{"id":17247,"date":"2013-05-27T23:01:30","date_gmt":"2013-05-27T15:01:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/?p=17247"},"modified":"2022-07-13T17:33:04","modified_gmt":"2022-07-13T09:33:04","slug":"clean-install-mountain-lion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/clean-install-mountain-lion\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Clean Install Mac OS X Mountain Lion"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In the Windows\u2019 analogy, this is like reformatting your Macbook or iMac and reinstalling a brand new version of OS X Mountain Lion. Unfortunately, in Mac, the process can be a little more complicated and less well known.<\/p>\n<p>In this post, I\u2019m going to show you how to erase all existing data, file sand applications, and reinstall a brand new copy of OS X Mountain Lion, bring your Mac operating syetem back to a clean slate.<\/p>\n<p>Here is a breakdown of the steps involved:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"#steo01\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Download a copy of OS X Mountain Lion<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"#step02\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Make a bootable drive of OS X Mountain Lion with a USB drive<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"#step03\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Reboot, Clean up and Reinstall<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Sounds good? Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ref-block ref-block--post\" id=\"ref-post-1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/recovery-partition-os-x\/\" class=\"ref-block__link\" title=\"Read More: How to Create Recovery Partition in Mac\" rel=\"bookmark\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">How to Create Recovery Partition in Mac<\/span><\/a>\n<div class=\"ref-block__thumbnail img-thumb img-thumb--jumbo\" data-img='{ \"src\" : \"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/thumbs\/250x160\/recovery-partition-os-x.jpg\" }'>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<noscript>\n<style>.no-js #ref-block-post-24562 .ref-block__thumbnail { background-image: url(\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/thumbs\/250x160\/recovery-partition-os-x.jpg\"); }<\/style>\n<\/noscript>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"ref-block__summary\">\n<h4 class=\"ref-title\">How to Create Recovery Partition in Mac<\/h4>\n<p class=\"ref-description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWhile I was doing maintenance for my Mac, using the Maintenance app, the app told me that my...\t\t\t\t\t\t<span>Read more<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"step01\">1. Re-download Mountain Lion Installer<\/h2>\n<p>First, grab hold of a copy of the Mountain Lion installer file. The installer you downloaded from the App Store automatically deletes itself after you\u2019ve successfully upgraded (or install) your Mac.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s how you can download and obtain a soft copy of Mountain Lion.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Launch <strong>the App Store<\/strong> and go to the <strong>Purchases<\/strong> tab.<\/li>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/clean-install-mountain-lion\/app-store-purchase-tab.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"250\" alt=\"purchase tab\"><\/figure>\n<li>Look for <strong>OS X Mountain Lion<\/strong>, hold down the Option key and click <strong>Download<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Re-enter your App Store credentials if required. If you\u2019ve previously purchased a copy of Mountain Lion, don\u2019t worry, you will not be recharged.<\/li>\n<p>  <fiugre><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/clean-install-mountain-lion\/mountain-lion-download-time.jpg\" alt=\"download mountain iion\" width=\"397\" height=\"83\"><\/fiugre><\/p>\n<p class=\"note\"><strong>Note:<\/strong> This may take up between 10 and 60 minutes, depending on the speed of your Internet connection.<\/p>\n<\/ol>\n<h2 id=\"step03\">2. Create bootable OS X Mountain Lion<\/h2>\n<p>After your download is done, let\u2019s proceed to making a bootable USB drive with your OS X Mountain Lion in it.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>go to Finder &gt; Applications.<\/li>\n<li>Look for the file called \"Install OS X Mountain Lion\", Right-click and select Show Package Contents.<\/li>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/clean-install-mountain-lion\/osx-show-package-content.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"250\" alt=\"show package content\"><\/figure>\n<li>Navigate to <strong>Contents &gt; SharedSupport<\/strong>, then look for the filename \"InstallESD.dmg\"<\/li>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/clean-install-mountain-lion\/mountain-lion-installer.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"250\" alt=\"mountain lion installer file\"><\/figure>\n<li>Double-click<strong> InstallESD.dmg<\/strong> to open (or mount) it on your Desktop. (This may take a minute or two.)<\/li>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/clean-install-mountain-lion\/open-mountain-lion-installer.jpg\" width=\"380\" height=\"130\" alt=\"mount installer\"><\/figure>\n<li>Plug your USB drive into your Mac and launch the <strong>Disk Utility<\/strong> application<\/li>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/clean-install-mountain-lion\/disk-utility-via-spotlight.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"125\" alt=\"disk utility via spotlight\"><\/figure>\n<li>Select the USB drive on the left menu, Erase tab. Under Erase tab, select <strong>Mac OS Extended (Journaled)<\/strong> format and click the Erase button.\n<p class=\"note\"><strong>Note:<\/strong> This will remove everything in the USB drive. Keep a backup of the files within if you still need them, then come back to this section.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/clean-install-mountain-lion\/format-as-mac-extended.jpg\" width=\"396\" height=\"240\" alt=\"format usb as mac extended\"><\/figure>\n<li> Once the USB drive is formatted, re-select the formatted USB drive from the left menu, and click the <strong>Restore<\/strong> tab.<\/li>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/clean-install-mountain-lion\/select-restore.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"137\" alt=\"select restore tab\"><\/figure>\n<li>Now, we are going to create a bootable OS X Mountain Lion in the USB drive. Drag the formatted drive from the left menu to the <strong>Destination<\/strong> field, then <strong>drag <\/strong>\"Mac OS X Install ESD\" on the left menu to <strong>Source<\/strong> and click the Restore button.\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/clean-install-mountain-lion\/restore-source-and-destination.jpg\" width=\"398\" height=\"237\" alt=\"restore source destination\"><\/figure>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The installation may take about 10 \u2013 20 minutes and once it is done you\u2019ll have yourself a USB drive with a bootable Mountain Lion.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"step02\">3. Reboot, Clean up and reinstall<\/h2>\n<p>So we\u2019ve downloaded a new copy of Mountain Lion, copied it over to the USB drive and made it bootable.<\/p>\n<p>Now, we will attempt to remove everything from the current OS and reinstall a new copy of OS X Mountain Lion.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Restart your Mac, hold down the Option key when you see the Apple logo. When you see the screen in the screenshot below, select <strong>Mac OS X<\/strong> on the right.<\/li>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/clean-install-mountain-lion\/mac-reboot-options.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"300\" alt=\"restore source destination\"><\/figure>\n<li>You will then be taken to the OS X Utilities dialogue box. Select <strong>Disk Utility<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/clean-install-mountain-lion\/os-x-utilities.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"300\" alt=\"restore source destination\"><\/figure>\n<li>At the<strong> Disk Utility<\/strong> screen, select your Mac\u2019s hard drive, then click Erase tab and select <strong>Mac OS Extended (Journaled)<\/strong> as format.<\/li>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/clean-install-mountain-lion\/erase-mac-content.jpg\" width=\"494\" height=\"417\" alt=\"restore source destination\"><\/figure>\n<li>Click the <strong>Erase button<\/strong> button and everything (including files, applications, settings, etc) in your Mac will be completely deleted.\n<p class=\"note\"><strong>Note: <\/strong>Do this with caution and make sure you have already backup all important files and data as there will be no way for recovery from this point onwards.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>When you are done, you will be directed back to the <strong>OS X Utilities dialogue<\/strong>. Select <strong>Reinstall OS X<\/strong>, the second option from the list.<\/li>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.hongkiat.com\/uploads\/clean-install-mountain-lion\/reinstall-os-x.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"300\" alt=\"restore source destination\"><\/figure>\n<\/ol>\n<h2>That\u2019s it!<\/h2>\n<p>Your Mac will now reinstall from the USB drive and when it is done you will be presented with new copy of OS X Mountain Lion.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the Windows\u2019 analogy, this is like reformatting your Macbook or iMac and reinstalling a brand new version of OS X Mountain Lion. Unfortunately, in Mac, the process can be a little more complicated and less well known. In this post, I\u2019m going to show you how to erase all existing data, file sand applications,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3397],"tags":[3933,883],"topic":[4521],"class_list":["entry-content","is-maxi"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.8 (Yoast SEO v27.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to Clean Install Mac OS X Mountain Lion - Hongkiat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In the Windows&#039; analogy, this is like reformatting your Macbook or iMac and reinstalling a brand new version of OS X Mountain Lion. Unfortunately, in Mac,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/clean-install-mountain-lion\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Clean Install Mac OS X Mountain Lion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the Windows&#039; analogy, this is like reformatting your Macbook or iMac and reinstalling a brand new version of OS X Mountain Lion. 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