I want to erase my macbook files and reinstall the startup disk. I have backed up old files. whats the best approach?

i want to erase all my macbook files and OS and reinstall the startup disk. I have backed up old files on separate HD. Whats the best approach for a smooth reinstall.? I haven't done this in years.

I found a great short article by Aaron Sumner posted 02/02 which clearly explains the process. Thanks.

Similar Messages

I erased my macbook air and reinstalled the disc that came with it, but now iTunes wont find my iphone. What should I do?

I erased my macbook air because it was running really slow (it didn't resolve the problem). I reinstalled the disc that came with it (Mac OS X 10.6.8), but now iTunes cant find my iphone. I need to back up my data from my iphone 4s to my computer so I can transfer the info to my iphone 5. Can anyone help?
Stephanie

Don't know if ubuntu had repartition everything but you could try pressing F11 repeatley after power on button is pressed.
Sorry because of different timezone I might not be able to help/reply you right away.IF that happens I deeply apologize!
**Click the White thumb if you like the answer.**
**Please mark Accept As Solution if it solves your problem and only solves your problem, if you have any more questions please ask, this also helps others to solve related issues.**
Feel yourself like home here, we are all happy to help, if you have an question reply or start a topic or pm me or an expert.

I want to wipe my MacBook Pro and reinstall factory settings... Help???

do I need discs?

Throw away any files which may contain sensitive data and securely empty the Trash.
If it shipped with Mac OS X 10.6.8 or earlier, insert its original disk and restart the computer with the C key held down.
If it shipped with Mac OS X 10.7 or newer, restart with the Command and R keys held down.
Use the Disk Utility to erase the partition with Mac OS X installed, and then install a fresh OS onto it.
If you're going to sell or give away the computer, include the disk with it, or press the Option key as well when restarting from the recovery partition.
(104265)

I want to erase my hard drive and reinstall lion server. Can someone help me out?

i have a mac mini running lion server. I want to erase all the date and start fresh. When i try to reinstall Lion it does not show anything about lion server but jut Lion. I want to make sure I do it properly. It is also asking me in which hard drive to install Lion but im unsure.
can someone help me out?

Check in the app store under purchases both lion and server should show up there to download again.
No need to erase both drives for a clean install just the drive you are using for the OSX. Though if you are truly starting a fresh then erase and reformat both.
As for Upgrades. Yosemite is the only upgrade now available through the app store as is Server 4.0 for Yosemite. I have not tested the latest server yet and can not comment on it's reliability.
Any server you set up should be thoroughly tested on a closed network before going live.
Hope this helps.
PJRS

With Lion, How Can I Erase the Hard Drive and Reinstall The System Software?

I plan on buying a used iMac with a Core 2 Duo so that I can run Lion. Since Lion can only be purchased at the Mac App store what if I needed to erase my hard drive and re-install the system software. How can I do this without a DVD with the OS on it like I have for Snow Leapard. I suppose that I could boot from my Snow Leapard DVD and do the erase. Then, I supposed I would be able to download Lion again from the Mac App Store without paying for it again. But, how would you erase a hard drive and reinstall the system software when purchasing a new Mac with Lion already installed and no DVD at all with the OS on it?
-- Kaydell

When someone purchases any Apple computer with a DVD Drive, they should have recieved two DVDs... One contains the Operating System (up to Snow Leopard, Lion no longer ships on DVD) and the other contains the SYSTEM SOFTWARE (i.e. iLife and iWork). To install the software, they just insert the DVD with the SYSTEM SOFTWARE into any compatible Mac and run the installer. There is no need to erase the hard drive to install SYSTEM SOFTWARE. Maybe a friend can let you borrow the SYSTEM SOFTWARE DVD. The other option is to purchase the software via the App Store.
FYI... App Store purchases are linked to the PURCHASER'S APPLE ID. So if you buy a used Mac from a friend and that Mac already has Lion installed on it,that Lion purchase is linked to YOUR FRIEND'S APPLE ID, not yours. So if you want to download Lion again, you will have to enter your FRIEND'S APPLE ID AND PASSWORD. You can always have your friend re-download Lion and make you a DVD copy.

HT201250 i am using for first time the time machine and an external hard drive because I want to erase my macbook and start from zero files. do i keep my files in the portable hard disk when I connect it again with the macbook or the time machine will era

i am using for first time the time machine and an external hard drive because I want to erase my macbook and start from zero files. Am i keeping my files in the portable hard disk when I will connect it again with the macbook or the time machine will erase all?
I would like to know if after I erase all my data, empy hard drive inside the macbook, the time machine will erase all my files that I have saved in my "WD "My passport" external hard drive

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
Time Machine has to erase the external disk in order to make backups. Before setting Time Machine up, copy the files of your external disk to the hard disk of the Mac in order not to lose them, and then, set up Time Machine. The first backup will start automatically.
If you want more information about Time Machine, read the Pondini's site > http://pondini.org

I've recently been given a macbook pro from uni, with lots of adobe software on. I want to pair it with my iMac which has music etc and is it possible to get the software to the imac and the files to the macbook?Giving me the best of both :-)

I've recently been given a macbook pro from uni, with lots of adobe software on. I want to pair it with my iMac which has music etc and is it possible to get the software to the imac and the files to the macbook?Giving me the best of both :-)

You would need the original installation disks or files for the Adobe software to get it onto your iMac, and having it on two computers may not be allowed by your university's licensing. Talk to whoever issued the MacBook.
As to the music, just copy it over to the MacBook, either via Home Sharing, file sharing, or an external storage medium (hard drive, USB flash drive, etc.).
Regards.

Can someone please help. I have a really old MacBook that is running really slow. I want to wipe everything and reinstall the latest software but don't know how to do this. Also is there a way of keeping Microsoft Office when doing this? Thanks in advance

Can someone please help. I have a really old MacBook that is running really slow. I want to wipe everything and reinstall the latest software but don't know how to do this. Also is there a way of keeping Microsoft Office when doing this? Thanks in advance

You do realise that wiping the disk means that everything on the disk is erased. Everything. Photos, music, emails, ...
So the first piece of advice is to make sure you have a back up of everything.
You need the OS disk to reintsall the operating system. You will use that disk first to erase the drive, then to reinstall the OS.
Here's the link for the US. http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard
As for MS Office, you will need the original disk that it came on to reinstall it.

I believe my macbook pro hard drive is bad. I erased the drive and reinstalled the OS and the macbook still runs really slow. I dont know if the hard drive is the issue.

I believe my macbook pro hard drive is bad. I erased the drive and reinstalled the OS and the macbook still runs really slow. I dont know if the hard drive is the issue.

Did you try an SMC reset too? It's easily done and none of those resets to the best of my knowledge hurt anything. When I was fooling with my system, which at one point was a home made Fusion setup, I needed to reset the SMC sometimes to get the drives recognized. Reading the documentation the sudden motion sensor is drive related but that seems to be about it.
Some more specifics may be needed about the drive itself, the model number of your unit, and the OS version you're running.
At present, the problem seems sort of odd to me. FWIW cable problems can be quite intermittent. I used Scannerz to find some of the problems on my original system that I later converted to a new HD and SSD combo. It can find lots of problems if you learn how to use it right (HD problems, logic board system faults, and cable problems) but you need to get a system at least partially up and running to use it, and it doesn't sound to me like your there right now (in other words, don't go out and buy it because at this point I don't know how it could help you)
Another word of advice would be to not go out and start throwing parts at a problem unless you have a good idea what the source of the problem is. If you have a logic board problem, new drives and new cables won't make it go away, you'll just be wasting your money. Logic board problems, cable problems, and drive problems can all have very similar end user symptoms. The article that I linked above named "Hard Drive Problems" has a section on general symptoms of problems and if you read the article it becomes clear there's a lot of overlap associated with different types of problems.
I assume that your unit isn't under warranty. If, by chance it is I wouldn't even fool with it and I'd take it to Apple and let them deal with the problem. You also might want to check with whatever Apple sources you have available to test your system, like an Apple store, and see how much they'll charge (if anything) to evaluate the system.
I certainly hope this helps.

How to erase all data on macbook pro and reinstall operating system

how to erase all data on macbook pro and reinstall operating system

OS X Snow Leopard
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT3910
http://www.thesafemac.com/how-to-reinstall-mac-os-x-from-scratch/
OS X Yosemite
https://support.apple.com/kb/PH18869?locale=en_US&viewlocale=en_US
Best.

I want to get a Mac and was wondering if i could trade my macbook in and pay the difference

I want to get a Mac and was wondering if i could trade my macbook in and pay the difference

Apple does not do trade ins of old computers. Your best bet is to sell it yourself and apply what you get to your purchase.
eBay and CraigsList offer good venues for selling.
Best of luck.

Hi, I want to format my macbook pro and i don't know what to choose from this list---: Mac OS Extended (Journaled) Mac OS Extended Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled) Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive)

Hi, I want to format my macbook pro and i don't know what to choose from this lis
Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
Mac OS Extended
Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled)
Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive)

MAC OS Extended (Journaled)

How do I wipe my '07 Macbook HD and reinstall back to 10.6

I am giving my brother my old white macbook from 2007. I want to wipe the hard drive clean. The computer came with 10.4 (Tiger). I have since purchased the 10.5 (Leopard) and 10.6 (Snow Leopard) retail discs. The current OS is now 10.6.
My goal is to completely wipe the hard drive and start fresh. I am just not sure which discs to start with and use. A lot of the forums have different solutions and I just want to make sure I don't completely mess it up since its no longer under apple care.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
-Dan

Put your Snow Leopard, if you have the Apple Restore discs put in the first one they should be labeled, disc in the drive. Restart the MacBook and on the grey screen hold down the C button on the keyboard. This should force the laptop to boot using the disc. Once it boots into the disc at the top of the screen click on the Utilities menu and then Disk Utility. When Disk Utility opens click on your hard drive on the left side. With your hard drive selected click on the Erase tab. For Volume Format click Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and rename the drive to what you want in the Name field. Click "Erase..." and follow the steps. This shouldn't take very long to erase the drive. Once its done exit disk utility and follow the steps to install Snow Leopard and you should be all set.

How to install an SSD in a MacBook Pro and keep the original hard drive

Step by step instructions on how to install a Crucial SSD as the primary drive in a MacBook Pro and use the original hard drive as a second drive in place of the optical drive.
Apart from the time needed to back up your data and clone the original drive to the new SSD, you should be able complete this in less than an hour.

Verifying
Install the SSD in the HDD slot
Install the HDD in the optical slot
Boot to the HDD and format the SSD
Boot using Command R and restore the operating system from Time machine to the SSD
Reformat the HDD and restore the data files to it.

Can't find my data file to back up, so I can uninstall and reinstall the software. (Windows, Vista & Palm version 6.0.1)

I can't find my data file, in order to back it up. After going to Documents - Palm One, the only thing that looks like a user name is a file with no data. Somewhere there has to be another file with all my data, since data is available when I open the Palm One software on my computer. After backing it up, I want to uninstall and reinstall the Palm One software. I'm hoping this resolves my inabilty hot sync. Thanks! Lauraflavin.
Post relates to: Tungsten T5

If you're using XP, your data is here:
C:\Program Files\Palm (or PalmOne)\ your Hotsync Name abbreviated \
WyreNut
I am a Volunteer here, not employed by HP.
You too can become an HP Expert! Details HERE!
If my post has helped you, click the Kudos Thumbs up!
If it solved your issue, Click the "Accept as Solution" button so others can benefit from the question you asked!

I want to erase my macbook files and reinstall the startup disk. I have backed up old files. whats the best approach?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for