Reinstall Mac OS on old Mac mini

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abhi1979ATS Author

Level 1

8 points

Reinstall Mac OS on old Mac mini

Hi,

Can someone help on steps to reinstall Mac OS on old Mac mini? I had removed earlier MacOS and installed Ubuntu on it. Now I want MacOS back on my Mac mini.

Regards,

Abhi

Posted on Nov 21, 2020 8:37 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

den.thed

Level 10

81,694 points

Nov 21, 2020 11:24 AM in response to abhi1979ATS

Startup in macOS Recovery and use Disk Utility to erase the drive.

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT208496

Quit Disk Utility and Install macOS from macOS Recovery.

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT204904

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Answer 2

abhi1979ATS Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 21, 2020 11:22 PM in response to den.thed

Hi Den,

My Mac mini does not go into macOS recovery mode. I have tried following combinations:

ALT+R
CTLR+R

I am using windows keyboard. None of the above worked. I still see Ubuntu login screen.

Any other suggestion?

Regards,

Abhishek

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Answer 3

abhi1979ATS Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 22, 2020 7:43 AM in response to den.thed

Tried installing DiskMaker 7.0.1. but it throws error saying that the Mac version I use is old and it won't open. It will open on 10.x or later, while my Mac OS version is latest one (Big Sur ver 11.0.1).

Any suggestion on getting into recovery mode?

Regards

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Answer 4

den.thed

Level 10

81,694 points

Nov 22, 2020 8:07 AM in response to abhi1979ATS

You can not install Big Sur on a 2012 Mac Mini.

I only suggested installing High Sierra, because it is easier on the 2012 than the later macOS Catalina.

I suspect at this point, because you never upgraded the Mac Mini thru the normal upgrades from 10.8 to 10.14, that sadly you will be forced to download and install the latest macOS Catalina. Problem is, because you removed the earlier macOS did not follow the normal upgrade path, there is no way to start it up in macOS Recovery Mode. Which now forces you to erase and install macOS from an external source like DiskMaker on a flashdrive.

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