How to format and reinstall without install media

I would like to "restore to factory" my mid-2010 MBP (17") . Except of course I would like to have the 10.7 install and not have to start with 10.6 and then do the 4GB download again. Is that possible?
This is all to troubleshoot a performance issue with Final Cut Pro X. If I do manage to pave my disk, will the AppStore still recognize me (ie I'm not interested in paying another $300+ for various AppStore purchases) I'm assuming that once I log in with the same apple Id I used to make the purchase all should be good.

...not have to start with 10.6 and then do the 4GB download again....
Since Lion deletes the installer after it's finished upgrading, you need to make a copy before hand. Download the Lion installers and when it auto-starts, cancel the installer. Then make a copy of the installer located in your Applications folder. You can use this again on other machines in the future without having to download again.
You can also make a clone of your SL install before installing Lion. Make a clean install of SL, clone it, then upgrade to Lion. Restoring a clone is almost always faster than installing from the install disks. This is what I do when testing & troubleshooting many of my software issues. (I usually doing that with virtual machines also.)
If you want, you can make a Lion installer DVD or USB flash drive. You can Google on how to make one of those, but realize that neither is supported by Apple. And if you haven't purchased updated ones, you will still need your original disks that came with your Mac to reinstall any of the iLife apps that came with your Mac.

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How to format and reinstall OS on mbp late 2009

I'd like to format and reinstall operating system for my mbp 15 inch from internet (no startup CD required). What keys I should press when the mbp Startup?

To access the recovery partition, turn the mac on and hold the option key down. http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718

How to format and reinstall 10.6.8 without disk

How to re-format my HD and reinstall 10.6.8 without a disk?

Can't be done. You have to either call AppleCare if you lost the original discs, call the seller of the machine if it wasn't Apple and say the discs belong to the machine and have them call AppleCare if they lost the discs. If clone your hard drive with Superduper or Carbon Copy Cloner upon purchasing a Mac with 10.6 you can always restore the clone at anytime. And before considering upgrading, note 10.7 and above lack Rosetta:
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-2465
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3761
Macs newer than March 15, 2010 can't use the retail 10.6.3 installer, and must use the 10.6 installer that was pre bundled with them to install 10.6, if not a clone, and if pre bundled with some version of 10.6. Prebundled with 10.7 Macs can't install 10.6 unless their actual hardware refresh date preceded 10.7's July 20, 2011 release.

Having software problem, Windows 7 Home, how to format and reinstall

Having software problems, Windows 7. I have the HP P6510 desktop. I have backed up my data to ext. drive, and I have the Windows 7 Home CD which I purchased.
Most of the reading I've done to "format & reinstall" seem to say I don't need to format...just put the Windows 7 CD in and restart...is that all I have to do...I don't have to format the HD?
If I have to "format" the HD, how?
PS:(Last time Computer was in for repair, they replaced the Windows 7 program so product numbers may be different.)

Hi:
You may want to read this step by step tutorial to install W7.
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/operatingsystems/ss/windows-7-clean-install-part-1.htm
However, to answer your question, you should not need to repartition or format the hard drive unless you want to.
Windows 7 will install on the current windows partition creating a windows.old folder, which you can delete after W7 is installed.
Having the windows.old folder is nice for folks like me who forgot to save a file or folder. You can just browse to the Windows.old folder and retrieve any file or folder you want and copy it to the new windows installation.
When you are sure you have gotten all of your files from the windows.old folder you can delete it by launching the disk cleanup utility and then click on the Cleanup System Files button in the disk cleanup window.
Then just check the windows.old folder on the list of files and it will be deleted once you hit the OK button.
If you delete partitions and reformat, you will lose the option of having the windows.old folder.
The tutorial at the link above will step you thru the process of formatting the drive.

Can somebody please explain how to format and then reinstall Mac lion10.7 without cd

can somebody please explain how to format and then reinstall Mac lion10.7 without cd

You will need either an Ethernet or Wifi Connection to the Internet - USB Mobile device is not supported.
If you already have Lion installed you can boot to Recovery with Command R and use the Disk Utility to erase the Macintosh HD and then reinstall the OS from the Mac OS X Utilities.
You will need the Apple Id used for purchase if the Mac did not ship with Lion installed originally.
If you want to repartition the HDD you can use the Recovery Disk Assistant to make a recovery USB drive
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1433
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4848
As Always - Back up the Mac before erasing unless you are confident there is absolutely nothing on the mac that you might possibly need later.
If the machine is a 2011 build or later you might be able to boot to Internet Recovery with Command Option R

How to re-install iLife 2011 in Mac OS X Mountain Lion unit after you formatted and reinstall OS X?

How to re-install iLife 2011 in Mac OS X Mountain Lion unit after you formatted and reinstall OS X?

Sign into the App Store with your Apple ID, click on the Purchases icon in the toolbar, locate the three iLife apps and redownload them.

Formating and Reinstalling Windows Without a Recovery CD

I do not have access to my recovery cd as I am currently overseas, and im looking to format and reinstall windows. What would be the best way to do this? Are the recovery cds completely integral to the reinstallation of windows?
I just dont want to do the reinstall and find I have no screen etc.

Hi
Well, if you have no Recovery CD you can install the Windows OS from the original Microsoft Windows CD. Then you can try to download the all necessary Toshiba drivers from the Toshiba download page.
http://eu.computers.toshiba-europe.com/cgi-bin/ToshibaCSG/download_drivers_bios.jsp
But note: You should update the drivers in the right order. The drivers are placed in the right order and this is very important for the new installation.
Bye

How I can format and reinstall software in 9300i

I have a sofware problem in my 9300i and want to format and reinstall it to default settings?

Hi ehawary
To perform a hard reset on the Nokia 9300i, follow these steps;
1) Remove the battery from the phone and wait 10 seconds.
2) Insert the battery and IMMEDIATELY press and hold the following keys: SHIFT + CTRL + F
3) When you are prompted with "Are you sure you would like to format the drive?", release the keys.
If the battery is left out too long, you may need to press the power button.
Happy to have helped forum in a small way with a Support Ratio = 37.0

Blue screen keeps popping up, format and reinstall did not fix problem

My wife has a Toshiba Satellite A55-S3063 Laptop with Windows XP Home. After we got married in 2008, I noticed SP2 was installed and there was an update ready. She said SP3 never installed and I couldn't get it to install. Even with Registry checks, removing anti-virus, and other suggestions from the MS site, I still couldn't get it to install. I told her we would do a format and reinstall "someday." A month ago, the blue screen of death started coming on regularly and the computer would restart quickly after flashing the blue screen. I did a System Restore from a previous point, but a few days later, it started happening again. I decided to take this opportunity to do a format and reinstall, so I backed everything up. Her computer came with a recovery disk that only gives you the option to do a format and reinstall, not a recovery like I've done on other computers. So the format was really our only option. I did this and installed all the Service Packs (including 3). I put a new battery in (that we hadn't used before) because the old one didn't last very long and I got a blue screen and restart the next time I turned on the computer. AFter that one time, it worked fine the rest of the day. The next day I plugged in the external hard drive (Simpletech 500gb) to move her info back over. A few minutes later, blue screen and system crash. On restart, same thing. Next restart, just a black screen. I decided no big loss if I reinstall again, so I reinstalled again. Now I just get the blue screen during setup. Right after I type in the computer name and click "Next" I can hear the hard drive spinning and then the blue screen and system restarts. The blue screen is not up long enough to read, so I can't give you an error message.
I can only assume this a hardware problem, but I don't know what or how to fix it. We have her sister's old computer which is the same computer, bought at the same time, but stopped working years ago. So with explicit instructions, I might be able to retrieve hardware from that. Except the hard disk; her sister kept that and is using it as a small external drive.

this link should give you some info on how to get it open to everything
A55 disassembly
toshiba doesnt offer any manuals so this is about as good as you will find
hope that helps
-civicman4-
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Post all info about your laptop and version of windows. We are working on it but still do not have the powers to read your mind.

HP ENVY- How to format and keep licensed windows?

Hi everybody,
I want to format my computer and reinstall windows though I don't think I ever typed in the license key (it was a year ago though).
when I go to:
right click on my computer -> properties
I have under windows activation the Product ID.
If I write it down is it enough for when I'll format and reinstall the same windows version?
Thanks,
Willy
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Hi,
No, the Product Id cannot be used to activate.
If you use OEM installation media ( ie Recovery Discs/Flash Drive ) the activation key is automatically read from the bios chip, however this key will only work for an OEM version and not if you install from a 'retail' installation disc.
DP-K
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Format and Reinstall

I'm sorry, I can't find a better forum to ask this question and I don't feel like calling Apple support. But I'm trying to format and reinstall the OS. No special reason why I'm doing it, just want the reassurance that I know how.
Thanks

As posted by another user:
Assuming you have just taken the computer out of the box, you would just boot it to the OS X install disk right away. This is the only tricky part for an "out of the box" Mac, as you have to get the install disk inserted in the optical drive. Just press the power button an immediately hold down the "C" key, while having that disk ready to insert. Put it in the slot, and as soon as the drive gets power, it should take the disk. Keep holding that "C" key until the drive spins up and reads the disk.
Once you are booted to the installer, choose your language, then open Disk Utility from the installer's "Utilities" menu.
In Disk Utility, you simply click on your Mac's drive in the list on the left. Drives, or "Devices" as they are sometimes called, are listed above any volumes that these drives contain, which are indented in the list. Keep this concept in mind. A proper "zeroing" can only be performed on a device, not on just a single volume (volumes can be zeroed, but I don't think this maps out bad blocks). So, select the drive (not a volume), click on the "Erase" pane of Disk Utility, then click the "Options..." button. THis will open a dialgue sheet where you can choose to zero the drive. Confirm your choice, then click on the "Erase" button.
It's that simple.
From here you can now do the system reinstall.

Is it safe to format and reinstall partition while using bootcamp?

I've got a macbook pro running OSX 10.9. Currently, I have my drive partitioned using bootcamp. I would really like to format and reinstall the apple side of my partition without doing anything to windows side. Is there anything to be worried about or will the formatting and reinstilation be the same as normal?

It will not disturb Boot Camp. Do this:
Install or Reinstall Mavericks, 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/Mountain Lion, Mavericks: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion, Mavericks 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.

My itunes is not working correctly. can i delete and reinstall without losing my music

My itunes is not working correctly. can i delete and reinstall without losing music?

Hi there,
You may find the article below helpful.
Removing and reinstalling iTunes, QuickTime, and other software components for Windows Vista or Windows 7
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1923
iTunes Store purchases or songs imported from CDs are saved in your My Music folder by default and are not deleted by removing iTunes. While it is highly unlikely that you will lose any contents of your iTunes Library when following these steps, it is always a good idea to ensure that your iTunes library is backed up. If you're unsure how to backup, see iTunes: Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard drive.
-Griff W.

Will my MacbookPro still be under warranty if i format and reinstall mountain lion from scratch?

Hello everyone,
as in title, will my MacbookPro still be under warranty if i format and reinstall mountain lion from scratch? After the release of mountain lion, bought it and reinstalled it on the previous version,but the system looks slightly slower.So my thought was to format and install it from scratch.But being my computer 1 month old,will this influence my warranty?Thank you for answers.Cheers.M

Reinstall doesn't broke the warranty, so you can reinstall OS X Mountain Lion

My early (white plastic) 2006 imac freezes. I'm running Snow Leopard and have formatted and reinstalled the software 3 or 4 times.   Model Name:     iMac   Model Identifier:     iMac4,1   Processor Name:     Intel Core Duo   Processor Speed:     2 GHz

My early (white plastic) 2006 imac freezes. I'm running Snow Leopard and have formatted and reinstalled the software 3 or 4 times.   Model Name:          iMac
Model Identifier:          iMac4,1
Processor Name:          Intel Core Duo
Processor Speed:          2 GHz
Until I installed the SMC FanControl application my screen would "break up" into strange patterns and then would eventually freeze. Please help.

If you are trying to upgrade using a gray-faced OS X disk from another system, that won't work, as those disks are locked to the system types they are delivered with. You'll need to drop the $29 on a retail copy of Snow Leopard, which is available from the Apple online store. Note Snow Leopard requires 1GB minimum, and you may want at least 2GB for better performance.

How to format and reinstall without install media

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