how do i restore my imac to an earlier date

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If you are using Time Machine, you can restore the whole Mac to an older state starting from Recovery HD (pressing Command and R keys while your Mac is starting) and selecting the option to restore the Time Machine backup. Then, follow its steps

Hi

I believe its a typo in Shootist007 post it should read " unless you have Time Machine or some other backup system you CANT restore from a previous state "

If you need to completely re-install the operating system click on the link below for guidance

How to reinstall OS X on your Mac - Apple Support

You can only do that IF you use Time Machine or some other backup system. Mac OS X does not have a built in feature like Windows to Restore the system to a previous state.

So if you haven't been using Time Machine or some other backup system you can restore to a previous state.

HELP!!! I was having issues with my mac, which I am running mountain lion, and I was having trouble getting my displays to mirror. I googled problems with this and someone said that sometimes you have to reset your rvram. So i started the mac and held down command option and r and p until the second ding, upon arrival of my screen lighting up I lost everything. It seems my mac went backwards, my icon tray empty, my applications missing, my google chrome missing all latest activity, the last chrome activity in the history is from January 18th 2015, I really need help undoing what I just did, how can I restore to today. So i have everything back? please help. my email address is nycumminsdealer@yahoo.com

One possibility is that you have logged into a different user account. Click and hold the Apple in the upper left of your screen. At the bottom of the menu it will say "Log out _____". If you are certain that your correct user name follows the words Log out, we will have to try something else. If you are uncertain, pick the option to Log out. After a short pause you should be given an option to log in. Try logging in as a different user if an option is given. If no option is given, we will have to try something else.

How to do that without a time machine ?

If you do not have a Time Machine backup or some other backup in place (external backup on a separate drive) you will not be able to roll your system back to an earlier date.

My desktop is completely empty and I have nothing, its like starting from scratch

So, how do you do that?

How do I get rid of MacKeeper?