Reinstalling os x macbook. How to reinstall OS X or restore MacOS

03.07.2023

MAC OS, like Windows, sometimes requires reinstallation. This may be due to slow work your MAC device or in connection with its sale (I don’t think you will be satisfied MAC sale with your personal information). Or vice versa, buying with hands MACBOOK(PRO, AIR) or iMAC with a bunch of incomprehensible files or unnecessary programs. In general, there can be many reasons to reinstall MAC OS. In this article I will describe in detail how to reinstall MAC OS and get a “clean” operating system.

We'll go over the basic steps. Once the download is complete, do not start the installation yet. Section "Determining the compatibility of your printer's operating system." Recommendations for installing or updating software. Use a wireless or network connection.

Network usage. Please next to the products described in this article to speed up the support process and reduce callback situations. There are several options with a remote partition. We have instructions. Once the installation is complete, it will reboot and place the installer in your Applications folder.

So, before you start, you need to transfer all the necessary information to external media, since after reinstalling MAC OS, it will be almost impossible to restore anything.

In order to reinstall MAC OS you will need:

1 MACBOOK (PRO, AIR) or iMAC connected to a power source;

2 Internet access from MACBOOK (PRO, AIR) or iMAC;

What if I lose important data in the process?

We've put together a list of questions we frequently ask, along with answers and column links: to see if your question is covered. If not, we're always looking for new problems to solve! Send messages via email, including screens if necessary.

If you are a beginner, it is not recommended for you to take this tutorial. You should have enough on your drive, so either remove some cracks or move some of your old data to a separate external archive hard drive. The textbook you are about to read consists of six main sections.

3 This article and about an hour of time.

To reinstall MAC OS using the method described below, you must be using OS 10.7 or higher (10.8, 10.9). In order to check what version of the operating system you have installed, click on the apple in the upper left corner and select "About this MAC". The window that opens will contain information about the installed version of MAC OS.


Installation may take a little time, but it is by no means difficult. Check out our full video inside for details. Note. This is always a good idea when you change the partition table. Step 10: The installation process will now begin. The installation process will only take a few minutes. Step 11: You will see a blue screen Quick Transition. If additional driver installation windows appear, be sure to install them. This next step is very important because it updates the latest audio driver.

The initial driver is known to cause problems with the speaker, so it is important to update. You have two choices. Your mileage may vary depending on internet speed. And all applications are stored in the Applications folder. Drag the app to your Applications folder. Your application is now installed. Delete the downloaded file once you're done.

IMPORTANT!!! The following steps will delete all data on your drive, so you need to be sure that necessary files no on MAC.

Then select the disk with the system, open the “Erase” tab on the right and click the “Erase” button.


Confirm deletion by clicking the "Erase" button.

If you perform a custom installation and deselect the software contained on discs 2 and 3, you will not be prompted to insert those discs. You need to install it separately. See "Note: Developer Software," in Chapter 2 for more information about obtaining and installing this software. As the first step of the installation process, the installer asks for your preferred language. Once you select it, you'll see the text "Preparing to Install," followed by the launch and appearance of the Installer's Introduction panel.


After that, close the Disk Utility window and select Reinstall MAC OS.


After this, confirm the installation, click the "Continue" button. With the release of the new OS X 10.10, OS X Yosemite will be installed.


Before going any further, take a look at the menus available in the installer utility. Some of them provide options of particular interest. You can now install the software. The safest bet is to start with the disc. Only one command is important in this menu.

Reinstalling Mac OS X Yosemite

Your choices: “Reboot”, “Run disk” and “Do not exit”. The File menu also only contains one important command. You won't be able to select this command from the installer's initial screen; instead, you can access it later - exactly when will depend on the installation you're doing. The command will likely be active by the time the Select Destination window appears and, of course, no later than after the installation is complete.

  • Chapter 8, to obtain additional information about the network utility.
  • Chapter 10, as well as many other places throughout the book, to cover the Terminal.
Separation hard drive means splitting it into two or more separate volumes.

After the installation is complete, you will receive a “clean” MAC OS operating system; all that remains is to set some settings.

The next step is to select the country where you plan to use MACBOOK (PRO, AIR) or iMAC.


Select your keyboard layout.


In most cases, volumes behave the same as if you had two separate hard drives. The only time it will be seen that there is only one HDD works when the hard drive fails, or if you need to reformat it. So, if you want two or more partitions, you must create them yourself.

There won't be a backup because you haven't used it yet, which means the process will be greatly simplified. Even if you don't want the second partition to boot, you can still use it to store backups of important personal files that are stored in the first partition.

You can connect to a Wi-Fi network (you can skip this step if you wish).


If you want to restore data made earlier using Time Machine or from a Windows computer, select the appropriate option; if you do not plan to restore anything, select “Do not transfer any information” and click “Continue.” The data that you transferred to external storage can be transferred later.

The best and safest backup option is to move or copy these items to another drive altogether, not just another partition of the same drive. If for some reason the drive fails completely, the failure could affect both partitions. In either case, you can erase one partition without erasing any others. With two partitions, you can wipe the boot partition without losing the second partition.

Below are some general instructions for dividing a disk into two partitions. Remember: this will delete all existing data for everyone existing sections for this disk. So, when choosing a partition size, make sure that you will have at least a few gigabytes of unused space after the installation is complete. This will not result in a bootable partition. . Separation without erasing. Always create backup copy of your disk before using one of these utilities, in case something goes wrong.


The next step is to sign in with your Apple ID. In this example I won't do that.


Then read the license agreement and accept it.


After this, provide your credentials (username and password) and click “Continue.”

Where are the utilities located on the installation disk? When you select one of these applications from the Utilities menu, the installer launches a copy of the utility found there. The Window menu contains one final note. If you do happen to be traveling through a show stop error, you will almost certainly be warned about it directly using an alert in the installer window. In other words, you don't need to check the log. However, the log may be useful as a diagnostic tool if a problem occurs that does not cause another explanatory message to appear.


The last step is to register your MAC (this step is optional).


And in the end you will get a "clean" MAC OS.

Video of reinstalling the MAC OS operating system on iMAC/MACBOOK PRO/AIR.

For example, it can alert you to check for firmware updates. You have completed the introduction. The following is the license area that provides the Software License Agreement for the software you are about to install. Agree to the terms and then move on.

In this area, you will see an icon for each installed volume. For example, one of the problems may not be enough free space on disk. A dialog box will appear providing the following installation options. However, in some cases, such as if there is not enough disk space for the update, this option will be grayed out and you will have to select one of the remaining two. In fact, you can use it instead of updating to prevent potential problems. One exception: third-party software in the original Applications folder is not moved to the Legacy Systems folder; Instead, it is moved to your new Applications folder. When you first archive and install, all software you move is placed in a folder named "Previous System 1" in the Previous Systems folder. If you repeat this process, the previous system 2 will be created and used, etc. this process also moves the developer folder to previous systems. About the only reason you wouldn't choose would be if you thought files in your home directory were causing a problem that you didn't want to carry over to a new installation. It can also save third-party software that cannot be saved using standard archive and installation. This option does not save all system settings, only most of them. For example, it does not save the following: settings related to the use of the network time server; list of configured printers; your computer's time zone, your display resolution, and other settings if you have more than one display connected, such as location, and sharing preferences panel settings. Most of this is minor and can be easily discarded if lost. Note: If you move past the Select Destination area and then use the Back button to return, the Save Users and Network Settings option may be grayed out and unavailable. If so, select a different volume and then return to the original volume. In such cases, you want to keep any critical data on the drive before wiping.

Sooner or later the day comes when you need to reinstall the Mac OS operating system on your MacBook PC. This task- no more difficult than reinstalling Windows. This is what we will talk about.

Why and how to reinstall the operating system on a MacBook

The reasons for reinstalling the Mac OS operating system on a Mac computer are as follows:

  • Damage or wear of the built-in storage device (HDD);
  • selling or donating a MacBook to another person;
  • "moving" to another MacBook (more new model, but maintaining the previous version of the MacOS system);
  • transferring data to Apple gadgets or to another computer.

What happens when reinstalling MacOS:

Cleaning the boot volume if necessary

Then check out the articles from this article. You will be asked to select a boot volume, select the volume and click Install. . This way, you can restore your system from the recovery partition if anything goes wrong. Some users may find it helpful to take note of the contents of the Applications folder for later reference. A screenshot may be sufficient, but if not, the following steps describe an easy way to create an app list.

The process will take a few minutes to complete, so leave it running. And it's especially helpful for the new user to have a nice, clean machine that is back to its original factory condition. Most people do not have this feature enabled.

  • “from scratch”, including formatting the built-in disk;
  • reinstallation “on top”, preserving personal data and applications (macOS update).

For example, using the MacAppStore, you can upgrade your version of OS X Lion and OS X Mountain Lion to a newer version - OS X Mavericks.

Procedure for sale or transfer Mac computer another user next. It deserves special mention.

But it's always better to check. But you are allowed to allow up to 5 computers. Don't worry, you don't lose any content and nothing is deleted from your computer. When you deactivate a computer, you prevent it from accessing protected content. And if necessary, you can authorize your computer later.

Don't save this step later. If you sell or give away a computer that still has one of your five authorizations, you need to deauthorize all of your computers and then reauthorize any that you are still using. That's a hell of a lot of hassle and time for something you could do now before you give it away or sell it.

  1. Backing up personal data from a MacBook to a separate media or cloud service.
  2. Disabling special services and functionality that manage data copying and transfer.
  3. Erase all personal information from the disk.

Attention! Before you start reinstalling MacOS on your MacBook PC, take the trouble to save all your data on an external drive! This will be discussed first.

Here you see the number of computers you have allowed in the past. Unfortunately, it does not list the names of these computers. So if this number doesn't agree with you, try de-authorizing your computer several times until it is no longer allowed.

Deactivate programs and remove other permissions

Additionally, select "Deauthorize all computers" to clear five permissions. Then re-authorize all your computers one by one. Many third-party applications include authorization and activation of the machine, such as image, audio, and video editing programs. Application activation is a connection process specific application to a valid user license.

Backing up your data using Time Machine

Time Machine is designed for Reserve copy personal files from MacBook and their reverse recovery on it. But it requires external USB drives (HDD, SDD drives) formatted in MacOS Extended or Xsan - FAT/NTFS file systems designed for Windows and Android are not supported. If the disk was previously formatted in FAT/NTFS formats, the MacBook will not accept it if you refuse to reformat it “for yourself.”

You must activate your application before you can use it. On the other hand, deactivation disconnects the application from a valid user license. Once deactivated, you can reactivate this license at any time on any computer.

Therefore, check the list of applications, look for programs that require activation keys. Once you are there, go to the program menu bar and find the deactivation or deauthorization link. Its utilities allow you to completely erase your internal hard drive.

Reinstalling Mac OS X and Apple programs

Once posted, download and install it from this product page. We install a lot of applications, updates and maybe even think about software operating system using terminal applications or third-party developers.

The Time Machine application is launched from the MacOS system preferences in the Apple menu. When you connect an external hard drive, a corresponding notification will appear.

Do you really want to destroy all data recorded on this drive in a different format?

If the external drive has already been formatted, the Time Machine application will give the go-ahead for its use. Confirm your request.

This is the actual and expected use. This is the value and price of experience. And the new owner begins new start- without the clutter left over from all your previous applications, preferences, etc. Important! We have a workaround that should allow you to back up and restore your desktop message history, however we cannot guarantee that it will work. Type "Terminal" and open the application.

Copy and paste the phone number folder to another location. Follow the cleaning instructions below, reinstall. Don't forget to empty your trash afterwards. Still experiencing the same problems? So far, the malware has been fairly well described and is not viral in nature, so for any given variant it is installed in one location and launched from there to affect the system. As a result, once a variant has been identified, you must remove it from your system by following detailed instructions.

Do you really want to copy your data to this drive?

If Time Machine does not show disk selection, do the following.

How to reinstall Mac OS from an installation flash drive

The preliminary steps are as follows.

Update from App Store

This is the recommended approach; however it relies on definitions malware that have been identified for malware, which may lag behind the original malware results. If you decide that it would be better if you played it safely and wiped your system and started over by following this procedure, you should be able to do so while retaining your data.

Sync and Backup First, make sure your system is properly synced with your cloud services to ensure that items such as contacts and calendars are preserved. Doing so will allow you to restore some of these items without relying on sync services to manage them for you. When you are done backing up, unmount and detach external hard the drive you used for backup. Do not select the restore from backup option. Restoring data from a backup. The next step is to copy the data into the system from backups. If your contacts and calendars are missing, you can re-import them from previously created backups manually. Once you've installed your apps, be sure to update them completely, then open and customize them according to your preferences. At this point, your system should be back in a working state and you should be able to continue your workflow as you were before the reinstallation. In addition to syncing, make sure your system is backed up. . The final step in this process is to protect against further infection.

  1. Download the Mac OS X installation image from the Mac App Store or third-party sites.
  2. Once the download is complete, right-click on the downloaded file and select “Show package contents.”
  3. Go to the /Contents/SharedSupport/ folder, copy the InstallESD.dmg file to a safe location on your disk, and mount it to your MacOS desktop.

We will need the Disk Utility application included with MacOS. The next steps are as follows.

Install a reverse firewall to help detect and block programs from calling home on remote servers and consider installing an antivirus utility. While you don't need to set up your antivirus tool to thoroughly scan all files on demand, you can set it up to scan only shared folders for downloads and then have it scan the entire system once a week or perhaps once a month. For now, despite last news malware, this should be enough to prevent malware and provide you with sufficient protection.

Disk Utility will create an installation flash drive in automatic mode, and she performs this operation quite reliably. When copying is complete, Disk Utility will notify you.

Congratulations! The MacOS installation flash drive has been created! You can restart your MacBook. Preparing to install MacOS is as follows.

Feel like you need a clean slate? This means you delete all your data, everything you do on the computer, and put it back just like it was when you took it out of the box. But there are scenarios where a full cleaning and recovery session can be valuable.

No buyer wants a computer with a hard drive to fill up with someone else's data, so resellers usually work to reset the computer. But another important part is restoring factory settings. Erasing a hard drive is quite simple, but you'll need to access the factory settings again when you're done. During the reboot process, your computer will display a gray slate screen before going to the login screen. Select the reinstall option, confirm that you really want to do this, and continue.

All! MacOS installation has started. The MacOS operating system will install automatically - this will take 30-100 minutes, depending on the performance of your MacBook. After it, your PC will be immediately ready for use.

How to install the system without formatting the internal drive

Installing MacOS without erasing the disk means downloading and installing MacOS updates directly from the MacAppStore. An installation flash drive is not needed here. This is reminiscent of updating iOS on smartphones and tablets over the air. This method is good for those who once bought a MacBook - and are not going to change it, but, on the contrary, will work on it for many years, because MacBook computers, like Apple gadgets iDevice are very high quality, reliable and convenient.

Here you must connect your computer to the Internet.


Once you've been collecting data and applications for over a year, the performance differences start to show. It just doesn't run as smoothly as it once did. There are many tricks to get it back into action.

Many users are hesitant to reinstall their entire operating system. There are many benefits to a new setup, especially in terms of performance, but it is a much bigger undertaking to start from scratch. Although it's work, it's definitely worth it in the long run, and here we'll walk you through the process from start to finish. This is a three-step event: backup, installation, and migration.

Before updating, check whether your MacBook meets the hardware requirements of the new version of MacOS - otherwise it will slow down.

Not every previous version of MacOS can be updated to the desired version. So, if your MacBook is running macOS Snow Leopard (10.6.8) and your MacBook will run macOS Sierra, first upgrade to macOS X El Capitan.

Start with cleaning

It might be best to add a hidden fourth step before we begin. Using your computer for a long time, you probably have a lot of things you don't need on your hard drive. Applications you installed but didn't continue to use and files that became redundant months ago. Take this time to sort through your data and throw out anything you don't want to keep.

If your files are disorganized, take this time to sort things out. Separate working documents from game installers and family photographs. Categorize and organize files in multiple categorized folders. Of course, this is completely optional, but it will help speed up the backup process and get you up and running on your next installation faster and faster.

The version of MacOS Sierra is taken as an example. Other copies are searched for and “installed” in exactly the same way. Your actions are as follows.

If you have OS X El Capitan 10.11.5 (or more recent), the macOS Sierra version downloads silently. You will then be prompted to install this version.

There is a difference between starting with a clean slate and starting completely from scratch. Before you reinstall your computer, make sure your data is secure. The easiest way to back up your data is to move it to an external drive. This is a good option if you only want to move a certain number of folders between two installations, or if the drive is not large enough to accommodate all your data and needs to be split into multiple parts.

You can find these app libraries in the Music and Pictures folders located in your Home folder, respectively. You can choose which folders to return after reinstalling your system. The first backup may take a maximum of an hour. Also check your settings to ensure that important folders are not missing. Alternatively, you can install the latest version right away.


Click on the install button

During the installation of MacOS, the PC restarts several times. If this version does not suit you (the performance of the MacBook has dropped), “roll back” to the previous one (for example, OS X El Capitan), with which the PC performance was very satisfactory.

Restoring MacOS from a backup

For example, we take a “rollback” from MacOS Sierra (10.12) back to OS X El Capitan (10.11) or OS X Yosemite (10.10). Let's say there are backups made in the Time Machine application before installing MacOS Sierra.

Important! You can restore a MacOS system from a backup only on the same MacBook. Trying to transfer your copy of the MacOS system with data to another PC in this way is useless. Use other methods.

  1. Connect your external drive to your MacBook and save your existing files to Time Machine, naming the new copy MacOS Sierra.
  2. Open your previous copy of OS X Yosemite with Time Machine on a different drive after connecting it to your MacBook.
  3. Restart your MacBook while holding down Command+R on your keyboard. The familiar MacOS recovery menu will open.
  4. From the OS X Utilities menu, select Restore from Time Machine Backup.
  5. Once in the “Recover from Time Machine” recovery window, click on “Continue”, and then specify the source - the disk with the OS X El Capitan “backup”.
  6. The saved copy should be: In the case of OS X El Capitan, the MacOS version should be 10.11.x. Click the Continue button. Specify the installation disk to restore from a copy, click on “Restore”.

Ready! The OS X El Capitan version will be reinstalled.

Transferring a copy of the operating system and your data to another MacBook

Go to Programs/Utilities and open Migration Assistant. The structure of your files and folders will be preserved.


Click to continue

When running, the application requires closing all other running programs.

If both computers are working, but you still want to duplicate your version of MacOS and all data on the second computer, connect the computers to each other using a LAN cable via a Wi-Fi wireless network. Connecting directly using a Thunderbolt or FireWire cable will require running your previous Mac in backup mode, which will make the Assistant experience a little more complicated. However, both methods work clearly. You can connect an external disk with a backup copy to the new PC instead of the previous PC - in this case, the operation of the Assistant on the new PC will not change significantly.

So, the procedure is as follows. As an example, we take the normal operating mode of a previous PC with “Assistant”.

All! The copy session has started. This can take anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours, depending on the amount of data and the performance of both Macs.

Problems encountered when reinstalling MacOS

Problems when updating or “rolling back” may be as follows.

  1. No recent backups. You once disabled backup yourself. Copy your files now to avoid losing them by starting the process manually. Enable backup.
  2. An error occurred during the next backup or when restoring personal data from a previous copy. The external drive that has been recorded so far is unsuitable for further use. Contact an Apple service center or certified computer repair shop to restore your data. This procedure is not free.
  3. Error during the next MacOS update. Your Mac PC may no longer be supported. This happens once every few years. All you have to do is use current version MacOS before replacing your Apple PC.
  4. The computer began to work noticeably slower than before the update. The minimum system requirements of the next new version are equal to or exceed the technical specifications of your PC. “Roll back” to any previous version of MacOS. Typically, Apple tries to prevent this from happening - it simply stops supporting older computers, just like installing iOS version 10.x is no longer possible.
  5. After several active years, your PC suddenly began to freeze despite the fact that you did not update MacOS. Maybe it's time to replace the internal HDD/SSD drive? Try making a backup copy of your important data before replacing the internal drive - while something is still being read from it.
  6. It is impossible to “roll back” to one of the previously installed versions of MacOS. The “rollback” must be done gradually. If there are no previous backups, download a new “image” and “roll back” to this version first, and then repeat the “roll back” to an even earlier version of MacOS.

Video on the topic

Reinstalling MacOS - “on top” or “from scratch” - is not difficult. It is only important to secure your data. This is a real way to extend the life of your beloved MacBook for another number of years. You will succeed!

Mac OS X Yosemite - the system presented by Apple in 2014. This is the most current and advanced Mac OS among the systems offered by the manufacturer of Apple technology. We invite you to find out how it is done installation from scratch. We will also look at the issue of reinstalling the Yosemite system itself to restore factory settings.

What is the best way to install the system?

Mac OS X Yosemite is available in the Appstore. There are two options for installing it:

  • On top of the old system;
  • Clean installation from scratch.

You have the option to install Mac OS X Yosemite directly on top of the old OS X Mavericks. This is advisable if you value the current state of the file system, installed programs and their settings. All data will remain in the same place, changes will only affect the operating system. But the performance of many programs may be impaired. Compatibility and update issues can cause a lot of inconvenience.

Installing from scratch eliminates many system problems. Factory settings will be completely restored. This will help get rid of unnecessary installed applications, unnecessary data, etc. Let's look at this process in more detail.

Installing Mac OS X Yosemite from scratch

Creating a USB flash drive

After downloading the update from the Appstore, proceed as follows:

  1. Launch Disk Utility;
  2. In the left panel, select the drive, on the right, go to the “Disk Partition” tab;
  3. In the "Partition Scheme" menu, select "Section 1". The disk name is "Yosemite", the format must be "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)".
  4. Go to "Options", select the GUID partition scheme. Click "Apply".
  5. Disk Utility begins formatting the flash drive.
  6. From the "Utilities" folder, launch "Terminal".
  7. To create a flash drive, run the following command:
  1. Enter the administrator password.
  2. For creating bootable flash drive it will take 10-15 minutes.
  3. After the procedure is successfully completed, reboot the Mac. When loading, hold down Alt.
  4. You are ready to install Mac OS X Yosemite.

Installing Yosemite

After creating a flash drive and rebooting the Mac, follow the instructions:

  1. Go to the "Downloads" menu and select "Mac OS X Installer".
  2. You need to open Disk Utility and select the disk with the system to format. Go to the "Erase" tab.
  3. In the "Format" menu, "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" should be selected, and the name of the disk should be written.
  4. Click "Erase", thereby starting the disk formatting process.
  5. Close Disk Utility and open the Install Mac OS X section.
  6. We specify the Yosemite boot disk and start the installation process.

Starting the installation process involves following the installer's instructions. Select the necessary parameters, the system will soon be ready for use. After installing Mac OS Yosemite, you can start using the system from scratch or transfer files from Time Machine.

Reinstalling Mac OS X Yosemite

If OS X Yosemite is already installed, you may need to reinstall it in the following cases:

  • System failures;
  • Errors when installing updates;
  • Disk cleaning;
  • The need to restore factory settings.

So, let's answer the question, how to reinstall Mac OS X Yosemite. To do this, you need to erase your Mac data and reinstall the system. Don't forget to back up your valuable files. To restore factory settings, you need to use the built-in recovery disk. To reinstall the system, an Internet connection is required, as well as a connected power adapter.

The procedure is simple:

  1. Restart your Mac. During boot (gray screen), press Command+R.
  2. Select "Disk Utility" and click "Continue".
  3. Select the disk and click "Erase".
  4. In the "Format" section, select Mac OS Extended (journaled), enter a name, and click "Erase".
  5. The disk will take some time to clear.
  6. Select "Disk Utility" and click "Finish".
  7. Go to "Reinstall OS X", click "Continue".
  8. Select the disk to use. In most cases it is the only one available.
  9. We follow the installer's instructions and finish.
  10. The system has been reinstalled!

In this article, one of the editors of the WoW It team will share his sad, but much-needed experience of using a MacBook. One day the question arose about buying a laptop, and since I had been using Windows for quite a long time, I was pretty fed up with it. It was decided to go over to the side of evil, as they say they have livers) Considering that for quite a long time I wanted a MacBook and OS X on board, I decided to buy MacBook Air it came pretty easy. And now, the happy owner of a MacBook Air 11. As befits an experienced system administrator who has never held a Mac in his hands, the tinkering began. So say check for fault tolerance, and of course inexperience won! OS X went live in just two days). Question: “What should I do, how can I reinstall OS X or can it be restored, and if so, how can I do it?” There was only one thought in my head: “It’s Apple, it’s probably all simple.”

Having come across the first article on the Internet that you need to format the screw and repartition it to an earlier one file system(Wrong! DO NOT do this). So that later, during the installation of the new OS X, he himself will repartition it, until latest version along with the installation of OS X High Sierra. But again, inexperience only aggravated the situation, since now Recovery with data saving was also killed. Further realizing what had been done, the appeal went to a single, correct source, the official Apple website.

How to Reinstall OS X in Recovery Mode

The first thing you need to do is check Recovery; if you have a live recovery disk, you should try to recover it. To start your MacBook in recovery mode you need to:

  • CMD+R.
  • Next, select Recovery and go through the recovery procedure accordingly.

But if you are greeted by a picture (image below), then you have hit the jackpot of incredible experience!


How to reinstall OS X using network recovery mode

And so, instead of disk utility, you see a network system recovery window in front of you, what to do. It's quite simple. The MacBook could not detect the system recovery disk, and there are two options: either just delete everything remotely, or, which is much worse, the HDD or SDD died, depending on the configuration. In order to try to install the system via the Internet and at the same time check whether your disk is dead, you need to:

  • After loading system network recovery, select your home Wi-Fi network or connect via wire if possible.

  • Wait for everyone to load necessary files and begin installing the operating system that was installed when you purchased the device by clicking on the reinstall OS X button.

Reinstall OS X from a USB flash drive

In principle, in most cases it can be stopped here, but there are also sad endings. For example, you may receive error -4403F - this may be due to a poor connection or the use of a proxy or VPN on your network. Try repeating the process or connecting to a different network. Sometimes it would start the third time.

Next, your scenario unfolds according to several strategies.
First strategy.
You have an old MacBook, you took it from your hands, which when purchased came with OS X Lion. But you obviously don't have it in your AppStore purchases. Then, when you try to install the operating system, after entering your AppleID credentials, you will be given the following - on this moment OS X cannot be installed, please try later. - Then you need to reinstall OS X from the flash drive.

How to create a USB flash drive from MacOS on Windows and reinstall OS X from the flash drive

There are a lot of manuals on how to create a bootable USB flash drive on MacOS; you can easily find them on the Internet. But, if you don’t have another Mac at hand, then you need any Windows PC.

How to burn a flash drive with OS X:

  • You need to download an operating system image no older than Lion, everything will definitely work with it. You can download from any torrent exchanger.
  • Download the program to unpack the image TransMac install and run as administrator. You can download it from the official website. The real version is available for 15 days, which is enough to create a bootable MacOS USB flash drive.

  • On the left in the list of devices, select your flash drive and right-click on it Format Disk for Mac, then click Yes


  • After the flash drive is formatted, again right click and select Restore with Disk Image then click Yes. Then select the image downloaded on your PC and deploy the image to the USB flash drive.


That's it, after the image is completely installed on the flash drive, you can connect it to your MacBook according to the old scheme:

  • Turn off your MacBook completely by holding down the power key for 6 seconds.
  • Turn on the MacBook, hold down the keys when turning it on CMD+R.
  • Select a flash drive

Click to reinstall OS X

We wait for the installation to complete, go through the first setup and update to the latest version available to you.

Full MacBook reset, PRAM and NVRAM reset.

But that's not all. It seems that I have already tried everything and have already made a flash drive 100 times trying to reinstall OS X from it and tried all possible versions of MacOS, but still it throws out some errors. Then you need to act more radically. You need to completely reset your MacBook, reset the BIOS. Since the Mac was not created by stupid people and is designed to be extremely secure, it has a lot of hidden parameters and settings. They are stored in any case. Sometimes this is the stone. Looking ahead, I’ll say that this is what helped. And so, to reset the MacBook, namely, reset the PRAM and NVRAM memory cells, do the following:

  • Turn off your MacBook completely by holding down the power key for 6 seconds.
  • Turn on the MacBook, hold down the keys when turning it on CMD+Option+P+R.
  • Hold until it reboots again and there is a greeting sound.

In this particular case, everything fell into place. This manipulation helped, the strange marked disks stopped being displayed, and most importantly, the installation process continued without errors.

Reset SMS on MacBook

Although there are situations when this does not help. Then we need to hit on all fronts and flattery further into the forest. Mac has the so-called SMC System Management Controller. The stability of the entire system depends on it, and often resetting its settings cures a number of problems such as:

— constantly rotating cooler at high speeds even without heating;

— The system freezes when going into sleep mode;

— Error in the operation of external monitors, as well as other peripherals and system loading errors;

In order to reset SMS, you need to do the following:

  • Turn off your MacBook completely by holding down the power key for 6 seconds.
  • Connect the power adapter.
  • Simultaneously press Shit + Control + Option + Power and hold until the MagSafe adapter indicator changes color.
  • Release all keys and press Power.

If you have an older model with a removable battery:

  • Turn off your MacBook completely by holding down the power key for 6 seconds.
  • Disconnect the power adapter.
  • Remove the battery.
  • Press and hold the Power button for at least 5 seconds.
  • Release the Power button, insert the battery, connect the power adapter and turn on the laptop.

But if you are the owner of Desktops (iMac, Mac mini, Mac Pro), then we will help you:

  • Completely disconnect from power
  • Wait 30+ seconds
  • Connect power, wait 5-10 seconds and turn on the device.

Something like this will help you! If you still cannot cope with the problem, our editors and our readers are always happy to help you with your problem. Remember, you are not alone) We will be waiting for your comments and questions.

Any operating system sooner or later needs complete reinstallation. The reasons for this may be different: infection with virus programs, bugs, and so on. As a result of "pollution" unnecessary files, the device starts to work much slower due to processes. In some cases, it is easier to reinstall the system than to find the cause of the problem and fix it. Let's figure out how to reinstall Mac OS and what is required for this.

What is needed to reinstall?

Those users who are familiar only with operating computers Windows system, will not be able to reinstall the OS on a Mac without additional help. To reinstall Mac OS on a MacBook, you must prepare the following:

  1. MacBook () which is connected to the network;
  2. our step-by-step instructions.

Now let's move on directly to the process of installing a clean version of Mac OS. This instruction Suitable for those who have operating system version 10.7 or later installed. If you have more than old version, then it should be updated with standard means OS. You can check the software version using the following steps:


How to reinstall Mac OS Sierra from scratch?

First, it's worth noting that reinstalling a Mac involves complete removal data from your computer's hard drive. Therefore, first copy all important information to third party media.

You can do this using the Time Machine backup program. Following the instructions of the Copy Wizard, you can easily create a backup copy on external media. Time Machine can also create backups automatically. Old copies will be deleted, and new ones will be saved on disk. This way you won't have to worry about the data being up to date.


Now you know how to reinstall mac os x on macbook pro or air, as well as on iMac. Next, you need to configure the system and complete the installation process.

Final setup before use

After the installation is complete, the program will prompt you to basic settings:

  1. On the first screen, select the Mac OS language. In the future, it can be changed within the software settings;
  2. on the second screen you will be prompted to connect to Wi-Fi (optional). You can skip this step;
  3. the next step is transferring information. Before you reinstall your MacBook Pro, Air or iMac, you can back up all your data;
  4. authorization via Apple ID (optional);
  5. acceptance of the license agreement;
  6. Creation account Mac OS for computer.

Ready! Now you can make your own Mac installation OS on any version of MacBook or all-in-one iMac. The whole process is as simple as possible: the user only needs a few keystrokes.

Most users traditionally switch to new version OS X by simply clicking the “update” button in App Store. Undoubtedly, this is the easiest method, but at the same time it is not always the most effective, since over time many Mac users notice that their system is no longer as fast as it was at the beginning of operation, and updating does not solve the problem.

Users who constantly change and reinstall software on their Mac are especially susceptible to this problem. The reason for the decrease in performance is precisely various system garbage and “residues” from remote programs which safely remain in place during the update. That is why many people prefer to install a “clean system”.

Things to remember before installing from scratch

First of all, be sure to back up your system. To do this, the standard set of OS X programs includes a wonderful Time Machine utility.

Also be sure to make sure that all your contacts, calendars, mail, etc. synced with iCloud (settings>iCloud)

Clean installation of OS X El Capitan step by step

2. Reboot the Mac while holding down the key option(aka alt).

3. Select a USB flash drive as boot media.

4. After the Mac boots Recovery from the USB flash drive, visually it will happen like this:

open Disk Utility and format your Mac hard drive.

5. To do this, select hard section disk in the panel on the left, then in the top panel click erase(do not change the format and name) then click again erase(at the bottom).

6. After formatting is complete, close Disk Utility and select reinstall OS X.

7. In the next window, select only the formatted hard drive and after completing the installation process you will receive a crystal clear OS X El Capitan.

By the way, you can reinstall the system from scratch without bothering with a flash drive. True, you need to have Capitan installed on your Mac before, also from scratch, otherwise the version of the system that came “in the box” will be installed.

So, if such a need arises, then restart your Mac while holding cmd+R, open Disk Utility and format the hard drive as shown above. Then you also choose Reinstall OS X and wait for the installation to complete.