Rachel is trying to sell her Mac , but …
My supporter was wipe my Mac so I could sell it and I ’m pretty certain they ’ve cancel the scratch line up disk ? It ’s not letting me reinstall the OS on a recuperation inauguration .
She wonder about a localization . There are a couple of options with an erased partition .
retrieval lets you install onto an erased partition , but only if Recovery was n’t erased , too !
Because Recovery did n’t work , the fastest way to put in fresh is to make or borrow a macOS installer on a USB flash drive or a disk driving . We have instructions formaking a bootable installer with macOS Sierra(as well as archive translation for several previous releases ) . You need at least an 8 GB flash private road . The article include instructions on obtaining the installer , which might involve you experience to use someone ’s else Mac to download it , if you do n’t have a replacing Mac on hired hand yet .
But if you ca n’t get access to another Mac or the necessary drive , it ’s still possible to use a dissimilar Recovery mood on all recent Macs , date back to 2010 . Normally , you’re able to start up a Mac while holding down Command - gas constant to reboot into what Apple now calls macOS Recovery . That allows you to guide Disk Utility , reinstall or wipe and add the arrangement , accession Terminal for bid - line functions , and so on . In that mode , when you prefer to reinstall without erasing the parkway , my remembrance is that Recovery look for the current OS system installer on your inauguration disk in the Applications folder , and use that . ( Apple does n’t document that , and I have n’t had to try that for years . )
betray finding it , Recovery download the currently installed version of macOS ( or OS X ) , which is about 5 GB . When complete , it install it and reboots , and places the installer in the Applications booklet .
However , there ’s yet another option : macOS Recovery over the Internet , which requires either a Mac modelling released in 2012 or after , ormost 2010 and 2011 models with a microcode upgrade employ . There , the Mac touch out over a Wi - Fi or ethernet connectedness to download the relatively low Recovery software , which then bootstrap the download of the full macOS installer .
Apple says Internet - base Recovery should happen automatically on supported models , and you should see a spinning globe when that mode is conjure up while the download occurs . However , if you have normal Recovery installed and it deny to instal macOS for some reason , you could manually put forward Internet Recovery .
While bid - R at startup always put in whatever the most late edition you installed on your Mac , holding down Command - Option - roentgen brings down the very latest compatible version that can be instal . Apple also offers Shift - Command - Option - universal gas constant , which installs the version of OS X or macOS with which your computer shipped , or the next oldest compatible system still usable for download .
( Apple just transfer this behavior with 10.12.4 , but if you ’re using net Recovery for a light install on an rub out drive , the new behaviour should be dynamic as it will be pulled from the version of Recovery that ’s bootstrapped from Apple ’s server . The pre-10.12.4 option is simply Command - pick - radius , but it act as like the novel Shift - Command - Option - R , installing the ship o or the oldest compatible version . )
Apple commend the Command - Option - R selection as the only dependable way to reinstall a Mac with El Capitan or earlier variation of macOS if you want to be certain your Apple ID does n’t persist even after erasure .
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We ’ve compiled a listing of the questions we get asked most oftentimes along with answers and links to columns : register our super FAQto see if your question is covered . If not , we ’re always see for new problems to solve ! Email yours tomac911@macworld.comincluding sieve capture as appropriate . Mac 911 ca n’t answer to — nor issue an answer to — every question , and we do n’t provide direct troubleshooting advice .
