How do i reformat my hard drive

I downloaded Lion today and when I started to insall it i got a message that said my Macintosh HD is damaged and can't be repaired. and then it said I have to format my HD. Help

Mac OS X v10.7 Lion Communities
MacBook Pro
OS X Lion: About Lion Recovery
OS X Lion: "Some features of Mac OS X Lion are not supported for the disk (volume name)" appears during installation
STEP ONE: (always) have one or even two backups!
Using Cloning as a Backup Strategy
Apple Support Lion Installation and Recovery
OS X Lion Install to Different Drive
back up and restore your files

Similar Messages

How Do I Reformat The Hard Drive?

Hello,
I just bought aToshiba Satellite P505-S8940 laptop. It did not come with a recovery disk. I had to use their Recovery Disc Creator to make copies of 2 system recovery disks and 2 application disks. I would like to know how do I reformat the hard drive? Thanks!

Satellite P505-S8940
See the section Recovering the Internal Storage Drive, which begins on p. 62 of the User's Guide.
Satellite P500 Series User's Guide
-Jerry

How do i reformat my hard drive on mac mini late 2011 with yosemite before selling my mac

how do i reformat my hard drive on mac mini late 2011 with yosemite before selling my mac

You can't legally sell or give away that computer with Yosemite installed.
Before you sell or give away your computer, in addition to the steps listed in this support article, take these steps:
1. Run Apple Diagnostics or the Apple Hardware Test. The buyer will do this (or he should), and you don't want to be surprised by the results.
2. Reset the PRAM and the SMC, which might contain personal information.
3. If you set a firmware password, remove it by running Firmware Password Utility in Recovery mode.
4. If you activated FileVault in OS X 10.7 or later, turn it off.
5. If you use Boot Camp, the partition must be deleted.
6. If you created any other data partitions on the internal drive, remove them in Disk Utility.
7. If the machine has an internal hard drive, erase the one remaining data partition with the option to zero out data. An SSD doesn't need to be zeroed.
You can't legally or practically transfer any software downloaded from the Mac App Store to the new owner of the machine, even if it was free. That includes OS X, so if you upgraded to OS X 10.7 or later, you must reinstall an older OS, either from the installation media, if applicable, or by starting up in Internet Recovery mode (option-command-R at the startup chime.) If you installed from physical media, deliver those to the new owner.
If you're selling the machine, or donating it in working order, and it originally shipped with OS X 10.4 or 10.5, then you have the option of installing either from the discs that came with it or from a retail Snow Leopard disc (which you must then transfer to the buyer.) The buyer should understand that if he doesn't get the original discs from you, he won't get the bundled iLife applications or the Apple Hardware Test. Replacements for the original discs can be ordered from Apple.
The new owner will have to redownload any software that came from the App Store, including OS X upgrades, under his or her Apple ID. If you ever updated the bundled iLife applications (Garage Band, iMovie, and iPhoto) through the App Store, you can't transfer those either. The buyer will have to purchase them.
Remove the machine from your list of registered products. If it's still covered by an AppleCare Protection Plan, transfer the coverage to the new owner by following the instructions in the AppleCare Terms and Conditions (under the heading "Transfer of Plan.")

How do i reformat imac hard drive and restore time machine backup?

How do I reformat my iMac internal hard drive and restore from a Time Machine backup?
I have an iMac 20" Mid 2007 with a problematic hard drive.
IntelCore 2 Duo, Processor speed 2 Ghz
800 Mhz Bus speed
4 GB RAM
250 GB Western Digital Hard Drive
10.6.3
Was getting a question mark upon booting up, so I booted from a 10.6.3 Snow Leopard CD and ran disk utility. Repair disk was interrupted with an error message. 'Disk utility can't repair disk. Backup files, reformat disk and restore backed up files.'
1. Should I select Erase, Mac OS Extended Journaled, Erase?
2. If I do this, won't I lose my networkability, and therefore lose access to Time Machine backups?
3. If it were you, would you go ahead and replace the hard drive? Not sure I should trust this hard drive!
4. If I need to replace the hard drive, can you send instructions?
Thanks!

Clean Install of Snow Leopard
     1. Boot the computer using the Snow Leopard Installer Disc or the Disc 1 that came
         with your computer. Insert the disc into the optical drive and restart the computer.
         After the chime press and hold down the "C" key. Release the key when you see
         a small spinning gear appear below the dark gray Apple logo.
     2. 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 hard drive entry from the left side list (mfgr.'s ID and drive
         size.) Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window. Set the number of
         partitions to one (1) from the Partitions drop down menu, click on Options button
         and select GUID, click on OK, then set the format type to MacOS Extended
         (Journaled, if supported), then click on the Apply button.
     3. When the formatting has completed quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed
         with the OS X installation and follow the directions included with the installer.
     4. When the installation has completed your computer will Restart into the Setup
         Assistant. Be sure you configure your initial admin account with the exact same
         username and password that you used on your old drive. After you finish Setup
         Assistant will complete the installation after which you will be running a fresh
         install of OS X. You can now begin the update process by opening Software
         Update and installing all recommended updates to bring your installation current.
Download and install Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.
If you have your Time Machine backup drive connected, then you can use Setup Assistant to migrate your Home folder, application support files, and third-party applications and system preference files. I recommend doing this via the Setup Assistant when the option appears.

How do i reformat a hard drive without losing anything on it?

I just got a message that I need to back up and reformat my external hard drive. I know very little about this process and would like to know how to do so and if this is possible without losing anything on it.

If you reformat a drive, you will lose whatever information/files are on it. So, the only way to save your info is to copy it to another drive temporarily, reformat your drive (use Disk Utility and format using Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and the GUID Partition scheme under Options) and then you can copy your information back.

How can I reformat my hard drive on my MacBook Pro if I can't see the screen?

The graphics card connected to the logic board on my old MacBook Pro is broken. Due to this the screen does not come on. I intend to sell my MacBook for parts. Before doing this I need to wipe the Hard Drive. How can I do this without seeing the screen?

Thanks OGELTHORPE,
Unfortunately I would not know where to start disconnecting and fitting Hard Drives!
I did however manage to mount the old machine to my new MacBook. Then used the disk utility to earse the contents of the old drive.
Cheers
Connor_

How can I reformat my hard drive if erase and partition don't work in disk utility and I get an error when I try to erase and install from the Leopard install disk? I have had several kernel panics, but the volume shows up in startup disk.

I have had several kernel panics on my iBook G4; the panic message shows up just after the desktop appears. Although the startup volume shows up in Startup Disk, the installation disk reports an error when I attempt an erase and install. Disk utility is unable either to erase or partition the hard drive. The hard drive shows up in disk utility, but the startup volume doesn’t HELP!!!

Do you have the original system discs that came with the iBook when it was new?
Which exact iBook model is it?
You can choose from this list:
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/ibook/index-ibook.html
Erasing the disc and installing Mac OS X 10.5 will result in loss of the other applications (such as the iLife applications) which came pre-installed on the iBook.

How to reformat my hard drive

I have a macbook pro laptop. Right now it has mountain lion on it. I need to reformat the hard drive. I'm told that I need to install the start up disc in order to do that. So I use the original start up disc that came with the computer and then upgrade back up to Mountain Lion?
Also, how do i reformat the hard drive? I believe you do that with disk utility, is that correct? Do you go to applications, utilities, disk utility and then select Erase and go from there.

Install or Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion from Scratch
Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard 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:
1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
2. 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.
3. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Optionally, click on
        the Security button and set the Zero Data option to one-pass. Click on
      the Erase button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Lion: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain 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.

Reformat the hard drive on my macBook Pro 10.5.8

how do i reformat the hard drive on my macBook Pro 10.5.8 - dvd player doesn't work - otherwise what is the best way to delete stuff off the hd - thanks a million. I want to keep the os on it.

Get your PRAM battery replaced. It may fix your optical drive in the process, if it is over 4 years old.
Read my FAQ*:
http://www.macmaps.com/diskfull.html

HT201250 I have an Time Capsule (1 TB) and do not know how to get my data from it after reformatting my hard drive.

Due to multiple problems with Lion, I decided to reformat my hard drive with Snow Leopard (10.5.8) and now am unable to retrieve my data from my time capsule (1T). I tried to import but ended up with 342 pictures of mainly clip art and downloads from emails. Help. I don't know how to get to the time capsule. When I open time capsule, it shows only the dates since I reformatted on Sunday.

I don't think this helped me! I am afraid to do the Terminal thing if it can't be undone! I cannot afford to lose the time machine backups. When I open the time machine now, it shows only backups from Sunday when I reformatted the disk!!!
I did open disk utility which is as follows:
                              Capacity: 464.8 GB (499,113,885,696 Bytes)
                              Available: 441.6 GB (474,187,837,440 Bytes
                               Used: 23.2 GM (24,926, 048,256 Bytes)
                               Number of Files: 634,969
                              Format: Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
                              Owners Enabled: Yes
                              Number of Folders: 159,926
It gives me the option to restore, but then wants a source and destination. Is this the right place to be? I have Version 10.5.8.

Reformatted a hard drive, but it still shows up in "Tabs From Other Computers." How do I remove it?

I recently reformatted the hard drive in a PC and did not unlink from sync account prior to doing so. The machine continues to be present when i pull down the menu option "Tabs From Other Computers"., even though I have not installed Firefox on the fresh hard drive. How do I remove it from the list?

Hi!
Unfortunately this is not possible at this stage. If this is something that bothers you, the next time you format a hard drive or, in general, want to remove a device from that view you should "Unlink this device" from the Sync Tab in the Preferences window.
Because you can't go back to that specific profile of Firefox you can't do it, but don't worry, eventually it will disappear (the servers don't store the information forever).
If you really want to remove it, you will need to reset the account and plug all your devices again. To do so, you will need to reset the Recovery key and set up the account in your computer again. This is the process that we recommend when a device is lost. Make sure that you have a backup of your information before proceding: [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/Replace%20your%20Sync%20information Replace your Sync Information]
And to learn how to back up your profile, follow this link: [[Backing up your information]]
I hope it helps.
Ibai

I have a iMac 6,1 that I want to reformat the hard drive and reinstall Snow Leopard version 10.6.3 . I don't know how to reformat

I have a iMac 6,1 that I need to reformat the hard drive and reinstall Snow Leopard version 10.6.3 . How do I reformat ?

Boot the ssystem from the OS DVD. Once it is booted run Disk Utiltiy. Select OS Extrended (Journled)
See http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3910?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

HT1386 I have had to reformat my hard drive. I have installed windows 7 and want to know how to transfer the songs on my iPad back to the newly installed iTunes on my compute?

have had to reformat my hard drive. I have installed windows 7 and want to know how to transfer the songs on my iPad back to the newly installed iTunes on my compute?

Copy all the content on your iPod back to your PC and into iTunes. Then go ahead and sync the iPod with your new library.
See this older post from another forum member Zevoneer covering the different methods and software available to assist you with the task of copying content from your iPod back to your PC and into iTunes.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2452022?start=0&tstart=0
B-rock

How long does it take to reformat a hard drive and do a system recovery?

I have a Satellite 2405-S201 that was infected with a virus. I decided to use the Toshiba recovery discs that came with the computer to reformat the hard drive and restore the system to its original factory status. I started with the recovery process using Disc 1 and it now seems stuck. Its been at least 2 hours since I started and the screen is blank. Occasionally the CD drive spins up but nothing else seems to happen. Any ideas on what I should do next? Should I leave it be and see what happens? Or should I attempt to restart the process? Something else?

When my imac was new in 2002 the drive turned out to be defective. Apple replaced it, but it still took about a week, even with the part in stock at the local (US) Apple Store. I would expect it to take longer these days, when it's an outdated machine and so not one requiring parts they'd likely have in stock.

How to Reformat the hard drive I use to edit with..."scratch disc"

Today when I turned on my computer I got a strange message on the screen that basically said I need to back up one of my drives and format it asap. It also said the computer couldn't repair it.
This is the HD I use to edit with as my scratch disc with Final Cut Pro.
I am in the process of backing my files up now. One thing I noticed was that some of my files I don't need anymore and wanted to trash them but it won't allow me to trash files! I get an error message when I drag the file to the trash. So I am going to have to back everything up and I guess will have to erase the disc.
I never reformatted a disc before so if anyone knows what I need to do that would be great since this is the drive I used to edit with.
Thanks.
Message was edited by: DVX100Shooter

To reformat a hard drive, launch Disk Utilities (in the Applications->Utilities folder) and click on the Erase tab. Select the drive you want to reformat then choose "Mac OS Extended" ... give the volume a name and click on the Erase button.
Once the drive is reformatted, open FCP and assign it as the scratch disk.
However, the drive may be suffering from other problems that reformatting won't fix.
-DH

How do i reformat my hard drive

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for