Problem with starting recovery on MacOS.
Problem with starting recovery on MacOS.
Hi everyone, I'm working with a MacPro 2009 equipped with two Xeon E5520 processors, 64GB RAM, and an AMD Rx480 chipset. I tried setting up DualOS using Rufus, but boot camp isn't available on my Mac. After adjusting the boot settings to switch from Mojave to Windows, I can't return to macOS. The Cmd+R key during startup doesn't work, and pressing Alt seems to start the system, though the screen remains black. I'm looking for a reliable solution to make switching between OSes smoother permanently. I considered removing the Windows drive, which would prevent the boot message from appearing, or using a bootable Mojave USB with a regular startup disk or Time Machine backup. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I attempted three times: once using the left arrow key, once pressing enter only, and once pressing the right arrow after hitting enter. None resolved the issue—PC remained unresponsive while the monitor stayed black. On my old MacBook, I considered checking msconfig and switching the boot drive to Windows, but it didn’t show any other bootable options. Thank you for taking the time to assist me.
You're experiencing an issue where disconnecting the Windows drive causes the Mac Pro to fail to boot, even though it should automatically switch to another available device. This suggests a problem with how the system recognizes storage devices or possibly a conflict in the boot process. When you unplug the Windows drive, the Mac Pro doesn't detect it properly, which might indicate a mismatch between the installed macOS partition and the physical drive. You may want to check the boot menu for any error messages or a picture showing the boot sequence to better understand what's happening.
Now that you point it out, I realized the main macOS runs on an SSD connected via a SATA-to-PCI-E card. I might attempt to mount the SSD directly onto the motherboard, but in the long run I’d prefer both systems to use SSDs with PCI-E interfaces instead of SATA 3. The attached file is the boot image without Windows’ HDD.
It seems the system is attempting to use legacy mode on Windows, which causes issues. Have you managed to start booting into macOS at any point?
That’s not ideal... consider clearing the PRAM, which should reset the startup disk. When shutting down the computer, press and hold Command/Option/Alt while booting; this will restart. After the second release, pressing the keys should bring it back to macOS, with the Windows drive disconnected.
It worked flawlessly, saving your non-existent music career! Were there better options? Or is this the best you could do?