Q: I want to restore the system but keep files intact, what's recommended?
My computer started crashing out of the blue with the use of aperture, not sure if the library is too big to handle or what. Later I realized that it's not only crashing with aperture but with anything else that's not firefox.
With the use of aperture the computer crashes into a white background with vertical lines and a scary noise. With other programs goes into a black mode where I cannot get my background or any image back. In all cases I have to restart.
Because I have a laptop I don't like to have the time machine plugged in all the time so my latest back up is not current. That's why I'm afraid to restore the HD from the time machine, I feel I'm gonna loose all the new info if I restart from a time machine few months old.
Any helpful advise will be super appreciated as I need to resolve this to be able to work!!
Thanks a lot!
MacBook Pro (17-inch Early 2011), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)
Posted on Mar 5, 2013 11:53 AM
There aren't any viruses. I suggest you go the next step. Backup, erase drive, reinstall:
Install or Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion from Scratch
Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard drive.
Boot to the Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Erase the hard drive:
1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
2. After DU loads select your startup volume (usually Macintosh HD) from the
left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
3. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Optionally, click on
the Security button and set the Zero Data option to one-pass. Click on
the Erase button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Lion: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Install button.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible
because it is three times faster than wireless.
Posted on Mar 5, 2013 6:07 PM