Reinstalling El Capitan

Mar 04, 2021 How to Perform a Clean Install of OS X El Capitan. OS X El Capitan (OS X 10.11) offers two installation methods. This guide focuses on the 'clean install' method. When you install El Capitan on your current startup drive with the clean install method, you erase everything on the drive. That includes OS X, your user data, and personal files. Insert the USB flash drive containing the El Capitan installer into your Mac. Restart your Mac while holding down the Option key to display the OS X Startup Manager. Select OS X El Capitan installer on the USB flash drive and then press Return to start up the Mac from the installer.

Neue haas unica free. Rachel is trying to sell her Mac, but…

My friend was wiping my Mac so I could sell it and I’m pretty sure they’ve deleted the start up disk? It’s not letting me reinstall the OS on a recovery startup.

She wonders about a fix. There are a couple of options with an erased partition.

Because Recovery didn’t work, the fastest way to install fresh is to make or borrow a macOS installer on a USB flash drive or a disk drive. We have instructions for making a bootable installer with macOS Sierra (as well as archived versions for several previous releases). You need at least an 8GB flash drive. The article includes instructions on obtaining the installer, which might involve you having to use someone’s else Mac to download it, if you don’t have a replacement Mac on hand yet.

But if you can’t get access to another Mac or the necessary drive, it’s still possible to use a different Recovery mode on all recent Macs, dating back to 2010. Normally, you can start up a Mac while holding down Command-R to boot into what Apple now calls macOS Recovery. That allows you to run Disk Utility, reinstall or wipe and install the system, access Terminal for command-line functions, and so on. In that mode, when you choose to reinstall without erasing the drive, my recollection is that Recovery looks for the current OS system installer on your startup disk in the Applications folder, and uses that. (Apple doesn’t document that, and I haven’t had to test that for years.)

Failing finding it, Recovery downloads the currently installed version of macOS (or OS X), which is about 5GB. When complete, it installs it and reboots, and places the installer in the Applications folder.

However, there’s yet another option: macOS Recovery over the Internet, which requires either a Mac model released in 2012 or later, or most 2010 and 2011 models with a firmware upgrade applied. There, the Mac reaches out over a Wi-Fi or ethernet connection to download the relatively modest Recovery software, which then bootstraps the download of the full macOS installer.

Apple says Internet-based Recovery should happen automatically on supported models, and you should see a spinning globe when that mode is invoked while the download occurs. However, if you have normal Recovery installed and it refuses to install macOS for some reason, you can manually invoke Internet Recovery.

While Command-R at startup always installs whatever the most recent version you installed on your Mac, holding down Command-Option-R brings down the very latest compatible version that can be installed. Apple also offers Shift-Command-Option-R, which installs the version of OS X or macOS with which your computer shipped, or the next oldest compatible system still available for download.

(Apple just changed this behavior with 10.12.4, but if you’re using Internet Recovery for a clean install on an erased drive, the new behavior should be active as it will be pulled from the version of Recovery that’s bootstrapped from Apple’s servers. The pre-10.12.4 option is simply Command-Option-R, but it acts like the new Shift-Command-Option-R, installing the shipped OS or the oldest compatible version.)

Apple recommends the Command-Option-R option as the only safe way to reinstall a Mac with El Capitan or earlier versions of macOS if you want to be sure your Apple ID doesn’t persist even after erasure.

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Windows Mac; Windows 7 and newer, including Windows 10: Mac OS X El Capitan and newer, including macOS Mojave (Catalina users see warning below): If using MathType with Pages (et.al.) on macOS 10.14 Mojave, please make sure that you are using Pages 7.3, Keynote 8.3, and Numbers 5.3 or later. I might ask if anyone knows how I can run the installer manually - from the command line I can cd to /Volumes and see my main hard drive and the downloaded dmg file 'Install OS X El Capitan'. If I could run the installer from the downloaded file, I'd saver about 2 hours for these tests and not download that installer file over and over.

Reinstalling macOS is usually the last option when fixing an error on Mac. Installing a fresh copy of the Mac operating system should resolve all problems that your computer is experiencing, even those that are normally difficult to get rid of.

You can re-install macOS via the Recovery menu, which can be accessed by holding down Command + R during startup. You can choose to re-install using a bootable USB drive or using Internet Recovery. Most users prefer the latter because it is faster and more convenient.

However, Internet Recovery is not always a good option, especially if your internet connection is not stable. One of the issues that could occur is error code -2003f. Some Mac users reported trying to reinstall macOS Sierra, but error code -2003f appeared, causing the installation to fail. This error can also happen when re-installing other versions of macOS.

What Is Error Code -2003f?

Reinstalling El Capitan

Error code -2003f happens when users try to re-install macOS using Internet Recovery after reformatting the drive. The error may cause your Mac to freeze and the installation of the operating system to fail. Aside from an unresponsive machine, you might also see a spinning globe or a blank screen that means the reinstallation process got stuck. You might even lose all access to your computer because of the bug.

Some users who were trying to install macOS Sierra but got error code -2003f reported seeing a flashing folder with a question mark before the error appeared. The flashing folder with a question mark means that your Mac cannot find its system software, making it impossible to proceed with the installation.

What Causes Error Code -2003f?

Poor internet connection is the leading cause of this error. Negative error codes in this range are usually associated with Wi-Fi problems. This means that your internet connection is not sufficient to successfully complete the process. The error often happens when you’re doing internet recovery over Wi-Fi connection.

Aside from poor unstable internet connection, other factors that could lead to error code -2003f include virus infection, hard disk errors, and incomplete installation of macOS. We’ve listed here several ways to resolve this problem and get rid of this error code.

How to Fix Error Code -2003f

Fixing error code -2003f is simple, especially once you’ve narrowed down the real cause of the problem. Getting rid of the junk files on your Mac with the help of Outbyte MacRepair can help rule out other factors that might be causing the error. Scan your Mac with your antivirus software as well before doing any troubleshooting to make sure that viruses are not wreaking havoc on your computer.

Once you’ve completed these steps, you can then proceed with the fixes below.

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Fix #1: Switch to Wired Connection.

Reinstall El Capitan

Since the main reason behind this error is a poor internet connection, switching to wired connection should be your first course of action. Disconnect your Wi-Fi connection first, then restart your router. Next, use an ethernet cable to connect your Mac to your router, then try running Internet Recovery again to see if the error has been fixed.

Fix #2: Reset PRAM and NVRAM.

Another way to fix error code -2003f is to reset the Parameter RAM (PRAM) or Non-Volatile RAM (NVRAM). NVRAM, which is the modern version of PRAM, stores system settings, including serial port configuration and definition.

Reinstalling el capitan software

To reset your Mac’s PRAM/NVRAM, follow the steps below: Dexter the game free.

  1. Restart your Mac.
  2. When you hear the startup sound, hold down Command + Option + P + R immediately.
  3. Hold this combination for 20 seconds, then let go to continue booting up.
  4. If you have an older version of Mac, keep holding the keys until you hear the second startup sound.

Try reinstalling via Internet Recovery again to see if you can complete the process successfully.

Fix #3: Run Disk Utility.

Reinstall El Capitan On Mac

A damaged or defective hard drive can cause several problems for your Mac, including error code -2003f. You can use macOS’ built-in disk utility to repair a damaged or defective hard drive.

Follow these instructions to run the disk tool to restore your drive:

  1. Launch macOS Utilities by restarting your Mac and holding down Command + R.
  2. Release the keys when the macOS Recovery page loads.
  3. Click on Disk Utility from the options, then hit Continue.
  4. Click View, then Show All Devices.
  5. Choose your installation disk from the sidebar.
  6. Click the First Aid Button >Run.
  7. Follow the on-screen instructions to repair the disk.
Capitan

Reinstall El Capitan Mac

Once the hard drive has been repaired, check if you are able to re-install macOS without encountering error code -2003f.

Fix #4: Use a Bootable USB Installer

If reinstalling via Internet Recovery doesn’t work, you can use a bootable installer instead to install the Mac operating system. This allows you to install macOS even with poor internet connection.

To create your bootable installer, follow the steps below:

Reinstall El Capitan Temporarily Unavailable

  1. Download your preferred macOS. For macOS Mojave, you can get it directly from the App Store.
  2. For older versions of macOS, check the Purchased tab of your App Store and download the installer from there.
  3. When the installer loads after downloading, quit it immediately.
  4. Find the installer file in your Applications folder. It should be named Install <macOS version>.
  5. Connect the USB device or external hard drive you are going to use as the bootable media to your Mac. Make sure it has at least 12GB of free space and is formatted as Mac OS Extended.
  6. Launch Terminal from the Utilities folder.
  7. Type in the command that corresponds to the macOS version you want to install:
    • Mojave: sudo /Applications/Install macOS Mojave.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/MyVolume
    • High Sierra: sudo /Applications/Install macOS High Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/MyVolume
    • Sierra: sudo /Applications/Install macOS Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/MyVolume –applicationpath /Applications/Install macOS Sierra.app
    • El Capitan:sudo /Applications/Install OS X El Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/MyVolume –applicationpath /Applications/Install OS X El Capitan.app
  8. Hit Enter to execute the command.
  9. Type in your account name and password to proceed.
  10. Press Y to erase the volume.
  11. Wait for the process to be completed, then eject the volume afterwards.

To use the bootable installer to reinstall macOS, edit your startup preferences using Startup Manager and choose your USB or hard drive as the startup disk. Your computer will then start up to macOS Recovery. Just click the Install macOS button and follow the on-screen instructions from there.

Summary

Getting error code -2003f while reinstalling macOS via Internet Recovery can be irritating because it compounds whatever problem you are experiencing instead of fixing it. Fortunately, the methods above should help resolve this error and allow you to finish the installation process successfully.

Download El Capitan Installer

If you’re running into errors and your system is suspiciously slow, your computer needs some maintenance work. Download Outbyte PC Repair for Windows, Outbyte Antivirus for Windows, or Outbyte MacRepair for macOS to resolve common computer performance issues. Fix computer troubles by downloading the compatible tool for your device.
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