Reinstalling OSX

Hi,
I want to reinstall OSX to the original factory condition. Do I need to first use disk utility from the OS install screen to erase the disk and then install OSX or can I just use the erase and install (Mac OS Journaled) from the options to have a clean hard drive and OS? Is there any difference? I just have one partion which my mac is installed on.

There actually is a difference, or so I've been told. Using Disk Utility to erase the drive will rebuild the drive's file system while doing an Erase & Install will not. So, if you happen to have any file system problems beforehand, they may still be there after an Erase & Install.

Similar Messages

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.

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

Does reinstalling OSX delete the data on the drive?

Does reinstalling OSX via recovery drive delete any data on the drive? Basically, I think the install of yosemite I have now is messed up and needs to be redone. Safari doesn't open in normal start up mode but opens in safe mode. I figured a reinstall of OSX would help? Does reinstalling it remove all the data on the drive? Or does it detect that there is data there and leaves it alone? Thanks in advance.

Hey Kpe413,
Thanks for the question. Using the built-in recovery disk to reinstall OS X will keep your files and user settings intact. However, you should always make a back up of your data via Time Machine or manual methods in case you run into any issues. For more information, check out the following resources:
OS X Yosemite: Reinstall OS X
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH18872
Mac Basics: Time Machine backs up your Mac - Apple Support
http://support.apple.com/HT201250
Thanks,
Matt M.

Cant reinstall osx lion on new hard drive

I recently have been having problems with my 2007 Macbook 2,1 (yeah, I know it's old but it works...or worked anyway) taking forever to boot up. So, I backed up all of my data to an external drive, erased the drive and then attempted to reinstall osx lion (which was the current os on the machine prior to erasing) via the internet recovery option as I no longer have the original start up disc. The progress bar gets all the way to the end and then just takes me back to the main OSX utilities page. Tried reformatting the drive again and same thing. So then I resorted to creating a bootable thumb drive. I booted back into OSX utilities via this drive and tried to reinstall this way only to get an error message that it cant download additional files needed to install osx.
Next up, I used a borrowed mac, redownloaded the OSX installer from the app store and installed it on an external drive. I then booted my machine from the ext. drive into OSX lion, downloaded the installer again and attempted to install it on to my HD only to get an error message that the file may be corrupt or may have been tampered with. At this point, i went to the Apple store. The guy ran some checks but ultimately was also unable to reinstall the os. He even tried going back down to 10.6.8. So he told me this was a sign that the hard drive was bad and that they have no way of actually diagnosing it on a machine that old.
So, I went and bought a new WD 320G internal drive to replace the "bad" one in the machine. I then went through all of the steps above again and still have had no luck getting the os back on the machine. So at this point I am at a total loss. Is the computer just dead or is there anything else I could possibly try?

Did you prep the new drive correctly? You also need to install Snow Leopard on the new drive and update it to 10.6.8.
Drive Partition and Format
1. Boot from your OS X Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
If you are preparing an external or a non-startup drive, then open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
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. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Apply 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 Security 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.
In the following you can skip the part for partitioning and formatting if you've done the above already.
Clean Install of Snow Leopard
     1. Boot the computer using the Snow Leopard Installer Disc or the Disc 1 that came
         with your computer. Insert the disc into the optical drive and restart the computer.
         After the chime press and hold down the "C" key. Release the key when you see
         a small spinning gear appear below the dark gray Apple logo.
     2. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue
         button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
         After DU loads select the hard drive entry from the left side list (mfgr.'s ID and drive
         size.) Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window. Set the number of
         partitions to one (1) from the Partitions drop down menu, click on Options button
         and select GUID, click on OK, then set the format type to MacOS Extended
         (Journaled, if supported), then click on the Apply button.
     3. When the formatting has completed quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed
         with the OS X installation and follow the directions included with the installer.
     4. When the installation has completed your computer will Restart into the Setup
         Assistant. Be sure you configure your initial admin account with the exact same
         username and password that you used on your old drive. After you finish Setup
         Assistant will complete the installation after which you will be running a fresh
         install of OS X. You can now begin the update process by opening Software
         Update and installing all recommended updates to bring your installation current.
Download and install Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.

Cannot log into any GUI modes and need to reinstall OSX

Hi all,
I've been having issues with my iMac 27" i7 desktop which I purchased back in 2011 with OSX Lion.
I recently updated to OSX Mavericks and have some issues which I am trying to resolve.
I have been working through troubleshooting with the Apple Support team as it is still covered by the extended warranty that I purchased with the system. Unfortunately it appears that we have come to the end of their technical support capabilities and I have no resolution.   Here is a quick breakdown of the situation:
While doing some gaming in a Bootcamp copy of Windows 7 the computer froze and displayed a green screen with vertical lines and was unresponsive.
Rebooted the machine into OSX Mavericks (upgraded about a month ago from Lion) and after the Apple symbol and loading wheel, when the machine went to display my desktop it froze with a completely white screen.
Tried to reboot back into Windows 7 and when it went to display the desktop it went to a grey screen with vertical lines.
Called the Apple Support line who advised me how to log into Safe Mode.   This worked ok and then I rebooted into OSX properly and my desktop displayed albeit running very slow.
Backed up my data and then while doing some web browsing the computer locked up and went to a blank screen.
Called the Apple Support line who took me into Recovery Mode and got me to Verify the Disk and Verify Disk Permissions. Also advised me to run Apple Hardware Test.
Ran Apple Hardware Test and it said that there are "no problems"
Booted back into OSX which worked ok but still very slow.
During a data transfer the computer locked up with a black screen and the rainbow spinning wheel and was unresponsive.
After a few attempts I was able to log back in and complete my backup of crucial files.
Yesterday I went to boot the computer and it again gets to point after the Apple symbol and loading wheel where it would display my desktop and goes to blank screen. Apple Support advised that the next step for testing purposes is to format the HDD and reinstall OSX.
No matter whether I am trying to boot into OSX, Safe Mode, Recovery Partition or Internet Recovery (I have tried all numerous times) whenever it gets to a point where the GUI would be displayed the machine locks up and I get a blank white screen. I logged into Single-User Mode and ran a file system check which came up ok and I have run AHT again which came up ok as well, however considering that it doesn't matter where I boot to the same error occurs I believe that the issue is probably hardware related rather than software. I have also followed the instructions to clear the PVRAM
I have booted to OSX using Verbose mode and noticed that there are a number of SMC errors and other messages indicating that there may be some software issues, so I am trying to troubleshoot those before I take the machine to the Authorised Apple Repair Centre
I have created an OSX Mavericks Boot USB but that comes up with a white screen as well if I boot to it.
I'm not sure if it will help, but I can select my recovery partition (OSX Base System) during boot and load into single user mode there.   I'm curious whether (and how) to run diskutils from there to verify disk and permissions for my primary partition (lets call it "Lion"). Then erase the disk and reinstall OSX from my boot USB.

You have to start the miniSAP instance before you can log in to it.
On your desk top there should be an icon 'start SAP WA1' start that, and leave the DOS window running until you are finished.
If you get messages in the DOS window saying processes died check that MS loopback is running.
MattG.

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

Not able to reinstall OSX Snow Leopard - broken hard drive?

Hi!
So I have the following problem, that I would like to have some help with.
Until recently my iMac (early 2008, 3.06 GHz Core 2 Duo, 2 gb ram, 24") has been running with OSX and Windows 7 in bootcamp. All of the sudden, I was not able to boot OSX; when trying to do this the computer stalls on a grey screen with a loading bar in the bottom (like this http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-10387698-263.html). I decided to reinstall OSX, but it was not possible. Everytime I tried to select the hard drive during installation the computer instantly goes into grey screen.
Being pretty stuck here, I then continued to formatting and reinstalling Windows 7. I have now been running RAM test and there are not visible problems. Also I am still not able to reinstall OSX even after a format. It leads me to think that the hard drive may be close to dying.
Does anyone have some similar experiences? Opinions?
Best regards, Mikkel

So, I decided to run some diagnostics:
I am not sure that I decipher the numbers correctly, but the four pre-failures on top seems threatening. Am I right?

I just restarted my mac then suddenly when it boots,disk utility came and says different option like repair disk, get help, reinstall OSX and I tried to click disk repair but it says that I am um able to repair the disk

i just restarted my mac then suddenly when it boots,disk utility came and says different option like repair disk, get help, reinstall OSX and I tried to click disk repair but it says that I am um able to repair the disk

It sounds like your hard drive either has a software problem that Disk Utility cannot fix or that the HD has failed (mechanically).
Your Mac may have booted either to your recovery partition or to internet recovery in an attempt to repair the drive- I can't tell from your post.
I'll assume that it was the recovery partition.
Try to boot into internet recovery (hold down option command R at restart), and see if you can repair your HD with Disk Utility. You should also repair permissions while you're there.
If that doesn't work, try to boot into single user mode (restart, hold down ⌘S until you see a black screen with white text) and repair your hard drive. Here's a reference with directions: Repair Your Hard Disk in Single User Mode | Everything Macintosh
If that doesn't work you have a few options:
If your mac originally came with installation disks, you can try to boot from the installation disk and then see if you can repair the HD.
There is a small chance that Techtool Pro 7 will be able to repair your HD if Disk Utility can't.
If none of that works then your HD has probably failed and will need to be replaced, which is not too difficult to do yourself if you can use a screwdriver.

Help! 13" macbook pro will not boot. Tried running disk repair from HD recovery, not repairable. Trying to reinstall OSx Lion, says disc is locked. Do I have to erase the drive and lose everything? I also have Bootcamp installed, will boot to Win OK

Tried running disk repair from HD recovery, not repairable. Trying to reinstall OSx Lion, says disc is locked. Do I have to erase the drive and lose everything? I also have Bootcamp installed, will boot to Windows no problem.

Hotrodmkviii,
try rebooting in Recovery mode, but when you reach the Mac OS X Utilities menu, run Terminal (from Utilities in the menu bar) instead. Inside the Terminal window, give it the following command, and then press the Return key:
diskutil list
Please include in your reply the output from that command.

I tried restoring my iMac 27" slim. I followed the steps erased my data then to reinstall osx mavericks. Now that I'm trying to reinstall osx mavericks for whatever reason it doesn't completes. Can you help me out?

I tried restoring my iMac 27" slim. I followed the steps erased my data then to reinstall osx mavericks. Now that I'm trying to reinstall osx mavericks for whatever reason it doesn't completes. Can you help me out?

That's not quite the proper way as far as I can tell. Usually, one boots directly into the Recovery HD using COMMAND and R keys at startup. If you cannot do that then most likely there is a problem with the hard drive. Since this is a new computer i would make a Genius Appointment and take it in for service.

Can apple erase a hard drive with filevault 2 turned on and then reinstall OSX?

Can I take my MacBook Pro to an apple store and have them erase the hard drive and reinstall OSX? If so how much will that cost me?

I believe that's pretty much your only recourse if you forget the password and didn't write down the recovery key or choose to store it with Apple.
If you chose to store it with Apple, you can have them retrieve it for you if you answer the three security questions.
Really, with FileVault, the recovery key is crucial. You MUST keep a safe copy of it.
Matt

How do I connect to my external hard drive after reinstalling OSX?

I just reinstalled OSX 10.5, then upgraded to 10.5.8 on my Powerbook. Both my external hard drive and iDisk are locked, and won't let me open them. I went to information for each disk, authenticated, but it won't let me change permissions for either disk. Help!
- ®aymond

Tom,
Thank you for your advice. I did that for the external hard drive, but it still won't let me open the drive. I'm stuck because my iTunes and iPhoto libraries as well as Time Machine all are on the external. It also won't let me open my iDisk.
Tks!
®aymond

Help/Question with Reinstall OSX 10.2.1 on iBook G4

First off...I just want to say that if someone can take the time to assist me I would appreciate it more than you know! Now...on to my issue:
History:
I have a iBook G4 running, I think on either 10.3 or 10.4 (I can't tell you now because it won't start up). I have the discs for 10.2.1 that came with the computer. I purchased my iBook from a roommate of mine a few years back and before selling it to me he loading 10.3 or 10.4, and I don't have those discs.
I was having an issue at start up...It would load to the point where I could see the picture I had on my desktop, and the dock would come up. Then it would stop and none of the icons on my desktop would show and neither would the menu bar at the top of the screen. When I clicked on an application in the dock, it would not load...the computer was trying (you could hear it) but it never would load it.
So, I did some online searching (using my wife's MacBook...yes, I wish we had two) and used the disk utility to verify my disc. It said the "keys were out of order". So, I clicked repair, and it said that it repaired "Book B" (at least I think that's what it said).
So, I restarted my computer, and now it comes to the gray screen with the clear spinning thing as though it is about to load. It sits there a while, and then just shuts off. So, I tried to reset the PRAM and that didn't do anything either.
Problem I now have:
I am now to the point that I am thinking I need to reinstall OSX...as said, I have the 10.2.1 discs that came with it upon purchase, but I know my roommate upgraded me to a newer version. I have lots of documents on here that I don't want to lose (and programs I don't have the discs for) and I plan to choose the "Archive and Install" and "Preserve User and Network Settings" Options.
Questions:
Is this what I should do?
and if so...
Will installing an older version than what I currently have any negative impact on the install or in me keeping my current documents and programs?

DiskWarrior is the only application that "can" fix this problem, but there is no 100% guarantee. You need to get the DW CD & boot from the CD to fix the problem.
Look at these links about DW.
http://supportdb.alsoft.com:591/FMPro?-db=alsoftsupport&-lay=main&-max=15&-forma t=AlsoftSupport-qa.html&-script=counter&-token=182&-Skip=101&-find
http://www.jimarnold.org/blog/2008/10/keys-out-of-order-on-macbook-diskwarrior-t o-the-rescue/
I assume you don't have a backup of your hard drive, or you could just erase the hard drive & copy the backup files to it. Your next investment should be to buy & use an external hard drive for backup. You can get one for about the price + of DW.
 Cheers, Tom

Why reinstalling OSX doesn't work

unfortunately I can not reinstall OSX, please help.
many thanks

Hard to help with no information. We don't read minds, yet.
You cannot reinstall Mavericks because it is no longer available. You can install Yosemite or the original Snow Leopard that came with the computer when it was new (on a small flash drive.) To reinstall Snow Leopard you must first erase the drive. Then update it to: Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.
You may then try re-downloading Mavericks via your Purchases page on the App Store, but no guarantee you will be able to.

I Killed Quick time (going to reinstall OSX and need ac3codec for mac)

Hi,
I killed my quick time. I have a video file I want to play (a project I'm working on with others.) anyway, it has 5.1 audio. The video plays, but no audio. I put the file on the XP and still no audio. I played it on Divx player. It says I'm missing Tag 8192.
So after a quick Google, i get ac3codec for the XP, install... and i get the audio on the XP with the video.
Off to find the codec for the mac...I found a file, i forget where i got it, placed it in the /libary/qucktime. and none of my .avi files will play any more, just a white screen. my .mov files seem to work fine. I remove the codec, and QT is still busted.
In reading the fourms here, it seems Quicktime is part of OSX, so there is no real, uninstall...reinstall thing, is that correct? Unless there is another suggestion, I plan on reinstalling OSX tonight. This should restore QT.
Also, is there a ac3codec type thing for the mac?

Ok, i'm getting really bent. I don't get how these played before and now they don't. I'm still not getting it to work.
Here is the movie format: XVID, 608 x 272, Unknown
I went here to get a codec: http://www.xvidmovies.com/mac/
i down loaded the codec for OSX
I end up with a file called: XVIDDelegate and i put in in the root of the HD\Libary\QuickTime.
Still does not play.
there is an instruction file.
"First you need DivX 5 (http://www.divx.com/divx/mac/). Then, if you are
on MacOS X, drop "XVIDDelegate.component" into /Library/QuickTime, or if
you are on MacOS 9, drop "XVIDDelegatePPC" into your Extensions folder
and restart."
So i go to dvix.com, and it seems i have to pay $20. I'm really confused, maybe its just frustration blinding me. Most of my avi files played, now they don't.
Thoughts?

Reinstalling OSX

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