Install Mac Os On Clean Hard Drive

  

Reinstall from macOS Recovery

macOS Recovery makes it easy to reinstall the Mac operating system, even if you need to erase your startup disk first. All you need is a connection to the Internet. If a wireless network is available, you can choose it from the Wi-Fi menu , which is also available in macOS Recovery.

1. Start up from macOS Recovery

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Sep 13, 2018  Some Mac users choose to perform a clean install of each major new version of Mac OS, erasing their drive and starting over. Here's a step-by-step guide to performing a clean install of newest macOS Mojave using a bootable USB drive without losing your data.

  1. Dec 26, 2017  If you booted from a functioning recovery partition, click the “Reinstall macOS” button. The installation process will begin. If you booted from an USB disk, click “Continue” to advance to the installer. You’ll be asked which hard drive you want to install to.
  2. Sep 20, 2016  This type of clean install doesn't require you to make a bootable copy of the macOS installer, since you can run the installer directly from your Mac’s startup drive. But you need to have another hard drive or volume that you can use for installing macOS. So, this is the easiest way to clean install macOS 10.12.
  3. Sep 25, 2017  Notice: USB drive is needed for a clean install on your Mac’s startup drive. If you plan to clean install macOS on a non-startup drive, you don't need it. Go for a system cleanup and backup your data - this will allow you to easily return your Mac to the condition it was in before you installed macOS. And an hour or two to spare.

To start up from macOS Recovery, turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold one of the following sets of keys on your keyboard. Release the keys when you see an Apple logo, spinning globe, or other startup screen.

Command (⌘)-R

Reinstall the latest macOS that was installed on your Mac (recommended).

Option-⌘-R

Upgrade to the latest macOS that is compatible with your Mac.

Shift-Option-⌘-R

Reinstall the macOS that came with your Mac, or the closest version still available.

Mac

You might be prompted to enter a password, such as a firmware password or the password of a user who is an administrator of this Mac. Enter the requested password to continue.

When you see the utilities window, you have started up from macOS Recovery.

How To Install Mac Os On A Clean Hard Drive

2. Decide whether to erase (format) your disk

You probably don't need to erase, unless you're selling, trading in, or giving away your Mac, or you have an issue that requires you to erase. If you need to erase before installing macOS, select Disk Utility from the Utilities window, then click Continue. Learn more about when and how to erase.

3. Install macOS

When you're ready to reinstall macOS, choose Reinstall macOS from the Utilities window. Then click Continue and follow the onscreen instructions. You will be asked to choose a disk on which to install.

  • If the installer asks to unlock your disk, enter the password you use to log in to your Mac.
  • If the installer doesn't see your disk, or it says that it can't install on your computer or volume, you might need to erase your disk first.
  • If the installer is for a different version of macOS than you expected, learn about macOS Recovery exceptions.
  • If the installer offers you the choice between installing on Macintosh HD or Macintosh HD - Data, choose Macintosh HD.

Please allow installation to complete without putting your Mac to sleep or closing its lid. During installation, your Mac might restart and show a progress bar several times, and the screen might be empty for minutes at a time.

If your Mac restarts to a setup assistant, but you're selling, trading in, or giving away your Mac, press Command-Q to quit the assistant without completing setup. Then click Shut Down. When the new owner starts up the Mac, they can use their own information to complete setup.

macOS Recovery exceptions

The version of macOS offered by macOS Recovery might vary in some cases:

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  • If macOS Sierra 10.12.4 or later has never been installed on this Mac, Option-Command-R installs the macOS that came with your Mac, or the closest version still available. And Shift-Option-Command-R isn't available.
  • If you erased your entire disk instead of just the startup volume on that disk, macOS Recovery might offer only the macOS that came with your Mac, or the closest version still available. You can upgrade to a later version afterward.
  • If your Mac has the Apple T2 Security Chip and you never installed a macOS update, Option-Command-R installs the latest macOS that was installed on your Mac.
  • If you just had your Mac logic board replaced during a repair, macOS Recovery might offer only the latest macOS that is compatible with your Mac.

If you can't get macOS Recovery to offer the installer you want, you might be able to use one of the other ways to install macOS.

Other ways to install macOS

  • You can also install macOS from the App Store or Software Update preferences. If you can't install macOS Catalina, you might be able to install an earlier macOS, such as macOS Mojave, High Sierra, Sierra, El Capitan, or Yosemite.
  • Or create a bootable installer disk, then use that disk to install macOS on your Mac or another Mac.

macOS Sierra is a fantastic update arriving from Apple to make us love our Macs even more. It has plenty of new features, and also has the same easy clean install and upgrade flow as did the previous OS.

LEARN MORE: How to Clean Install the macOS High Sierra?

Note, that getting an upgrade is the easiest way of installing the new macOS. It saves all your personal files, apps and user data, while a so-called clean install of Sierra will erase all data on the startup drive and replace it with a clean copy of OS. But, if you like an idea of giving your Mac a fresh start with a new macOS and nothing else, a clean install is the right option for you.

Also, in case you’ve noticed that with time your Mac is running slower, it has unusual startup or shutdown issues and crashes, a clean install may be a good way to get back the speed and fix the problem.

First of all, make sure that your Mac is able to run MacOS Sierra.

Then, you should prepare your Mac for the installation:

  • Download macOS Sierra Installer from the Mac App Store. Once the download completes, it will automatically launch. Quit macOS Sierra Installer app without performing the installation.
  • Take a 16GB or larger USB flash drive to create a bootable Sierra installer. This flash drive is only needed for a clean install on your Mac’s startup drive. But if you plan to clean install on a non-startup drive (you have and extra HDD or SSD on your Mac), you don't need the USB.
  • Backup your Mac to ensure your personal data is intact.

Clean Install macOS Sierra on Your Mac’s Startup Drive

If you're going to perform a clean install on the startup drive, you need to backup your data, create a bootable copy of the installer, and, finally, boot from the bootable installer. So, let us begin.

Step 1: Clean up your Mac

To make sure Sierra has no troubles installing and works fine after, you need to get rid of system junk on your Mac first. You could clean it up manually, but using a cleaning app like CleanMyMac X will save you hours on that. Junk removal with CleanMyMac takes only a few minutes. Download CleanMyMac for free, launch it, click Scan, and then Clean. Now you’ve got plenty of free space and your Mac is free from system trash.

Step 2: Back up your data

Note: A clean install of macOS Sierra on the startup drive completely erases all data on that drive: all your files and documents, including music, movies, pictures, and even apps.

So, If you skip this step, you wouldn’t be able to recover your data if something goes wrong.

To backup your Mac:

  • Open Time Machine.
  • Click Select Disk.
  • Choose where you wish to save your files (to the external drive or to the cloud storage).
  • Click On to turn Time Machine on.
  • Click on the “arrow clock” icon and select Back Up Now in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
Install

Step 3: Clean Install macOS Sierra on your startup disk

1. Create a bootable flash drive with macOS Sierra.

First, make sure your USB flash drive is formatted and named as “Untitled”.

  • To format a USB drive launch Disk Utility (Finder -> /Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility).
  • Select your USB drive under External.
  • Click the Erase tab at the top of the Disk Utility window. Select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) from the format list. Then, click the Erase button. When the process is complete, click Done, and close the Disk Utility window.
  • If your drive is named something else, you need to rename it (Open Finder -> right click on the USB drive and choose Rename).

Now, your USB flash drive is ready.

  • Launch Terminal (Finder Applications Utilities Terminal)
  • Enter the following text into Terminal:
    sudo /Applications/Install macOS Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Untitled --applicationpath /Applications/Install macOS Sierra.app --nointeraction
  • Hit the Enter key.
  • Terminal will ask you for an admin password (the one you use to log in). It won’t display characters when you type, so just do it. Hit Return. You’ll see that Terminal erases your drive. Then, Terminal will copy the installer file to your disk. This will take a few minutes. When the process is complete, the Terminal window will report 'Done.' You can quit Terminal and your bootable macOS Sierra installer USB drive is ready for use.

Also, you can follow the instructions from an Apple article on how to create bootable installer.

2. Plug in the bootable macOS Sierra installer USB drive to your Mac.
3. Restart your Mac while holding the Option key or Cmd+R. Make sure to keep it pressed!
4. When Mac restarts, you’ll see the macOS Startup Manager with a list of bootable devices that your Mac can start up from.
5. Use the arrow keys to choose your USB drive with macOS Sierra installer. Press Enter.
6. Select Disk Utility.
7. In the window, at the top of the left bar, select your Mac’s Main Drive (it looks like a MacintoshHD).
8. Select the Erase tab located next to the First Aid button at the top.
9. Near the center of the window, select the Format drop-down list and select Mac OS X Extended (Journaled) type.
10. Click Erase (Note: this will erase all your data from your main drive!) and give the drive some time to format.
11. When it’s done, close Disk Utility and select “Install macOS” from the menu.
12. Select your main drive and install the new macOS Sierra 10.12.

Follow these Sierra install instructions and enjoy your newly clean-installed macOS Sierra.

Clean Install on a Non-Startup Drive

This type of clean install doesn't require you to make a bootable copy of the macOS installer, since you can run the installer directly from your Mac’s startup drive. But you need to have another hard drive or volume that you can use for installing macOS.

So, this is the easiest way to clean install macOS 10.12. Simply use an extra drive or volume (it doesn’t have to necessarily be empty already, you just need to be fine with it being erased) and install Sierra there.

Step 1: Erase your non-startup drive

If your non-startup drive has any other Mac OS, erase it before installing Sierra. If the target drive only has personal data on it, or is already empty, you can skip the erase process.

To erase the non-startup drive, use a Mac's Drive Using Disk Utility (OS X El Capitan or later)

After the non-startup drive is erased, you can start the install process.

Step 2: Download the macOS Sierra Installer from the Mac App Store

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When the macOS download completes, it will automatically launch the installer. Quit the macOS Sierra Installer app without performing the installation. You'll find the macOS Sierra Installer in the /Applications folder.

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Step 3: Start the Installation of macOS Sierra on the Non-startup drive

New Hard Drive Os Install

  • Launch the Installer from /Applications folder.
  • Click Continue.
  • Check the non-startup drive that you can install Sierra on (usually, the installer will display the default target for the installation of macOS Sierra as the startup drive (Macintosh HD). So, you should to click the Show All Disks button, and the installer will display a list of all attached volumes).
  • Click the Install button.
  • The macOS Sierra installer will display a progress bar. You'll be guided through the macOS Sierra setup process to create a user account, set up date and time, and other introductory stuff.

Enjoy your fresh, clean-installed macOS Sierra.

How To Install Mac Os On Clean Hard Drive

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