Dec 21, 2020 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions
- Bootable USB Stick - macOS X El Capitan 10.11 - Full OS Install, Reinstall, Recovery and Upgrade.
- Step Three: Reinstall macOS. With your information wipe complete, you are now ready to reinstall macOS. If you booted from a functioning recovery partition, click the “Reinstall macOS” button. The installation process will begin. If you booted from an USB disk, click “Continue” to advance to the installer.
While there are many methods available to the users to recover or reinstall their Mac OS X, in this article, we shall keep our focus on the re-installation that is carried out through the Internet Recovery mode. Critical data can be lost if the OS isn’t recovered, and to overcome that issue, it is important to learn about the reinstallation process of Mac OS X through the Internet Recovery mode. While users are free to make their choice when it comes to opting for a method, the Internet Recovery mode certainly surpasses many others, and in the following article, we shall understand why.
After reinstalling macOS in Internet Recovery Mode, use the Mac App Store’s Updates tab to upgrade your operating system to the most recent macOS version available. Some older Macs with OS X Snow Leopard may be able to use Internet Recovery Mode after installing OS X Lion or later, and a firmware update. FIX This Copy of the Install OS X El Capitan Application Can’t be Verified. If the issue is with your Computer or a Laptop you should try using Restoro which can scan the repositories and replace corrupt and missing files. This works in most cases, where the issue is originated due to a system corruption. Yes, it should work just fine. The only reason Snow Leopard needs the DVD is because the Recovery is not built-in. Lion through El Capitan has the Recovery built-in, and it will reinstall OS X using whatever current version you are on. Rileypardy123 Said: 'Reinstalling macOS X El Capitan: I’ve been trying to reinstall El Capitan on an old Mac book air and I tried getting help from Apple support and nothing has worked I’ve rebooted into recovery mode I’ve changed the date in terminal pretty much anything I can find on Apple discussions I’ve tried. OS X El Capitan Installer. Official OS X El Capitan Installer from the Mac App Store. Un-archive the zip archive and you will get the app Installer. A bootable ISO or bootable USB can be made from this installer. Instructions on how to do that are on the Internet/Youtube.
Part 1 When to Go for Mac Internet Recovery for Mac OS X
4) Power on your Mac. Hold the Apple Key and R key until you hear the chime noise. Once heard, it will start the OS X in Recovery Mode. 5) The final step has you tapping the ‘Install Mac OS X’ and Continue in the OS X utility section of the screen to start the installation process.
We shall answer the above question by classifying it into a series of sub-questions. To start with, let us understand what Mac Internet Recovery is.
What is Mac Internet Recovery?
The recent models of Macs come with the functionality of starting up directly from an Internet-based version of the Mac OS X Recovery. This is particularly helpful in the case where the startup drive encounters an issue, or worse, is missing the OS altogether. The erase or wiping can happen accidentally or due to some software bug and can cause disruption to the user. Through Mac Internet Recovery, users have the option to start their Mac directly through the Apple Servers. When the users use this mode to start their systems, the system performs a quick storage space test along with checking the hard disk for any other hardware bugs.
Why should you use Internet Recovery to reinstall Mac?
Well, this one of the most frequently asked questions amongst the ones operating Mac Systems. Why take all the trouble and opt for Internet Recovery instead of going the conventional way? In the following points, we list the reasons that make reinstallation of Mac through Internet Recovery an intelligent option.
- One doesn’t need an Operating System disc to perform the reinstallation. This is helpful in cases when you are not carrying the OS disc and want to perform the Mac reinstallation immediately to carry on with your work.
- There is no need for the user to download separate Operating System files. The Internet Recovery mode will download the installer files, and as a user, you are saved from the trouble of downloading them yourself.
- The method is less complicated than the conventional method of downloading and installing the Mac OS X. This is helpful for users who aren’t very keen on the technical aspects of the installation process.
What should I do before opting for Internet Recovery?
Here are the points that must be kept in mind before going for the reinstallation of Mac through Internet Recovery mode:
- For obvious reasons, you must have an internet connection. Users must use their DHCP on the WiFi or any Ethernet Network to install the Mac OS X.
- For the ones who have purchased the OS X from any Apple Store, they might be prompted to enter an Apple ID or password that was used to purchase the OS X.
- Users must note that the time taken for the reinstallation of OS X directly depends on the speed of the internet connection being used. Please ensure that the Internet settings are compatible with the Mac OS X Recovery. In the case of incompatible settings, the installation process could be halted midway.
Part 2 How to Reinstall Mac OS X with Internet Recovery Mode
Here are the steps that are to be taken. We start with accessing the recovery mode on your Mac through the following steps:
1) Access recovery mode by holding down the Apple Key and R Key.
2) Users must ensure that they are connected to the internet. We recommend that you use a private network for the same, and avoid any public network due to its configuration. Also, the installation file happens to be large which may take quite a lot of time on any public network.
3) Now, power off your Mac; Apple Shut Down. If you experience the OS not responding, simply press and hold the power button until the Mac switches itself off, and then wait for 30 seconds.
4) Power on your Mac. Hold the Apple Key and R key until you hear the chime noise. Once heard, it will start the OS X in Recovery Mode.
Install El Capitan Os
5) The final step has you tapping the ‘Install Mac OS X’ and Continue in the OS X utility section of the screen to start the installation process. After that, there would be on-screen instructions to guide you through the entire process.
Video Tutorial on How to Boot Mac into Recovery Mode
Part 3 What to Do when Mac Internet Recovery Method Fails
It is possible that you might not be able to reinstall your Mac OS X successfully using the Internet Recovery Mode. While this can be a damper, it doesn’t mean you cannot diagnose the problem behind it.
Reinstall Mac Os X From Usb
Why could have the Internet Recovery method failed?
- Check that your internet connection is working. The Ethernet users must check for proper cable connections while the WiFi users must check the modem.
- If you are on a public network, chances are that the internet settings might not be compatible with the installation process.
- If the internet is too slow, the process could have abandoned itself as the file to be downloaded is quite large.
- Please check that your Mac has a proper power connection. In the case of laptops, the battery should be enough. Losing your power midway can render your device useless.
Measures to be taken to ensure that the Internet Recovery Mode works:
- As discussed above, we recommend that you opt for a private internet network to carry out the above process. This is because of the large size of the installation file and the hindrances you wish to avoid due to incompatible internet settings and slow internet speed.
- Please ensure that it is sufficient in your system. Losing power in the process can render the device useless.
- If the problem persists even when the above two measures have been taken, chances are that your hard disk has been corrupted completely, and therefore, consult a technical consultant for the same.
What if I lose critical data in the process?
For the ones who have lost critical data in the process, you can get reliable data recovery to help you retrieve your lost data back. Recoverit data recovery for Mac support to recover data from any storage device caused by any data loss scenario. Mac os yosemite vs sierra.
Recoverit - The Best Mac Internet Recovery Software
- Recover data from all storage devices like MacBook hard drive.
- Recover 1000+ types and formats of files in different situations.
- Scan and preview the files before you recover them from MacBook hard drive.
Step 1. Download and install Recoverit data recovery for Mac. To recover lost data on Mac, please select a hard drive disk first where you want the lost data back. Click 'Start' to get started.
Step 2. A deep scan will immediately begin on your Mac hard drive. The lost or deleted files will be scanned in a while.
Installing Mac Os X El Capitan From Usb
Step 3. Once the scan is over, the lost contents would be displayed, and the users can select their lost content and tap on 'Recover' to restore them to their Mac. However, users must be careful not to save the recovered data in its original location due to the risk of being overwritten.
The above information is helpful for anyone who is looking to reinstall their Mac OS X through the Internet Recovery mode. Please note that the Recovery Mode in Apple offers numerous functions to the users and therefore is a great tool to learn more about.
Reinstall Mac Os X Lion From Usb
What's Wrong with Mac
Installing Mac Os X From Usb Drive
- Recover Your Mac
- Fix Your Mac
- Delete Your Mac
- Learn Mac Hacks
Warning: Please follow these instructions at your own risk. I am not responsible for any damage or information loss that could result from following this guide. Also, note that installing OS X on PC is illegal. Please buy a real Mac if you're satisfied with your Hackintosh. This guide is for evaluation purposes only.
Requirements
- An Intel-based PC with UEFI bios
- A USB flash drive with at least 16GB capacity
- A dedicated hard drive (SSD highly recommended)
- A computer running OS X (10.9 or later) for preparing the installation USB flash drive
I chose to avoid the UniBeast installer (by Tonymacx86) because of its commercialized nature, as described here. Here is a vanilla guide to installing El Capitan on your PC!
Preparing the USB Installation Drive
First things first. We need to prepare a USB thumb drive that will contain the installation files as well as the bootloader and custom kexts for our specific Hackintosh build.
Download El Capitan from the Mac App Store
Head over to your existing OS X environment running 10.9 or later and open the Mac App Store.
Search for 'El Capitan' and click Download. The download is completely free if you're running OS X 10.9+.
Wait for the download to finish (this could take some time).
Reinstall Os X El Capitan Not Working
Format the USB Drive
Open Disk Utility in Applications/Utilities and locate your USB device. Make sure you've backed up anything important on that drive as it will be erased forever.
Select it, and then on the right, click the partition tab.
- Click Curent Layout and change it to 1 Partition.
- Set the Name to USB.
- Set the Format to Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
- Click Options and select GUID Partition Table.
Click Apply to format the drive.
Copy the Installation Files to the USB Drive
Now that we've downloaded the installation files from the Mac App Store and formatted our USB drive, let's copy the installation files to it.
Run the following command in the Terminal (Applications/Utilities):
The command will run a script inside the Install OS X El Capitan application that will copy the installation files to the USB drive.
This process takes about 15 minutes. Go out for a quick run, or a hamburger, or both. When you come back, it should have finished.
Installing a Bootloader
If you tried to boot from the USB drive as is after the previous step on a PC, it wouldn't work. We need a bootloader that makes it possible to boot OS X on x86 and x86_64 PCs.
There are 3 popular bootloaders to choose from.
Os X El Capitan Install Temporarily Unavailable
- Clover
- Chameleon
- Chimera
I went with Clover as it seems to be the most popular choice among other El Capitan installers, mostly for the following reasons:
Clover is an open-source EFI-based bootloader created on Apr 4, 2011. It has a totally different approach from Chameleon and Chimera. It can emulate the EFI portion present on real Macs and boot the OS from there instead of using the regular legacy BIOS approach used by Chameleon and Chimera. For many, Clover is considered the next-gen bootloader and soon it will become the only choice since BIOS in being replaced by UEFI in every new motherboard. One big feature of Clover is that iMessage, iCloud, the Mac App Store works along with Find My Mac, Back To My Mac and FileVault since Clover can use the EFI partition. (Read more)
Install Clover on Your USB Drive
Installing Clover on your USB drive is relatively easy. It involves running an installation wizard and selecting some options.
Download the latest Clover installer from here.
- Run the installer.
- Click Continue twice.
- Click Change Install Location and set it to your formatted USB drive.
- Click Customize and check the following options:
- [x] Install for UEFI booting only
- [x] Install Clover in the ESP
- [ ] Drivers64UEFI
- [x] OsxAptioFixDrv-64 - fixes memory map created by AMI Aptio EFI. Booting OS X is impossible otherwise.
- Click Install and wait for the installation to finish. It shouldn't take more than a minute.
Copy Essential Kexts to the USB Drive
Next, we'll need to copy some kexts (kernal extensions, similar to drivers on Windows) to the USB drive.
- FakeSMC.kext - open source SMC device driver/emulator developed by netkas. Tricks OS X into thinking it's installed on Apple hardware. Absolutely required for Hackintosh installation.
- NullCPUPowerManagement.kext - disables AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement.kext which may cause kernel panics when you try to boot from the USB drive. It's optional, copy it only if you get an AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement-related kernel panic.
- ApplePS2Controller.kext and AppleACPIPS2Nub.kext - adds support for PS2 devices (such as PS2 keyboard/mouse). They're optional, copy them only if you still use PS2 devices.
Download these files from here and copy them to the EFI mounted volume at /EFI/Clover/kexts/10.11/.
Now that the installation USB drive is ready, let's install OS X El Capitan!
Boot from the USB Drive
Restart your computer and boot from the USB drive (Press Esc/F8/Del to access the boot selection menu).
Use the arrow keys to select Boot OS X Install from Install OS X El Capitan (It should be selected by default). Press the spacebar and select Boot Mac OS X in verbose mode. Verbose mode means that you'll be able to see exactly what's going on under the hood as OS X attempts to boot up its installer. You'll be able to see the exact error message if booting fails.
Press Enter and cross your fingers. Clover will now boot the installer from your USB drive. This could take some time, in my case, it takes around 5 minutes (Don't worry -- the startup time is around 5 seconds after installing on an SSD).
Did it fail?
It's more than likely that the boot will fail. Don't panic (ha-ha), as kernel panics usually mean that you forgot to copy an essential kext to the EFI partition. Look up the exact error you're getting before the boot log comes to an end and search Google for a solution.
Reinstalling Os X El Capitan Error
Once you find an additional kext that your system needs, you'd attempt to copy it to the EFI volume, only to discover that it's gone! Not to worry, it's just unmounted and hidden. Follow this guide to mount the hidden partition, and then, follow the Copy Essential Kexts section above to copy it to the USB drive's EFI partition.
Format the Target Hard Drive
Once the installation wizard boots, the next step is to prepare the hard drive that you want to install OS X on.
Click Continue, followed by Disk Utility.
Select the target drive to install to (not the USB drive!) and click the Erase button. Make sure to back up anything important on that drive, as it will be deleted forever.
- Set the Name to El Capitan.
- Set the Format to OS X Extended (Journaled).
- Set the Scheme to GUID Partition Map.
Click Erase to format the drive.
Install OS X to the Target Drive
Exit the Disk Utility and click Install OS X.
Click Show All Disks and select the drive you just formatted to install OS X on it. Finally, click Install.
The process takes about 25 minutes. Be patient. For me, it hung at the end ('1 second remaining') for around 5 minutes. Don't be tempted to reset or cancel the installation.
When that's done, the system will reboot. Make sure to boot from the USB device again, and select Boot OS X Install from Install OS X El Capitan once again, in verbose mode. The installation is a two-part process that continues once you re-boot into the USB drive.
Reinstalling Os X El Capitan This Item Is Temporarily Unavailable
Finally, after about 25 more minutes, OS X El Capitan should be successfully installed on the target drive.
Boot into El Capitan via the USB Device
After the second reboot, boot from the USB device once again, but this time, select Boot OS X from El Capitan, and select verbose mode.
Press Enter and cross your fingers again. If all goes well, you'll be presented with the setup wizard:
Take a minute to set up your new Hackintosh. Once you're done, there are a few things you need to do to finish off the installation.
Reinstall Clover on the Hackintosh Drive
In the previous step, we used Clover on our USB drive to boot our Hackintosh. This is fine, but most of us aren't going to keep that USB drive plugged in forever. Let's make it possible to boot El Capitan independently by reinstalling Clover on it.
Go back up to the Install Clover on Your USB Drive section and follow the steps again, but this time, select your El Capitan volume instead of the USB drive.
Once again, copy the essential kexts to the EFI partition that shows up after installing Clover.
Finally, make sure to add Clover EFI boot options which is possible by pressing Clover Boot Options in the Clover boot window (if there are 2 boot options -- find the one for your SATA drive). I literally spent 3 hours figuring out why Clover would not boot when I disconnected the USB drive before I figured out that I need to manually add the EFI boot options.
Now you'll be able to boot directly from the El Capitan hard drive, as it should be!
Reinstall Os X El Capitan 10.11.6
Audio and Networking
El Capitan Os X Download
If you're lucky, audio and networking will work right out of the box. If not, you're on your own from here. You'll need to research your exact hardware (by using System Information in Applications/Utilities) and searching Google to find the right kext or installer to make it work on El Capitan.
Clover Themes
The default Clover theme is pretty ugly (no offense). Check out this theme database to improve Clover's appearance.
This is YosemiteLogin by xenatt:
Enjoy!
That's it! Enjoy your new Hackintosh, and if you absolutely love it, consider buying a Mac!