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User profile for user: abudhabimjb
abudhabimjb Author
User level: Level 1
8 points

I have the circle with line startup problem on my iMac. If I choose the reinstall macOS will I lose all my previous files on the internal hard drive?

I am concerned about losing files from my internal hard drive of my iMac. When I switch it on I get the warning circle

with a line through it. I tried restarting it so I get the choice of macOS utilities but I don’t know which is the best solution to use. Unfortunately I don’t have a very recent Time Machine backup..... Does reinstalling macOS wipe the contents of the previous hard drive?

Posted on Apr 12, 2021 3:37 PM

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User profile for user: Jack-19
Jack-19
User level: Level 8
46,062 points

Posted on Apr 12, 2021 3:40 PM

Hi abudhabimjb,


See if this article helps: If your Mac starts up to a circle with a line through it - Apple Support.


Reinstalling macOS does not delete data, but you should have a backup in case anything goes wrong.


Cheers,


Jack

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I have the circle with line startup problem on my iMac. If I choose the reinstall macOS will I lose all my previous files on the internal hard drive?

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