Repair start up disc without install disc

Lost OS DVD and I need to run disc utility to repair my start up disc. Can I create a start up disc?

Restart with the computer with the Shift key held down; this will quietly run a repair utility. Regardless of whether or not this succeeds, order a replacement DVD.
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Similar Messages

How to restore from Time Machine WITHOUT install discs using a second Mac

It's a question that is asked repeatedly all over the web by Mac users like me that bought in to Time Machine (TM) on the assumption that if their computer died one day it would be a piece of cake to restore from it, only for that day to come and then to be told "ahh, okay the first thing is to get your computers install discs..." (loud crashing sound of world falling around ears).
I've never been able to afford a new Mac and both of my machines were bought second-hand. Neither came with Leopard (both have Tiger and have been upgraded to Leopard via the net). This was never supposed to be a problem as I've been backing up with TM. However it appears that Tiger discs are as much use as an inflatable dart board when it comes to using TM. So I've been faced with the possibility of having to spend £130 (about two hundred Pres Sheets, Yankees) on the Leopard install discs just so that I can have the option of restoring from TM. Bonkers.
However after much nashing of teeth, a very long weekend learning all sorts of things about 'Target Mode', 'Single User Mode', 'Verbose Mode', 'Open Source 9' etc the following solution has worked without the need to go out and buy those over-priced discs...
What you will need:
1 broken Mac requiring restoration
1 second donor Mac running Leopard (or Snow Leopard so long as the broken Mac can run it)
1 firewire cable with the correct fitting at either end to attach both Macs together
1 Time Machine backup
Note: The following is for when you have given up trying to boot from your hard drive. In my case I couldn't boot in to Safe Mode etc. so was forced to format my drive and re-import everything. If you've read this far I'm assuming your at the same point as well and have tried everything else that's out there first.
Also - both my Macs are Power PC's so can't run Snow Leopard, so I can't say 100% this will work with SL (Intel) machines. From what I've read Snow Leopard will work with this procedure too, but if you've found differently please feel free to add your experiences below...
STEP ONE: Format the corrupt Hard Drive or replace with a fresh HDD
*Link the two computers with a firewire.
*If you're replacing your HDD, remove your corrupted hard drive from the 'broken' machine and insert a new one.
*Power up the broken Mac whilst holding down the 'T' key. This will start it up in Target Mode and you'll get a nice firewire symbol floating around that machine's screen.
*Power up the second 'healthy' Mac. This will be our 'donor' machine. When it starts up after a few seconds you will see the hard drive of the broken Mac appear on the donor Mac's desktop.
*Using your donor Mac's 'Disc Utility', format the broken Mac's hard drive (now's the time to partition it etc. if you want to).
STEP TWO: Clone your donor Mac
Your broken Mac is no longer broken and now needs a new OS. But you don't have the discs, right? Well get this... you can clone your donor mac on to your machine, even if they are totally different i.e. a laptop on to a tower.
*Again using Disc Utility, click on your donor Mac's hard drive. The restore tab appears as an option.
*Click on restore and drag the donor Mac's hard drive that contains the operating system in to the Source box.
*Drag the newly formatted hard drive on the broken Mac in to the Destination box.
*Click restore. Your donor Mac's hard drive will now be 'cloned' on to your no-longer-broken Mac. Once this is done, eject the first Mac's hard drive from your donor Mac's desktop. You no longer need the donor Mac.
Ta daa! Your machine now starts up happy and smily again. Time to restore all that stuff that's been sat on your Time Machine drive...
STEP 3: Restore from Time Machine using Migration Assistant
This is the really clever part that prompted me to write this piece in the first place. Time Machine IS accessible without those Leopard install discs you don't have. You need to use something called 'Migration Assistant'.
*Start up your machine as normal and you'll see it is an exact clone of the donor machine. Weird huh?
*Attach your Time Machine hard drive. It will show up as an icon on the desktop and because of it's size, you'll be asked if you want to use it as a Time Machine backup. Err, NO YOU DON'T! Click 'cancel'.
*Open Migration Assistant (if you can't find it just type it in to Finder and click). There are three options, the middle one being to restore from TM or another disc. Yup, you want that one.
*Migration Assistant will now ask you what you want to restore in stages, firstly User Accounts, then folders, Apps etc. It will even import internet settings
And that's you done. Let Migration Assistant do it's thang... altogether I had about 140gb to restore, so it wasn't exactly speedy. This wasn't helped by the fact that my TM hard drive is connected via USB (yes, I know). Just leave it alone and it'll whirr happily away...
Before I go - you don't have an option of when to restore from, and will restore from the last Time Machine save. At least then you should be able to access TM and go 'backwards' if you need to.
Also - for a Mac expert, the above will be up there with 'Spot Goes To The Farm' in terms of complexity. However, for the rest of us the above is only available in fragments all over the net. By far the most common response to 'how do I restore from Time Machine without install discs' is 'you can't'. If I'd found the above information in one place I could have saved a lot of hair pulling and swearing over the last couple of days, so forgive me for sharing this workaround with the rest of the world. Meanwhile your expertise will come in very handy for the inevitable questions that will get posted below, so please feel free to help those people that won't be sure if this solution is the right one for them. I'm no expert, I just want to help people that were stuck in the same situation (and looking at the web, there's a LOT of them).
Hope this is of use to someone, thanks and *good luck*!

Most maintenance and repair, restore and install procedures require the use
of the correct OS X install DVD; be it an original machine-specific restore/install
disc set or a later retail non-specific general install disc set.
By having an unsupported system, perhaps installed via an illegal download or
other file-sharing scheme, where no retail official discs are involved and the
initial upgrade was done by other means outside of the License Agreements,
you are asking us to discuss a matter of illegal installation and use of a product.
There are no legal complete OS X system download upgrades online; only bits
that are update segments to a retail or as-shipped machine's original OS X install.
+{Or an installation where a previous owner had correct retail upgrade discs, &+
+chose to not include them with the re-sale of the computer it was installed in.}+
However, to answer the initial question. To get and use an externally enclosed
hard drive in suitable boot-capable housing, and get a free-running Clone
Utility (download online; often a donation-ware product, runs free) you can
make a bootable backup of everything in your computer to an external HDD.
This is the way to make a complete backup to restore all functions to the computer.
The Time Machine has some limits, in that it can restore only that which it saves.
It does not make a bootable clone of your entire computer system with apps and
your files, to an external drive device. A clone can. And some of the clone utility's
settings can also backup changes to an external drive's system; if that other drive
is attached to the computer correctly.
Carbon Copy Cloner, from Bombich Software; and also SuperDuper, another of
the most known software names you can download and use to clone boot-capable
system backups of your computer's hard disk drive contents, are often cited.
However you resolve the matter of the running OS X system in your computer,
derived from what appears to be questionable means, is part of the initial issue.
Since you do need to be able to fix an existing installation by unmounting the
computer's hard disk drive and run the computer from the other (install disc or
system clone) while it is Unmounted; and use the correct Disk Utility version to
help diagnose and perhaps be able to fix it. You can't use a Tiger version Disk
Utility to fix a Leopard installation, and so on.
So, the situation and replies as far as they can go (since the matter does
constitute an illegal system, if it was arrived at without correct discs) is a
limited one. And file sharing of copied Mac OS X (and other) software is
also considered illegal.
And, one way to get odd malware and unusual stuff, is to get an unauthorized
system upgrade from an illegal source online. You never know what's inside it.
The other reply was not a personal attack; the matter is of legal status and as
you have a product with a questionable system, the answer is to correct it.
And if you want to save everything in your computer, make a clone to a suitable
externally enclosed self-powered boot capable hard disk drive. With older PPC
Macs, that would best be to one with FireWire and the Oxford-type control chips.
However that works out...
Good luck & happy computing!

2007 Intel Imac, installed a new Hdd. Started up with the install disc but it doesn't find my Hdd when asking for a destination volume to install the Mac OS. The Hdd is recognized in system profiler. Any ideas?

2007 Intel Imac, installed a new Hdd. Started up with the install disc but it doesn't find my Hdd when asking for a destination volume to install the Mac OS. The Hdd is recognized in system profiler. Any ideas?

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
The hard drive is not formatted, and it must be formatted in "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" in order to install OS X.
Close the OS X installer, and go to Utilities menu (on the menu bar) > Disk Utility. Then, format your hard drive in "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" as Format > http://pondini.org/OSX/DU1.html Finally, close Disk Utility and install OS X

How to restore new, clean OS without Install Disc ?

I have bought MacBook Air 2nd hand. How to restore new, clean OS without Install Disc ?

You can purchase the Snow Leopard DVD at the Apple Store. It ships as 10.6.3 so you'll need to do a software update to get to 10.6.8.

IMac won't start without install disc

Hi, I'm new to all of this. I tried resetting my admin password using install disc on my iMac as I'd forgotten it. Now iMac won't start without disc. If disc is ejected on restart apple logo flashes between no entry sign and folder with "?" on it. Will start up with install disc in, but then wants me to choose language and install OS. Tried repairing and verifying HD and all seems ok. Tried holding option key and selecting HD on startup, but same outcome - choose language and install OS. How do I get back to normal desk top? Do I have to install OS again? Will I lose data? Please, please help! Thanks.

It should only take a minute or so at most to boot from the DVD.
If your sure you have the correct Install Disk for that iMac, I'd start over. Then if it still doesn't work then perhaps a trip to your Local Apple Service Provider with the Disk or Disk and iMac is in order.
http://www.apple.com/buy/locator/service/
Alternately using the correct Disk as per the following article, see if you can run the Apple Hardware Test? > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1509

How to install Lion OSX on new SSD without install disc

TL;DR
I need a way to install Lion on a new SSD without an install disc, and how to format it without a Mac.
Hello, just yesterday I opened up my MBP 13" Mid-2010 running 10.7.(4/5) (Not sure which it is, but I think it is 10.7.5) and the first thing I saw was Skype tring to sign in. It looked fine, untill I took a second look and I heard a strange clicking noise coming from my computer. The Sykpe signin page said "Disc I/O error" or something like that. I instantly knew there was something wrong with my hard drive. Tried rebooting, grey screen, strange clicking noise like most people with hard drive failure. I was devistated. It has worked minutes ago, then my brother gets off, I open it up,and the hard drive has failed. After I got over the initial shock, I googled "hard drive replacement" after searching for a while, I noticed most sites just showed how to UPGRADE your hard drive, cloning it and all. Well, heres my main problem. I had no time to clone. Luckily, I had started backup up a month ago, and all my data is safe on my external hard drive, but this is only a time machine backup. No OS. Now, most people can just put in their install disk and voila! But, I, sadly, do not have my install disk. No idea where it went, I just don't have it. So, I was wondering if there was any possible way to make a bootable USB or disk without having acsess to a Mac, or having to buy a disc. I bought Lion, and I'm hoping that there is a way to download this and put it on a USB, then boot my computer from it. Now, my second problem is formatting. I have no idea how to format my SSD, let alone without a Mac. If there is some way to format an SSD so that it will work with a MacBook Pro, that would be great.on a PC
IMPORTANT: No, I don't have ANY install discs, the only one I had, for Snow Leopard, is gone. And no, I don't have access to ANY Macs to format the SSD. Finally, I would really love to be able to do this all cost-free, as I have already purchased the Lion, and dont feel like buying a disc for it again.

Yes. See below:
Drive Erase for Lion/Mountain Lion
1. Wait until the Main Menu appears. This could take quite some time because you are doing all of this over an Internet connection. You should use Ethernet if possible. It's much faster than wireless. Select Disk Utility from the Main Menu and click on the Continue button.
2. After DU loads select the SSD main entry (mfgr.'s ID and size.) Click on the Partition tab in DU's main window. Select One partition from the dropdown menu under Partition Scheme.
3. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
After the above has completed quit DU and return to the Main Menu. Click on the Install/Reinstall OS X option then click on the Continue button.
You should be all set if there are no glitches.

How to reinstall snow leopard without install disc

Hi guys,
I recently took my computer in to an authorised repairer (MyMac Flinders St., Melbourne Australia) to get my LCD screen replaced under warranty, as it had developed a yellow line running down the right hand side of the screen. Whilst it was in the shop I decided to have a new 1TB hard drive put in, and get the OS updated to Snow Leopard (they loaded it up, I did not get install disc). Since then, I have had massive problems with my computer. The computer sometimes would not turn on, turn off, or simply freeze. I took the computer back in and was told it was a software issue, so they did a format reinstall, and told me the problem was fixed. Within hours of getting the computer home, the same problem occurred. I took it back, was told the same thing, and with the same end result (computer not working). I then took it into the Apple store in Chadstone Melbourne, and was told it was the hard drive that was at fault, and not the software at all. I then tried to get the hard drive replaced through MyMac Flinders St., as I now thought it might be the hard drive that was the problem, and with great reluctance and many minutes on the phone they finally agreed. I had big problems getting this agreed to, because my computer was now out of warranty. So, I guess this is a two part question:
1. I've got the computer back now, with the new hard drive, and it seemed to be working fine, but i've since discovered my phone was not syncing up correctly, and was told by Apple support to check my iSync.. to which I was greeted with the error message "iSync can't be launched iSync Manager not available" to which Apple support gave me a step by step instruction download to fix:
In the Finder, choose Utilities from the Go menu.
Open Terminal.
In the Terminal window that opens, type or paste the following command on a single line:
/System/Library/Frameworks/SyncServices.framework/Versions/A/Resources/resetsync .pl full
Press Return.
When the operation is complete quit Terminal
The only problem being.. the Apple Terminal was missing. The program logo was there, but unable to launch. I figure my best bet will be to do a reinstall of Snow Leopard, but I am unsure of how to do this without the physical install disc. I have a backup on an external hard drive.
2. With my computer being now out of AppleCare warranty, I would like to know my options if this problem is unfixable, as my computer was fine before I took it into the authorised repairer, and also in warranty. I don't think I should wear the financial costs of replacing this computer.
Your help would be greatly appreciated.
Steve

I assumed it was normal to load up an OS without giving the disk..
Absolutely not.
Are you 100% sure they have acted outside the law here?
If you are absolutely sure that they didn't give you a disk, then yes, what they have done is essentially software piracy. Of course, it could simply be construed as a mistake. It is not unusual, however careless it might be, for repair folks to assume you were running SL when they reinstall your system.
However, if you specifically asked them to upgrade you to SL, as it sounds like you did, and they charged you a fee for that upgrade but didn't give you a disk, then that's theft pure and simple.
Oh, and that link you sent for AHT.. It's telling me I'd have to have the install disk to run the hardware test. Is there a way to do it without the disk?
It requires one of the gray disks that shipped with your machine, not the retail SL disk that you don't have. If you have misplaced those disks, then you're a bit hosed... Apple will replace the gray disks for a small fee, and that's the only way you're going to get AHT.
Newer machines apparently have a small hidden partition with the AHT boot system on it, but if your machine didn't ship with SL, I don't think it'll be one of those.

Restore without install disc?

Hi so I'm wondering if there is a way to wipe my macbook clean and put it back to factory settings without an operation system install disc? I'm trying to make it run smoother and clean out the memory. I only have snow leopard on my computer and it never came with an installation disc, the snow leopard set up was an automatic set up procedure when I got the computer so i didn't have to insert any disc. Where ever I look you need the installation disk if you want to restore you computer for earlier mac versions. (i have version 10.6.8). My mothers computer didn't come with one either as it was also an automatic set up. WHAT DO I DO?! I don't have the money for an installation disc
Also.....there is not enough memory on my computer to install Mavericks to avoid needing installation discs.

In order to restore, repair, replace, reformat, and reassign ownership in
certain vintage machines, and also after upgrading past the DVD install
era, these machines require the Snow Leopard OS X 10.6 retail install
disc -- unless they shipped with a machine series specific gray label one.
In which case, a replacement of the correct gray label install-restore
disc would need to be purchased (or perhaps a retail one, depending on
vintage of the computer in question, and what it shipped with) from Apple
and the use of the computer Serial Number is a necessary identifier to
help you communicate the model build year to the Apple people when
the correct replacement or latest Snow Leopard DVD installer is bought.
There is no download of this, that can correctly boot the computer, and
perform the reset of the computer as needed if it is sold or traded away;
the software should be included with the computer, as an essential part.
Same as the power adapter, & electricity to run it. The DVD is also a tool.
A machine build specific Apple Hardware Test is included in the original
DVD software kit for the computer, so a replacement Snow Leopard 10.6
install disc may not include that; it would be on a gray label original disc.
So the best bet is to contact Apple (see online store in your region, if not
in the US, or contact a local Apple Store if you have one within reason)
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard
and order the Snow Leopard DVD. The cost is about $20. plus shipping.
Also, to correctly and properly identify the computer build model is an
important aspect of using database information to update or upgrade
a computer or any complex electronic device that runs software.
PS: the computer may require other hardware upgrade prior to being
able to run Mavericks OS X 10.9.4 adequately; a larger hard drive
with more storage and work capacity; and more chip RAM installed.
Good luck & happy computing!
edited

Erase hard drive without install disc

I had to replace my MacBook Pro for a variety of reasons, one of which was that the optical drive was shot. Now I want to erase the HD. How do I do this without the install disc?

As you are running OS X Mountain Lion, you can use OS X Recovery to erase the hard drive. Read > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718
Hold Command and R keys while your MacBook Pro is starting to start in OS X Recovery, and open Disk Utility. Then, choose Macintosh HD in the sidebar, go to Erase tab and erase the drive. If you want, you can choose one of the security options if you don't want that your files could be recovered

Disk Utility repair and Mac OS X Install Disc not at hand

Help needed!
If i click "verify" in Disk Utility, i get "The volume Macintosh HD needs to be repaired." as answer. However "repair" needs to unmount the volume which is not possible because it's the system/boot partition.
Currently, I dont have access to my mac os x install disc (DVD), which could be used to boot from and run disk utility. The dvd is locked away in my office in another country.
Is there a way around this? Either by running disk utility's repair function while the system is booted or else by manually creating a boot cd/live cd?

Yes, possibly.
Boot into single-user mode. After startup is completed you will be in command line mode and should see a prompt with a cursor positioned after it. At the prompt enter the following then press RETURN:
/sbin/fsck -fy
If you receive a message that says "*** FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED ***" then re-run the command until you receive a message that says "** The volume (nameofvolume) appears to be OK." If you re-run the command more than seven times and do not get the OK message, then the drive cannot be repaired this way.
If you were successful then enter:
reboot
and press RETURN to restart the computer.

Strange icon-circle w/ diagonal line-starting up w/ Panther install disc 1

I just installed a new hard drive in my Powerbook G4; I used the Tiger upgrade disc to format the hard drive using disc utility. This proceeded without issue. Then, I restarted, ejected the Tiger upgrade disc and inserted Panther install disc 1; first I see the Apple logo, then all I see is a strange icon that looks like the universal icon for "do not" as used with traffic signs (a circle with a diagonal line) and that is it! What does this mean?

Hi Gary!
"...I used the Tiger upgrade disc to format the hard drive..."
May I ask why you used the Tiger disc, and not a Panther disc?
"I restarted with the original install disc containing 10.3.5 and the OS install worked fine,..."
Did you reformat the HD with this installation?
ali b

Old IMAC with 10.5.6 OSX. Forgot Administrator password. Started up from OSX install disc 1 and selected password reset from utilies in Installer. But HD icon doesn't show up. (Only install disc and admin root available:no good). What can I do?

Old IMAC with 10.5.6 OSX. Forgot Administrator password (which I had already changed.) Followed instructions as per http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1274
Started up from the original OSX install disc 1 and selected "Password reset" from "utilies" in Installer. But HD icon doesn't show up. (Only install disc and admin root available:no good as the support website underscores: Important: Do not select "System Administrator (root)". This is actually the root user. You should not confuse it with a normal administrator account.).
What can I do?
Thanks for your suggestions. Antonio

Not familiar with that version of OS X but try using Terminal and type in resetpassword. If that brings up a password reset screen is your original username shown?

Installing Leopard without install disc?

Hello,
I have a very old imac, (G4,1.25GHz,768MB) running 10.5.8 Leopard.
I've been given a newer, but still old imac with better specs (G5, 2GHz,1.5GB) running 10.4.11 Tiger.
Is there a way to get the os x Leopard to the other imac without the install disc?
Thanks.

How to use FireWire target disk mode...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_Disk_Mode
Put the G5 in T mode, use Carbon Copy Cloner or such to clone the G4's drive to the G5.

How can I nuke HD without install disc?

I have an iMac (2006) that I will be recycling and I need to wipe the hard drive. Problem is I have no install discs anymore. Is there some way to do this?
Thanks

Yes, it protects you from wiping your startup drive accidentally. In any event if you sell the computer you need to provide the new owner with the installation discs that came with the computer. Among other things they contain the Apple Hardware Test for that model. Once you have the discs you can prep the computer for sale:
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.

Uninstall disc 1 & install disc 2

I Installed disc 1 for windows instead of disc 2 for windows 7. How do I uninstall programs for windows only, and how do I delete the serial number befor I uninstall. I assume if I don't delete the serial number that I entered when I installed disc 1 that I will not be able to install disc 2 with the serial number on my laptop. PLS HELP. Thank you
RoseMarie

If you purchased Photoshop Elements, you don't need to uninstall it -- PSE is a 32-bit program only, and Disc1 is used for installing on all flavors of Windows.
Dis2 is the 64-bit Premiere Elements.
Ken

Repair start up disc without install disc

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