There are many warning signs in the Mac that warn the users about the upcoming issues. One of the most popular warning signs is a question mark, where files and folders are marked with a question. The question mark defines the folder as a lack of valid start-up points for the disk.
Another popular error sign that most Mac users are aware of is a circle with the line through it, termed “prohibitory sign”. This symbol shown at the time of the boot-up defines that the operating system is trying to boot itself and connect with the start-up drive but is unable to get hold of the right start-up data. You can consider a disagreement with the software-hardware configuration or missing critical data from the start drive.
This problem is quite common in PCs that are used for two different operating systems. When booting one operating system, all the data for the other becomes void. But how to fix this issue on your Mac? This post will start with the reasons. Check below.
Reasons Behind the Circle with Line at Bootup
Before you can start with a solution, the first thing you need to do is to know the reason that is causing this problem. Let’s start from there first.
- If you happen to upgrade to a new operating system but the OS doesn’t quite fit your device.
- If there are loose peripherals connected to your devices. It stalls your system resulting in prohibitory errors.
- Outdated peripheral devices that can fall victim to firmware attacks.
- Corrupted start-up drive.
- If you have installed a new application and the application is not running properly.
- Unauthorized ejection of the drives. Interrupting the read and write operation.
The first reason is the major contributor to the prohibitory problem. It may cause trouble in the following three scenarios.
- You upgrade the macOS but it’s not compatible with your device
- The macOS in the start-up drive is corrupted or damaged
- You downgrade the macOS but something goes wrong and causes software conflict
Now let’s move to the solutions.
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How to Fix Prohibitory Errors?
If you are facing prohibitory sign issues at the time of booting up, here are a few multiple ways to fix the issue.
1. Disconnecting All the Peripherals
A defective wired or wireless connection sends defective signals to the system. This defective signaling issue freezes your Mac during the booting process. If you have several peripherals connected to your system, it can be hard to locate that one peripheral causing the issue.
- Shut down the Mac.
- Detach every cable that connects to your system. Keep only the peripheral necessary for the booting process – mouse keyboard, monitor.
- Now turn on your system.
- After the Mac reboots itself completely, connect all the peripherals and restart the system.
- Do this for every peripheral one at a time. This will give you an insight as to which peripheral is causing issues.
- Now, connect all the peripherals, excluding the one causing the issue.
Read: Top 10 Tips to Improve Mac Performance
2. Using Safe Mode
Safe mode is an in-built feature of macOS that acts like first aid and repairs whatever errors the system is facing. However, there is a limitation to the Safe Mode. It only works on limited essential functions.
- Turn off your system.
- Now turn on the system. This time hold the shift key.
- Release the shift key when the screen shows some life.
- Log in to your computer. You should see Safe mode in the upper-right corner of the window.
If you’re doing well under Safe mode, chances are minor issues are fixed and you can feel free to reboot your Mac to see what happens. However, if unluckily the circle with a line through still exists, reinstalling macOS might be your last choice.
3. Reinstalling macOS
If none of the above methods work, you can go with the reinstalling process. However, let us remind you that reinstalling the macOS can delete all the data in the system drive. Hence, if you want to pursue this method, you first need to back up your data.
What if you don’t have a backup plan? iBoysoft Data Recovery is able to help you out. With this data recovery tool, you can easily recover your data in the start-up drive and avoid any data loss. With everything saved, you may start the reinstallation process.
- Turn off your system.
- If you are holding an Intel-based Mac, turn your system by holding Command + R. release the combinations once you see the Apple logo. Then you will be taken to recovery mode.
- If you are holding an ARM-based Mac, press the Touch ID button and immediately hold it until you see “Loading startup options”. Choose Options and select Continue to enter Recovery mode.
- Click on the macOS Utilities Window > Reinstall macOS> Continue.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to finish installing the new macOS. After it is a success, your Mac will automatically restart.
Conclusion
Facing the prohibitory sign at the time of boot-up is really troublesome. Fortunately, there are methods that can be used to solve the problem. Although we have solutions to counter the problem, we must stick with clean practices to avoid getting us into such a situation. Remember to have the habit of regularly backing up your data and stop using the device once it goes wrong. When necessary, data recovery software can be a great help when you are in trouble.
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