Poodler_78
Level 1 (4 points)
Desktops

Q: Foolproof reset of Mid 2010 iMac

Hey folks and apologies in advance to those of you who realise I am the fool that needs proofed against

 

I'm trying to reset the family iMac as it has been rumbling along for near 6 years accumulating all the usual rubbish. Multiple users, multiple libraries etc. My feeling is to do a factory reset and then spend some time setting up the system again manually rather than from Time Machine etc. I know this is rather longwinded but I want to ensure that anything on the iMac is there by design rather than a hangover or an oversight. I'll also be setting it up as one user to avoid any of the triplicate rubbish we had before.

 

Sooo... the question is how to do the factory reset with no risk. I've taken all the files I want off to external hard drives and I've TM backups too. My only worry is because it is a 2010 that I have no discs anymore. IS this an issue or will I be able to use the online restorer?

 

 

Machine - iMac (27-inch, Mid 2010), 3.2 GHz Intel Core i3, 12 GB 1333 MHz DDR3, ATI Radeon HD 5670 512 MB, macOS Sierra 10.12

 

Thanks in advance

k

iMac, macOS Sierra (10.12)

Posted on Sep 27, 2016 8:25 AM

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Poodler_78

Q: Foolproof reset of Mid 2010 iMac

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  • by rkaufmann87,Helpful

    rkaufmann87 rkaufmann87 Sep 27, 2016 11:25 AM in response to Poodler_78
    Level 9 (58,704 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Sep 27, 2016 11:25 AM in response to Poodler_78

    If the computer is currently running Sierra what you can do is restart in the Recovery Partition (Command + R on startup)

     

    Next open Disk Utility and Erase the internal HD. CAUTION!!!!! This will wipe the HD clean.

     

    Next close DU and then select Install Mac OS and select the Internal HD. This will install a clean version of OS X on the computer.

     

    After OS X has installed, select Restart and ensure you choose the internal HD as the Startup Drive. After the computer has restarted with your fresh version of Sierra you can begin installing your apps and restoring your files, settings etc...

  • by Poodler_78,

    Poodler_78 Poodler_78 Sep 27, 2016 11:25 AM in response to rkaufmann87
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 27, 2016 11:25 AM in response to rkaufmann87

    Thanks - this is what I thought, but in the back of my mind was a niggling doubt that I'd have to reinstall from original OS and then upgrade etc.

  • by rkaufmann87,Helpful

    rkaufmann87 rkaufmann87 Sep 27, 2016 3:35 PM in response to Poodler_78
    Level 9 (58,704 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Sep 27, 2016 3:35 PM in response to Poodler_78

    You should be good to go with the setup I suggested. I always keep a clone of my system before I do a major upgrade. I would suggest doing that, just in case anything goes wrong you can boot from the clone and the restore from it.

     

    BTW, to create a clone you will need either the SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner apps.