Install to factory settings?

So I want to instal my macbook back to factory settings. However, when I put in the instal disk there is no harddrive present. All that shows up under disk utility is max os x instal disk 1 and some 5.1GB thing. I did the whole take out battery thing and hold power button for 5 seconds. However, I have no idea what to do now. I hit the startup and it never gave me a destination to instal os x. (even before the erase there was no destination listed ever) How do I fix this and get my computer working for school again? The only thing that was ever on this laptop was papers that I had written for school. All help would be wonderful. I have the startup disks and everything else. I just don't know what to do.

If no hard drive is present in Disk Utility then that probably means your hard drive is dead and needs to be replaced.
Note that you must be using the Tiger Installer Disc One that came with your computer.
If there were a hard drive then in the DU left side list you should see an entry that looked sort of like this:
186.3 GB Hitachi HTS7220...
Of course the main entry will differ if you have a different hard drive size and model. If you don't see an entry such as the above then your drive is non-functioning. If you do see an entry such as this then do the following:
Extended Hard Drive Preparation
2. Select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID (only required for Intel Macs) then click on the OK button. Set the number of partitions from the dropdown menu (use 1 partition unless you wish to make more.) Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the volume(s) mount on the Desktop.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
Steps 4-6 are optional but should be used on a drive that has never been formatted before, if the format type is not Mac OS Extended, if the partition scheme has been changed, or if a different operating system (not OS X) has been installed on the drive.

Similar Messages

Re-installing after factory settings?

So I've had my laptop for over a year and I had Adobe Premiere Elements (11?), however earlier this year I had to restore the computer to factory settings after a major system error.This completely wiped any trace that I ever had any Adobe product. Unfortunately I don't have a product key as by my recollection, it was pre-installed when I bought the laptop. I checked my e-mails to see if I actually had signed up for Adobe, but I hadn't. However when I went to where I bought the laptop, they said that I must have registered to Adobe in order to have had the software.
Basically what I'm asking is if some laptop models are sold with pre-installed Adobe software, and if so, can it be re-installed without a product key?

elliottn
What computer operating system is involved in your question?
You do not appear to know which program you had, besides not having a serial number.
And, since Premiere Elements came pre-installed on your computer, it will not be found in "My Orders" since you did not purchase Premiere Elements from Adobe. But, if your product got registered somehow in its pre-installed state, you may gain information by going to "My Products" at the Adobe web site.
Both those concerns may be addressed by going to Adobe http://www.adobe.com, signing in with your Adobe ID and Password, typing "My Products" in the Search field, and following the link to "My Products" to find what is listed there. If you find your product's name, click on it. Your serial number should be revealed.
It is easy enough to direct you to installation files that you can use, but all is not possible without a purchased serial number for the specific product.
Please update us on your progress.
Any questions or need clarification, please do not hesitate to ask.
Thank you.
ATR

How to Install to Factory Settings?

I just erased my hard drive (took nearly 12 hours with the seven passes) and now I need to install the OS. I am in Disk Utility but I do not understand how to install it.
21.5" iMac purchased 12/2012
OS X - 10.8.5
Proc. 2.96GHz, Intel Core i5
iMac, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.4)

You should be in OS X Recovery, so close Disk Utility. Then, you should see a window with four options, so choose Reinstall OS X, press Continue and follow the steps. OS X will be installed on the hard disk

Vista will not boot/install after performing a restore to factory settings on satellite l305

I have a satellite l305 that i bought new thru walmart.com about a year & a half ago, and for the past few months it seems like there are more & more issues with this pc that are causing it not to work properly-everything from drivers failing-or even disappearing, in some cases-to crashing into a blue screen everytime i insert a micro sd card into the slot.. My sound drivers are gone & even after i THOUGHT i downloaded them again, they still won't install or even recognize that they are there and then yesterday it suddenly stopped being able to fully load some of my fave games that i play daily.. I have tried EVERY SINGLE SUGGESTION in EVERY article, forum, help site, etc.,that i could find & even tried to get help over the phone from a pc tech here locally, and nothing has been able to fix my issues. I have done so many system restores from so many different restore points, installed updates, uninstalled updates, tried to install new drivers, rolled back drivers, started in safe mode to do diagnostics checks, entered BIOS & checked EVERY setting, reset all settings to default, checked error logs, etc., etc., etc...I have even completely disassembled my entire laptop & checked all wiring, fuses, etc., made sure everything was working, etc., So, finally yesterday I decided that it's gotta be something to do with a tech issue-probably with my vista home premium OS that came pre-installed at purchase, so i thought it best to just go ahead & go into the back up & restore & back up all my files onto an external hd using the file transfer wizard option inside the restore center, and then proceed into restoring the pc to it's factory, or "out of box", state. And i assumed i covered my bases by saving the back up-just in case...ohhh no-not the case at all!
It did't even occur tp me to that i might need an actual BOOT disk for vista after the fact. I just assumed that "out of box" meant just how it originally came-WITH vista pre-installed & ready to set up-like it did the day i bought it! i also was under the assumption that, isnce it never asked for a product key or anyting to activate vista then, that it wouldn't need one now either. But anyway, so this is where i'm at now-after i did the factory restore & turned it back on, it said to wait while windows finishes installing-but it never finished, then finally about an hour later, it said that windows was unexpectedly interrupted during installation & did not complete, and for me to restart pc to try install again. But after i did that, it was the same thing over & over. it NEVER installs!
So then i decided to go ahead & "restore windows using back up image" that i created on my external hd prior to the factory restore, thinking that it would just kinda pu **bleep** all back, but thats not working either. it recognizes the drive, and takes me to a menu where i can actually even view all the files on the drive and even tho they are known by my pc to be back up files, it still won't associate them to being back up files to MY PC!! I even got desperate enough to find a site that claimed to offer a free vista boot disk in the form of an iso image that i burned onto cd & tried to boot from as well. That actually took me to an install screen for windows & all the way to where it asks for product key-which DID NOT come locatedon any sticker anywhere on my laptop, and because they DID NOT include any OS utility, install, or boot disks with the purchase of my laptop, i don't know what the product key is OR where else i might be able to find that info, and i WILL NOT pay for ANOTHER ONE, just because they were too lazy or cheap to send the disks with the pc! so i tried to skip this step till later, but when i skip it, it shows anpther error saying that install was terminated & could not finish install & if i wish to continue, for me to restart my pc & re-attempt install..WHAT IS GOING NE WITH THIS AND WHAT CAN I POSSIBLY DO TO JUST BE ABLE TO USE MY LAPTOP AGAIN?? HELP ME PLEASE SOMEONE!!

Hi,
I do not really understand... Did you made a backup before restore to factory settings? And did you copy all backup files to an external device? If not, the data is gone!
Why? Restoryng to factory does not mean a reinstallation. It means to fill the whole harddisk with an image of the first (factory) installation. All other data will be destroyd! Other partitions are deleted and normally you find only one big partition - the whole hdd.
If you have a complete backup on external drive and it is corrupted during restore, try to open the files manually. Maybe you can restore some single files.
Good luck
kind regards
Stefan

How do I install ilife after resetting my macbook to factory settings

I reset my Macbook to factory settings with the one disc, then tried to download the ilife from the applications disc and it comes up with an error message and it won't install ilife. What do I do?

Restore the iPod.
Thanks for the reply. My issue is that I have restored the ipod but the issue is itunes. It doesn't seem to recoginze my ipod as restored.

I installed hotspot shield on my 2009 macbook pro and all **** has broken loose on my computer in my attempts to rid my system of the app. Restoring to factory settings seems the only viable option. How do I do this?

I purchased the elite version of Hotspot Shield VPN only to found it is a wothless scam that drags down your computer. Unfortuantley its been nothing but a nightmare to get it out of my computer. Spents over a week combing through threads on what to do and amy ahve done more damage than anything else. It would appear that restoring my computer to its factory settings is the best thing in my current situation. Ive already lost all my photos and everything else of relevance, at least I hope, I have backed up in on an external disk. Could someone please guide me through this process? i just want to be done with this horribly frustrating situation. Thank you!

Hey jollygreen666,
If you're ready to do a full restore on your computer, this is how you should go about it.
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14243 - Erase and Install
1. Power down your computer.
2. Boot your computer holding either Command + R or Option. If you hold option you should see Macintosh HD and Recovery HD. Click on Recovery HD and press the arrow underneath to boot to recovery. If you hold Command + R you will go straight into recovery.
3. To do a clean install, in the list of utilities, click Disk Utility. In disk Utility, you will see Macintosh HD or whatever you have named your hard drive.
4. Click on Macintosh HD, and you'll see tabs along the top of disk utility. Press the Erase tab.
5. For the Format box, select Mac OS X Extended (Journaled). In the name box you can leave Macintosh HD.
6. Press Erase in the bottom right corner.
At this point you will have a blank hard drive, and you will be able to reinstall Mavericks clean without any extra data. To do so you would:
1. Exit Disk Utility.
2. In the menu, select Reinstall Mac OS X.
3. Follow the prompts to reinstall OS X, and when it asks you where you want to install it, press Macintosh HD.
This will leave you with a clean install of Mavericks.
Since you don't know how deep this software has gone, I would suggest you manually migrate your data back over from your external hard drive to prevent files from the software from showing up again.
Good luck!

Can I restore my iMac hard drive to factory settings without the install disc?

I have an older iMac running iOS X 10.5.8. with a 2GHZ processor. 1GB DDR SDRAM with a Power PC G5 chip
We want to restore the hard drive to original factory settings but don't have the OS X install disc. I have been searching online to find a disc, and can purchase one, but I want to know if I can do this without the install disc? We want to do this so I can give this computer to my nephew. I have already backed up all data.
Currently I have gotten as far as clicking on the "ERASE" tab in the disk utility, but the "Security Options" and "Erase" buttons are greyed out (cannot click on them). According to the Disk Utility help, the buttons are greyed out because I must start up using another disc, such as the Mac OS X install disc.
In addition, I DO have the Mac OS X install for my 13" MacBook Pro. Can I use this disc for the iMac?
Bottom line, I want to know if there is a work-around without having to purchase another start-up disk.
Thanks for your help.

We want to restore the hard drive to original factory settings but don't have the OS X install disc.
Why? Erase everything that isn't yours. Create a new id. Delete old id. Secure erase empty space on hd.
Once done, make a backup of the hd since the hd will fail eventually/soon.
Restore Tiger 10.4 & Leopard 10.5 DVDs may be available from Apple by calling 1(800) 275-2273. Have your serial number ready. Have your credit card ready too. There may be a small fee.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4720126?tstart=0 -- January 20,2013
https://discussions.apple.com/message/24588313#24588313 -- January 22,2014

I installed lion from the internet, i wanted all the stuff on it erased but it didnt do it, how do i get my computer to factory settings so it is like it was new just with a fresh copy of lion on it

i installed lion from the internet, i wanted all the stuff on it erased but it didnt do it, how do i get my computer to factory settings so it is like it was new just with a fresh copy of lion on it

Music is not included in the backup (and nor are films or tv shows), only the contents of third-party apps are included. Did you not do File > Transfer Purchases when connected to your computer's iTunes to copy your iTunes purchases over, and/or have you not got a backup copy of your music somewhere e.g. on an external drive ?

Install OS X Lion + go to factory settings

Hi. I have an iMac with OS X Snow Leopard.
I am going to give it away, but want to give a clean manchine, with OS X Lion Installed.
If I update the OS X to Lion, it does not give me the option to restart to factory settings (I have done this in another machine).
Can anyone suggest how I can do those two operations?
... in case it is relevant, I do not think I have the disk the iMac came with...
Thanks!
I.

If you iMac is currently running Snow Leopard and you purchased Lion from the App Store, you should be able to log into the App Store with your Apple ID and download Lion. You will need SL 10.6.8 to do this. Your signature shows 10.6.7. After you download Lion, don't continue on with the install. Instead, quit the install by right clicking the Lion download icon in the Dock and choosing Quit. The Lion install is in your Applications folder. Copy it to another folder (Downloads, for example) so you have a copy of it. Follow the instructions at this link to create a Lion installer USB thumb drive from the copy you created. After creating the thumb drive, test it by booting into it and see if you can see the OS X Utilities menu. If so, and you're ready to wipe the iMac, go into Disk Utilities and erase the entire internal drive. Then close Disk Utilities and select Reinstall Mac OS X from the OS X Utilities menu. This will install Lion on your internal drive. After the install has completed and your system reboots, you will see the configuration start screen. Just shutdown your system and it's ready for the next user.
The above should get you what you want. However, the next recipient of the iMac will have YOUR purchased copy of Lion installed. This means, the new owner will need YOUR Apple ID to reinstall Lion in the future. The best and correct way to set a system to the factory OS is to reinstall the OS that came with the system. In your case, your best solution is to find your iMac Snow Leopard disks and reinstall SL. Then, it's ready to be given away along with the disks that came with it. The new owner would then use their Apple ID to purchase Mountain Lion as Lion is no longer sold on the App Store. Or, if the new owner wants Lion or your iMac does not support Mountain Lion they would have to call Apple Sales (1-800-692-7753) and order Lion.
Good luck!

Installed latest softward for my ipad 2 and now it want's me to connect to iTunes and restore to factory settings!? What do I do? I can't access the iPad2 other than a screen that shows a plug being inserted into the iTunes logo.

So I saw that my software needed to be updated, so I did it over wifi, then a picture with the plug being inserted into the iTunes logo appears on the screen when finished the install. I plug my iPad 2 into the connector and iTunes sees the iPad 2 connected. Then a window opens that says to restore to use iTunes. I click restore and a second message appears stating something to the effect "Are you sure you want to restore to factory setting all info will be lost."
NO I don't want to loose everything.
My iPad only powers on with the image of a cord pugging into the iTunes logo. I can't get past it and I don't want to restore the iPad 2 to factory settings.
What do I do?
Any help would be appreciated.
Frank

Using iPhone/iPad Recovery Mode
http://ipod.about.com/od/iphonetroubleshooting/a/Iphone-Recovery-Mode.htm
 Cheers, Tom

I have a '13-inch, Early 2009' MacBook. I want to restore it to its factory settings (I have the 'Mac OS X Install DVD' and 'Applications Install DVD'). At this time, I am completely up-to-date with Mac OS X Lion 10.7.3. My question is:

After I restore the computer, will I also lose Lion? If so, will it be possible to get it back? Will it be possible to catch back up to the latest software without having to spend any money? I bought and installed Snow Leopard when it came out, but no longer have a physical copy of that disc.

Hi Linux,
I was about to restore my MacBook when I came upon this screen:
Is this not an indication that it intends on reinstalling it back to its "factory settings", which means OS X Leopard?
I'm simply afraid that I will be reverted back to 'Leopard', and then be forced to either stick with what I've got, or to spend unnecessary money in order to catch back up.

I restored my iPhone 3 g to its factory settings and I tryed to connect it to iTunes on my laptop and it said This iPhone cannot be used because the required software is not installed. Run the installer to remove iTunes. Then install iTunes again. HELP!!

I restored my iPhone 3 g to its factory settings and I tryed to connect it to iTunes on my laptop and it said This iPhone cannot be used because the required software is not installed. Run the installer to remove iTunes. Then install iTunes again. HELP!! PLEASE!! Because I cannot get on my iPhone!!

Hi, Mommacat26.
Thank you for visiting Apple Support Communities.
This usually means that a required component is missing. Start with completely uninstalling iTunes and all of it's components in the order specified in the article below. Once this is done, download and install iTunes.
Removing and reinstalling iTunes and other software components for Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1923
Removing and Reinstalling iTunes and other software components for Windows XP
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1925
If you receive any errors when uninstalling any components of iTunes, try the steps in the article below for each component that gives you an error.
"The feature you are trying to use is on a network resource that is unavailable" alert appears when removing Apple software in Windows
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3704
If the issue persists, try installing the Apple Mobile Device Support driver. See the section labeled Verify that the Apple Mobile Device USB Driver is installed > For Windows XP or Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 > Update the Apple Mobile Device Driver.
iOS: Device not recognized in iTunes for Windows
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1538
Cheers,
Jason H.

If you've installed the Mac OS X Mountain Lion and want to restore your MacBook to factory settings, what do you do?

Havinig a lot of problems with my MacBook since I've upgraded to the Mac OS X Mountain Lion program. Can someone tell me if it's possible to reset my computer back to factory settings?

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.

Cant instal my itunes after resetting pc to factory settings

After resetting my pc back to factory settings I downloaded itunes but it wont instal. I get a message saying contact application vendor to verify this is a valid windows installer. Can anyone help please

Although you're getting a different error message, try the procedure from the following user tip:
"The administrator has set policies to prevent this installation" error messages when installing iTunes for Windows on Windows Vista and Windows 7 systems

HT3777 if i restore my macbook back to its factory settings with the grey install disk that came with my macbook, will this wipe out the bootcamp partition? (i don't want it to)

i have asked this question a few times now, but i have not got the answer i was looking for:
my macbook is currently on v10.6.8 (a snow leopard version)
the factory settings of my macbook is v10.5.6 (a leopard version; i know that using the grey install disk that came with my macbook will restore my macbook back to this version)
i know that by restoring my macbook to the factory settings, some apps will go (e.g. flash player 12, app store) and other apps will be downgraded (like itunes)
but i am talking about BOOTCAMP. it isn't an app, it's a partition of my hard drive.
my question is, will i still have the BOOTCAMP partition after i restore my macbook back to its factory settings? if so, will all the folders and files in BOOTCAMP still be there?

Hello there, Timmayy24.
The following Knowledge Base article provides the information you're looking for:
Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard: How to Erase and Install
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3910
Important: This procedure will completely erase your hard drive. If you have installed Microsoft Windows using Boot Camp, or have multiple partitions, this procedure will erase the partition you select.
Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities.
Cheers,
Pedro.

Install to factory settings?

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