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reinstall snow leopard so mac is as new

Hi,


How do I reinstall snow leapard on my imac27.

I want to reset everything so the computer is as new with factory settings etc.


Having done that I will reinstall everything from a time machine backup.


thanks

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Feb 13, 2013 2:42 PM

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Posted on Feb 13, 2013 2:44 PM

Insert the computer's original disk or a retail Mac OS X 10.6 DVD, restart with the C key held down, open the Disk Utility, erase the drive, and install a new OS on it.


(76776)

21 replies

Feb 13, 2013 2:46 PM in response to Movitar

Erase and Install Snow Leopard


1. Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.


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 Partition tab in the DU main window.


3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.


4. After formatting is done quit DU and return to the installer. Install Snow Leopard.


5. Download and install Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.

Feb 13, 2013 2:46 PM in response to Movitar

I'm not sure why you feel it's necessary to "reset everything", but what you'd want to do is:


  • Boot from the Snow Leopard DVD by holding down the "c" key during the reboot.
  • Now that you're booted from the DVD, you can cruise up to the top Utilities and run Disk Utility. Select your Mac's internal drive and erase it.
  • Once the drive's erased, you can then go on to install Snow Leopard.


I hope this helps.

Feb 13, 2013 2:59 PM in response to Movitar

You cannot download Snow Leopard except to pirate it. Go buy a disc:


You can purchase Snow Leopard through the Apple Store: Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard - Apple Store (U.S.). The price is $19.99 plus tax. You will be sent physical media by mail after placing your order.


After you install Snow Leopard you will have to download and install the Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1 to update Snow Leopard to 10.6.8 and give you access to the App Store. Access to the App Store enables you to download Mountain Lion if your computer meets the requirements.

Feb 13, 2013 3:54 PM in response to Movitar

I'm inclined to agree with Niel. The earliest of the Mid-2010 series was released with a version of 10.6.3, but it was later than the retail release meaning you need 10.6.4 or later.


Your choice, then, is to call Customer Service: Contacting Apple for support and service - this includes international calling numbers and order replacement discs for the computer or simply install a fresh copy of Mountain Lion. You can do the latter this way:


Install or Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion from Scratch


Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard 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 startup volume (usually Macintosh HD) from the

left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.


3. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Optionally, click on

the Security button and set the ZeroData option to one-pass. 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/Mountain Lion and click on the Install button.


Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible

because it is three times faster than wireless.


reinstall snow leopard so mac is as new

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