HT4718 I want to do a factory reset on my iMac due to problems I have had since downloading mountain lion. Should I install my original mac disk (snow leopard) or will it reinstall mountain lion automatically?
I do need mountain lion so I can use icloud. When I downloaded Mountain lion I couldn't find any of my docs because (as it turns out) my hard drive was split and so now everything is in sepperate places and I cant find bits etc. So....... I want everything to be in one place, easy to use as before. I have everything backed up to an external hard drive now.
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.
Similar Messages
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Purchased a used macbook pro with Mountain Lion. My old Mac runs Snow Leopard is backed up to Time machine. How do I register the operating system to me and how do I use Time Machine to move my files to the new used computer?
If you look at the User Tips tab, you will find a write up on just this subject:
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4053
The subject of buying/selling a Mac is quite complicated. Here is a guide to the steps involved. It is from the Seller's point of view, but easily read the other way too:
SELLING A MAC A
Internet Recovery, and Transferability of OS & iLife Apps
Selling an Old Mac:
• When selling an old Mac, the only OS that is legally transferable is the one that came preinstalled when the Mac was new. Selling a Mac with an upgraded OS isn't doing the new owner any favors. Attempting to do so will only result in headaches since the upgraded OS can't be registered by the new owner. If a clean install becomes necessary, they won't be able to do so and will be forced to install the original OS via Internet Recovery. Best to simply erase the drive and revert back to the original OS prior to selling any Mac.
• Additionally, upgrading the OS on a Mac you intend to sell means that you are leaving personally identifiable information on the Mac since the only way to upgrade the OS involves using your own AppleID to download the upgrade from the App Store. So there will be traces of your info and user account left behind. Again, best to erase the drive and revert to the original OS via Internet Recovery.
Internet Recovery:
• In the event that the OS has been upgraded to a newer version (i.e. Lion to Mountain Lion), Internet Recovery will offer the version of the OS that originally came with the Mac. So while booting to the Recovery Disk will show Mountain Lion as available for reinstall since that is the current version running, Internet Recovery, on the other hand, will only show Lion available since that was the OS shipped with that particular Mac.
• Though the Mac came with a particular version of Mac OS X, it appears that, when Internet Recovery is invoked, the most recent update of that version may be applied. (i.e. if the Mac originally came with 10.7.3, Internet Recovery may install a more recent update like 10.7.5)
iLife Apps:
• When the App Store is launched for the first time it will report that the iLife apps are available for the user to Accept under the Purchases section. The user will be required to enter their AppleID during the Acceptance process. From that point on the iLife apps will be tied to the AppleID used to Accept them. The user will be allowed to download the apps to other Macs they own if they wish using the same AppleID used to Accept them.
• Once Accepted on the new Mac, the iLife apps can not be transferred to any future owner when the Mac is sold. Attempting to use an AppleID after the apps have already been accepted using a different AppleID will result in the App Store reporting "These apps were already assigned to another Apple ID".
• It appears, however, that the iLife Apps do not automatically go to the first owner of the Mac. It's quite possible that the original owner, either by choice or neglect, never Accepted the iLife apps in the App Store. As a result, a future owner of the Mac may be able to successfully Accept the apps and retain them for themselves using their own AppleID. Bottom Line: Whoever Accepts the iLife apps first gets to keep them.
SELLING A MAC B
Follow these instructions step by step to prepare a Mac for sale:
Step One - Back up your data:
A. If you have any Virtual PCs shut them down. They cannot be in their "fast saved" state. They must be shut down from inside Windows.
B. Clone to an external drive using using Carbon Copy Cloner.
1. Open Carbon Copy Cloner.
2. Select the Source volume from the Select a source drop down menu on the left side.
3. Select the Destination volume from the Select a destination drop down menu on the right
side.
4. Click on the Clone button. If you are prompted about creating a clone of the Recovery HD be
sure to opt for that.
Destination means a freshly erased external backup drive. Source means the internal
startup drive.
Step Two - Prepare the machine for the new buyer:
1. De-authorize the computer in iTunes! De-authorize both iTunes and Audible accounts.
2, Remove any Open Firmware passwords or Firmware passwords.
3. Turn the brightness full up and volume nearly so.
4. Turn off File Vault, if enabled.
5. Disable iCloud, if enabled: See.What to do with iCloud before selling your computer
Step Three - Install a fresh OS:
A. Snow Leopard and earlier versions of OS X
1. Insert the original OS X install CD/DVD that came with your computer.
2. Restart the computer while holding down the C key to boot from the CD/DVD.
3. Select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu; repartition and reformat the internal hard drive.
Optionally, click on the Security button and set the Zero Data option to one-pass.
4. Install OS X.
5. Upon completion DO NOT restart the computer.
6. Shutdown the computer.
B. Lion and Mountain Lion (if pre-installed on the computer at purchase*)
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because
it is three times faster than wireless.
1. Restart the computer while holding down the COMMAND and R keys until the Mac OS X
Utilities window appears.
2. Select Disk Utility from the Mac OS X Utilities window and click on the Continue button.
3. 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.
4. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Optionally, click on the Security button
and set the Zero Data option to one-pass.
5. Click on the Erase button and wait until the process has completed.
6. Quit DU and return to the Mac OS X Utilities window.
7. Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Install button.
8. Upon completion shutdown the computer.
*If your computer came with Lion or Mountain Lion pre-installed then you are entitled to transfer your license once. If you purchased Lion or Mountain Lion from the App Store then you cannot transfer your license to another party. In the case of the latter you should install the original version of OS X that came with your computer. You need to repartition the hard drive as well as reformat it; this will assure that the Recovery HD partition is removed. See Step Three above. You may verify these requirements by reviewing your OS X Software License. -
HELP !
After I upgraded my operating system on my mac, (from Snow Leopard (10.6 ? ) to Mountain Lion (10.8.2), virtually ALL of my documents (recipes, update logs, information of untold things), have been denied to me with my Microsoft Word for Mac (which I have used since I purchased my mac in Aug.2008).
I now get a window that tells me "You can't open the application "Microsoft Word" because PowerPC applications are no longer supported." (Needless to say, I cannot use Excel or anything else, either!)
Yet, I can still access them, fully (read and even print fro them), individually, by dragging a file into my PREVIEW program!
What gives?
I am not a savvy programmer, nor do I confess to somehow being warned that this might happen when I upgraded my operating system.
Is there any reasonable (easier?) way to continue the use of these (to me) very important files? I only upgraded because I upgraded my iPhone to a 4S and wanted everything to conform to siimilar circumstances!
What can I DO?You need to upgrade your copy of MS Office. You're using a version that is 8 years old (at least). You can buy Office 2011, which will work. You could also get a copy of Pages from the App Store, which is cheaper and will open Word files (though not perfectly). Or you could get a free Office clone, like OpenOffice or LibreOffice.
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I have updated my mac from snow leopard to mountain lion 3 days back. I had some important data in my library folder and it got overwritten. Is there any way i can get the data back from my snow leopard library folder?
I tried mackeeper to recover files but it could not. Any other way any one has tried to recover a system library folder after OS upgrade?No, it doesn't store a clone. You would have needed to make one with either SuperDuper or CarbonCopy Cloner.
If the files were in your ~/Library folder then they may still be there. As I said, you can access it by
going to your Finder "Go" menu hold the option key to choose "Library". I wouldn't think an upgrade would overwrite anything in ~/Library.
If you have a Time Machine backup you may also be able to use that to retrieve them. -
I've had several problems since downloading Mountain Lion. As with many others, I lose wi-fi on wake-up. I've also lost my ability to print or scan and I can't do upgrades. If I can't fix these issues, can I uninstall Mountain Lion and go back to Lion?
What is wrong with your Mac? You still haven't told us what the problem is. Is the computer still under warranty or Apple Care?
the next time i attempted to use the computer it wasn't fine
What do you mean by "wasn't fine". We can't see your computer so you'll have to describe what your're experiencing in detail without the editorializing.
Download and run Etrecheck. Copy and paste the results into your reply. It's a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here in the ASC to help identify the more obvious culprits. -
Hi I've been wanting to reset my security questions but I don't have a rescue email address what should I do?
HI,
Get a secondary email from a service like Google or Yahoo (something that is not going to disappear like an ISP one might if you change services).
Add it to the Apple ID page.
9:16 pm Thursday; November 21, 2013
iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Mavericks 10.9)
G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
Mac OS X (10.6.8),
Couple of iPhones and an iPad -
Since downloading Mountain Lion, why is Safari running very slow?
You're going to have to be more specific and include some details.
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Trying to up date my OSX currently use 10.7.5. i have tried to download mountain lion but it says i need 10.8.0 but i cant find the download link to download 10.8.0 HELPPPP!!!
Download Mac OS X 10.9 from the Mac App Store. If it's incompatible with your computer, Mac OS X 10.8 will be as well.
(91497) -
My Mac has Snow Leopard 10.5.8. I want to install Mtn. Lion. Apple says I first need to install SL 10.6.8 and that it'll be available at Software Updates. It isn't (and I've installed every software update I can pull up.) Now what?
10.5.8 is Leopard. 10.6.x is Snow Leopard.
Upgrading to Mountain Lion
You can upgrade to Mountain Lion from Lion or directly from Snow Leopard. Mountain Lion can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for $19.99. To access the App Store you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.6 or later installed.
If you need to purchase Snow Leopard you can still purchase a copy from Apple's online store's telesales agents.[1-800-MY-APPLE (1-800-692-7753) or Customer Service and Sales Support at 1-800-676-2775.] Ask for a Sales Representative.
Third-party sources for Snow Leopard are:
Snow Leopard from Amazon.com
Snow Leopard from eBay
After you install Snow Leopard you will have to download and install the Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1 to update Snow Leopard to 10.6.8 and give you access to the App Store.
If you need to purchase Lion call 1-800-692-7753 or 1-800-676-2775. Ask for a Sales Representative. They will check your Apple ID, and email you a code and instructions. The cost is $29.99 (as it was before) plus tax. It's a download.
Be sure your computer meets the minimum requirements:
Apple - OS X Mountain Lion - Read the technical specifications.
Macs that can be upgraded to OS X Mountain Lion
iMac (Mid 2007 or newer)
MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer)
MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer)
MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer)
Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer)
Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)
Xserve (Early 2009)
Are my applications compatible?
See App Compatibility Table - RoaringApps - App compatibility and feature support for OS X & iOS.
Am I eligible for the free upgrade?
See Apple - Free OS X Mountain Lion upgrade Program.
For a complete How-To introduction from Apple see Apple - Upgrade your Mac to OS X Mountain Lion. -
Since downloading mountain lion we are having trouble getting on the internet
since downloading mountain lion we are having trouble getting on the internet
Try restarting your router, but I will need more info like how are you trying to connect wi-fi, Ethernet, type of connection cable or DSL what type of router Apple, Linksys.
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I have an iMac Intel Core 2 Duo with Mac OSX Snow Leopard installed. Would it be ok to download the new Mountain Lion?
Your iMac needs to be a mid-2007 or newer model. See this page for specs supported, and assuming you meet them, you can upgrade from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion (see step 2 on the linked page).
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Hello, Thought I had just downloaded Mountain Lion butcannot find any evidence that it was installed. It is not showing as an icon anywhere and is not listed in downloads and is not listed under purchased apps. Have I just sat here for two hours watching a download that didn't happen? I do have a folder of incompatible software that's all.
How do I know it has been installed?Hello and thanks. I downloaded the upgrade again after your reply to be sure and I believe all is operating smoothly now. Your reply gave me some confidence. I suspect I should not have clicked on a 'x' symbol soon after the download which may have accidentally deleted something before the download/installation process had been completed. Oops probably all my fault. Birdie39
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I am having problems with my Imac (approx 1 yr old) every since I downloaded (from the App.Store) Mountain Lion. I am a working mom with 3 toddlers.....I have very little time to work on the computer which I primarily use for photograhpy needs. I am not computer savvy enough to figure out how to "fix" the new issues/problems and am frustrated. I am hoping someone can help me........
Issues just since downloading Mountain Lion:
1) My Epson R2400 printer is not printing properly. It wouldnt print at all from CS5 the first 2 days. Then just started printing. The prints aren't nearly as good as they used to be. I just installed Photoshop Elements 10 and have been able to print but the prints are just awful. I printed a test page and it was perfect. I've triple checked the settings in the print dialogue box to ensure the correct paper is chosen, etc. I've never let the printer manage the color before but it is the only option that gives a mediocre print at best.
I've gone to Epson.com. It says to update driver through Apple for Mtn. Lion. According to my computer I have no updates. Printer is connected via USB. Changed the ports, turned printer on & off. Emailed epson & they said to reset the print queue, which I did. Restarted the IMac Still no luck. (The error message I got when trying to print from CS5 is "filter failed." But, as stated before it just started printing today as I was typing this.
I print out pics quite a bit and it seems the only time I have ever had problems is when I upgraded the OSX system. Why is that?? When I upgraded to 10.7 is when I first realized my print quality went down.
2) Now every time I "wake" up my computer it has become offline and has to go through the steps to reconnect to my wifi. Never did that before Mtn.Lion. I purchased the Airport Extreme Dec 2011. My computer was always connected before the update. Now I have to scroll down & pick my network & wait for it to connect before proceeding. I double checked preferences and it is set up to check for updates automatically. What is that about??
3) It just seems that my system overall is slower. I love my mac but I am frustrated because I don't have the free time needed to do all this problem solving. I just need it to work properly when I have a few minutes to work on a picture. I imagine there are other issues, but these are the only 2 areas I've focused on since the upgrade.
I've read different views/feedback on Mtn Lion but haven't come across the printer issue or the wifi connection issue.
Can anyone direct me towards a solution? I really appreciate it!
TI just figured out the print quality issue for my wife with her new iMac and new printer.
She replaced both at once and she couldn't understand why her Artisan 730 was lower quality then her Epson R280 when they had the same specs.
Turns out the newer printer had the option to connect via wifi which we used during setup.
The driver options are completely different depending on how you connect.
Once I connected via USB the correct options were available and the print quality was better.
Looking at the R2400 it dies not have wifi, but while researching the problem for my wife someone esle was having an issue updating to the latest printer driver.
If you go into the print utility from the Printer and Scanner system preference and under the general tab you should have driver 5.5.
One user had to delete the old printer driver before Software Update loaded the newer printer driver.
https://discussions.apple.com/message/15947486#15947486
On my MacBook Pro (w Snow Leopard) I always had to reconnect my wifi at home when it woke up. I upgraded my router from an old Netgear to a newer N D-Link and stopped having to do that.
I would be surprised you would have that problem with an Airport Extreme, you might check to see if there is a firmware update for it. -
Aperture 3.3 for Lion, but... how to install 3.2.4 for Snow Leopard?
New version Aperture (3.3) is not available on Snow Leopard (only Lion). Ok... but how to buy/reinstall Aperture 3.2.4 on my Mac of Snow Leopard?
You still might be able to buy a boxed version of Aperture 3 at a local Apple store, but that will be much more expensive than the download from the App Store.
Since you cannot upgrade your machine to Lion, I'd stick with iPhoto, until you will invest into a new computer. iPhoto libraries now can be opened by Aperture, so any work you invest into an iPhoto library will not be lost, once you transit.
No, I dont' want iPhoto. I need Aperture 3. It was available in the Mac App Store for Snow Leopard for a good price. At this moment I feel just cheated. Many people have a problem now - they have bought and can not update / reinstall. I can not buy. It should not be so. I'm sorry for my english. -
I'm running 10.6.8 Snow Leopard fine on my MacPro1,1, Dual-Core Intel Xeon, 2.66 GHz Mac, but I need to install Lion 10.7.0 to run a program I need.How do I install OS 10.7 NOT 10.7.5, because I get this message when I try to install 10.7.5, which I've downloaded:"This update requires Mac OS X version 10.7." on a mac running Snow Leopard 10.6.8, So i need to install the original 10.7.0 over the 10.6.8 i.e. where can I find the original install app for Lion OS 10.7.0? The original Lion 10.7. is not avaialable for purchase from the App store or anywhere, even C-Net . Where can I find it to purchase?
Also it seems I cannot install Mountain Lion over 10.6.8 as advertised. When I go to purchase I get this message: "We could not complete your purchase. OS X Mountain Lion is not compatible with this computer." I think my computer can handle it (specs above) Are there any workarounds to this?If you're getting a "This update requires Mac OS X version 10.7" message, than you have the updater and not the full installer. Go to your Purchases section of the Mac App Store and you should see the full version there. But it may be 10.7.5, though in my system is shows as being from 2011 which would appear to be the original version.
As to Mountain Lion, that's supported only on the Early 2008 Mac Pro or newer.
Regards.
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