jaysonokay

Q: 2009 MacBook reinstallation.

Hello Everyone.

 

I have a white MacBook from 2009 which shipped with SL but is currently running Yosemite, and I've been thinking about erasing and reinstalling as it's been a little sluggish lately, which I assume is due to it's age and the fact it's never been wiped and stuff before.

 

If I booted it into Recovery Mode and erased/reinstalled OS X would it reinstall SL or Yosemite? I've tried googling it but I get mixed answers.

 

If it does reinstall Snow Leopard, I have a 2014 iMac so could I just take the Yosemite installer app and put it on a USB and "drag and drop" it onto SL to reinstall? or would I need to format the USB a specific way for the installer to work as I don't think apps worked on that OS. Sorry if this doesn't make sense.

 

Thank you

MacBook, OS X Mavericks (10.9.4)

Posted on Sep 6, 2015 12:55 PM

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Q: 2009 MacBook reinstallation.

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  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Sep 6, 2015 1:01 PM in response to jaysonokay
    Level 10 (271,169 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 6, 2015 1:01 PM in response to jaysonokay

    You should be able to do this:

     

    Install or Reinstall OS X 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.

     

    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 OS X: Select Reinstall OS X 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.

     

    This should install the version of OS X that you had installed.