Is there anyway to restore a Macbook Pro to factory settings without a disk?

A friend of mine wants to restore his Macbook Pro running SL but he doesn't have any disk anymore. I don't have any disk either but I was able to do a clean install by using Internet Lion Recovery aand an external hard drive.

No, not without a 10.6 installation disk. Lion doesn't use disks for installation, but Snow Leopard and all previous versions of Mac OS X do.
Regards.

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I'm having a small problem when trying to restore my macbook to the factory settings without the disk

Hey, everyone. Just a quick question. I know that to reset a macbook to it's factory settings without the disk you press the OPTION key during startup; however, when you do so, apparently you see 2 hard drives and one says "recovery." When I do it, I only see one hard drive that does not say recovery. Any one know why this could be? Thanks so much for any help offered.

shldr2thewheel wrote:
that option is only for 10.7 and higher. for 10.6 you need the disk.
I have 10.8 installed on this computer...I know it didn't come with it, it came with Snow Leopard....Anyway I've updated it, and when I boot if I press and hold the Option key, it still just boots off the drive. The only way I can get it to spring to life and do anything else is to press and hold Command + R in which case it then goes to the recovery option with the ability to restore OS X...Am I missing something??

I restored my macbook pro to factory settings now i am stuck !! Help please!!

i restored my MacBook Pro, which is OS X mountain lion 10.8.4,
when i am downloading the os x again it stops in between, because my internet speed is pretty slow and i am living at a place where there is problem of electricity so internet disconnects again and again,
Please help me i am stuck what to do, whats the fastest way to download OS X mountain lion 10.8.
thanks
Sudha

i dont know why yours and my comments are being deleted, anyways i got your answer in email,
now the thing is i have already restored to factory setting and i didnt make any bootable install drive
how could i make one now?
should i contact someone who is already having a macbook pro and make a bootable install drive from thier macbook and then fix mine?

Help!! I attempted to restore my macbook pro to factory settings, but messed up!!!

I dirtied up my harddrive using migration assistant with outdated & not properly functioning software when I purchased my macbook pro retina, so I decided to try to restore it to factory settings. Heres where I will start to look like an idiot: I used the command+R method during startup to get to utilities, and then erased everything there (the hard disk + another mounted drive that came from migration assistant) because I thought I was supposed to. I then tried to startup my computer again but instead of a grey apple logo at the loading screen, there was a flashing question mark. Is this problem fixable if I take it to the apple stor&e? Am I hopeless?

Ok no worries! This is what needs to happen!
You have the flashing question mark which means that there is no operating system on the hard drive. What you need to do is obtain a copy of either lion or mountain lion from another mac. You need to first make a bootable usb drive with lion or mountain lion on it. You can re download mountain lion from the app store or use the current version running on that mac.
See this article.....
http://osxdaily.com/2011/07/08/make-a-bootable-mac-os-x-10-7-lion-installer-from -a-usb-flash-drive/
it is such an easy thing to do it isn't even funny.
You then need to turn off the messed up computer and then insert the usb drive. Hold the OPTION key down while booting up the mac. You will then choose the usb drive from the boot up disks. The you must go to disk utility and format the macintosh or the sub disk 1.
After doing that, close the utilites windows and return to the menu with the option to reinstll the os x operating system. Follow the on screen instructions there and you will be good to go. This whole procces can be done within a couple hours.

How do I restore my macbook pro to factory setting

How do I restore my macbook pro to factory setting

Lion installs both itself and a Recovery HD. Booting the latter is how you reinstall Lion or fix things with Disk Utility. So, what you can do is this:
Install or Reinstall Lion from Scratch
If possible backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive.
Boot to the Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Erase the hard drive:
Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
After DU loads select your startup volume (usually Macintosh HD) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Erase button and wait until the process has completed.
Quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Lion: Select Reinstall Lion and click on the Install button.
Note: You can also re-download the Lion installer by opening the App Store application. Hold down the OPTION key and click on the Purchases icon in the toolbar. You should now see an active Install button to the right of your Lion purchase entry. There are situations in which this will not work. For example, if you are already booted into the Lion you originally purchased with your Apple ID or if an instance of the Lion installer is located anywhere on your computer.
Now, this will completely erase the volume in which Lion is currently installed. When you then reinstall Lion it will be like coming fresh from the factory ready for a new user. I hope this is a working solution for your problem. If it is not, then I would encourage you to create a new topic more relevant to your needs which will solicit others to offer help. That isn't going to happen in someone else's already old topic. Had I not forgotten to stop email notifications from this topic, then I never would have been aware or your post.

How do i restore my macbook pro to factory to resell it

How do I restore my macbook pro to factory to resell it?

You'll need both gray discs that shipped with your MacBook Pro. If you no longer have them you can (with your serial number handy) order a set from Apple for around $20.
Then follow the instructions here -> How to prepare your Mac for sale.
Note that you MUST restore with the original OS that shipped with your Mac!
Clinton

Is there a way to restore a macbook air to factory settings?

hi, i recently bought my friends macbook air. he made me a new account on the laptop and deleted his account. this is fine but i'm finding family photos and address book contacts and the computer's name is his name. i was wondering if there was a way to somehow restore my macbook air to factory settings? i have an imac i can use if necessary.
thank you.
-evan

This will do the trick.
Drive Preparation
1. Boot from Snow Leopard Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
When formatting has completed quit DU and return to the installer. Complete the OS X installation.

Hi, I am going to reset my Macbook Pro to factory settings but I would like to back it up first. I have backed it up to an external Hard Drive so if I were to wipe the laptop, would i be able to retrieve all of my files and applications

Hi, I am going to reset my Macbook Pro to factory settings but I would like to back it up first. I have backed it up to an external Hard Drive so if I were to wipe the laptop, would i be able to retrieve all of my files and applications. (Office Mac, Adobe CS6, Logic Pro)

When OS X asks you to restore a backup, it will allow you to select what you want to restore from the backup, Just select the things you need, because if you select everything, you will be in the same status as before restoring the Mac to factory settings. This has nothing to do with erasing the hard drive
It's OK to make backups with Time Machine

HT201364 how do I reset my macbook pro to factory settings. Am currently using OS X Mavericks

how do I reset my macbook pro to factory settings. Am currently using OS X Mavericks?

Do you mean by "reset to factory settings" re-installing the OS X version it had originally?
Phil

I want my macbook pro in factory settings, how can i do that?

I want my macbook pro in factory settings, how can i do that?

Install or Reinstall Lion from Scratch
If possible backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive.
Boot to the Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Erase the hard drive:
Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
After DU loads select your startup volume (usually Macintosh HD) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Erase button and wait until the process has completed.
Quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Lion: Select Reinstall Lion and click on the Install button.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.
For earlier versions of OS X:
Prepare Your Mac for Sale
Boot from the OS X Installer Disc One that came with the computer. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select the startup volume from the left side list then click on the Erase tab. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) then click on the Options button. Select the one pass Zero Data option and click on the OK button. Then click on the Erase button.
Note: You can skip the Zero Data option if you are not concerned about removing sensitive personal data from the hard drive. If you choose to skip this part of the process then it is possible for others to recover data from the hard drive. The Zero Data procedure will prevent others from getting access to your personal information.
This process will take 30 minutes to several hours depending upon the size of the hard drive. After formatting has completed quit DU and return to the installer. Now complete the OS X installation. At the completion of the installation do not restart the computer. Instead just shut it off. The next user will be presented with the Setup Assistant when they turn on the computer just as it would if new out of the box.

Can't restore MacBook Pro to factory settings/boot from usb or dvd

So I recently got a MacBook Pro, currently running OS X 10.7.4 Lion. I am well-versed in the world of Windows, however am quite new when it comes to macs (whole reason why I got it).
I'm trying to restore it to its factory settings without owning a restore disc. The HDD only has one partition (no recovery partition).
I have located and downloaded a torrent for an OS X installer, specifically a .dmg image file containing OS X 10.7.
I tried burning that image to a DVD, but when I go to boot from the DVD (to my understanding, this is done by holding "C" during boot) it doesn't work, and just continues to proceed to the logon screen as it normally would.
I have tried converting the image from a .dmg to a .iso (something I am far more familiar with) using one of my Windows machines, and then burning that to a DVD, however, it yields the same result as above.
I have tried using the Disc Utility to format a flash drive (Mac OS Extended (Journaled)) and then using the same Disc Utility to "restore" the image file to the USB drive. When I go to boot from this (holding alt/option at boot) it shows the internal HDD as the only bootable drive.
Is it possible that since I am technically running a newer version of Mac OS X (10.7.4 and using an installer of 10.7) that it will not allow me to do so? I know Apple has made it difficult to downgrade iPhones and the like, and I suppose it wouldn't surprise me a great deal to find out that the same applies to their computers.. But if I am attempting to boot from a different source, and use that to format and repartition my HDD, then I don't see why that would matter...
Any help on the matter would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the suggestion, Shootist007, but that's not accurate. There were no disks of any kind included with the MacBook Pro I bought. I am very anal about keeping everything that comes with a computer. I don't misplace or lose them. I've been buying computers since '88, and I am very careful to maintain original items. I searched the original MacBook Pro box several times, and there's nothing in there but the original purchase receipt from the Apple Store and the form fitting black plastic tray and cushion.
I did try wiring the system, and that's when it tried to restore Lion (and wouldn't let me do a restore of anything else).
Are you saying that if I do upgrade to Lion, and then do a system restore, then the buyer will not be able to use Lion?

How do I return a MacBook Pro to Factory Settings and Delete all Passwords before I sell the Computer?

How do I return a MacBook Pro to Factory Setting and Delete all Passwords and Files before I sell the Computer?

How old is your Mac?
What version of OS X came on it originally?
You must return it to the version of OS X that came on it originally before you sell it.

Is there anyway to use the macbook pro as a moniter for a seperate device?

Is it possible under a program of some sort to use the macbook pro's screen as a seperate moniter for a device because I am always on the go and I bring my macbook everywhere so it would be extremely conveniant if I could use it's amazing screen as a moniter for: dvd player,xbox,ps3,etc.

darrylji wrote:
if I could use it's amazing screen as a moniter for: dvd player,xbox,ps3,etc.
Macbook Pro's have dvd players built in. Is yours broken? Yes, you can hook up an xbox 360 or a ps3. google provides several articles and video tutorials on how to accomplish this.

How do I restore my new MacBook Pro to factory settings?

I got a MacBook Pro back in September and did migration assistant to transfer all of my programs, etc. over. It took an entire day. Anyway, I'm having issues with some programs so I would like to reset my computer to it's factory settings then actually install all of the programs from the original disks. There were no CD/DVD's that came with it so I'm not sure how to go about doing this. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Scott

Restart with the Option key held down, tab to Lion's recovery drive, press Enter, and use it to erase the drive. Install the OS.
(62322)

I want to restore my new macbook pro to factory settings

I just bought a new 13 inch Macbook pro mid 2012 it shipped with Lion so I updated to Mountain Lion but like two weeks later it started to run slow, I want to restore my Mac to factory settings. I have been searching how to do it but everyone say that i need a cd but I dont have any cd.

turn your computer on while holding down the command + r keys - release the keys once you see the apple logo and once you get to the disk utility menu - erase your macbook and reinstall your OS - i think because you upgraded to Mountain Lion - your recovery partition will also be Mountain Lion - try doing a clean install of ML and see if the issues you're having are gone when you do a clean install.
if you're still not happy with the way Mountain Lion performs in your macbook, then you have to do a Internet Recovery to get Lion reinstalled.
good luck

Is there anyway to restore a Macbook Pro to factory settings without a disk?

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