Mastering Disk Utility in macOS Sierra - Terms in Disk Utility and What They Mean

1. What does Disk Utility do on a Mac?
2. Should I delete Macintosh HD data?
3. How do I restore my Mac using Disk Utility?
4. How do I run Disk Utility on a Mac?
5. Should I run disk utility on my Mac?
6. How do I clean up my Mac?
7. What happens if you delete Macintosh HD?
8. How do I clean up my Macintosh HD data?
9. How do I free up space on my Macintosh HD?
10. How do I fix a Mac startup problem?
11. How do I wipe my Mac and reinstall?
12. How do I boot my Mac into recovery mode?

What does Disk Utility do on a Mac?

Disk Utility is use to erase, format or manage internal disks and external storage devices. Disk Utility can also be used to add and manage volumes, or if you want to organize your date into partitions. Disk Utility can be useful if you are working with RAID sets.

Should I delete Macintosh HD data?

Sadly, that's wrong and will fail. To perform a clean re-install in Catalina, once in Recovery Mode, you need to delete your Data volume, that's the one named Macintosh HD - Data , or something similar if you're using a custom name, and to erase your System volume.

How do I restore my Mac using Disk Utility?

In Disk Utility, select Images, Scan Image for Restore. Browse to where the image is stored, then select the image file and click the Open button. Provide an administrator password, if asked, and then click the OK button. When the scan is complete, click the Done button.

How do I run Disk Utility on a Mac?

To access the Disk Utility in macOS, just press Command+Space to open Spotlight search, type “Disk Utility” into the search box, and then press Enter. You can also click the Launchpad icon on your dock, click the Other folder, and then click Disk Utility.

Should I run disk utility on my Mac?

Disk Utility can find and repair errors related to the formatting and directory structure of a Mac disk. Errors can lead to unexpected behavior when using your Mac, and significant errors might even prevent your Mac from starting up completely.

How do I clean up my Mac?

Optimize the inside of your Mac with a clean-up

1. Step One: Update your software. ...
2. Step Two: Tidy up your start up. ...
3. Step Three: Clean out unused apps. ...
4. Step Four: Clean out the downloads folder. ...
5. Step Five: Tidy up your storage disk. ...
6. Step Six: Clean out the cache. ...
7. Step 7: Remove resource-hungry programs. ...
8. Step 8: Take out the trash.

What happens if you delete Macintosh HD?

You won't lose your own files, or apps that you might have installed. ... This reinstall just copies a fresh set of your operating system files. Then, restarts, finishes the install with those downloaded files. The install process might take more than 30 minutes, but you should boot back into your hard drive, no harm done.

How do I clean up my Macintosh HD data?

How to Clean Mac Hard Drive Manually

1. Clean up cache. You've probably heard “Remove your cache” as a web browser troubleshooting tip. ...
2. Uninstall apps you don't use. ...
3. Clean out useless duplicates. ...
4. Empty the Trash. ...
5. Reduce clutter. ...
6. Delete large and old files. ...
7. Remove old iOS backups. ...
8. Wipe out Language files.

How do I free up space on my Macintosh HD?

How to free up storage space manually

1. Music, movies, and other media can use a lot of storage space. ...
2. Delete other files that you no longer need by moving them to the Trash, then emptying the Trash. ...
3. Move files to an external storage device.
4. Compress files.

How do I fix a Mac startup problem?

On a Mac laptop:

1. Shut down the MacBook.
2. Unplug and then reconnect the power cable.
3. Press Shift + Ctrl + Option/Alt keys and the power button at the same time.
4. Now release all those keys and the power button at the same time.
5. You may see the light on the power cable flicker.
6. Restart your MacBook.

How do I wipe my Mac and reinstall?

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 boot my Mac into recovery mode?

How to start Mac in Recovery Mode

1. Click on Apple logo at the top left of the screen.
2. Select Restart.
3. Immediately hold down the Command and R keys until you see an Apple logo or spinning globe. ...
4. Eventually your Mac will show the Recovery Mode Utilities window with the following options: