Reinstalling OSX over Ubuntu

I installed Ubuntu a while ago, and for complicated reasons now wish to switch back to OSX. The problem is that I did not use rEFIt, and now am not sure how to reinstall OSX. When I insert the OSX Install Disk that came with my computer (Intel iMac) GRUB does not give me the option to boot to it, nor to a live Ubuntu USB.
Any ideas?

You have to Repartition the drive as one partition and format it in the amac format and set the Partition table to GUID.
You can't install OS X Over Ubuntu. You have to wipe the drive of all traces of Ubuntu first.

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Reinstalling osx over a linux install?

Hi,
I've got a mini with ReiserFS on it, running Debian. I want to reinstall osx over it, but the OSX install disk won't see the drive.
suggestions?
Thanks.
-- James

wow, I can't believe I didn't think to do that. Worked like a charm.
This is why I don't do 20 hour days any more. That should have been obvious
Thanks =)
-- James

Reinstalling osx after Ubuntu

Hi Guys,
I'm really new to osx and I have made my first disaster I guess...
This is what I did:
1) Upgraded to Snow Leopard
2) Installed rEFIt
3) Boot from kubuntu 9.10 beta installation CD
4) Installed kubuntu on an external usb drive
AFter that, my mac doesn't boot any more. The rEFIt boot menu doesn't appear any more.
So I restarted with the Leopard (not snow) installation DVD and re installed Leo.
Now the HD appears on the list of the "Startup disk" utility but even if I select it and reboot it doesn't boot from there. I can only boot from installation DVD.
What can I do???? Please help!!!

Apparently the problem is with the disk's boot block. Did you repartition and reformat the drive before reinstalling Leopard? If not that's what I would do. See the following:
Extended Hard Drive Preparation
1. Boot from your Snow Leopard DVD. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger or Leopard.)
2. After DU loads 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. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
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.
After formatting has completed quit DU and return to the installer. Complete the OS X installation.
As for rEFIt I don't know if it's been updated for SL compatibility, but before using it I would verify that it will work with SL.

Macbook Pro shuts down constantly, and rarely starts. Should I reinstall OSX?

Hi there,
I have a early 2011 Macbook Pro 17" with OSX Lion 10.7.5 and a bootcamp partition running Windows 7.
About three months ago some coffee was spilled on the keyboard, and afterwards was having some issues where it would shut down randomly. After a visit to my university's computer repair center, who told me there was a problem with the power button, and a visit to the local MacStore, who told me that the internals needed to be replaced for a whopping 1,300 dollars. I let the comupter sit for some time while I tried to figure out what to do. A few weeks ago I opened the machine up and cleaned areas where I could see coffee residue with 95% isopropyl alcohol. After letting dry for the evening, I started the computer up and it worked just fine for about two weeks.
Suddenly, when using the Windows operating system, it began shutting down when going to sleep. Following some advice on this site, I switched over to the Mac operating system and installed updates. On restart after the updates, the computer did not actually restart, and since, has started up to the grey screen with apple logo, makes a 'clink' sound and then shuts off. Rarely it actually starts to the desktop, and then 'clinks', goes black, and shuts off. When safe booting, and using the disk utility, it does the same thing. I have reset the SMC and the RAM.
When I am able to succesfully load the disk utility, it shuts down shortly after I begin the repair disk. I have tried this through the original install disk, and get the same results.
I haven't tried reinstalling, or erasing the hard drive and reinstalling OSX. I am worried about trying this as it seems like I might really screw stuff up if it shuts down in the middle of the reinstall or erasing. Am I correct about this?
Some posts here suggest that I need a firmware update of some sorts, but I do not see how I could do this if I cannot get the machine to start normall. Other solutions that might apply to this problem that I have found also strangely require the computer to actually be on and running.
Although I am willing to accept it, I have a hard time believing this is a hardware issue (e.g. logic board) related to the spill because of how long it ran without any problems.
I have been unable to get any sort of error report as well because of the shut down problem.
If anyone could help with my quesiton about reinstalling, and perhaps offer any other advice that doesn't involve me taking it to a MacStore I would greatly appreciate it. Its finals week and I could really use my laptop. It is a real pain being tied to a desktop.
Battery is fully charged, and does indeed charge.

Update on this: somehow the disk repair utility went through and I did a repair disk. There were no problems found. Computer worked fine for an hour, and then started asking me if I really wanted to shut down, which I did not. After doing this three times it made the characteristic 'clink', and shut off as described in my previous post.
Message was edited by: Njal1066

MAJOR HD PROBLEMS..disc cant be deactivated, trying to reformat and reinstall osx

As the title mentions, I cant seem to partition my HD in order to properly reformat and then reinstall osx..
I basically want a fresh new factory macbook with the original lion osx (dec 2011 macbook)..
Reasons why its not working out:
Macbook when turned on goes automatically in the options menu with reinstall os, DU, seek help online and set back a time machine backup (dont have)..
Already erased my hitachi 500 gb HD and the Macintosh HD partition a couple of times (on fastest way setting, and once in the 3 times overwrite setting which took 4 hours, not tried the safest 7 times overwrite way..)
Did a control disk with DU sometimes its fine and sometimes an error pops up saying it cant be fixed.
After trying to reinstall an os mavericks in this case, after 4 hours or 3andahalf it restarts itself in the same options menu (DU, reinstall, seek online help, time machine)..
Partitioning again wont work because the disk cant be deactivated. .
What to do guys? ?

In order to repartition the drive, you can't be using it as any kind of boot drive. That includes Recovery Mode since that is a hidden partition on the drive. So the OS won't let you remove the drive its currently started up to out from under yourself.
Restart in Internet Recovery Mode by holding down Command+Option+R so the Mac is running from the firmware. You'll get what looks like the same work screen as the regular Recovery Mode, but you'll be able to repartition and completely wipe the drive. Then install OS X. The version of OS X the Mac shipped with will be installed.
Do not upgrade it to any version of OS X past that, or the new owner will not be able to reinstall any upgrade since it would require your App Store ID and password to do so.
Already erased my hitachi 500 gb HD and the Macintosh HD partition a couple of times (on fastest way setting, and once in the 3 times overwrite setting which took 4 hours, not tried the safest 7 times overwrite way..)
For future reference, unless you're trying to protect classified government documents, or other highly sensitive data, there's no reason to do any more than a one pass erase. It takes expensive, specialized hardware and software to have even a slight chance of recovering data that has been written over even just once. There's no software consumers can buy that will recover anything from such a drive.

I have to reinstall OSX upon every restart

I have the oddest problem.
Two weeks ago I restarted my computer and got stuck on the grey apple startup screen. At first I thought my HD was the issue. All of the data was accessable, and no signs of an issue (disk utility confirmed) Even knowing that I transferred all of the data over to a new drive and reinstalled OSX (not a clean install). All booted fine. It even booted upon every software update that was required. No issues while working from that point on, untill I needed to reboot. When this happened, I was faced with the forever grey apple startup screen again. I repeated the process, all booted fine as explained above, but this time I scanned for any viruses (not expecting any). Disk utility confirmed all was good with the new drive, and also with the old. All runs perfectly while on. I am confident that this is not a HD issue (mechanical). Moments ago I had to reboot with fingers crossed. Machine has been running for days with no issue. I'm back to square one. Something seems to be messing with what is required to startup on the drive. I have lost no data during these events. Here's my issue. I know I could do a clean install, but I have so many applications, and audio plugins, that have been authorized over the years - tracking down 3 year old serial numbers, and reinstalling items I might have even forget I was using would be a task I can't bare to think of. Any help would be wonderul. Even if I had to do a clean install, would there be a way to save that data and transfer it over without having to go through the relicencing of all of those apps, etc.? Yikes, what is going on? Is this a "genuis bar" canadate?
Thanks in advance for your wisdom.
L
Mac Pro 12 Core, Mac OSX 10.6.8

When you reinstall just OS X, it overwrites itself and those bundled Apple programs with a new (but older) copy then you Software update to get current on 10.6.8
Some third party software you install installs a at boot kernel extension file that gets loaded when OS X loads, if there is a problem with that software it causes the gray screen and spinning wheel thing when you boot up.
When you install OS X over itself it removes these kernel extension files as they don't belong.
So I suspect it's software you installed AFTER resinstalling OS X when they didn't work is what is causing the problem. (likely the anti-virus, unless it's ClamXav)
Also it might be software installed when you log into the machine it's set to automatically launch, but that usually occurs after you log in and gives a Kernel Panic, (black screen and you need to restart message)
So what you can do is hold the Shift Key down upon boot, this will enter Safe Mode and you can uninstall and/or update those programs. Or reinstall OS X again to clear them out, then get online and check for updates to all your third party software.
..Step by Step to fix your Mac
Once you get your machine fixed, you should clone that boot drive automatically to another internal drive with Carbon Copy Cloner
That way you can hold the option key down and boot from the clone.
Most commonly used backup methods
Also you should be considering Deep Freeze at this time, as Apple is likley about to drop support for 10.6
Turn off Java in all your browsers and via the Java Preferences app, it's a major security risk (so is Flash, so use it off most of the time)
Use Firefox or (yucky spyware Chrome) as it's getting security updates and there is no Safari 6 for 10.6 (only not secure Safari 5.7.1)

How backup User and reinstall osx only

My MacBook Pro (06 / 2009) running OSX 10.9 Mavericks didnt want to open completly this morning. 6 hrs later i havnt fix it. Reading and trying.
-- How to make a backup now ?
I want to save some création of mine. Last backup was 1 Month old on timemachine on external USB drive.
-- How to reinstall OSX without deleting my User files and maybe my applications Adobe ?
I have Osx 10.9 Mavericks on machine from free Apple update download. But computer came with 10.5.7 when order from Apple. Also bought 10.6 Snow Léopard on CD.
-- What i have done so far
Reboot. Reset. Pram. Safe mode.
Single user #reboot
Single user # /sbin/fsck -FN
Restart from installation CD to disk utility to verify disk
Results : nothing
Disk0s2: i/o error
Invalid sibling link. The volume needs to ne repaired.

I suspect it's a bad idea to boot from your Snow Léopard disk (even with the accent) to try to repair Mavericks.
You could see if your hard drive will mount on another Mac in Target mode: How to use and troubleshoot FireWire target disk mode , then you could backup your créations.
I would not backup anything more than your essential documents. If you restore system files, you will probably restore the problem.
If you haven't already: Boot into your recovery partition (restart, hold down ⌘R until you see the Apple logo), and use Disk Utility to repair your hard drive. Repair permissions too while you're there. OS X: About OS X Recovery
then restart.
if that doesn't work, you could try the recovery partition again and reinstall Mavericks over your current installation.
If you can't boot into your recovery partition, then try to boot into internet recovery: Hands on with Mountain Lion's OS X Recovery and Internet Recovery | Macworld , and use Disk Utility to repair your HD. similarly, if that doesn't work, you could try to erase your HD from internet recovery and reinstall Mavericks.
if that won't work, you could try TechTool, which can occasionally fix a problem that Disk Utility can't. Techtool Pro 7
if that doesn't work, then your HD is probably failing and needs to be replaced.

Missing /var/db files - not enough HD space to reinstall OSX

I'll try and keep this short and sweet:
I was messing around trying to do something foolish and managed to delete /var/db (I'm assuming this is the problem as my macbook fails boot at the apple logo and safe mode fails to recognize them). After digging around for a while I found this thread:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3807743?start=0&tstart=0
I fiddled around for a while and eventually decided to try use my disks and reinstall leapord but there's a slight problem: I'm 3 GB short of backing everything up and reinstalling (the option to integrate the old and new system was absent, does anyone know why?) and don't want to format my hard drive.
Is it possible to install OSX on a USB hard drive, boot from that and copy the missing files over to my internal hard drive, or otherwise replace them?
If not, is it possible for me to copy everything to USB portable portable hard drive, reinstall OSX and dump them back (or more preferably acquire the /var files from somewhere else) and would I need third party software to do this?
I did not have time machine enabled.
I apologize if this should be a reply to the other topic but I wasn't sure if this being a different operating system/month later warranted a new question.

Is it possible to install OSX on a USB hard drive, boot from that and copy the missing files over to my internal hard drive, or otherwise replace them?
Yes, Macbook can boot OSX from USB Drives.
But clear off at least 15 GB, or OSX may self destruct hen you have less than say 8GB free space
I apologize if this should be a reply to the other topic but I wasn't sure if this being a different operating system/month later warranted a new question.
No, you did great, a new topic if not identical is the way to do it here!

How to reinstall osx and recover data?

Hi
If I reinstall osx 10.6.8 after hd format, and later connect my time machine external drive, will I get back all my stuff? I mean data, docs programs and so on?
After having played with a linux install, I found partitions ex linux I don't know how to delete and reassign to the mac hd, so I think the easiest way shoul be a fresh reinstall.
Thanks, Gianfranco

Thanks, my osx is already at 10.6.8. I had a lot of fun with Ubuntu, and even if I was warned about issues, wanted to try. I did it because some hardware will not be detected by osx. Afterwards decided to uninstall Ubuntu and switch to W7 for the above. Disappoint: ex linux partitions will not be removed by disk utility, and, more frustrating, Bootcamp does not allow to install Win because it finds that mac hd is not journaled. Of course is not: to be it expects a contigous volume, not parted. So, just to talk about my experience, mac architecture is very rigid, both in hardware management and software: it wants to decide where to store or pick data according to itunes philosofy (not mine) and, at the moment don't find any advantage respect Win/Linux exept a beautiful piece of furniture. Sorry for my complaints, you were very kind and gave me a helpful hint, but I'm starting to regret the iMac/iPad purchase.
Thanks for all, Gianfranco

Can't access my website created through iWeb due to reinstalling OSX

G'day people
I had to reinstall OSX and as a consequence, when I start iWeb it tells me I don't have a site and wants me to start a new one.
My site is still online, I can go to it through the URL, I just can't figure out how to be able to access and modify it through iWeb.
Any ideas?
Cheers
Al

Your iWeb data is stored, not in your actual html files, but in a file called Domain.sites which is stored in your Home/Library/Application Support/iWeb folder. If you want to work on your site on another computer, copy this file to a thumb drive to move it around.
You should backup this file whenever you make big changes to your site, because if it gets lost or damaged, you will have to start all over. Sadly, many many people learn this the hard way. Sounds like you have too Sorry
I have an Automator app on my site that will help you backup your Domain file(s). Click here to download it or visit http://iweb.varkgirl.com for more info. The app will make a .zip file of your Home/Library/Application Support/iWeb folder and save it to a location of your choosing.
Then check out Mozy for an online place to store your backups - I just found this and it seems great. They just recently released a Mac friendly version of their app - it automates the upload and encryption. You select the files you want to backup and it does the rest. You can set it to upload automatically after so many minutes of inactivity or once a day. It does it all in the background so you don't have to worry about it! 2GB of storage are free - plenty of room for most people's iWeb Domain.sites backups!

Early 2008 iMac will not reinstall OSX or restore from backup

My system started rebooting on startup a few weeks ago. It would eventually get so I could use it. I backed all my important files except for some audiobooks from the library I had saved to iTunes and some archived emails on my HD. Now, I can't get the system to reinstall OSX Mavericks or restore from Backup. They start but then reboot. Disk utility is now showing the HD as verified. I installed the 6GB memory pack from OWC about 3 weeks before everything started to go downhill. I had no prior problems with the memory upgrade. I even removed the 4 GB module. Still no improvement. Does anyone have any Idea how I can retrieve my audiobooks and email files and save them on my PC laptop? Thanks!

When I try to boot up in Safe Mode, sometimes I get 3 beeps which repeat over and over. I tried to repair disk, it said to erase the disk, format and restore from backup. The backup stops after about 3 percent of the restore is accomplished. I am super frustrated!!!

I have had to replace the HDD and need to reinstall OSX.

I have had to replace the HDD and need to reinstall OSX but cannot find disc that came with the unit, does anyone know where I can get them from or download if possible?
James

[email protected] wrote:
Just how do you do an internet recovery on a system that has a blank HDD with no operating system that the unit cannot boot from????
If your Mac came preinstalled with Lion or Mountain Lion after you install your new blank HDD, restart the Mac while pressing/holding the COMMAND+OPTION+R keys until you see a spinning globe. Make sure you have an Internet connection (WiFi or Ethernet). This will boot into Apple's Recovery HD servers and present you with the OS X Utilities Menu. From there you can select Disk Utility to format your new HDD and then reinstall Mac OS X for the OS that was preinstalled.
Internet Recovery doesn't care if you have an unformated HDD because it boots over the Internet to Apple's servers, not your HDD.

My 2009 MacBook Pro keeps restarting even after I wiped the hard drive and reinstalled OSX.

About a month ago, my laptop started to randomly turn off: I would be using either Chrome, Photoshop (the free CS2 version available from Adobe's website) or Powerpoint, and the screen would go blank. I would then have to hold the power button for a while until the little light at the front of the computer would flicker and it would restart. I brought it to the Mac Store where they tested it and said it looked fine. They suggested I erase my hard drive and reinstall OSX as a precaution.
Fast forward a month, I have been very busy with work and hadn't been able to fix this problem. It wasn't that bad, only once every couple of days, sometimes more, sometimes less, I could work despite this problem.
Then, I installed OSX Mavericks. The installation started in the morning, but, like an idiot, I paused it to go to work. Later on, I completed the installation, it looked fine, but then all day long my laptop would suddenly restart and go to a grey screen that said in multiple languages "Your laptop restarted because of a problem, press any button to continue the restart." A computer technician friend of mine checked it out and said it was probably due to the badly installed OSX and suggested that I erase my hard drive and reinstall OSX.
I backed up all my files, erased the hard drive and reinstalled OSX. Everything looked fine.
Then it happened again.
Any ideas of why this is happening?

Please read this whole message before doing anything.
This procedure is a diagnostic test. It’s unlikely to solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
The purpose of the test is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party software that loads automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.
Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards, if applicable. Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem. You must hold down the shift key twice: once when you turn on the computer, and again when you log in.
Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a Fusion Drive or a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to start up and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal startup may also be somewhat slow.
The login screen appears even if you usually login automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
Test while in safe mode. Same problem?
After testing, restart as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of the test.

My itunes will not work at all. i have deleted and reinstalled in over ten times, i have ended the process, i have reinstalled quicktime i few times, i have deleted many folders. What else can i do? Please help:(

My itunes will not work at all. i have deleted and reinstalled in over ten times, i have ended the process, i have reinstalled quicktime i few times, i have deleted many folders such as TEMP, itunes helper et What else can i do? Please help:(

Now it sometimes keeps coming up and working but once i plug an ipod in it freezes my whole computer up and no i dont get any response from itunes at all

Tried to reinstall OSX Mountain Lion 10.8.4 and every time i start with the installation i get a requested time out message, had to shut down my MacBook Pro retina. Now when i start up it automatically start internet recovery

tried to reinstall OSX Mountain Lion 10.8.4 and every time i start with the installation i get a requested time out message, had to shut down my MacBook Pro retina. Now when i start up it automatically start internet recovery for two ouers. After the internet recovery the same problem with reinstalling OSX message

Gave up on the GUI. This script derived from http://blog.netnerds.net/2012/07/os-x-how-to-setup-nat-on-lion-and-mountain-lion / seems to work for me:
gwdev=en0 # This is my WiFi connection (has Internet connection)
targetdev=en1 # This is the USB to Ethernet adapter (to give Internet connection)
/sbin/ifconfig $targetdev down
/sbin/ifconfig bridge0 create
/sbin/ifconfig bridge0 up
/sbin/ifconfig bridge0 addm $gwdev
/sbin/ifconfig bridge0 $HOST_ADDR
/sbin/route add default -interface bridge0 -ifscope bridge0 -cloning
/usr/sbin/sysctl -w net.inet.ip.forwarding=1
/sbin/ipfw add 100 divert natd ip from any to any via $gwdev
/usr/sbin/natd -interface $gwdev -use_sockets -same_ports -unregistered_only -dynamic -clamp_mss -enable_natportmap -natportmap_interface $targetdev

Reinstalling OSX over Ubuntu

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