Restoring/Formatting

It wants me to restore/format an i-pod to work with windows OS, will this wipe the data on the device?

Take a look at this link, http://support.apple.com/kb/hT1329

Similar Messages

Restoring/Formatting my ipod classic?

After replacing my ipod classic for a third time, the sales representative, to test my ipod, plugged it into his mac. The ipod began to optimize itself for a mac. he assured me this was no problem, and so I went on my way. When I home, I plug in the ipod and it sayed that the ipod had to be restored in order to work with windows. When i hit restore, however, it tells me that itunes was unable to complete my request and that I was unauthorized to download the software. What's going on, and how can I get around this?

Fair enough. The issue is that the ipod is unable to be restored/formatted. When I plug in the ipod and click restore, the message always states that I'm not allowed to access the software that the ipod requires to download; I've tried on 3 different computers and they all get the same message. It's possible that I may have to plug it into a mac to restore it, as it's been optimized for a mac, however I feel that that's just going to cause a repeat of the same issue. This is pretty much all the info I can give, unless there's something I'm not thinking of. Thanks for taking the time to try and help me out, by the way!

Backup, restoring, formatting info

Some starting out information
I created this post to inform others of the various and essential ways to restore your machine, data, create backups and so forth.
10.6 and 10.7 are mostly covered with information current as of Oct 4, 2011 and subject to human error and change.
Only conduct any actions here if your prepared to take action on your own, the risk is yours, if not please seek assistance of qualified professional data recovery experts. Any product or site mention/link is purely for assistance purposes, doesn't represent a endorsement by me or Apple. Legalese blah.
Having many separate hardware copies
...of your data is essential, as the OS and programs can be replaced, but not your personal files (normally kept in your User folders of Music, Documents, Pictures, Sites, Movies etc.)
Apple currently doesn't supply much in the way of data recovery services, it's on YOU to make sure you have many copies of your personal data and perhaps many ways to restore your machine to a functional state.
There are three basic primary forms of backup and restore methods used on Macs, no one way is perfect, so a combination of ways may be better suited for your needs, but redundancy of methods and backups is the key.
1: TimeMachine Drive - which is a rotating in time image of your boot drive contents. If you remove something from your boot drive, eventually it will be removed from TimeMachine drive as well. TimeMachine drives cannot be booted from and can only restore. This is a very good basic option for most new to computers users as it's all automated (as long as the drive is connected) and gives "undelete" ability. It's not a complete solution and that's what the next two options are for.
Please, for your own sake if you don't have any backup plan or don't undestand geek speak, at least connect a new external drive and let automatic TimeMachine popup do it's buisness.
From here on out everything TimeMachine, including restoring from a TM drive, I point you to our resident expert Pondini and his web page.
http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/Home.html
The steps here below out are a bit more advanced, but if you master them you will be in control of your computer and can save yourself.
2: Data / Storage Drives - these are drives that basically act as holders of data you wish to store, they don't do anything but hold your personal files in a permanent fashion unless you remove it. These are what one would use if their primary boot drive on their computer is getting full, since TimeMachine is a self rotating image, that can't be used for permanent or extra storage space. And clones are bootable images of the current boot drive, so they are subject to change as well. For all intensive purposes if you want to make sure your data doesn't disappear, to hold your personal data while your wiping your entire boot drive of all data and restoring OS X completely (aka "fresh install method"), then you use plain jane storage drives and maintain two separate hardware backups of your data at all times.
3: Hold the option key bootable Clone drive- these are (almost) exact images of your OS X partition and it's contents. The advantage with clones is in case your internal drive fails to boot, either for software or hardware reasons, you can boot from a clone, perform data recovery, drive repair and most of all get online, get help, and use your computer like almost nothing happened. In other words your life doesn't immediately stop to address a failed computer, you can in most cases continue working and resolve the issue later, or in the case of a software issue, just reverse clone form the latest clone image.
You can keep "states" of your OS X partition in a more permanent fashion unlike TimeMachine. For instance if your considering on upgrading to a new OS X version and not sure it will work, you can fall back onto the previous version of OS X at any time provided you made a clone first. Think of a clone as moving all your software to another piece of hardware and everything is almost exactly as it was before. Clones are the preferred method to upgrading to a new internal drive of perhaps larger capacity or speed.
Because of differences in computer hardware, you can't use a clone created on one Mac on another type of Mac. Only the same exact model can be perhaps be imaged to other Mac's. If your thinking this would be a nice way to pirate software, forget it. Each Mac has a ID associated with along with other identifying information.
Cloning software most Mac users use is Carbon Copy Cloner, (first and totally free, donations accepted) or Superduper (part free, part payware)
Drive size for clones: equal too or larger than the drive you intend to clone. If your going to upgrade the internal drive, then naturally one that matches or exceeds the new internal drive so you can use it as a clone afterwards. Best to clone to a larger drive than the original, as your data could exceed the smaller capacity drive.
Drive formatting
Drive formatting is IMPORTANT and needs to be performed before a drive is used for the first time. Doesn't matter what it's used for a wrongly formatted drive can cause trouble later down the road if you don't understand drive maps and formatting. Apple's Disk Utility is the program used to format drives on a Mac, you can find it in the Applications/Utilities folder.
Partition Maps
These are roadmap instructions to how many partitions (separate areas on the physical drive) there are and what format they contain. Unfortunately not all operating systems can read others partition map schemes. So when one gets a NEW drive, it has to be completely erased and formatted to meet the partition map needs of the operating system and/or firmware used on the computer.
For instance Mac's need a GUID Partition Table (GPT), Windows uses a Master Boot Record (MBR), Linux uses either and reads anything.
Mac's can use a MBR as it can read some Windows drive formats, trouble is you won't be able to boot from any partition or drive with OS X on it without a GPT.
Since most drives come from the factory formatted MBR with a Fat32 (MSDOS) drive format, in order to use the drive on a Mac you need to format it GPT and OS X Extended (Journaled) (aka HFS+) in Apple's Disk Utility before using it.
If you place data on the drive and then realize it's the wrong partition map scheme and need to change it, then all the data off all the partitions on the entire drive must be removed first.
If you place data on a partition and you need to format it differently, you need to get the data off only that partition your going to reformat.
Current drive formats - there are many different formats how data is placed on the drive, and a drive can have many partitions each with a different format!
Windows currently uses:
NTFS - used primarily for the operating system, but external drives can also be formatted this way
FAT32 (MSDOS in Apple's Disk Utility) this is a universal format between PC's and Macs, but limited to 4GB file sizes.
exFAT a new patented pending format both Mac's and PC's can currently read/write, it can have files in excesses of 4GB in size.
   (if you have Windows XP, a free exFAT download from Microsoft is available, just search for it)
Mac's OS X currently uses:
HFS+ (OS X Extended Journaled) required to boot OS X. All new Mac's come formatted this way, and perhaps some drive sold at Apple.
FAT32 (MSDOS) file exchange with PC's to 4GB sized files. Most drives sold in regular computer and office stores come formatted this way for PC's. (with a MBR)
exFAT - file exchange with PC's over 4GB sized files (Mac's pre 10.6.5 won't have exFAT)
Linux currently uses EXT4 for itself, can read/write anything.
Software called MacDrive installed on a Windows machine can read Apple's HFS formats.
Software like Tuxera, 3GNTFS, Paragon, allows Mac's to read the NTFS format of Windows drives.
It is PREFERRED not to rely upon third party software for reading drive formats, rather use a interchangeable format like FAT32 or exFAT instead.
When formatted a drive for both PC and Mac use, it's perhaps easier to format it on Windows into FAT32 or exFAT first, so you get the MBR, then confirm it works, then on the Mac before using it to transfer vital data over long distances.
Apple's Disk Utility allows one more partition to be carved out from the bottom clear existing OS X partition, you will learn all about this if you going the BootCamp route with Windows. I don't advise messing around unless you made backups of your data first.
When Bootcamp creates the Window partition it formats it MSDOS (FAT32) which you have to change to NTFS on the Windows installer disk before you can install Windows. Make sure you printout and read the Bootcamp instructions and have the Mac hardware drivers on hand.
If your machine keeps booting into Windows and gets stuck, simply hold the option key upon boot to select OS X and set OS X as the start up disk in System Preferences.
https://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/
Restoring OS X 10.5 10.6. 10.7 - simple overwrite OS method
Ok, you got a OS X problem and you want to just reinstall OS X (and bundled Apple programs) without touching anything else, not your files or most third party programs.
1: Backup your user files via drag and drop methods of your User folders (Music, Documents, Pictures, Movies etc) regardless to a data drive as outlined above, as the problem you may be having could be more serious, like a hardware or firmware issue. Disconnect all other drives.
2: For Snow Leopard and Leopard - stick the original grey disk (free iLife included) into the computer and reboot holding down c, simply reinstall OS X (archive and install for Leopard)
If you upgraded Snow Leopard over Leopard, then your going to be using the white Snow Leopard Retail disks (no free iLife) and it naturally won't replace iLife, just OS X.
3: For Lion, you need a reliable, fast Internet connection. Hold Command r and boot into Lion Recovery, get online and simply reinstall Lion. You'll have to use the AppStore to download iLife.
4: Once you have done this and rebooted normally, immediately Software Update under the Apple Menu so your Apple programs match your files (like iPhoto Library and iTunes Library that were changed with later versions)
5: Any programs you bought via App Store can be redownloaded by holding option key and clicking on Purchases.
Note: if you have installed root level system third party software, it may not function anymore, simply reinstall it from original sources.
Restoring OS X - 10.6 "fresh install method"
1: Backup your user files via drag and drop methods of your User folders (Music, Documents, Pictures, Movies etc) regardless to a data drive as outlined above, as the problem you may be having could be more serious, like a hardware or firmware issue. Disconnect all other drives.
2: Hold c and boot off the 10.6 grey disks (or if you want the free iLife on the 10.5 disks, then that first, then upgrade to 10.6) and use Disk Utility under the Utilities menu to erase the internal drive media.
Select media on left, click partition, click big box, select 1 partition, option GUID, format OS X Extended (journ) give it the same drive name as before, (to match pathnames used in your iTunes and other files to locate where music is stored on the drive) Format OS X Extended journaled click Apply and confirm.
Optional for privacy/security or for all new drives for better data retention. Select the drive, erase tab, erase>Security option Zero all data. Takes about a hour per 500GB.
3: When finished quit and install OS X Snow Leopard and reboot and see the familiar Welcome to Mac animation. (if you shutdown after installing, this makes a nice way to treat the new owner of your used Mac and lets then go through the setup process.)
4: When creating the new user, use the same user name as before, this again, like the same drive name, matches the pathnames in files to locate other files on your drive when you return your files. Use a different password naturally.
5: Next you install all your programs next, the more the better as they will run faster on hard drives if they are placed further near the front of the drive.
6: Lastly hook up your external data drive and move just the contents of your Music, Document, Pictures etc folders right back into their respective new folders on the new configuration.
Note: If you used this method to downgrade from Lion. It's possible your iPhoto and iTunes Library (and other Apple programs) may have altered their respective files. You need to be careful replacing the old copies with the newer altered versions. You can right or option click on iPhoto Library to "show package contents" to find the folder with the originals and re-import into the older iPhoto version format. For iTunes, the originals are in the folder, if you have copy of the older iTunes Library files, then replace with those. Ideally it's best to first make a Snow clone first BEFORE messing with Lion.
Note: Only a Mac that had Snow previously can be downgraded from Lion back to Snow, not a Mac that had Lion from the factory (some under certain circumstances)
Restoring OS X - 10.7 - wipe and install
1: Backup your user files via drag and drop methods of your User folders (Music, Documents, Pictures, Movies etc) regardless to a data drive as outlined above, as the problem you may be having could be more serious, like a hardware or firmware issue. Disconnect all other drives.
2: You have two options depending upon if your Mac had Snow Leopard previously. If it did, then you can go the above Restoring OS X - 10.6 "fresh install method" and then make a clone, then update to Lion via the AppStore with a very strong, reliable, fast Internet connection.
3: Your Mac came with OS X Lion, then you hold Command R and boot into Lion Recovery Partition, get online, use Disk Utility to Erase (and Zero if needed) the Lion OS X Partition, then quit and simply reinstall Lion from the menu.
Restoring OS X 10.7 (new drive, total reformat method)
1: Backup your user files via drag and drop methods of your User folders (Music, Documents, Pictures, Movies etc) regardless to a data drive as outlined above, as the problem you may be having could be more serious, like a hardware or firmware issue. Disconnect all other drives.
This method is for restoring Lion drive completely, including restoring a Lion Recovery Partition and reestablishing a GUID Partition Table (GPT) on the drive for machines that don't have Lion Internet Recovery. This could occur if the hard drive was replaced, the GPT got messed up, more than 2 multi-partition machines or whatever.
As you know Apple only allows one more partition to be created using Disk Utility, any more partitions on the drive require a complete GPT reformat.
2: You need to have a copy of your Lion Recovery Partition on a 1GB or larger USB stick created first using the Lion Recovery Disk Assistant software from Apple that copies YOUR PRESENT Lion Recovery Partition. So that means you need to have this made as soon as possible in advance or your going to have to buy the $69 Lion USB installer if you can't do the 10.6 to 10.7 upgrade method.
Lion Recovery Disk Assistant.
You must first FORMAT the USB GPT and OSX Extended (journ) in Disk Utility before using the Lion Recovery Disk Assistant.
https://support.apple.com/kb/dl1433
3: Stick the USB in, reboot the machine holding option key and get online, use Disk Utility to format the drive
Select media on left, click partition, click big box, select 1 partition, option GUID, format OS X Extended (journ) give it the same drive name as before, (to match pathnames used in your iTunes and other files to locate where music is stored on the drive) Format OS X Extended journaled click Apply and confirm.
Optional for privacy/security or for all new drives for better data retention. Select the drive, erase tab, erase>Security option Zero all data. Takes about a hour per 500GB.
4: Formatting the drive like this will rebuilt the GPT if it was broken. Reinstall Lion from the menu and it will install Lion Recovery Partition and Lion at the same time.
If you have one of those new Mac's with Lion Internet Recovery, it's built into the firmware, so after a new drive install, rebooting should start the whole process automatically.
5: If you have a clone of OS X Lion previously made, then simply option boot from it and reverse clone it onto the OS X Lion Partition. When you clone 10.7 (and only 10.7) it just clones the OS X Lion Partition. Not the Lion Recovery Partition. That's why you need to reinstall the Lion Recovery Partition first (steps 1-4 above) then replace the Lion configuration with the previous cloned version.. You can choose to reverse clone the Lion Partition only, the machine will work without Lion Recovery Partition, but you may have need of it one day.
6: If you don't have a previous clone of your 10.7 OS X partition then when creating the new user, use the same user name as before, this again, like the same drive name as before, matches the pathnames in files iTunes uses to locate other files on your drive when you return your files. Use a different password naturally.
7: Next you install all your programs next, the more the better as they will run faster on hard drives if they are placed further near the front of the drive.
8: Lastly hook up your external data drive and move just the contents of your Music, Document, Pictures, Movies etc folders right back into their respective new folders on the new configuration.
Click on a picture to enlarge, drag and drop onto your desktop for keeping a copy, or use Command Shift 4 to take a picture.

Troubleshooting if a OS X reinstall is necessary
When one is considering a OS X reinstall, it usually means they can't find a specific cause for a issue or series of issues or instability and thereby think that just reinstalling everything will resolve the problem which it will most certainly could, but may not be required to expend that much effort. Not only that, it may not work in your case at all if your problem is in your very own files.
So starting from easiest to hardest you should try steps in this order, save yourself a lot of work and perhaps cure a minor issue quickly.
1: Disconnect backups, backup files if possible
Disconnect any auto-mated backup, including TimeMachine, auto-updating clones, auto-backup software during this period. If you haven't made a backup of your data (like Music, Documents, Pictures, Movies) now is a good time to do that to a external data / storage drive. Disconnect all drives/devices to prevent accidents or other issues from interfering with your judgement. Return to as close to "out of the box" as reasonably possible, with few wireless devices as possible. Always keep a wired mouse and keyboard handy.
1.5 Update your web browser plugins
Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight epecially. For Lion only, Java is now a external plugin. Search "Apple support" for the Java plugin.
2: Perform a Safe Mode boot
Simply hold down the Shift Key while booting, this will disable kernel extension files that programs install upon booting and only use the ones Apple uses. This is especially effective when you boot a Mac and it results in a Grey Screen or "you must restart" (aka "Kernel Panic")
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT1455
What you do after this is update your third party programs (or uninstall them using their uninstaller to remove their kext file-s from your System/Library/Extensions folder) that have are perhaps causing your issues.
Problems with kext files usually occurs after a OS X Software Update, so if your in a mission critical environment, it's perhaps best to tread slowly and not update all your machines at one time.
3: Reset the SMC and PRAM
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379
4: Grey Screen, Black/Blue Screen, Flashing question mark issues etc.
If you do a Google search: apple support + [issue above] you can easily locate a support document Apple publishes themselves for you to read. Apple updates these support documents and sometimes discontinues some, some are old. Check the revision date to see if it pertains to your system. I could link to them, but because they change it's not as effective as doing the search and determining for yourself.
Ask for help on the forums, be detailed about your issue, the hardware you have, the operating system and the programs you use. We can't see your machine, we only know what you tell us.
5: Check with Disk Utility next
Run the following: In your Applications/Utilities folder Disk Utility > Repair Permissions (ignore the long list, things were changed permanently) also Verify Disk (if this gives a issue, it's a cause for concern, please mention it in the ASC forums for assistance).
If you have a issue after Verifying Disk, you need to (for 10.5 and 10.6 users) hold c and reboot off the 10.5/10.6 OS X installer disk and look for Disk Utilities and Run > Repair Disk (this can only be done while booted off another medium, why it's only "Verify Disk" before).
Once can also run Disk Utiliy > Reapir Permissions from the OS X install disk or Lion Recovery Partition as well if OS X won't boot.
If your on 10.7 Lion as there are no disks, hold command and r keys to boot into the Lion Recovery Partition and perform the same steps with Disk Utility on the OS X Lion Partition. (FYI: a partition is a separate area on the physical drive that appears to the computer to be another one, thus allowing multiple operating systems to be booted from the same drive.)
Hopefully that will resolve your issue, if not or even if it does, bring it to the forums for advice as it could be a sign of further trouble like a failing drive and you will need advice what to do next.
6: Check with OnyX
OnyX is a excellent part of the troubleshooting process, it's initial checks need to be performed and any warning in that regard brought to the forums for advice before proceeding any further.
Your next step is sort of a "nuke the site from orbit" approach by deleting all the computers cache files, which can become corrupt and cause instability. Since one really can't tell which one is causing the issue, the entire lot is allowed to be rebuilt in one massive stroke. So run ALL the cleaning and maintenance steps, you can cancel the in between reboots, but you MUST reboot when finished using OnyX or the cache files are not rebuilt. After rebooting your computer is going to act a little slow, but later return to optimum performance and hopefully your issue would have been resolved.
OnyX doesn't hurt your machine or files or programs, just allows the operating system to rebuild the cache files and perform maintenance tasks. It's not specifically a performance technique, although cleaning and resetting the caches with a reboot can increase the computers performance because whatever was causing the slowdown in the caches is now removed. You don't need to perform OnyX as part of any ritual or routine, OS X is pretty good at handling it's own maintenance.
OnyX also has the ability to check for corrupt preference files under the Verify tab. Corrupt .plist files problems exhibits themselves as programs failing to remember your settings or refusing to launch or hanging. Run the check to show only the corrupt ones and ask on the forums how to proceed to remove those .plist files usually in your Users/Library/Preferences folder (now hidden in Lion) but some are also located in System as well. So it's best to ask or you can use the free Easy Find to locate and delete the file, reboot and relaunch the program, the .plist file gets rebuilt. Again, be careful here as you can remove a essential system file if your not careful.
OnyX can be downloaded free from MacUpdate.com or visiting the Titanium Free developers site, be sure to use the version matched to your operating system version.
(Note: AppleJack is a another troubleshooting program, except it runs in Single User mode, aka a command line, has to be preinstalled ahead of time before problems occur. Benefit here is by holding Command S, you get to run it BEFORE the operating system loads. Works excellently for 10.5/10.6, but it hasn't been updated yet for Lion 10.7, although reports say everything works except the repair permissions portions. It can be found on MacUpdate.com and on Sourceforge.)
7: Create a new user account
2: Create a new user in the System Preferences > Accounts and log into it and use it for awhile, does your problem continue? If not, it means that your issue is localized to the other user account, if you can't find the problem/cure specifically, then consider copying the contents of (Music, Documents, Pictures, Movies, not Library) from the problem user account to the new user account via the ~/Users/Shared folder.
When your personal files are in the new user and you are using them there, does your problems return? If so, it's likely something wrong with your files themselves, which you will have to narrow down to the specific one.
8: Application reinstall
3: If your problem continues even in the other user and isn't a user file issue, then that usually means it's a something more global, works across multiple user account's. This could mean a bad program in the Applications folder, or one that starts it's self automatically (look in your log in items in System Preferences > Accounts)
Your next step would be to reinstall all your third party programs, the overwrite may clear the issue up. If you have purchased iLife separately (verses the free version that comes with a new Mac) , reinstall it from disk or redownload it from the AppStore by holding option key and clicking on Purchases. Overwriting the program doesn't overwrite your files, but may overwrite the settings you made in those programs. Also be sure to test the programs in both users.
Note: Some bundled Apple programs can be reinstalled by simply running the installer on the OS X disks that came with the computer. However some like PhotoBooth can only be resinstalled along with the entire OS, unless your willing to extract them manually using the program called Pacifist from CharlesSoft. You likely can avoid having to do that by following the next step.
9: Data recovery drive
If your at this stage, and before you stick that disk into the computer or hold command r to boot into Lion Recovery Partition, you likely need to consider making a "OS X Data Recovery Drive".
This is for those of you haven't managed to get a copy of your files off the computer yet. It can get very hairy after this point if you don't have a backup of your data. Basically your going to use a new external drive to format and install OS X onto, allowing you to hold option and boot off of it to attempt to get a copy of your files off first before doing anything.
So review the steps earlier and the pictures provided to do that first. Having your data safe is of the utmost importance, TimeMachine isn't always best course, have your files easily accessible on a normal storage drive so you can hook it up to any computer (Mac, Windows or Linux).
If you can't create or make a data recovery drive, don't have a backup of any kind, or not confident in proceeding PLEASE seek the assistance of qualified data recovery professionals as everything can be replaced except your data. A few hundred dollars (or even a few thousand for platter level dissection) is nothing compared to losing several thousand man hours of files, or songs or pictures you took on vacation.
10: OS X overwrite
What this does is overwrites the present OS X install with the version that is on the install disks or gotten via the Lion Recovery Partition. Again, make sure you have a copy of your data (Music, Doc's, Pictures and Movies) off the computer before proceeding or make a OS X Data Recovery Drive to assist you if OS X won't boot or run correctly to do it normally.
Key is to match the OS X version. 10.5 disks with installed 10.5, 10.6 disks with 10.6 installed, 10.7 Lion Recovery with 10.7 installed. After using the disks, you need to immediately Software Update to get to the current version, unless the issue you are having occurred after a Software Update, then perhaps it's best to get online and ask questions before applying the updates.
OS X overwrites the installed version with the one you have, it doesn't touch your files or third party programs, and may or may not (depending upon what's on the disk) also overwrite your free iLife bundled on the disks.
Note that your going to perhaps get a older version of iLife than the one installed as it could have been updated via Software Update, so unless a Software update is causing your initial issue, you need to run Software Update immediately afterwards to update iLife (and other Apple bundled programs) to the current version.
The methods for OS X overwrite are mentioned in the above:
        Restoring OS X 10.5 10.6. 10.7 - simple overwrite OS method
11: OS X "fresh install"
The most drastic of all steps, this method first mandates that you have a copy of your files off the boot drive first (to a storage drive, not TimeMachine!), because everything is going bye bye. And the reason you don't want to depend upon TimeMachine is because whatever screwed up your machine has likely also screwed up TimeMachine, not mention the restore problems that occur (especially if your reverting to a earlier OS X version)
TimeMachine is a rotating image backup of your boot drive, it can become totally corrupt eventually from a prolonged issue or even malware as it deletes the old as it makes more recent copies of the new. Apple is always thinking forward and not considering your needs to perhaps revert to a earlier OS X version so restoring TM files to a earleir OS X version likely won't work all that well or won't be allowed. So TM isn't always the best solution for a fresh install. If you can TM restore and it works, by then all means do so, as it's a lot less work than a "fresh install". Use the easy method if you can, but keep your options open in case the hard method is the only way to get what you need done.
The object with a "fresh install" is your only going to save your user files (Music, Documents, Pictures, Movies) and the rest, including the operating system, programs etc. will be erased, the boot drive reformatted, the OS installed and updated, third party programs installed from fresh sources and finally (in case of malware a anti-virus scan on the backup files) returning the files back to the computer.
Instructions for 10.5/10.6 and 10.7 can be found above labeled
    Restoring OS X - 10.6 "fresh install method"
    Restoring OS X - 10.7 - wipe and install
The Restoring OS X 10.7 (new drive, total reformat method) is for the rare cases of a drive replacement, corrupt GPT or a major partition reformatting of the drive where all partitions, including the hidden Lion Recovery Partition, has to be rebuilt/replaced.

IPod won't restore, format, or update

I received this iPod as a Christmas gift 2005. I received another one Christmas 2006 so I gave the first one to my 12 year old daughter (right after warranty expired). She has used it for a month, and now all these problems. At first I thought she may have uploaded a virus onto the iPod, either by song, or file. But I know if that was the case, a simple restore would fix it. No luck so far. Can anyone help? I have attempted to list below all the things that I have seen in the past two days of trying to fix this problem.
-Error messages seen on iPod:
Sad iPod icon
“Please wait.
Very Low Battery”
“Connect to your computer.
Use iTunes to restore.”
(Repeated in 3 different languages under the English version)
When iTunes DOES recognize iPod, these things happen:
System taskbar balloon says “Apple IPOD connected to USB”
-Error message seen in iTunes:
“iTunes had detected an iPod that appears to be corrupted. You may need to restore this iPod before it can be used with iTunes. You may also try disconnecting and reconnecting the iPod.”
Only the "Summary" tab comes up w/ this description under:
(the picture showing is of an older iPod model-the picture of my avatar)
"Name: IPOD
Capacity: n/a
Software version: n/a
Serial number: n/a
Format: unknown"
After I press the restore button (all other usb devices having been disconnected), it begins and then this error message:
"The ipod “ipod” could not be restored. And unknown error occurred (1418)"
I have taken a known working iPod apart, swapped hard drives. At that time neither work.
I have swapped batteries only…still does not work.
Forcing into “disk mode” works.
SRV “Diagnostics” boot Sept 09 2006 (auto/manual) works.
I have reset the iPod.
I tried different usb ports.
I have restarted the computer with iPod connected.
When trying to update iPod w/ software 2005-10-01:
It tells me that the iPod is not mounted after it recognized that I connected an iPod...
or it gives me error message:
iPod Universal Updater has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
and shuts down
I have also tried to use windows to format the hard drive, nothing happened.
I have tried on both my home computer and my work computer.
I hope someone out there has seen these problems before and knows exactly what I need to do. I really hope I don’t have to take it to a service center. I have tried to troubleshoot the hardware with a known working iPod. Maybe I didn’t do something correctly. But when I put the working iPod back together, it works fine Please help.
Thanx in advance!

Yes, as a matter of fact I did see that article...and I believe I tried everything that it suggested. And other sites that I visited kind of made me think its something reading wrong, because at first I thought it was simply the hard drive that needed to be replaced, but then when i swapped with a good one and still had the same issue, I realized that it could be several things. But not knowing the complete ins and outs of the construction, maybe I did something incorrectly. Can anyone tell me how to reformat with a windows disk or something. Because at times I can get it to mount, it just seems to be a game and cat and mouse. One thing works, when the other won't. I regained hope when forcing into disk mode was successful. Not sure if that was false hope or not. But thanx for the suggestion.

IPod Shuffle not restore / format / work!!!! help-me pls!

Hi, I bought a iPod Shuffle 512 MB last week. I used ipod some times, but I had a problem when tried to connect on PC. Windows recognized the iPod as "removable disk" only, when I tried to access its return a message reporting a I/O error or Windows Explorer "Not Responding".
In properties off this media it´s appers with 0 MB. I tried to restore but the iPod Updater "Not Responding" when connected ipod. The icon off iPod don´t appers on iTunes. I tried to reinstall iPod Updater, in installation it´s needs to be formatted, but occurs the follow error when formatting:
"There was an error communicating with iPod. Please disconnect and reconnect iPod. Disregard the "Do not disconnect" message on iPod´s screen."
When I connect ipod on computer the status light blinks green and amber quickly.
The status light blinks amber when connected on usb port.
I tried with a ipod updater most recent.
I tried with other computer.
Sorry for the poor English.
Thanks,

Hi,
I recommend return this iPod shuffle and get a new one. If the store refuses to take it back then send it to apple at http://depot.info.apple.com/ipodshuffle/
Santo
Note: If you get a new one from the store check before you take it home

IPod Problem, Have Tried Restoring/Formating!

Ever time i try to sync it, it stops at about 659mb and just stops syncing, when i unplug my iPod theirs no music on it, i have formatted at least 15 times and restored more then that. I have tried winamps and sharepod, it just freezes.
*** IS WRONG!
btw i have a 4gen 40gb.

I've not used a 4th gen, but hopefully the diagnostics access method and information is similar to that described below...
It's possible that your iPod's hard drive has started to fail. Take your iPod and place your right thumb on the centre SELECT button and your left on the top MENU button. Press down both thumbs for about 6 seconds until your iPod reboots. Immediately move your left thumb around to the rewind button |<< on the left and hold this down together with SELECT for a further 6 seconds. Your iPod should now switch into Diagnostic Boot mode. Press MENU for *Manual Test*, then select *IO > HardDrive > HDSMARTData* to reveal your stats. For comparison here are mine for my 2 year old 6th Generation Classic:
Retracts: 889
Reallocs: 12
Pending Sectors: 0
PowerOn Hours: 2202
Start/Stops: 894
Temp: Current 24c
Temp: Min 10c
Temp: Max 50c
Take a note of your results. When finished press *SELECT & MENU* for 6 seconds to reset the iPod again.
With modern disc drives sectors are no longer marked bad by a disc scan, if the SMART firmware detects a sector it has trouble accessing it will attempt to invisibly reallocate it to a spare area of the disc.
Note that I've only 12 remapped sectors and none pending. To help explain what the numbers mean here is an extract from the Wikipedia S.M.A.R.T. article:
*Reallocated Sectors Count*
Count of reallocated sectors. When the hard drive finds a read/write/verification error, it marks this sector as "reallocated" and transfers data to a special reserved area (spare area). This process is also known as remapping, and "reallocated" sectors are called remaps. This is why, on modern hard disks, "bad blocks" cannot be found while testing the surface – all bad blocks are hidden in reallocated sectors. However, as the number of reallocated sectors increases, the read/write speed tends to decrease. The raw value normally represents a count of the number of bad sectors that have been found and remapped. Thus, the higher the attribute value, the more sectors the drive has had to reallocate.
*Pending sector count*
Number of "unstable" sectors (waiting to be remapped, because of read errors). If an unstable sector is subsequently written or read successfully, this value is decreased and the sector is not remapped. Read errors on a sector will not remap the sector (since it might be readable later); instead, the drive firmware remembers that the sector needs to be remapped, and remaps it the next time it's written.
Large numbers of Reallocs or Pending Sectors would suggest your drive is failing and that you may need to repair or replace your iPod. Check your stats after another attempt to update your iPod. If the numbers increase that again points to hard drive failure. While it won't be good news at least you'll know it isn't some random software problem and you can decide what to do next.
tt2

Trouble restoring/formatting hard drive.

I maybe did this wrong, so let preface with that but from my basic experience reading on the forums about how to do everything.
So let's start from the beginning.
Been having issues with what I believe to be a hard drive issue, been hearing screeching/scratching noises coming from my computer, and computer was constantly crashing when I tried to load heavy-duty cpu applications (i.e. Live or PS etc.) and then recently it was crashing when I would do certain things on firefox like load large video files or even attempt to use like VLC or Stuffit. Low CPU intensive things. So then it seemed to me as if it were a disk permission errors, repaired disk multiple multiple times, I once got an error that said something to the effect that disk was beyond repair.
Anyways. So I came to the conclusion that the hard drive was the source of my issues, so I thought maybe a wipe and reinstall would at least be helpful. So I begin by using my TimeMachine backup to create a recent restore point and upload some of my most important files to online storage. Now let's think of from here on out in steps.
1. I started my mac up in recovery mode and and then first tried a basic reinstall of the OS X and while it did take forever it did not really fix my problem of the crashing so, problem still there!
2. I started my mac up in recovery mode for the 2nd time, and I began the restoration.
This is where I may have taken a wrong step. [Never really done this before]
3. First I erased the internal hard drive.
4. I used the restore tab and chose to restore from the backup drive and put the image on the now erased internal hard drive. While this did also take forever, it seemingly did work.
Now my problem is I can't boot from this hard drive now nor can I erase it and try over. I am kind of stuck in a bad limbo. I am using the safari client from the recovery mode.
The error I get when I try to erase the original HD says that it cannot be unmounted, when I try to do the restore from time machine backup it says something like bad pipe. I am contemplating ordering a new hard drive but I was wondering if there was anyway of salvaging this one because from what I can tell it's basically bricked and is useless at this point. Would really love some help here as my laptop is basically a huge part of my everyday life as I spent $2500 dollars initially for it, and I wish I was more adept at macs but they are very unique and the error reports are not as simple as PC's.
Thanks for any help or consideration

You can't restore a Time Machine backup by using Disk Utility. Doing this, you will restore all the backups you have, keeping the Time Machine structure, so you just have turned your internal hard drive onto a Time Machine drive.
It looks like your problem is that you are trying to erase the whole hard drive while you are using it, and this can't be done if you have started in Recovery HD. Simply close Disk Utility, select the option to restore a Time Machine backup and follow its steps, but it will probably not do anything.
In your case, you should get a new hard drive, as the one you have looks like it's failing

Restoring/Formatting Mac

So I want to reformat my mac...first off I just want to know if its necessary...I've had it for 4 years now and never done a restore(which is quite incredible cause before this mac I had a windows pc and probably had to reformat once every 3 months) but I just filled my harddrive completly full. I bought a new harddrive and transfered my music onto it and free'ed up a bunch of space. Im sure I have a lot of usless programs i also don't use. Is it necessary to restore, if so, what is the easiest way to do it?
Also all my family members have recently bought new mac's and all of them have tiger but i don't...my sister got a new powerbook and i was wondering if I would be able to use her software restore disk she got with her powerbook on mine so I could get tiger?
Thanks for your help
15' Titanium Powerbook G4 Mac OS X (10.2.x)

Hello Good people on this Mac Forum.
I need your help. Here's the situation:
I'm running OS 10.3.9 on my powerbook G4, which I divided into 5 partitions when I first set it up, a couple of years ago now.
The trouble is that as I grow and my computer grows with me, the partition where I store my hard drive files just isn't big enough to keep up (I have less than 1GB free on this drive and obviously keep getting 'full' messages).
I've already moved most of my applications out onto another drive (months ago now), which has caused various small problems (e.g. I can't open PhotoShop or Dreamweaver files without opening the application first), but the hard drive keeps exanding as I receive emails and blah blah and now it's to the point where I don't even have room on my hard drive partition to receive a podcast, or download a new album to iTunes.
I have plenty of room on other partitions, so my thought is to get rid of the partitions altogether and open my computer up into one large hard drive disc again.
The folks at AppleCare have told me I need to boot from my Software Install and Restore disc and erase the whole disc; then go through the re-installation process.
The problem is that installing from my 'Software Install and Restore' disc will take me back to where I was when I bought the computer (Jaguar), while I am currently running Panther with the benefit of all those years of software updates, etc. I would like to save myself the time and trouble of redoing all this work if at all possible.
I've backed up all my current files on an external drive, using Carbon Copy Cloner (which is partitioned to exactly mirror my computer). What I'd like to do is just get a clean slate on my computer and transfer everything from the external hard drive over onto it. In other words I want to have one drive on my computer, and keep everything exactly as I have it now (sans the partitions).
Has anyone done this before? The AppleCare folks can't help me with the transfer because they are officially unable to advise on anything involving third party software (in this case CCC). They suggested I come here with my question, where people are not constrained by the same rules.
I had originally imagined I could just go through the installation process with my 'install and restore' disc, and then drag and drop (or clone) my backed up files over the new install, replacing them, but they said there might be problems with that. Has anyone had experience with this?
Another solution might be to erase my computer's hard disc, and then boot up from my external drive and clone the backed up files directly onto the empty disc. Would that work? I'm not sure how to boot up from my external drive, or make sure that those files are bootable, however.
Unfortunately I can't find my Panther OS install disc (it's somewhere in a box in the basement that I haven't unpacked since moving), which I'm sure would make the whole thing easier.
Any thoughts or advice for would be very much appreciated.
PowerBook G4 Mac OS X (10.3.9) 17"

Ipod not recognised in itunes or my computer.how can i restore/format then?

on my work pc i can't see the ipod. when i connect it to an usb port, nothing happens, the "do not disconnect" screen does not appear, but it charges for a few minutes and it suddenly stops, and the battery is at minimum.
on my laptop, windows xp pro too, but a poorer configuration, i can see it, but still it wont charge. itunes says to restore, but i have some files that i dont want to loose, and when i go into disk mode and try to open the folder the laptotp freezes. is there anyway i can recover those files (photos) ?
and why my office pc, which has better requirements than my laptop, cannot see it? (both have xp pro)

Just in case this problem is affecting anyone else - I have since found the following post by 'Thegua' and it has worked so thank you so so so much!!
(I only had to get as far as reinstalling my iPod, didn't have to continue on to doing the 5Rs, and I didn't lose any music) THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!.....
The solution 2 ur problem is the ipod 5R's . u will need 2 reset ur ipod and if possble reinstall de ipod and itunes softwares. but first u will need 2 try reseting ur ipod , it will not delet the songs on ur ipod, it refreshes ur ipod. try that first. move de hold button near de earphone hole. it has a red sign. move that switch back and forth about three times and press de select button (middle ) and the menu button all at de same time , then hold dem both until u see de apple logo appears (apple sign). the release all buttons, ur ipod is reset. if this work then do the 5R's.to know wat de 5R's are go to apple.com and u will see it at de left hand corner of ur screen. it is five steps that will correct any problems u r having with ur ipod. it should correct them. it involve resetting ur ipod, restarting ur computer, reinstalling ur ipod and itunes softwares and runing de updator files, and all that. try it, if that dont work it means u will have 2 send the ipod 4 repairs.
Windows XP

My iPod Nano is ,,dead" after formatting it

Hi. I've got a big problem
I bought an iPod Nano 2GB yesterday and i had problems with updating it, so I've formatted it (not restored- formatted using the right click in My Computer and ,,Format") And still the software didn't want to install... So I've restarted computer and unplugged iPod.
And now, it doesn's want to turn on (I think, that battery's full, beacuse I've charged it about an hour earlier). Maybe it's the fault of format? I've plugged an iPold and nothing happens... it's dead... ;(

Hello,
Have you seen this article?
iPod won't turn on
Does your iPod respond if you try to reset it? (hold the "menu" and "select" (center) buttons together for 7 seonds until the Apple logo appears on screen).
After you try resetting it, does your iPod display anything when you connect it to your computer, or not?
Deos your iPod correctly go into disk mode if you try?
How to put your iPod into disk mode
Have you tried a restore on your iPod? Or do you get any error messages when trying to acess the iPod Updater? See this link for details about this...
Restoring your iPod to factory settings
-Kylene

How do i restore my iMac 21.5 inch desktop?

Ok so i have one of the 2011 Imac desktop models so i didnt get the dvd's. I want to know how to restore/format my computer and start over because its been running really slow lately. i was told by a apple consultant that if you hold in the "option" key on startup of the computer that it will bring you to a point where you can restore but i dont know what to do from there. Someone just please tell me how to restore/format my Imac so that its like when i first bought it. Lastly i would like step by step instructions on how to do this restore/format. I dont have any important files so im prefectly fine with erasing everything.
Thanks.

Elaus,
OS X is NOT like MS Windows that needs to be re-installed at the first sign of trouble. If your system is slow there is probably a fairly simple reason such as it doesn't have enough RAM or available HD space. The first thing I'd recommend checking is how much FREE RAM the system has, as a general rule of thumb if it's less than 500MB then a simple RAM upgrade will solve the problem. Keep Activity Monitor (Applications - Utilities - Activity Monitor) running. When you notice a slow down open AM and click the System Memory tab and check the amount of FREE RAM. It will look similar to:
If it's less than 500MB then simply upgrade the RAM.

Satellite L505d-s5986 and new recover disk, new HD wont restore

hello,
My satellite L505d-s5986, got to where it wouldnt boot past the mouse arrow and spinning circle, i messed aroudn with it and tried restore, format hd and it crashed, tried multiple times. So i order recovery disk. The computer seems to hit on the recovery disk but i get no instructions, only the WINDOWS is loading FILES screen, lasted over 30 hours and crashes. I read it might be HD, i know i tried formatting it and it crashed so i buy a new HD, seagate sata 205gig... instal thenew HD, recovery disk..... again over 26 hours.... of Windows is loading Files..... I burned a SEAGATE hddrive test program, it works so dvd works..
What do i try now?

well, so far, the new ercovery disks seem to work... so far that is.... so if u get new recovery disk and your issue is not fixed or ur having trouble, it may be bad recover disks

Had to do a restore through itunes - lost my photos taken with iphone

iphone froze up - had to do a full restore
but now my photos i took with the phone are gone..any way to get them back?
whats up with this?

robbonds,
A restore formats the iPhone as part of the process of restoring to the same condition it came out of the box. Reseting the iPhone does not erase the iPhone, and will often resolve situations where the iPhone has become unresponsive.
Your photos can be transferred to your computer after they were taken, and are not included in the information that is backed up for iTunes.
Nathan C.

How can I remove my account on an iPad and add an existing one

how can I remove my account on an iPad and add an existing one

Or, how can I change the account on an existing iPad without restoring / formatting it?

How To Fix A Corrupt iPod

Okay, this is my first and possibly last post here, I just thought that I should write my solution to this problem as there are a lot of people suffering with a corrupt iPod. I will first recommend you read this topic also if you're still having problems
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=3639883&#3639883
This will be a long post (sorry), so I'll break things up into an EXPLANTION of the problem and the SOLUTION as I think some people will be thankful for a bit of insight and some people just want a solution.
read on...
EXPLANATION:
My problem occured when receiving a second hand iPod, it had some bugs, stutters and general problems so I tried a restore, this is where my real problems started. After the restore music would not always copy correctly to the iPod, some times returning with a "Windows Delayed Write Failure", also some songs and videos would not play sometimes requiring a restart (reset), sometimes they would return me to the menu straight, and sometimes they would play fine. Also the hard disk would make a lot of fuss just to select certain songs or videos, I would even have trouble booting the iPod or detecting in iTunes.
These things led me to believe either: The hard disk was cactus; The hard disk had bad sectors; Or there was a file system error on the hard disk.
When the iPod got really bad it wouldn't properly detect in iTunes, iPod Access, Anapod or Windows, it wouldn't restore in iTunes, and I couldn't access it through windows explorer even in disk mode as it claimed the disk or the control folder had corrupted.
Using some diagnostic tools I discovered the problem was nothing more than a simple and easily fixed FAT32 filesystem error.
The problem is that the iPod uses a FAT32 filesystem which is a 'kind of unstable' but not yet redundant filesystem we used back in the Windows 98 days, I assume it uses this filesystem for compatability reasons as pretty much any pc with Windows 98 or above can access FAT32.
FAT32 stores files in chains, linking one file to another, and branching out like a tree, this system is very easily corruptable due to anything from bad shutdowns or yanking the dock cable of the iPod during copying.
SOLUTION:
1:(optional) Check your iPod by reseting it and when the apple logo first appears hold the middle select button and the rewind button to enter a diagnostic mode. Then press the menu button to enter manual testing. Scroll down to IO and press select, then select the hard disk option, then select the hard disk specs option. Read the data to check your hard disk is detected as the correct size (30Gb in my case), if it isn't then reset the iPod and repeat this step until the hard disk detects as the correct size.
2:Reset your iPod, as the apple logo appears hold down the middle select button and the play button, it will then boot to a screen with a tick in the middle and it will say Disk Mode along the top of the screen.
3: Now load iTunes and then plug the iPod into your computer and let it detect. iTunes should detect your iPod though it may not properly detect it. If iTunes doesn't detect an iPod AT ALL then reset your iPod and repeat steps 2 & 3 until it does.
4: Now your iTunes should display your iPod or an iPod just call IPOD, click on your iPod and restore, you can use the same version software or update - it doesn't matter. Even if your iPod normally recieves an error when retoring it SHOULD restore as long as you're in disk mode. When it is done restoring DO NOT UNPLUG THE IPOD, just let iTunes redetect it.
5: Now go to My Computer and right click on your iPod (could be called Removable Disk and go to properties. Now click on the tools tab and run Scandisk (Check Disk). In the scandisk box that opens tick both check boxes (fix automatically and surface scan) and click run, this will take a while but when it's done go to iTunes and eject the iPod, unplug it from the computer, and reset it.
You have jsut fixed your iPod.
Please if you use this solution and it works for you, post your thanks or comments so I know my time wasn't wasted writing this.
thankyou
-odsmart

alright... this one's for raab in Montana
I'll break your question down into parts to make things easier.
1: The download error. I don't think your problem is actual iPod corruption per se, it sounds more like an Internet download problem. iTunes requests software (firmware) updates from the server for you and downloads it to your computer, Then updates your iPod. If the problem is that iTunes can't download the software then all the restoring/formatting and scandisking in the world won't help you. I really need a little more info but I think this may help: Are you on ADSL? Alot of Internet providers will not give you a static IP unless you ask and/or pay for one. Long story short, If you are behind a router, gateway or firewall your pc may be blocking the ports that iTunes requires for it's update service. One solution would be to boot your pc into safe mode, cancel the restore option and when your pc is finished booting just try to update your iPod through iTunes. Using safe mode means most antivirus/firewall services won't be running so you may be able to update that way. If not? Well post me some info on your internet connection, all I need to know is if you're on ADSL or not, and what make and model of router you use if you have one. In the mean time, try taking your iPod to a friends pc and installing iTunes and updating it there, if it works there then you'll know it's your pc/setup. Oh well, let me know.
2: The grinding noise? They do make a noise when scanning through looking for songs and the like, and sometimes they do it for a while but I'm not sure if I'd describe the sound as "grinding". Perhaps if my first answer didn't help then you have bigger problems (hardware problems) I'm not sure, if I could hear your iPod from Australia I'd be able to tell you if it's alright or not.
3: I mentioned above that my main posts are fixes not to be undertaken unless your iPod has similar symptoms to mine, I cannot stress enough that things like scandisk and format are NOT supposed to be run on an iPod, at least not on a regular basis, and definatly not one after the other. IF ANYBODY'S iPOD DOES NOT EXIHIBIT THE SYMPTOMS IN THE MAIN POST DO NOT USE THE FIX. In particular Raab, your problem seems to be elsewhere.
Let me know how you go...

Restoring/Formatting

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