I want to perform a clean install on my mac mini, How do I do this? I have no discs.

I have a new mac mini. I coppied over stuff from my old pc and the files coppied mulpitle times and thisgs got messy. I would just like to start from scratch. how can I do this?

As mende1 suggested and as I stated. Make sure you have a WiFi or ethernet connection to the Internet.
Back up your system with Time Machine first. Then you have to reboot your Mac and at the startup chime, press/hold the COMMAND+R keys to boot into your Recovery HD. From there you will see an OS X Utilities Menu screen. Select Disk Utilities from that menu screen and follow step 2 in mende1's instructions. Then close Disk Utilities and select Reinstall OS X from the menu screen. Follow the prompts to download OS X from Apple which will start the install process after the download.
mende1's 1st step instructs you to use Apple's Internet Recovery which will do the same thing as above. It just takes longer to boot into Apples' Recovery HD. The Command+R uses the Recovery HD on your hard drive.
Good Luck!

Similar Messages

What is largest solid state drive I can install in MacBook Pro 8,2? I want to perform a clean install of Mavricks and dump my old hard drive.

What is largest solid state drive I can install in MacBook Pro 8,2? I want to perform a clean install of Mavricks and dump my old hard drive.

If the bank account permits, I suggest getting a 1 TB SSD anyway. One cannot have too much storage.
Unless you are having issues with your current installation, a 'clean' install is not necessary. It would be more efficient to clone your current drive to the new SSD, test it, and then do the swap. The installation of Mavericks over Snow Leopard can be done either before or after the cloning process.
Ciao.

I want to perform a clean install of Mavericks on my MacBook.......

and I would like to restore my entire Home Directory on the fresh install. I have up to date Time Machine backups, what would be the simplest steps to achieve this?
I am reasonably savvy, but don't want to have to reinstall all my apps from scratch.......
Cheers
Tom

Thanks very much for that speedy reply! If I do a clean install, I will install my apps from fresh. However, I will restore my iTunes stuff. Will this be available from the Time Machine backup under the new install? It won't attempt to format it under the fresh install? Apologies if that's a stupid question!
Tom

ML clean install on 2013 Mac Mini - not working

Hello guys,
I have a weird problem with my new Mac Mini. I received it yesterday, the first thing I wanted to do was to format "Macintosh HD" and do a clean install of Mountain Lion using a bootable USB. I will be using the computer only for audio composing / mixing and I don't want any pre-installed junk on it. I've done this numerous times with other Macs in the past. However, when I try to boot using the Mountain Lion USB, it gives me a "prohibited sign" and I can't boot from it. Then, I tried to boot with the Mountain Lion recovery partition and re-install Mountain Lion through there, but I can't format the internal HDD using Disk Utility, most likely because the recovery partition is also on that hard drive? I've tried several things, without success:
Repair disk (permissions)
Reset PRAM / NVRAM
Make bootable USB's using Disk Utility, Lion Disk Maker and Carbon Copy Cloner
I imagine if I could boot into recovery mode and format the HDD from there, it would work using online recovery, but how can I format the HDD when the recovery partition is also on this HDD? And why doesn't the Mac Mini accept the Mountain Lion installer USB in the first place? Or does the installer not recognize the Mac Mini? Very confused, any help would be appreciated.
Best regards,
JPeters86 / NL

If your Mac mini has a fusion drive, it shipped with a "special Fusion Drive only" version of Mountain Lion. While the difference is apparently mainly a Fusion Drive aware version of Disk Utility, no other version of Mountain will boot your mini. However, you should be able to reinstall a working copy of Mountain Lion complete with all the apps you did not want by doing a Cold boot (boot from a powered off condition) while holding down the Commd+R keys and performing the reinstallation from the Recovery drive. An internet connection is required.
If by any chance you erased or reformatted the entire drive, thereby deleting the Recovery partition, you can still recover by holding down Option+Command+R during the reboot. This will force a reboot via the internet and will be a lot slower, but you should still be able to install a functional copy of Mountain Lion this way.
Hopefully the two streams of OS X will merge in Maverick.

Impossible to do a clean install in new mac mini server! Or is it?

Hi all, well totally frustrated but smiling here... I just unboxed two mac mini servers mid 2011s, and got part way setting them both up, up to gettting Open Directory Master and Replica to work. But then one machine started acting flakey so I did a permissions check and there was a bunch of stuff fixed. However, that box then refused to boot. So I did the reasonable thing:
1) booted to recovery partiion to start over - and while there tried to change the crazy outofbox configuration of two 500gb drives into something more managagble - I wanted case-senseitive on a partition to run webservers. But DU would not let me do anything with the drive.
2) Okay, I just booted up on a lion clone I had, and ran DU from another recovery partition. Adjusted the drives the way I wanted them... fine.
3) Rebooted into recovery partition, this time to do a clean install and I was greeted with this:
The install finally died, and after trying again, I get some error about identification information and to call applecare. ha! I live in village in Nepal, and that's not gunna happen easily.
4. So, I take a clone of the other server and clone back to the broken one and try to rid the server of any remenants of the cloned one, but I am thinking this is not going to fly. For example, I can't get Open Directory to work anymore...and that's probally just the tip of the iceberg... I need a clean install - BUT HOW?
This crazy new apple fulfillment system is getting me down....
thx!

I had a similar problem, and my solution probably isn't going to help you now. I imaged one of the machines straight out of the box with disc utility and a Firewire 800 cable. I then copied that image onto the second drive of the machine so I could always do I clean install and I needed it quite often.
My only suggestion is either to wait the week for the thing to download, image that or see if your supplier can image a server for you and you can then restore from that.
Sorry can't be of more help

Performing a Clean Install

I, like many others before me, have noticed some lagginess with the core animations (expose, minimizing, dock magnification) after doing an upgrade installation of leopard. I want to perform a clean install, as people who have done this say that it really helps with this problem and other speed issues in general.
What I would like to do is perform a clean install and then reload all of my documents and applications back onto the disk. What is the best way to go about doing this? I am also interested in freeing up some HD space so it would be nice to not have to do a full restoration.
Would it be unwise to try and selectively restore items back to my drive using time machine? Should I just do a clean install and then a full system time machine restore, or would that just bring back my same speed issues?
I'm just looking for a little insight into what would be the best and safest way to go about a clean install. Thanks a lot!
Nathan Peffer

Use CCC (carbon copy cloner) to clone your system to an external firewire connected hard disk to a partition that is slightly larger than the in use size of your MBP disk.
Verify that you can boot from the clone.
Disconnect the clone disk.
Do an erase and install on your MBP hard disk.
Apply all of the software updates.
Reinstall any purchased applications that you use.
Connect the cloned disk.
Move your data from the clone to the MBP using finder on as as needed basis.
Keep the clone until you are satisfied that you have recovered everything that you need (3 months to a year).

How to Perform a Clean Install of Panther 10.3

I am currently running Jaguar 10.2.8 (no OS9) on an iMac G3/400, 320 megs ram, dsl internet. I want to perform a clean install of Panther 10.3 (not the upgrade or archive + install). After placing the first Panther disc in the slot, I get a screen on which I click the install icon, I then click the restart, the machine reboots, gives me an installation screen asking me to choose the language, I choose English, then click "continue", I then get a screen telling me I cannot install OSX because the "firmware" is not up to date. I then have to click on the "close" button, then use a pin to get the cd out of the machine. I thought the only firmware update necessary was when you want to install Jaguar over OS9. How can I fix this situation so I can install Panther? I am not much of a techie, fairly new to Mac so please make your reply easy to follow. Thanks.

The firmware update for your model is required for running OS X regardless of which version you install. You will need to install OS 9.1 or later in order to install the firmware update if the computer has not been updated.
OS 9 should have been included with the computer as part of the original software that came with it. You can install OS 9 on the same volume on which OS X is currently installed or you can erase the drive before installing OS 9. After you perform the firmware update you can do an Erase and Install of Panther.
You should avoid using a pin to forcibly remove a disc from the optical drive. Just restart the computer and hold down the mouse button to have the disc ejected. See the following:
Five ways to eject a stuck CD or DVD from the optical drive
Ejecting the stuck disc can usually be done in one of the following ways:
1. Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the left mouse button until the disc ejects.
2. Press the Eject button on your keyboard.
3. Click on the Eject button in the menubar.
4. Press COMMAND-E.
5. If none of the above work try this:
Open the Terminal application in your Utilities folder. At the prompt enter or paste the following:
/usr/bin/drutil eject.
If this fails then try this:
Boot the computer into single-user mode. At the prompt enter the same command as used above. To restart the computer enter "reboot" at the prompt without quotes.

How to perform a clean install of Mountain Lion on MBA without usb?

I purchased a new MBA last November and I want to perform a clean install of Mountain Lion (for various reasons), however, the MBA didn't come with an install usb drive from Apple. When I go to the app store it says I need to buy the OS even though it's already on my computer. After all the searching I've done I can't find the answer on what I need to do. Do I need to buy Mountain Lion even though it came with my computer? Please help, thanks!

If you purchased your MacBook Air in November, it means that your Mac already came with OS X Mountain Lion, so even if the App Store tells you that you haven't purchased it, the truth is that it's registered to your Apple ID and you can redownload it without any problem.
Hold Command and R keys while your Mac is starting to start up into OS X Recovery and try to reinstall OS X. It will ask you for the Apple ID you used to set up your MacBook Air, so introduce it. If the OS X download starts, close the installer by pressing the red button at the top left corner of the window, because you can reinstall OS X.
Then, open Disk Utility, choose Macintosh HD in the sidebar, go to Erase tab and erase the drive. Finally, close Disk Utility and reinstall OS X. Make a backup of your data before erasing your disk

Does a iPad get wiped out (with all apps and folder arrangement), after you do a clean install on your Mac?

Hi there,
so my Mac Mini is getting very slow, and need to do a OS X clean install. I wouldn't want to loose my apps/folder arrangements on my iPad if I do a clean install on that Mac Mini.
Any suggestions you may have would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Akbal

Hi JT,
computer info: G4 titanium Powerbook w/ 1.33 gHz (i think)/15" titanium/OS X.3.9
If it's a 1.33, it's an Aluminum PB. If it's a Titanium, then the fastest it could be is 1Ghz, and if it shipped with 10.1, it's a 400-800Mhz. It would be good to know in order to install the correct OS (you cannot install an OS earlier than the one the PB originally shipped with). It sounds like you were running 10.1 on this before - yes?
here's what i've tried so far.
1) erased the HD (zeroed out)
all the ones i found say to start up from the CD, which ain't workin' for me.
I don't understand, if you can't boot from the install disc or Target Disk Mode, how did you zero the PB HD? Do you have an OS installed on your FW HD?
If you're attempting to boot into FWTDM correctly and the PB's HD is not mounting on the host computer, then you have hardware issues, possibly the PB's HD. Is the external HD you have a 2.5"? If so, I would install it in the PB and see if that shows up.

How to perform a clean install?

Hello,
I would want to perform a clean installation on my Lenovo G780.
The problem is that I haven't created an image and I don't have a backup cd.
I thought the system would make an automatic backup on the partition.
Is there a way to recover my system to the fabric state?
Thanks in advance

hi Nordin,
Welcome to Lenovo Community,
You computer already has the product key on it,
for Windows 7 it has a sticker at the bottom of your PC
for Windows 8 it is embedded on your Motherboard.
all you need is to obtain a Windows installer
If you have a Windows 7 ISO maybe from a friend with Windows installer from online download, you can install that and just type the Key from the sticker.
-and-
for windows 8 You can just install it and the key will automatically activate.
I cases you can't get an ISO of windows
You can contact Technical Support in and ask about purchasing a restore disc (fees may apply)
You can also check this site for Windows 7 ISO and burn it using imgburn.
Hope this helps,
Cheers!
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How to perform a clean install of Windows 8 / 8.1

This document describes, how to perform a clean install of Windows 8.
Windows 8 System Requirements
1 GHz or faster processor (with PAE, NX and SSE2 support)
1 GB RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
Additional requirements to use certain features:
To use touch, you need a tablet or a monitor that supports multitouch.
To access the Windows Store and to download and run apps, you need an active Internet connection and a screen resolution of at least 1024 x 768.
To snap apps, you need a screen resolution of at least 1366 x 768
More Info: http://aps2.toshiba-tro.de/kb0/TSB2903E20000R02.htm

I have a new SSD drive and need to either migrate my old HD data, including the Windows 8.1 OS or do a a clean install. I have obtained the ISO, prepared the boot for the flashdrive and downloaded the install software. It asks for the product key. I used the suggested BIOS reader and obtained "a" product key off the BIOS and used that it but (as above) it does not recognize the image.
How id I get my single Windows license onto my new SSD HD? Reload, clean install, ???
How do I get the proper product key or confirm it is correct?
It is a new system with little data that I need to copy. I just want the operating system. I have the driver disc that came with it.

Cannot load computer, Cannot perform a clean install

Hello everyone,
Firstly i am primarily a PC user, so bear with my Mac ineptitude. The computer is a MacBook Pro 15" A1286 model - Early 2012 (i think).
I haven't used my MacBook for a couple of months and when i recently went to power it on (full battery charge) i am stuck with a loading/updating screen.
The bar goes about half way and then the computer simply shuts down - so i cannot even load the OS.
Im not sure whats going on, so now i basically want to perform a clean installation / format drive.
So i follow some instructions online and one article says to hold down 'Command + R' when turning the computer on - which brings up the disk utilty fine.
I then proceed to try and erase the drive, format the drive, partition the drive, reinstall os x - nothing works
I am hit with an error message - "Couldn't unmount disk".
After reading several guides, it seems i might be able to boot off another device in order to be able to perform a clean install by loading a file onto a DVD/Flash Stick - but i cannot download anything off my AppStore account as my Mac is not working.
If anyone could point me towards a workable solution, it would be greatly appreciated.
Thankyou

Thanks for the fast reply, however it seems that the first aid utility has detected nothing abnormal with the drive.
Could it really be that the HDD is unusable?
I would still be very interested in any other tips or suggestions.
Thankyou

So how does one perform a clean install on U310?

Hello,
I'm currently annoyed with software that comes pre-installed on the notebook, and would like to perform a clean install of Windows 7. I've got a bootable USB stick prepared, but don't know what to do next. Also, I'd like to install the system on the SSD drive, not on HDD, and don't want to lose warranty.
Could someone who already did this make a step-by-step guide, or at least provide some hints? Thanks!

Hi
Welcome To Lenovo Community
First of all Please create a set of recovery media using OKR .
For installing a fresh OS on SSD you can refer below links
http://www.overclock.net/t/1156654/seans-windows-7-install-optimization-guide-for-ssds-hdds
http://www.sevenforums.com/installation-setup/206250-ssd-w-hdd-windows-7-setup-help.html
Hope This Helps
Cheers!!!
Important Note: If you need help, post your question in the forum, and include your system type, model number and OS. Do not post your serial number.
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If you find a post helpful and it answers your question, please mark it as an "Accepted Solution"! This will help the rest of the Community with similar issues identify the verified solution and benefit from it.
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Help with Performing a Clean Install of Windows 8.1

Hey. I just bought a laptop today and it came with Windows 8.1. However, my issue is that my OS resides in a huge partition (900+ MB). And I don't want this. I want to re-allocate space, and take a portion from my OS's drive in order to create more partitions.
However, to do that, I have to format the drive, which I can't 'cause it contains the OS.
Bottom line: I don't have a CD installer for Windows 8 or Windows 8.1. I am trying to perform a clean install of Windows 8.1 in my laptop. Can I get the installer online? Can I use the product key here in my already activated Windows 8.1 OS? Do I need to
install Windows 8 before installing Windows 8.1?

you may be able to shrink the existing volume(s):
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc731894(v=ws.10).aspx
Don
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This helps the community, keeps the forums tidy, and recognises useful contributions. Thanks!)

I want to do a clean install, but how to use Time Machine to get my data back?

I want to do to clean install of my Snow Leopard OS system...all my data is backed up on my TM. I heard if I restore from Time Machine any system errors created then will have an effect on the clean install? Wouldn't that defeat the whole purpose? So how am I supposed to get around that?
Any help would be appreciated, since it would be my first clean installed ever performed (I'm a bit scared, lol).

greyskiesblack wrote:
would it be okay to delete the Time Machine back up then and use the external hard drive as a normal back up of all my stuff copied over to it by drag and drop?
Leave the TM drive alone, it's a extra backup as you should have two separate hardware backups of your data at all times. Use another new drive for a copy of the files until your safely up on the fresh install, then erase and reset the TM drive to your new configuration.
It didn't occur to me that TM would keep the system as it was...and I'm just now learning about TM. I'm glad I have decided to ask before I proceeded to install!!
TM copies stuff over in a general manner, trying to keep what you have just like what you had, which unfortuntly if something goes wrong that isn't the best course of action because you don't want the old junk back on the new machine.
So since it's incrediably difficult to cherry pick exactly what you want when restoring from TM, it's better to have the user files on a regular drive (no TM) when doing a fresh install.
It's really not that hard restoring manually, just create the same named user and drag and drop the contents of the User file folders (music, pictures, documents, movies) right into the new folders on the new user.
You do a fresh install in this manner.
1: Backup files manually to a external drive, disconnect all drives.
2: hold c boot off the 10.6 disk, erase the drive and reformat (wipes all contents)
3: quit and install 10.6, reboot and go through setup, create the same named user as before
4: Software update to 10.6.8
5: install all programs from fresh sources
6: last files cherry picked from backup (do not transfer Users/Library)
In that spefic order for best performance.
It's not excactly as perfect as TM restore, but then you don't get all the problems back.

I want to perform a clean install on my mac mini, How do I do this? I have no discs.

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