In the event of a serious job with your Mac , you may need to reinstall your Mac operating system . There ’s a simple way of life to do this using your Mac Recovery partition or via Mac Internet Recovery .
you could enter the Recovery modality via the keyboard compounding Command + R on an Intel - powered Mac , or by pressing and holding the power button on a M - series Mac . But what do you do if Mac retrieval mode is n’t work or Command + R does n’t work ?
We ’ll see at the best solutions below .
What is Mac Recovery?
A straightaway Holy Scripture on what Mac Recovery mode can do and how it works .
Most people do n’t really think about their concentrated drive ( well , SSD these days ) in terms of partitions . They just see the whole drive as one affair . A tough drive is typically a exclusive loudness , but it is then split up into multiple orbit , known as partitions or volumes . Think of your hard drive as the house , and the volumes as unlike rooms . ( Read : How to partition a Mac hard drive or SSD , or create a APFS volumefor more information . )
You ’re used to only seeing one elbow room in the mansion , the one which has your Desktop , Folders and Applications . But there are really four separate segment , and one is used in extreme cases where you may require to completely reinstall the operating system macOS ( antecedently know as Mac OS X ) .
Even if you completely pass over your Mac , and start again from cacography , the Recovery sectionalization should still be there to make it potential to reinstall macOS , fix from your Time Machine backup , and repair or wipe off your hard disc . We look in contingent atwhat you’re able to do in Recovery modein a disjoined article .
If you call for to reinstall the operating system from scratch and the Recovery division is miss , or for some reason you ca n’t get at it , it ’s a problem , but luckily there are solutions available .
Back in the days before Mac OS X Lion launch in 2011 there was n’t a Recovery divider , instead you needed to have a physical record with the software on it and an optical crusade to insert it into . These day it ’s rare to find a Mac with a optic drive , have alone find someone who has their original discs – not that Macs have ship with install disk in late times . We ’ll look at what to do if you correspond into this class later in this clause though .
How to enter Recovery on an M1 or M2 Mac
Just in case you are n’t using the correct process , here is how to access Recovery on a M - series Mac ( that ’s one of the Macs sold since November 2020 which use an Apple C.P.U. rather than one from Intel ) .
How to enter Recovery on an Intel Mac
If you have an older Mac with an Intel processor this is what you need to do :
Why is Command R not working?
Still not come in Recovery musical mode ? Here are a few reason why you might find that Command + R does n’t figure out and your Mac wo n’t take off up in Recovery style :
How to enter Recovery if Command+R doesn’t work
Try again – and make sure you are using the right key combination
Foundry
The first thing to try is to re-start your Mac and endeavor to introduce retrieval manner again . It may work the second time .
Completely turn off your Mac and then make certain you agitate the good buttons when you start it up again :
Check your keyboard
IDG
You should also check your keyboard is working ( especially if it ’s a Bluetooth keyboard ) . Try using a wired keyboard if potential . It is possible that you ca n’t get into Recovery because your keyboard is n’t working .
If you have a wireless Apple keyboard , for example , try plug away it directly into your Mac using the charging line .
Try a different way to access Recovery mode (M-series Macs)
If Recovery modal value is n’t working on your M - series Mac then try fallback convalescence modality . This is a little known feature for M - series Macs ( detail by Applehere ) that supercede the Internet Recovery selection found on Intel Macs .
you may enter Fallback Recovery Mode on an M1 or M2 Mac by double pressing the power button as detail in the gradation below :
pullout retrieval mood break you access to a 2nd transcript of the recoveryOS on the SSD of Macs with M1 or M2 chip . Apple say the 2d transcript is there for resiliency .
Try alternative Recovery options (Intel Macs)
There are a few other way of life you might be able-bodied to force your Mac to start up in recuperation modal value if Command + R is n’t working for you . Apple has a couple of other commands for Intel Macs that you could try :
You could apply cyberspace Recovery Mode – an option that we will discuss in more item below . This method will download a adaptation of macOS from the cyberspace , which might be a root if you ca n’t get at the Recovery partition on your Mac . We discuss Internet Recovery Mode in more detail below .
Once you enter this mode you will be able-bodied to access an Apple server to download the variation of macOS . This will be the up-to-the-minute macOS compatible with your Mac . Note : If you are n’t operate Sierra 10.12.4 or later , this will set up the variation that come with your Mac .
If you do n’t want to install thelatest version of macOStry this :
If your Intel Mac has a T2 chip you may use this key combination :
Check if your Recovery partition is there/working
Perhaps having tried the above and had no luck . Or maybe you got into Recovery Mode only for everything to freeze up .
It is potential your Mac ’s disc is beyond repair and Recovery Mode inaccessible . In that case our clause aboutHow to recover data from a damage Macmight be helpful .
It ’s also potential that at some point you have accidentally deleted the Recovery divider .
Our next step is to agree to see if your Mac has has n’t got a working Recovery partition .
One indication that you do n’t have a Recovery partition is if , despite press the primal combination listed above , the Mac kick up to your normal sentiment , or you ’re face with a completely blank screen . In either case it ’s likely you have n’t got a Recovery sectionalisation .
you’re able to watch Terminal to see if you have a retrieval segmentation , here ’s how to do that :
You should see a list of all the book and partitions on your computer ( like the image above ) . The first driving force ( /dev / disk0 ) should have a divider .
Try to get the Recovery partition back
You could try on resetting your NVRAM to see if it makes your Recovery partition miraculously appear :
Reset your PRAM or NVRAM ( Intel Mac )
Reset your NVRAM ( M - series Mac )
Resetting NVRAM is n’t really an option on M - series Macs . NVRAMdoes exist in M1 Macs , but it ’s not the same . You could render the pursuit , but it did n’t work for us .
record more here : How to reset NVRAM on an M1 or Intel Mac .
If you have concluded that your Recovery Partition is overleap , or does n’t work and you ’ve tried everything , there are still some more options . Next we will appear at reinstall macOS without Recovery .
Before we do that though , if it ’s an selection you should take time toback up up your Macusing Time Machine if you have n’t done so . This will enable you to restore all your files , folder and apps once you ’ve reinstalled macOS .
How to restore a Mac with no Recovery partition
It is possible to mend a Mac without a convalescence segmentation , but it can be tricky ( particularly on sometime Macs ) . You have a few approach uncommitted :
We ’ll run through each option .
Use Internet Recovery to reinstall macOS
Here ’s what to do if you have n’t acquire a convalescence partition on your Mac and postulate to reinstall macOS ( in fact , even if you do n’t require to reinstall macOS you probably should , because a missing Recovery Partition is not a good sign ) .
The first approach is to utilize a feature article called Internet Recovery . Newer Macs are able to boot directly from an cyberspace connexion , even with no Recovery partition available . Internet Recovery was added to macOS in Mac OS X 10.7 Lion in 2011 , but older Macs may be able to get net Recovery Mode as a firmware update .
Here is how to use macOS Internet Recovery :
On an Intel Mac
On an M - serial Mac
If you have accessed Internet Recovery mode it might be a very slow process depending on your association hurrying . When we experienced this problem we connected our Mac to the hub via an Ethernet cable ( you may need an adaptor , such as thisThunderbolt to Ethernet Adapter from Apple , $ 29/£29 ) .
Create a macOS bootable installer on a flash drive
If you ca n’t get at Internet Recovery , then you are allow with the option to create a bootable installer from a flash drive ( at least 12 GB in size of it ) . notice that this wholly erases the USB flare movement , so be careful to remove any files from it first . We coverhow to make a bootable installer for macOS here , but we ’ll give an overview of the method acting below .
The simplest way to make a USB flash installer it touse Terminal :
Open your Applications leaflet and look to see if you have the Install files for the version of macOS or Mac OS X you ask . In the sheath of Sierra or High Sierra you ’ll see : something like the exemplar above .
If you do n’t have the files register abouthow to get older versions of macOS or Mac OS X here .
When you have got clutch of the installer for the interpretation of macOS that you require , pursue these stone’s throw :
Install macOS from the bootable installer
Now you’re able to do the following to use the bootable installer :
macOS will now be instal on your heavy drive from the bootable installer . The whole cognitive process can take around half an hour . After this has finished you will have a new installation of macOS along with a Recovery divider .
You may get the substance : “ This written matter of the Install [ macOS name ] covering ca n’t be swear . It may have been corrupted or tampered with during downloading . ” If so you require to adjust the day of the month and prison term in macOS .
How to reinstall Mac OS X on an older Mac without Recovery mode
As we mentioned above , if your Mac is run Snow Leopard or erstwhile , it wo n’t have a Recovery partition . So if everything goes pear shaped and you require to reinstall your operating system what can you do .
If you have the original discs that embark with the Mac , you should be able to use them .
If you do n’t have those disc , you may be able to buy them from Apple . Apple used to sell Snow Leopard until comparatively of late , but it is no longer availablehere . Apple does however explain how to get erstwhile OS X versionshere .
you may still buy a copy of Lion from the Apple Storehere , but what you will obtain is a download code , rather than physical disk . Once you have the Mac App Store on your Mac via Lion you will be capable to get a newer version of macOS .
