ACSP - Apple Certified Support Professional Installation and Recovery Questions and Answers 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A user on an Intel-based Mac wants to reinstall the version of macOS that originally came with their computer. Which key combination should they press and hold immediately after turning on or restarting the Mac to start up from macOS Recovery over the internet?
- Command (⌘)-R
- Option (⌥)-Command (⌘)-R
- Shift (⇧)-Option (⌥)-Command (⌘)-R (Correct answer)
- Shift (⇧)
Correct answer: Shift (⇧)-Option (⌥)-Command (⌘)-R
To reinstall the version of macOS that came with an Intel-based Mac or the closest version still available, the correct key combination is Shift-Option-Command-R. Command-R reinstalls the latest macOS that was installed. Option-Command-R upgrades to the latest compatible macOS. Shift simply starts up in safe mode.
Question 2: A technician is preparing to perform a clean installation of macOS Sonoma on multiple Macs. They have downloaded the installer from the App Store and want to create a bootable installer on a USB drive named 'MyVolume'. Which of the following is the correct Terminal command to accomplish this?
- sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sonoma.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume (Correct answer)
- createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sonoma.app
- sudo installer -pkg /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sonoma.app -target /Volumes/MyVolume
- dd if=/Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sonoma.app of=/Volumes/MyVolume
Correct answer: sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sonoma.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume
The correct command to create a bootable macOS installer using the installer app located in the Applications folder is `sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sonoma.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume`. The other commands are incorrectly formatted or use different utilities not intended for this specific purpose.
Question 3: A user's Mac with an Apple T2 Security Chip fails to start up after a power outage during a macOS update. The technician decides to use a second Mac and Apple Configurator to resolve the issue without erasing user data. What is the appropriate action to take?
- Restore the Mac's firmware, which erases all data.
- Reinstall macOS from Internet Recovery.
- Revive the Mac's firmware. (Correct answer)
- Boot the Mac in Target Disk Mode to repair the disk.
Correct answer: Revive the Mac's firmware.
A 'revive' operation updates the firmware and recoveryOS without making changes to the startup volume or user data, making it the ideal first step for firmware-related startup issues on T2 and Apple silicon Macs. A 'restore' erases the internal storage completely. Internet Recovery might not be possible if the firmware is corrupted, and Target Disk Mode doesn't address firmware issues.
Question 4: Which of the following utilities is NOT available directly within the standard macOS Recovery Utilities window?
- Disk Utility
- Terminal
- Migration Assistant (Correct answer)
- Restore From Time Machine Backup
Correct answer: Migration Assistant
The standard macOS Recovery window provides options to Restore From Time Machine Backup, Reinstall macOS, use Safari (Get Help Online), and Disk Utility. Terminal and Startup Security Utility are available from the Utilities menu within the menu bar. Migration Assistant is a full application run from within macOS itself, not directly from the initial Recovery screen, though it is used after a fresh OS installation to restore data.
Question 5: A user is unable to boot their Mac from an external bootable installer. They are using a Mac with an Apple T2 Security Chip. What is the most likely cause of this issue?
- The external drive is formatted as APFS.
- The `createinstallmedia` command was run without `sudo`.
- The Startup Security Utility is configured to disallow booting from external media. (Correct answer)
- The PRAM needs to be reset.
Correct answer: The Startup Security Utility is configured to disallow booting from external media.
For Macs with the Apple T2 Security Chip, the default security setting prevents the computer from booting from external or removable media. This setting must be changed in the Startup Security Utility, which is accessible from macOS Recovery, to allow external booting.
Question 6: A user needs to restore their entire system from a Time Machine backup after replacing a failed internal drive. What is the correct first step in the recovery process?
- Open Migration Assistant from the Applications folder.
- Start the Mac in Target Disk Mode and connect it to another Mac.
- Start up the Mac from macOS Recovery. (Correct answer)
- Connect the Time Machine backup drive and hold the 'T' key during startup.
Correct answer: Start up the Mac from macOS Recovery.
To perform a full system restore from a Time Machine backup onto a new drive, the user must first boot the Mac into macOS Recovery. From the macOS Utilities window, they can then select the 'Restore From Time Machine Backup' option.
ACSP - Apple Certified Support Professional Installation and Recovery Questions and Answers 1
A user on an Intel-based Mac wants to reinstall the version of macOS that originally came with their computer.
Which key combination should they press and hold immediately after turning on or restarting the Mac to start up from macOS Recovery over the internet?