Installing OSX Mavericks on a new SSD

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Installing OSX Mavericks on a new SSD

I recently bought a used Macbook pro late 2011 and installed a new SSD into it. I created a usb recovery drive using recovery assisstant and I am able to get into osx utilities and select "reinstall OSX" after erasing the SSD, however it downloads the OS and then reboots back into OSX Utilities. I can see using Disk Utility that there is a separate partition on my usb key called OS X Base System, however I can't access this even if I boot holding down the option key. I have tried multiple times to install OSX using the "Reinstall OSX" utility, however it alwys just downloads and restarts back into OSX utilities. Please help!

MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9.1)

Posted on Feb 22, 2014 7:35 AM

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Answer 1

Feb 22, 2014 7:46 AM in response to Christof53

If you still have your old hdd, put it in a usb external enclosure, you may be able to boot from it and access its recovery partition.

Or you can run diskutility from your recovery drive, and clone your hdd to your ssd. Don't get it run the wrong way! The only trouble is you won't get a clean install, but a perfect image of your hdd as it was when you last ran it.

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Answer 2

babowa

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Feb 22, 2014 7:50 AM in response to Christof53

Just a thought - since the machine was used, did the seller give it to you with the original OS installed or an OS he upgraded to in the app store? If that's the case, that could be your problem as any OS or app obtained at the app store is not transferable and tied to the original Apple ID forever. Reinstalling/using recovery requires the original Apple ID.

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Answer 3

Christof53 Author

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Feb 22, 2014 7:56 AM in response to babowa

Hi, thanks for the response. It came with Mountian Lion already installed, however I was able to upgrade to Mavericks using my own Apple ID.

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Answer 4

babowa

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Feb 22, 2014 8:00 AM in response to Christof53

Well, that is good to hear; I am surprised though because Mountain Lion came out in 2012 and if the machine was bought in 2011, it came with Lion and the seller would need to uninstall ML and unregister it at Apple. Seems to be an anomaly here, but if it works......

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Answer 5

Christof53 Author

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Feb 22, 2014 8:02 AM in response to babowa

Those are good points, I'm not sure why or how it worked but everything seemed to be OK. However, perhaps that's the reason why I can't install a fresh copy on a new SSD? It does ask for my Apple ID before downloading the OS in OSX Utilities, however it does say it verifies my ID first and then starts the download, so I figured everything was OK.

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Answer 6

babowa

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Feb 22, 2014 9:15 AM in response to Christof53

Well, maybe the app store thing is still doing its thing..... try this:

Use Internet Recovery (that's the Command + Option + R keys while rebooting or restarting) - that will first have a spinning globe; once in Utilities, use Disk Utility to wipe your drive (important step), and then choose reinstall OS X. That method should not require an Apple ID. In any case, try that and, when finished, post back which version of OS X is now installed.

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Answer 7

Christof53 Author

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Feb 22, 2014 10:32 PM in response to babowa

Thank you Babowa, this solved my problem! It installed a version of OSX Lion, which makes sense as that was the original OS that shipped with the computer. It must have been an app store thing before. Thanks for all your help.

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Answer 8

babowa

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Feb 22, 2014 11:35 PM in response to Christof53

Glad to hear that worked (FYI, the seller should have done that!)........ Now you can download/install Mavericks using your own Apple ID.

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