#Is there a way to reinstall mac os x terminal install
Specify a clean Archive and Install When you get to the "Select a Destination" screen, after specifying the volume containing the system you want to replace, press the Options button. The description that follows, though, assumes you're using a stand-alone system installer disk (for Tiger, it's a DVD). Locate and start up from your system installer disk You may be able to reinstall using an Install or Software Restore disk that came with your computer. If there isn't room on your hard disk for a new clean system in addition to everything that's there now, along with plenty of scratch space, Archive and Install isn't even an option. Also, note any network configuration information needed for connectivity.Īssess free space Make sure your hard disk has lots of free space (more than 10GB). Record user data Start by noting the names and (if known) passwords of your computer's user accounts, so that you can restore them later. But this very fact can be a useful diagnostic, helping to prove that the trouble is hardware, not software.) (Of course, if your trouble is caused by hardware, reinstalling the system probably won't help. It is perfectly safe, fairly easy, and not particularly time-consuming. Users whose computers are misbehaving should not be reluctant to reinstall the system. Reinstalling the system is thus a guaranteed, straightforward solution, because it removes all files that can affect system behavior, starting you afresh with a completely clean, vanilla system. But consider this: on the one hand, system software is complicated, and the source of problematic system behavior can be difficult to track down on the other hand, software arises in files, so the mystery is merely which files are causing the problem.
Users sometimes scoff or cringe at the notion of reinstalling the system.