Format MacBookAir (2017 Intel)while keeping Bundled Software?

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Level 1

4 points

Format MacBookAir (2017 Intel)while keeping Bundled Software?

Hi all.

First time caller, long time reader, appreciate any input…

I have a 2017 MacBook Air running Monterey 12.7.4.

Recently several programs began failing during use - QuickTime, Mail, Safari, photos, Pages. Issue has worsened to point these apps will no longer open a file or the application. Get a note that ABC APP has unexpectedly quit - Ignore, Report, Reopen.

Given the age of the device, need to clean up data and remove kids profiles, I thought a Full wipe, followed by Startup in Network Recovery mode would be my best option - I have Time Machined my system but am worried restoring the BU will reintroduce the current issues. So have also backed up all photos, files etc separately from Time Machine.

Does full system wipe followed by Startup in Network Recovery mode seem like the best option?

If I go this route, what OS do you suggest I install once clean?

Will installing an OS from Apple restore the bundled software that was included originally? IE: Pages, Numbers, IMovie? If not are these available without needing to pay $$purchase?

Thanks in advance look forward to your thoughts and know it will be insightful and hopefully help clear the murky waters.

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 12.7

Posted on May 10, 2024 4:42 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Tesserax

Level 10

148,907 points

May 10, 2024 1:29 PM in response to Phillyfly8

To answer one of your questions, the 2017 MBA can run up to the latest version of macOS Monterey. Which is 12.7.4 and what your Mac is currently running. 12.7.5 is currently in beta.

... so macOS Monterey 12.7.4 should be the "best" version of macOS for your laptop.

Not sure if Pages, Numbers, iMovie are provided with macOS ... as they always seem to be on my Macs ... and I don't recall having to download them. Regardless, they are all available from the Apple App Store.

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Answer 2

HWTech

Level 9

56,180 points

May 10, 2024 9:13 AM in response to Phillyfly8

Since you may have a lot of old clutter you want to remove, a clean install would be a good choice. When restoring from a backup, then just restore/migrate just the home user folder(s) you wish to keep. Manually reinstall all third party software by downloading & installing the most recent versions.

Pages, Numbers, and iMovie are not included with macOS and must be downloaded separately from the App Store. I don't know how that works to recover those preinstalled apps, perhaps another more knowledgeable contributor will chime in here.

The other option would be to attempt to troubleshoot any possible software issues and uninstalling any of third party apps you no longer want. The usual software culprits causing problems are anti-virus apps, cleaning/optimizer apps, and third party security software....none of which are needed on a Mac. Uninstall them by following the developer's instructions. To help identify possible software issues you can run the party app EtreCheck and post the complete report here so we can examine it for clues.

You can also run the Apple Diagnostics to see if any hardware issues are detected. Unfortunately the diagnostics rarely detect problems even when they exist.

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Answer 3

May 11, 2024 5:41 AM in response to Phillyfly8

One thing you should do is get a 16GB USB stick, download the macOS installer (but do not continue the install), and then create an installer on the USB stick just as a backup in case there are problems with using internet recovery.

Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support

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Answer 4

Phillyfly8 Author

Level 1

4 points

May 10, 2024 9:29 AM in response to HWTech

Thanks, I am not running any anti-virus etc so don’t believe that is the issue. Diagnostics returned no known issues.

I attempted to install QuickTime to overwrite any existing issue, however, none of the versions I found as stand-alone software (I believe 7.5 Snowleopard and V10.xx were compatible. I also attempted to DL and overwrite the full Monterey 12.7.4 IOS which contains Quick Time. That didn’t correct it either unfortunately.

Any input/suggestions on which IOS are compatible\best for a fresh install?

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Answer 5

May 10, 2024 2:10 PM in response to Phillyfly8

Current versions of Pages, Numbers, and Keynote require macOS 13.0 (Ventura) or later. There might be a problem trying to download those to a 2017 MacBook Air that can't run anything later than Monterey.

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