Clean install on new SSD?

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Level 1

5 points

Clean install on new SSD?

Hey folks,

New to the Apple forums, hope it's ok to post this question here and in the iMac forum. My question:

I recently acquired an older Early 2008 iMac (8,1). Right now it has 1GB RAM and an extremely cluttered HDD. I just bought a 2x2GB kit of memory for it, and decided while I'm at it, I'll do a complete clean install of Snow Leopard, and then upgrade it to El Cap. So I bought a trusty Samsung EVO SSD and an IcyDock SSD mount for it. I also bought a Snow Leopard DVD from Apple, since I couldn't find the original. All that out of the way, here's my question:

I want to do a complete clean install of OS X on the SSD, no cloning, no saving files, nothing. The old HDD, as mentioned, is packed with the previous users junk. I've read through loads of tutorials and whatnot on the web, and can't find a concise answer to how to do this. Some say just install the SSD, format it with Disk Utility, then throw the DVD at it (not literally 😉). Some say, create a bootable USB drive from downloaded OS X upgrade .dmg file. And on and on.

Can anyone tell me, as an old PC user, new iMac user, what to do in this situation?

Side question: Is it possible to go straight to El Cap instead of going through Snow Leopard to get there?

What I have:

- new Snow Leopard DVD

- new SSD

- old HDD (still installed)

- plenty of thumb drives, if needed

Thanks in advance!!

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Dec 2, 2015 7:34 PM

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Answer 1

3DS3

Level 1

23 points

Dec 27, 2017 4:37 PM in response to actechy

The command line version works…. HOWEVER…..volumes/myvolume/sub folder—applicationpath it will delete ALL on the thumb drive… Apple support said it would load from the sub folder down,…. HARDLY!! it wiped out 50 gig of backup files. So much for trusting apple.

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Answer 2

Dec 2, 2015 7:40 PM in response to actechy

Making a thumb drive of El Capitan would be the simplest way to approach this!

First off, install that upgraded RAM into the iMac as you will need the speed. After you've done that, boot the computer up normally, open the Appstore, and download OS X El Capitan from the Appstore, so that you can make a USB flash drive out of it.

Once El Capitan finishes downloading, download DiskMakerX from here

http://diskmakerx.com

This program will automatically create a bootable El Capitan flash drive for you to use to install El Capitan on the computer.

After the program finishes and creates your flash drive, turn off the computer, take out the old HDD, and throw in that SSD you bought.

Now that you've done all of that, plug in the flash drive into the Mac and hold down the ALT key and select the flash drive to boot up from the flash drive and install OS X El Capitan onto your mac.

Once it finishes installing you're done! You'll then be presented with the OS X setup screen and you'll be ready to start using your computer!

Hope this helps! Please reply if you have any other questions.

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Answer 3

actechy Author

Level 1

5 points

Dec 2, 2015 8:03 PM in response to sebster101

Thanks for a concise, detailed answer, much appreciated! I'll give it a go in the next couple days and let you know if I have any more questions.

Thanks!

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Answer 4

BobHarris

Level 9

53,081 points

Dec 3, 2015 6:35 AM in response to actechy

I also bought a Snow Leopard DVD from Apple, since I couldn't find the original.

Install the SSD inside your Mac.

Install Snow Leopard from the DVD onto your SSD. NOTE: If the Snow Leopard DVD complains about the SSD format, or says it cannot install to the DVD, then go to the DVD installer menu and select "Disk Utility", and reformat the SSD to "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)", not try the DVD install again.

Apply the Apple menu (upper left corner) -> Software Update (until you have at least 10.6.6 although 10.6.8 is best). This is needed so that Snow Leopard has the "App Store" application.

Launch the "App Store" Application, and get El Capitan. When it finishes downloading and starts to install, "Quit" the install, and save a copy of the installer. You do this because after the install it will delete the installer, and saving a copy means you do not need to download it again.

Now you can launch the "Install OS X El Capitan" from the Applications folder, or from the copy you made.

Next, DO NOT install Anti-virus. DO NOT install Mac cleaners. DO NOT install memory cleaners. All ideas you may be carrying over from Windows. They do not apply to OS X, and will have negative performance or kernel panic implications on your nice clean El Capitan install.

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Answer 5

May 26, 2016 3:25 PM in response to actechy

I'm about to install a new SSD in my Mac. I've never done it before, but I've got some good instructions (with pictures and everything). My question for you is this: I'm downloading a copy of El Capitan so I can put it on a thumb drive, but where is El Capitan being downloaded to? It's not going to my Downloads folder and it isn't under Applications.

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Answer 6

BobHarris

Level 9

53,081 points

May 26, 2016 4:59 PM in response to stojef2014

stojef2014 wrote:

I'm about to install a new SSD in my Mac. I've never done it before, but I've got some good instructions (with pictures and everything). My question for you is this: I'm downloading a copy of El Capitan so I can put it on a thumb drive, but where is El Capitan being downloaded to? It's not going to my Downloads folder and it isn't under Applications.

Applications -> Install OS X El Capitan

Then Google to find instructions on creating a bootable El Capitan installer.

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