How to Download and Perform a Clean Install of OS X El Capitan

1. Back up your Mac. ...
2. Take stock of your setup. ...
3. Make a note of your apps. ...
4. Download OS X 10.11 and DiskMaker X 5. ...
5. Create the El Capitan USB drive. ...
6. Install El Capitan. ...
7. Wipe your system disk. ...
8. Initiate installation.

1. How do I do a clean install of OS X El Capitan?
2. How do I wipe and reinstall OS X El Capitan?
3. How do I wipe my Mac and reinstall OS?
4. How do I do a clean install of OSX?
5. How do I fix a Mac installation error?
6. How do you completely reset a Mac?
7. How do I reinstall Mac OS from USB?
8. How do I reinstall OSX without disc?
9. How do I reset the OSX base system?
10. Why is my macOS not installing?
11. How do I reinstall OSX without Internet?
12. Can a Mac be too old to update?
13. How do I force a Mac update?
14. How do I restore factory settings on my MacBook air?

How do I do a clean install of OS X El Capitan?

How to Clean Install OS X El Capitan & Start Fresh

1. Start and complete a backup with Time Machine before beginning. ...
2. Connect the bootable USB El Capitan install drive to the Mac, then reboot the Mac.

How do I wipe and reinstall OS X El Capitan?

Install El Capitan from Scratch

1. Restart the computer. ...
2. Select Disk Utility from the Utility Menu and click on Continue button.
3. When Disk Utility loads select the volume (indented entry, usually Macintosh HD) from the Device list.
4. Click on the Erase icon in Disk Utility's main window.

How do I wipe my Mac and reinstall OS?

Select your startup disk on the left, then click Erase. Click the Format pop-up menu (APFS should be selected), enter a name, then click Erase. After the disk is erased, choose Disk Utility > Quit Disk Utility. In the Recovery app window, select “Reinstall macOS,” click Continue, then follow the onscreen instructions.

How do I do a clean install of OSX?

Step 4: Wipe your Mac

1. Connect your boot drive.
2. Start up - or restart - your Mac while holding down the Option key (also known as Alt). ...
3. Choose to install your chosen version of macOS from the external drive.
4. Select Disk Utility.
5. Select your Mac's start up disc, probably called Macintosh HD or Home.
6. Click on Erase.

How do I fix a Mac installation error?

How to Fix the 'macOS Could Not Be Installed' Error

1. Restart and try the installation again. ...
2. Check the Date & Time setting. ...
3. Free up space. ...
4. Delete the installer. ...
5. Reset the NVRAM. ...
6. Restore from a backup. ...
7. Run Disk First Aid.

How do you completely reset a Mac?

Shut down your Mac, then turn it on and immediately press and hold these four keys together: Option, Command, P, and R. Release the keys after about 20 seconds. This clears user settings from memory and restores certain security features that might have been altered. Learn more about resetting NVRAM or PRAM.

How do I reinstall Mac OS from USB?

Install macOS from the bootable installer

1. Make sure the bootable installer (USB flash drive) is connected to your Mac.
2. Shut down your Mac.
3. Hold down Option/Alt and press the Power button.
4. The startup device list window should appear displaying a yellow drive with Install (software name) below it.

How do I reinstall OSX without disc?

Reinstall Your Mac's OS Without an Installation Disc

1. Turn your Mac on, while holding the CMD + R keys down.
2. Select "Disk Utility" and click on Continue.
3. Select the startup disk and go to the Erase Tab.
4. Select the Mac OS Extended (Journaled), give a name to your disk and click on Erase.
5. Disk Utility > Quit Disk Utility.

How do I reset the OSX base system?

OS X Base System is the recovery partition (used to install OS X without a CD). To use it just boot into Recovery Mode by pressing Command+R when starting the system. You're going to want to use disk utility and format Macintosh HD. And then after you format you can re-open the install tools.

Why is my macOS not installing?

Some of the most common reasons macOS can't complete the installation include: Not enough free storage on your Mac. Corruptions in the macOS installer file. Problems with your Mac's startup disk.

How do I reinstall OSX without Internet?

Installing a fresh copy of macOS via Recovery Mode

1. Restart your Mac while holding down the 'Command+R' buttons.
2. Release these buttons as soon as you see the Apple logo. Your Mac should now boot into Recovery Mode.
3. Select 'Reinstall macOS,' and then click 'Continue. '
4. If prompted, enter your Apple ID.

Can a Mac be too old to update?

Apple said that would run happily on a late 2009 or later MacBook or iMac, or a 2010 or later MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini or Mac Pro. If you Mac is supported read: How to update to Big Sur. This means that if your Mac is older than 2012 it won't officially be able to run Catalina or Mojave.

How do I force a Mac update?

Choose System Preferences from the Apple menu , then click Software Update to check for updates. If any updates are available, click the Update Now button to install them. Or click “More info” to see details about each update and select specific updates to install.

How do I restore factory settings on my MacBook air?

How to reset a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro

1. Hold down the Command and R keys on the keyboard and turn on the Mac. ...
2. Select your language and continue.
3. Choose Disk Utility and click continue.
4. Choose your startup disk (named Macintosh HD by default) from the sidebar and click the Erase button.