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I Think I Might Have Bricked My Mac

I've been using OpenCore Legacy Patcher on my iMac for a few months with no issues, but a couple of days ago, the Mac crashed and did not recover. I'm not sure if this is related to OpenCore or a hardware failure, but I'm unable to do a clean install of macOS. No hard drives appear in the installation list (internal or external). Here is my configuration and what I have tried so far:

**iMac Configuration:**

  • iMac Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015

  • Processor: 4 GHz Intel Core i7

  • Memory: 32 GB 1867 MHz DDR3

  • Storage: 512GB Flash Storage SSD

  • Graphics: AMD Radeon R9 M395X 4096 MB

  • Running macOS 14 Sonoma (exact version unknown)

I updated macOS once after installation and did not do any further updates. I kept OpenCore Legacy Patcher up to date, so I likely had the latest version as of a week ago.

**Symptoms and Steps Taken:**

  1. After the crash, the boot screen did not show the OpenCore boot option as it used to. It displayed the select network icon instead.

  2. Unfortunately, I did not keep a detailed log of the events and troubleshooting steps, but here is what I have tried (not necessarily in this particular order):

  • Network/online recovery

  • Resetting NVRAM with Command-Option-P-R

  • Starting in hardware test mode (holding "D" on the keyboard). Got error: "There may be an issue with a storage device. Reference Code: VDH002"

  • Booting multiple times from a Monterey installer flash drive. The internal hard drive did not show in Disk Utility, only the installer flash drive and the "macOS Base System". Additionally, three more external hard drives were not recognized in Disk Utility and were not offered as installation options. ("Show All Devices" was selected in Disk Utility)

  • At one point, I tried erasing the Mac remotely via FindMy on my iPhone, and it said it was successful. After that, the Mac started asking for a passcode on boot until I permanently deleted the iMac from my list of devices via FindMy.

**Current Objective:**

I want to reset my Mac to factory settings and install the latest compatible OS. Even if the internal SSD is damaged, I should be able to use an external HD for the main OS, right? I'm not sure why none are showing as options.

I'm new to OpenCore but have been a long-time Mac user since the PowerPC era. I have clean-installed this particular iMac several times with no issues. The only difference this time is the use of OpenCore.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

submitted by /u/moondog610
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