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Q: restore imac

Hi, i purchased a new 27" iMac this week and used Migration Assistant to transfer stuff from my old Mac Pro. I regret doing it now because nothing is working right (office is screwed up, creative suite won't load) on my new machine and wish I had just kept it clean and installed everything from scratch. I'm wondering if there is a way to restore the iMac to "factory settings" since they don't come with system disks anymore.

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Apr 19, 2013 4:03 PM

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Q: restore imac

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Niel,

    Niel Niel Apr 19, 2013 4:04 PM in response to KPC_CA
    Level 10 (313,241 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 19, 2013 4:04 PM in response to KPC_CA

    Restart the computer with the Command and R keys held down, use the Disk Utility to erase the Mac OS X partition, and install a new OS on it.

     

    (81291)

  • by KPC_CA,

    KPC_CA KPC_CA Apr 19, 2013 4:06 PM in response to Niel
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 19, 2013 4:06 PM in response to Niel

    and it will allow you to install the new OS without disks?

  • by Kappy,Solvedanswer

    Kappy Kappy Apr 19, 2013 4:06 PM in response to KPC_CA
    Level 10 (271,291 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 19, 2013 4:06 PM in response to KPC_CA

    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.

  • by Niel,Helpful

    Niel Niel Apr 19, 2013 4:07 PM in response to KPC_CA
    Level 10 (313,241 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 19, 2013 4:07 PM in response to KPC_CA

    Yes. Computers which ship with Mac OS X 10.7 or newer have a preloaded recovery partition and will reinstall the rest of the files directly from Apple's website.

     

    (81292)

  • by Kappy,Helpful

    Kappy Kappy Apr 19, 2013 4:08 PM in response to KPC_CA
    Level 10 (271,291 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 19, 2013 4:08 PM in response to KPC_CA

    Yes. It downloads Mountain Lion from Apple's server.

  • by KPC_CA,

    KPC_CA KPC_CA Apr 19, 2013 4:09 PM in response to Niel
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 19, 2013 4:09 PM in response to Niel

    very cool. thank you both