to recover and select Scan.

• After the scan is completed, a dialog box is displayed with the message Scanning Completed Successfully! as shown below. Click OK to continue.

• To recover the data, click the Recover button. An Activation window appears on the screen.

The demo version is only for testing purposes. To utilize the software to its full potential, you must first activate it.

To activate the software, use the Activation Key sent to you via email after purchasing the software.

How much does Stellar Data Recovery Professional activation key cost?

The cost of a yearly subscription for Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Mac is $89.99. You’ll be able to choose from various plans based on your requirements, which will cost extra due to additional features. You can also get a lifetime subscription at $149.

Conclusion

The solutions above are verified fixes for the “No Startup Disk Error on Mac” issue. You can use third-party apps to optimize the condition of your device and remove any malware that may cause this issue.

However, the Stellar Data Recovery tool allows you to reinstall your operating system without any data loss, even when your PC is completely unbootable.

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About The Author

Farhad Pashaei

As a technophile, Farhad has spent the last decade getting hands-on experience with a variety of electronic devices, including smartphones, accessories, laptops, wearables, printers, and so on. When he isn't writing, you can bet he's devouring information on products making their market foray, demonstrating his unquenchable thirst for technology.