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Use hardware test mode directly on latest MacBook pro Laptop Macs
Tue, Jun 17 2008 at 7:30AM PDT • Contributed by: manuamador
On my 15" MacBook Pro (2.4GHz Penryn, February 2008), I've found I can boot into the hardware test mode without having the hardware test disc in the machine. If I press F2 before the startup bell, the machine directly enters hardware test mode. I don't know if this works with MacBooks or iMacs, however.

[robg adds: This doesn't work on my older MacBook Pro. I know that you can press 'D' at startup on the MacBook Air to get into hardware test mode, but this is the first I've heard of it on other models. (Any model should boot into hardware test mode by holding 'D' at boot with the install disc in the optical drive.) If someone else can confirm the no-disc-required behavior on a newer MacBook Pro (or other Mac), please post in the comments.]
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Use hardware test mode directly on latest MacBook pro
Authored by: solitario on Tue, Jun 17 2008 at 7:45AM PDT
Last saturday I bought an iMac at the iCentre in Haarlem. The engineer who upgraded the memory told me that all recent macs can boot diagnostics directly without the installation media. Apparently it's been included in the EFI loader.


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Use hardware test mode directly on latest MacBook pro
Authored by: wallybear on Tue, Jun 17 2008 at 8:27AM PDT
All new Macs have Hardware Test embedded in EFI.
If you install an old rEFIt you will see these additional partitions for every drive you have the system on (in newer rEFIt you can show them pressing F2); non need of the system disk inserted.

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Use hardware test mode directly on latest MacBook pro
Authored by: MtnBiker on Tue, Jun 17 2008 at 8:49AM PDT
Confirmed on a new MacBook 4,1.

---
Hermosa Beach, CA USA

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Use hardware test mode directly on latest MacBook pro
Authored by: conigs on Tue, Jun 17 2008 at 9:03AM PDT
Also confirmed on the slightly older Macbook 3,1

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Use hardware test mode directly on latest MacBook pro
Authored by: asmeurer on Tue, Jun 17 2008 at 9:08AM PDT
I knew you could do this with iMacs, but I could have swore that I remember reading that you needed a CD for my new MacBook Pro. I will try this later.

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Use hardware test mode directly on latest MacBook pro
Authored by: asmeurer on Tue, Jun 17 2008 at 7:16PM PDT
Yep. It works without the CD, but the CD that came with my computer has a hardware test too. Ideally, one would want to run the one from the system if possible because Apple could potentially update it via software update.

The fact that this is on the hard drive is surprising to me. I assumed that they had it coded into frimware, or whatever it is called for Intel Macs.

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Use hardware test mode directly on latest MacBook pro
Authored by: fitzage on Tue, Jun 17 2008 at 11:13AM PDT
Does not work on MacBook Air.

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Use hardware test mode directly on latest MacBook pro
Authored by: DanFrakes on Tue, Jun 17 2008 at 12:44PM PDT
As Rob mentioned, on the MacBook Air you hold down the D key at startup.

---
Dan Frakes / Senior Editor, Macworld

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The AHT is embedded in the /System folder
Authored by: GaelicWizard on Tue, Jun 17 2008 at 1:15PM PDT
If you take a look in /System/Library/CoreServices/.diagnostics you'll find the entire Apple Hardware Test installation. When you hold down 'D', the system looks for an EFI boot-loader that calls itself a diagnostic disc. If checks the optical drive first, and then the hard drives.

Its not embedded in the EFI itself. Its also not on another partition on your drive. Its just a folder in your /System folder.

Please Note: the .diagnostics folder will only exist if you are running the Mac OS X installation that came with your machine. If you have ever done an Erase & Install off a retail disc, then you will NOT have the .diagnostics folder.

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Pell

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The AHT is embedded in the /System folder
Authored by: DoctorJ on Sat, Mar 21 2009 at 4:02PM PDT
Q1) Is it the case that newer machines no longer come with a optical test disc?

Q2) Are the diagnostic tools not available anywhere on the install disc?

If the answers are both no, what is a user supposed to do when it is time to replace the hard drive?

---
Using a rusty Amiga 4000T & a shiny Mac PowerBook G4

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Use hardware test mode directly on latest MacBook pro
Authored by: n5tkn1 on Tue, Jun 17 2008 at 9:31PM PDT
I see the .diagnostics folder exists on my iMac (2.4Ghz Duo). Will it be on my MacBook Pro? Its the version that came out right before the LED Macbook Pro. Also, will it be on my 2xdual core Xeon Mac Pro? (neither are by me at the moment.)

Thanks,,,

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Use hardware test mode directly on latest MacBook pro
Authored by: mjs13 on Wed, Jun 18 2008 at 3:43AM PDT
This working because Apple Hardware Test (AHT) is on some modern macs installed in the 200 MB EFI partition. If you reformat your disk the EFI partition is wiped, and it will not work anymore.

I have seen it working on all Aluminium iMac's and MacBook Air (which is the only one where Apple refers to this behaviour in the documentation) I expect it to be working on most newer models since the Alu iMac.

If you want to see the EFI partition, run diskutil list in the terminal

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Use hardware test mode directly on latest MacBook pro
Authored by: ghay on Wed, Jun 18 2008 at 5:58AM PDT
Does this mean as long as you put something bootable into /system/Library/CoreServices/.diagnostics hold D will let it boot at startup?

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