ACSP Installation and Recovery 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A Mac with Apple Silicon is in an unknown state and will not boot. Which recovery mode allows the deepest firmware-level restore?
- macOS Recovery (hold power button)
- DFU (Device Firmware Update) mode via Apple Configurator 2 (Correct answer)
- Internet Recovery mode
- Single-User mode
Correct answer: DFU (Device Firmware Update) mode via Apple Configurator 2
DFU mode, activated via Apple Configurator 2 on a second Mac, provides the deepest restore level including firmware, and is used when all other recovery methods fail.
Question 2: Which file system format does Apple recommend when formatting a startup volume for modern macOS installations?
- Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
- APFS (Apple File System) (Correct answer)
- ExFAT
- FAT32
Correct answer: APFS (Apple File System)
APFS is Apple's recommended and default file system for startup volumes on modern Macs due to its performance, encryption, and snapshot capabilities.
Question 3: After replacing an internal SSD on a 2022 MacBook Pro with Apple Silicon, what must be done before macOS can be installed?
- Format the new SSD in ExFAT before inserting
- Use Apple Configurator 2 on another Mac to revive or restore the firmware first (Correct answer)
- Boot to Internet Recovery and run Disk Utility first
- The Mac will automatically detect the blank SSD and start Setup Assistant
Correct answer: Use Apple Configurator 2 on another Mac to revive or restore the firmware first
On Apple Silicon Macs, a blank or replaced SSD has no firmware; Apple Configurator 2 must be used to load the firmware via DFU before macOS can be installed.
Question 4: Which macOS Recovery environment installs the same macOS version that came with the Mac when purchased?
- Shift+Option+Command+R at startup (Intel) (Correct answer)
- Command+R at startup
- Option+Command+R at startup (Intel)
- Booting from a USB installer
Correct answer: Shift+Option+Command+R at startup (Intel)
On Intel Macs, Shift+Option+Command+R at startup triggers recovery that installs the original macOS the Mac shipped with, or the earliest compatible version.
Question 5: A user sees 'Security Policy' options in macOS Recovery on their Apple Silicon Mac. What does setting it to 'Reduced Security' allow?
- Running macOS without a user password
- Loading third-party kernel extensions (kexts) that are not notarized by Apple (Correct answer)
- Disabling FileVault encryption permanently
- Installing macOS from a non-Apple server
Correct answer: Loading third-party kernel extensions (kexts) that are not notarized by Apple
Reduced Security allows the Mac to load legacy or third-party kernel extensions that haven't passed Apple's notarization process.
Question 6: What happens to APFS snapshots created by Time Machine when you restore from one in macOS Recovery?
- All snapshots are deleted after restoration
- The Mac rolls back the entire volume to that snapshot's state, discarding changes made after it (Correct answer)
- Only the selected files are restored without affecting the rest of the system
- Snapshots are transferred to an external drive before restoration begins
Correct answer: The Mac rolls back the entire volume to that snapshot's state, discarding changes made after it
Restoring from an APFS snapshot rolls the entire volume back to the exact state captured at that point in time, removing any subsequent changes.
Question 7: A technician uses `diskutil secureErase freespace 0 /dev/disk1s1` before reinstalling macOS. What does this command do?
- Performs a DoD 7-pass erase of all data on disk1s1
- Writes zeros to only the free (unused) space on the specified APFS volume (Correct answer)
- Reformats the partition table to GPT
- Erases the entire disk including all partitions
Correct answer: Writes zeros to only the free (unused) space on the specified APFS volume
The `secureErase freespace 0` option writes a single pass of zeros only to the free space on the volume, not to areas with existing data.
ACSP Installation and Recovery 5
A Mac with Apple Silicon is in an unknown state and will not boot.
Which recovery mode allows the deepest firmware-level restore?