HomeMac OS X

How to Clean Install macOS Sierra

You can perform a clean installation of macOS Sierra to give your computer a fresh start. Unlike an upgrade, installing Sierra from scratch can iron out issues like quirky drivers, sluggish performance, and unnecessary hard drive bloat....
Part 1 of 3:

Preparing to Install Sierra

  1. How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 1How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 1
    Make sure macOS Sierra can run on your Mac. Open the Apple menu and select 'About this Mac.' You should see something like 'MacBook Pro (13-inch, Early 2015) just beneath the operating version number. The following Mac systems are compatible with Sierra:[1]
    1. iMac (Late 2009 and newer)
    2. MacBook Air (2010 and newer)
    3. MacBook (Late 2009 and newer)
    4. Mac Mini (2010 and newer)
    5. MacBook Pro (2010 and newer)
    6. Mac Pro (2010 and newer)
  2. How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 2How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 2
    Get a USB drive. Doing a clean install requires creating a bootable installation drive, so you'll need to have one ready. The drive can be any sort of hard drive (including a flash drive), and should have a minimum of 16GB of disk space.[2]
    1. The drive will be erased and reformatted by the installer, so be sure to back up your data.
    2. It's okay if the drive is not formatted for macOS.
  3. How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 3How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 3
    Back up your Mac. Doing a clean installation of macOS Sierra will wipe your hard drive. Use the backup method of your choice to preserve your personal files, such as photos and documents.
Part 2 of 3:

Creating a Bootable Install Drive

  1. How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 4How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 4
    Go to https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208202
  2. How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 5How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 5
    Click on Download macOS Sierra. A file named InstallOS.dmg will download.
  3. How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 6How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 6
    How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 7How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 7
    How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 8How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 8
    How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 9How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 9
    After the .dmg file has downloaded, open it, then click on InstallOS.pkg, and follow the onscreen instructions.
  4. How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 10How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 10
    You will find the installer in the Applications folder.
  5. How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 11How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 11
    Plug the USB drive to the computer. You'll see a hard drive icon appear on the desktop when the drive mounts.
  6. How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 12How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 12
    Rename the USB drive. To make the drive easier to work with, name it 'bootdrive.'
    1. Right-click or Ctrl+click the drive icon.
    2. Select 'Rename.'
    3. Type bootdrive
    4. Press ⏎ Return
  7. How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 13How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 13
    Launch Applications > Utilities > Terminal.app. A black window with white text prompt will appear.
  8. How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 14How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 14
    Copy the following command. Use your mouse to highlight the following (lengthy) command, then press ⌘ Cmd+C to copy.
    1. sudo /Applications/Install macOS Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/bootdrive --applicationpath /Applications/Install macOS Sierra.app
  9. How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 15How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 15
    Return to Terminal and press ⌘ Cmd+V. The long code you copied will appear after the prompt.
  10. How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 16How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 16
    Hit ⏎ Return. Now you should see 'Password' on the next line in the terminal.
  11. How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 17How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 17
    Type the administrator password and press ⏎ Return. When the password is accepted, you'll see a message asking you to confirm that you want to erase the disk.
  12. How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 18How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 18
    Press Y and then ⏎ Return. The bootable version of the Sierra installer will start copying to your USB drive.[3]
    1. The process will take several minutes and you'll know it's complete when you see 'Copy Complete' and 'Done' in the terminal.
    2. If you see a pop-up message about Time Machine during the installation, click the 'Don't Use' button.
Part 3 of 3:

Installing Sierra from the Boot Drive

  1. How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 19How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 19
    Click the Apple menu and select 'Restart.' A pop-up will appear asking you to confirm that you want to restart the computer.
  2. How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 20How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 20
    Click 'Restart' on the confirmation window. The computer will power down and restart. Don't walk away from the computer, though! You'll need to take action as soon as it turns back on.
  3. How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 21How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 21
    Hold down ⌥ Option when you hear the reboot tone. After a few seconds you'll see a list of bootable drives connected to your Mac.[4]
  4. How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 22How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 22
    Click 'Install macOS Sierra' and press ⏎ Return. The macOS Utilities window will appear, containing a list of options.[5]
  5. How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 23How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 23
    Select 'Disk Utility' and click Continue. Now you'll see a screen that looks similar to Finder. The left side contains a list of drives connected to the computer.
  6. How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 24How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 24
    Click your startup drive on the left pane. You may have to expand the Internal section to find it. When you click the drive, its properties will appear in the center pane.
  7. How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 25How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 25
    Click the 'Erase' button. It's located on the top toolbar. After clicking, you'll see a pop-up asking you to set some parameters.
    1. Remember, erasing the hard drive is permanent. Make sure you have backups.
  8. How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 26How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 26
    Select 'Mac OS Extended (Journaled)' in the Formatting dropdown. This is the only parameter you'll need to change.[6]
  9. How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 27How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 27
    Click Erase to confirm. The utility will now format your hard drive, which may take several minutes. You'll see a confirmation message once the drive has finished formatting.[7]
  10. How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 28How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 28
    Close the Disk Utility window. This will bring you back to the macOS Utilities screen.
  11. How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 29How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 29
    Select 'Install macOS' and click Continue. Now you'll be prompted to select a drive on which you'll install Sierra.
  12. How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 30How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 30
    Click your freshly-erased hard drive. For most people, it's the only drive in the computer (and in most cases, it's called 'Macintosh HD').
  13. How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 31How to Clean Install macOS Sierra Picture 31
    Click the 'Install' icon. The icon is at the bottom of the window. Once clicked, macOS Sierra will install on your Mac. When the process is complete, your computer will boot to your brand new macOS Sierra desktop.
4.5 ★ | 2 Vote
driveclickmacos

You should read it

Maybe you are interested

Mac OS X