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User profile for user: crowfan00
crowfan00 Author
User level: Level 1
10 points

Want to reinstall Lion -- will Boot Camp partition be affected?

Hello,


I have a MBP with Lion. The disk is partitioned and I have Windows 7 installed via Boot Camp. When I boot up and hold the Option key, I see Macintosh HD, Windows Boot Camp and the restore partition for Lion.


Lately, I've been noticing a number of issues with Lion (wi-fi dropping, etc.) and I would like to wipe the drive and reintstall Lion fresh (this machine came with Snow Leopard I think, and I installed Lion over it). I assume I can do that with the recovery partition I see when I hold down Option at boot?

I am concerned about the Boot Camp partition though. I don't want anything to happen to that. I will back it up, of course, before I do anything. But can I just wipe the Lion partition and reinstall, or is it going to wipe the entire drive, wiping my Boot Camp install too? How do I do it?


Any tips on how to reinstall Lion and keep the Boot Camp partition safe are welcome. Thanks!

Posted on Jan 24, 2012 11:10 AM

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User profile for user: Kappy
Kappy
User level: Level 10
361,879 points

Posted on Jan 24, 2012 11:14 AM

Erasing the OS X volume and reinstalling OS X will not disturb your Windows partition.


Install or Reinstall Lion from Scratch


If possible backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive.


Boot to the Recovery HD:



Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.


Erase the hard drive:


  1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
  2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
  3. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Erase button and wait until the process has completed.
  4. Quit DU and return to the main menu.


Reinstall Lion: Select Reinstall Lion and click on the Install button.


Note: You can also re-download the Lion installer by opening the App Store application. Hold down the OPTION key and click on the Purchases icon in the toolbar. You should now see an active Install button to the right of your Lion purchase entry. There are situations in which this will not work. For example, if you are already booted into the Lion you originally purchased with your Apple ID or if an instance of the Lion installer is located anywhere on your computer.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: Kappy
Kappy
User level: Level 10
361,879 points

Jan 24, 2012 11:14 AM in response to crowfan00

Erasing the OS X volume and reinstalling OS X will not disturb your Windows partition.


Install or Reinstall Lion from Scratch


If possible backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive.


Boot to the Recovery HD:



Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.


Erase the hard drive:


  1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
  2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
  3. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Erase button and wait until the process has completed.
  4. Quit DU and return to the main menu.


Reinstall Lion: Select Reinstall Lion and click on the Install button.


Note: You can also re-download the Lion installer by opening the App Store application. Hold down the OPTION key and click on the Purchases icon in the toolbar. You should now see an active Install button to the right of your Lion purchase entry. There are situations in which this will not work. For example, if you are already booted into the Lion you originally purchased with your Apple ID or if an instance of the Lion installer is located anywhere on your computer.

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Want to reinstall Lion -- will Boot Camp partition be affected?

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