HT202294: OS X: About Recovery Disk Assistant

Learn about OS X: About Recovery Disk Assistant
v.swanger007

Q: Will this create a new start up disk?

I Have accidentally deleted my startup disk on my MacBook Pro. Will a recovery thumb drive create a new start up disk? I wanted to buy snow leopard ( and just upgrade to Mavericks) but I am fine with lion and upgrading. But my question is: I do not currently have a recovery disk (going to purchase one) but I do not want to buy one of it will not create a startup disk. Internet recovery isn't working, Will the recovery disk fix my start up disk?

MacBook Pro

Posted on May 27, 2015 4:15 PM

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Q: Will this create a new start up disk?

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  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy May 27, 2015 4:22 PM in response to v.swanger007
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    Desktops
    May 27, 2015 4:22 PM in response to v.swanger007

    How, exactly, did you delete your startup volume?

     

    Do you have a recovery flash drive installer? You cannot buy one. You have to make one using an installer from Apple. You can only use the retail Snow Leopard DVD if your computer does not require a later version of OS X than 10.6.3. In order for you to make a flash drive installer you need to way to download the actual Apple installer from the App Store. To do that you must be using a Mac with 10.6.8 or later installed.

     

    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.

     

    At one time Apple sold a Lion 10.7 installer on a flash drive. They no longer do so, but you can search for ones on Google, Amazon, and eBay.

  • by v.swanger007,

    v.swanger007 v.swanger007 May 27, 2015 7:06 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 27, 2015 7:06 PM in response to Kappy

    I Have found a place that sells the lion. I was told on a different forum that my computer will NOT support snow leopard. So will lion create a new start up disk?

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy May 27, 2015 10:18 PM in response to v.swanger007
    Level 10 (270,190 points)
    Desktops
    May 27, 2015 10:18 PM in response to v.swanger007

    Which computer model do you have? A Lion installer will create a new startup volume. That's what an OS X installer does. Do you have a functioning Recovery HD on your computer as of now? What version of OS X was your computer running?

  • by v.swanger007,

    v.swanger007 v.swanger007 May 28, 2015 7:50 AM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 28, 2015 7:50 AM in response to Kappy

    i have MacBook pro mid 2012. It was running Yosemite and it crashed. I was trying to go back to mavericks. I have no idea about the recovery hd. I can get to it but when I try Internet recovery and reinstall lion it does not complete the download. It gives me error

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy May 28, 2015 12:51 PM in response to v.swanger007
    Level 10 (270,190 points)
    Desktops
    May 28, 2015 12:51 PM in response to v.swanger007

    Then you don't need a flash drive to reinstall from scratch. You use Internet Recovery:

     

    Install OS X Using Internet Recovery

     

    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 Internet Recovery HD:

     

    Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND-OPTION- R keys until a globe appears on the screen. Wait patiently - 15-20 minutes - until the Recovery main menu appears.

     

    Partition and Format the hard drive:

     

    1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
    2. After DU loads select your newly installed hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. 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. Quit DU and return to the main menu.

     

    Reinstall OS X: Select Reinstall OS X and click on the Install button. Be sure to select the correct drive to use if you have more than one.

     

    Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

     

    This should restore the version of OS X originally pre-installed on the computer.

  • by v.swanger007,

    v.swanger007 v.swanger007 May 28, 2015 12:57 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 28, 2015 12:57 PM in response to Kappy

    As I mentioned above.... Internet recovery is not working. It completes and then quits and gives me an error message.

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy May 28, 2015 1:16 PM in response to v.swanger007
    Level 10 (270,190 points)
    Desktops
    May 28, 2015 1:16 PM in response to v.swanger007

    Did you repartition the drive as shown in my procedure? If you did and the installation still failed then there are three things to consider:

     

    1. Use Ethernet rather than Wi-Fi. Be sure to turn off Wi-Fi before proceeding, if possible.
    2. The hard drive has failed and will have to be replaced.
    3. There is a defective memory module.
  • by v.swanger007,

    v.swanger007 v.swanger007 May 29, 2015 11:00 AM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 29, 2015 11:00 AM in response to Kappy

    IT won't let me partition the volume at all. By the way I do appreciate your advice in this manner.

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy May 29, 2015 12:09 PM in response to v.swanger007
    Level 10 (270,190 points)
    Desktops
    May 29, 2015 12:09 PM in response to v.swanger007

    What won't let you partition the drive? You need to explain these answers in detail, otherwise I don't know what has happened.