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User profile for user: draytonneedsmacbookairhelp
draytonneedsmacbookairhelp Author
User level: Level 1
11 points

Deleted Macintosh HD

Hi! I was trying to get the computer back to how it was when purchased, but deleted "Macintosh HD" off of "Disk Utility." I was frantically trying to fix it and now I'm not sure what to do. When I try to reinstall macOS, all that appears is the "OS X Base System," which is locked. All that shows up in "Disk Utility" is an Apple SSD 121.33 GB SATA Internal Physical Disk and it drops down to the OS X Base System 120.34 GB SATA Internal Physical Volume Mac OS Extended. It will not let me erase them or partition, because the size is too small. I have no idea what this stuff means and not sure what to do from here. I don't need to save anything, just want to be able to use the computer again!!

MacBook Air

Posted on Jan 8, 2021 9:06 PM

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User profile for user: StanleyG.
StanleyG.
User level: Level 4
2,935 points

Posted on Jan 8, 2021 9:31 PM

Having the base system is normal, good thing you didn't delete that (not that you could though.) Anyways, try these steps

  1. Shut down your Mac.
  2. Hold down Command-Option/Alt-R and press the Power button. (On some Mac keyboards the Option key will be named Alt).
  3. Hold down those keys until you a spinning globe and the message "Starting Internet Recovery. This may take a while".
  4. The message will be replaced with a progress bar. Wait for it to fill. Expect it to take a while...
  5. Wait for the MacOS Utilities screen to appear.
  6. Click Reinstall macOS and follow the installation process.


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11 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: StanleyG.
StanleyG.
User level: Level 4
2,935 points

Jan 8, 2021 9:31 PM in response to draytonneedsmacbookairhelp

Having the base system is normal, good thing you didn't delete that (not that you could though.) Anyways, try these steps

  1. Shut down your Mac.
  2. Hold down Command-Option/Alt-R and press the Power button. (On some Mac keyboards the Option key will be named Alt).
  3. Hold down those keys until you a spinning globe and the message "Starting Internet Recovery. This may take a while".
  4. The message will be replaced with a progress bar. Wait for it to fill. Expect it to take a while...
  5. Wait for the MacOS Utilities screen to appear.
  6. Click Reinstall macOS and follow the installation process.


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Deleted Macintosh HD

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