Macbook air factory reset issue

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Macbook air factory reset issue

I factory resetted my mac as it got handed down to me from a family member. When I got to the point to erase the data, I noticed that I had Macintosh HD as well as Macintosh HD - data.

I could not find any clear instructions on the internet of which one to delete, so silly me deleted both and now the installation option that I get is for macOS mountain lion which appears to be very old.

I attempted to install it but the “install” button was greyed out so I restarted the mac and now whenever I switch it on using Command + Option + R, instead of taking me to the Disk utility screen it gives me an internet recovery screen which I can’t seem to bypass.

Any help would be appreciated.

MacBook Air

Posted on Nov 2, 2021 10:08 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

ku4hx

Level 7

23,532 points

Nov 3, 2021 5:00 AM in response to Jessica_apple_help

Instructions for making an installation drive:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372

I use app Install Disk Creator to actually created the installer. Once the installation file is downloaded, you run the app, select the drive to be the OS installer, select the downloaded OS file and then run the app. It'll tell you when it's done.

When the MacOS download is complete, Command Q will quite the panel and halt further action. The installer file will be in the Applications folder.

Once done, insert the thumb drive into your MAC, reboot and select the thumb drive as the boot drive and it will reinstall your OS. Once complete you can setup a user and import your personal data from your backup.

You're going to need a working Mac to do this.

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Answer 2

Nov 3, 2021 4:00 AM in response to ku4hx

I was following instructions that were given to me on a previous question about how to reset a mac. This is the link that I got given and used : https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208496

It says to erase Macintosh HD so I thought that that would have been correct. I thought that where I went wrong was with deleting Macintosh data.

I hope that I did not completely mess the device up now as I need it for college. Is there any hope in fixing it?

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Answer 3

Nov 3, 2021 4:36 AM in response to ku4hx

I was intending to wipe the mac completely to change ownership, so I did do a backup of the data beforehand.

I have now attempted to run internet recovery for the second time and it returns the following message as shown in the image below. If I search for the link I don’t get anything.

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Answer 4

ku4hx

Level 7

23,532 points

Nov 2, 2021 10:32 AM in response to Jessica_apple_help

Interest recovery is attempting to recover your OS, you might want to let it run. But how did you delete Macintosh HD? You can't do that while running the system unless something is terribly wrong.

Macintosh - Data is your data. Macs keep the system separate from the data. If you'd erased Macintosh - HD and not deleted the - Data part, after reinstallation you'd have two - Datas. One would be new and the other the old useless one.

How were you planning to reinstall the OS once your disk was wiped? You can't do that now?

If all you wanted to do was remove previous user data, there are far better ways than doing anything in Disk Utility. You as an admin user could have removed the previous user and his data in System Preferences > Users & Groups. Takes maybe 10 seconds to run.

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Answer 5

ku4hx

Level 7

23,532 points

Nov 3, 2021 4:11 AM in response to Jessica_apple_help

Unless your Mac has been physically damaged beyond repair, there's always hope to restore it; restore the operating system.

Your problem is unless you have backups, and hopefully very recent ones, your data could very well be lost. Do you have backups?

Have you let internet recovery run? Once you wipe your drive, you Mac knows what to do next; you should let it. If you're connected to the internet, you know the necessary passwords if any and your Mac is physically in good shape, it will restore your OS. If it doesn't there are other methods such as a USB thumb drive installer.

In the instructions you followed, under the Before erasing your Mac section, #3 tells you to make a backup. Did you?

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Macbook air factory reset issue

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