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Installation and Recovery Flashcards

7 cards from real ACSP practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Installation and Recovery flashcards as text

  1. A Mac with Apple Silicon is in an unknown state and will not boot. Which recovery mode allows the deepest firmware-level restore?

    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.

  2. Which file system format does Apple recommend when formatting a startup volume for modern macOS installations?

    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.

  3. After replacing an internal SSD on a 2022 MacBook Pro with Apple Silicon, what must be done before macOS can be installed?

    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.

  4. Which macOS Recovery environment installs the same macOS version that came with the Mac when purchased?

    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.

  5. A user sees 'Security Policy' options in macOS Recovery on their Apple Silicon Mac. What does setting it to 'Reduced Security' allow?

    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.

  6. What happens to APFS snapshots created by Time Machine when you restore from one in macOS Recovery?

    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.

  7. A technician uses `diskutil secureErase freespace 0 /dev/disk1s1` before reinstalling macOS. What does this command do?

    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.