I had to clean my old Macbook Pro 15 and Macbook Pro 15 Retina laptops before I got rid of them, so I wanted to be able to install a new, clean, version of Mac OS X Mavericks and ensure that none of my apps and data is left on the computer. I don’t have a CD with Mac OS X Mavericks v10.9.2 (nor an optical drive for that matter). Since Mac OS X v10.9.2 is a free update, getting a copy is pretty easy, but Mac OS X does not have an easy mechanism that lets one build a USB bootable version for a clean install. Here’s a way to do just that in a few steps
Before you start
- To be honest there are inly two ways to do it but either way a legitimate copy must be downloaded from the Mac App store at some point, so you can be sure to get a pristine safe copy of it.
- Just upgrade to Catalina - I have a 2012 15 inch MacBook Pro and it runs fine. Mavericks is old and no updates. I like experimentation and playing with older OS's. Right now, I AM TRYING to get OS 9 to install on a DLSD PowerBook G4 which someone told me on os9lives.com it can work. But, just use Catalina.
your mac needs to run on Mavericks for this to work
You will need the following:
- an access to the Mac App Store (an Apple user account)
- have Mavericks v10.9.2 free update installed on your mac (the script will rely on this and won’t work on Mac OS 10.6. Update to Mavericks before taking the steps below.
- a USB drive with 8GB of space
Full list of the top Utilities & Operating Systems apps that are similar to Apple Mac OS X Mavericks, including Apple Mac OS X Yosemite, Apple MacOS Sierra, Apple Mac OS X El Capitan, Apple MacOS. Installing Mavericks: What you need to know Mavericks is available only as a direct download from Apple’s Mac App Store. Mrhythmizer free mac. This method of distribution is convenient, but it’s not without challenges.
Step 1: prepare a target USB drive
Insert a USB drive and change its volume name if needed
Download Mavericks Macbook Pro 13.3
Prepare a USB disk of 8GB+ to receive the Mac OS Mavericks installation (the compressed download from the App Store is 5.3GB, so it will expand somewhat on our disk). Insert it into a USB slot and launch the Disk Utility. Erase all data and rename the drive to a specific name: the script that we will use later will erase the data again, but it does need the correct name for the USB drive.
Format the drive using “Mac OS Extended (Journaled)” and use a new name. I’m using mavericksinstall. If you already have a volume using that name, pick another name and change the script below accordingly).
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Before doing this, verify that there is nothing that you need on this USB drive – data from it will be lost.
Step 2: retrieve the Mavericks.app file from the Mac Store
Download Mavericks from the Mac Store. You have to do this since the Mavericks.app
installation file was deleted at the end of the previous upgrade. The Mac Store will save it as a file on disk, and we will use a script to quickly access it.As you download it, the Mac Store will point out that you are already running on Mavericks, but click on Continue and it will download the file.
Step 3: install Mavericks as a bootable USB drive with a script
Open a Terminal Window and copy or type the following command:
sudo /Applications/Install OS X Mavericks.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/mavericksinstall –applicationpath /Applications/Install OS X Mavericks.app –nointeraction
This command will basically delete data on the USB drive, and it will make it bootable using the update file downloaded from the store, and named Mavericks.app. It will also install a recovery partition on the USB drive, so don’t be surprised to see it later. Thanks to forum user tywebb13 for sharing this command.
The process will take a while, and you will see something like:
Erasing Disk: 0%… 10%… 20%… 100%…
Copying installer files to disk…
Copy complete.
Making disk bootable…
Copying boot files…
Copy complete.
Done.
Once the USB installer is ready, the Mavericks install will appear
Step 4: Reboot on the USB drive and start the clean install
Method 1
Go into the settings, and select the boot drive. Pick the newly built USB drive with the installer for Mavericks and restart.
Method 2
You can also reboot your Mac and hold the “Options” key to enter the boot menu. Pick the USB drive to boot on it and start a clean Mac OS X Mavericks installation.
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Step 5: All done, happy clean installation!
Hopefully, the installation should be easy and by now, you have a clean Mac with Mac OS X Mavericks. Enjoy!
If you know an easier way to do this, let me know and I’ll be happy to give it a try. If you can’t make it work, double-check that the USB drive volume name matches the name in the script.
Filed in . Read more about OS X and Os X Mavericks.
Apple has released OS X 10.9 Mavericks, and somewhat surprisingly it is a free upgrade for all existing OS X users. If you’re using a Mac laptop or desktop from the last five years or so, you should be able to download OS X Mavericks for free just by visiting the Mac App Store. Some exclusions and caveats do apply, though, so read on for more information.
Downloading and installing OS X 10.9 Mavericks for free
Before you upgrade to OS X 10.9 for free, the most important question is whether your Mac hardware is compatible. In general, if you’re already running OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, you should be able to install Mavericks. Here’s a complete list of Mac laptops and desktops compatible with OS X 10.9 Mavericks:
- MacBook Pro (mid/late 2007 and newer)
- MacBook Air (late 2008 and newer)
- iMac (mid 2007 and newer)
- MacBook (late 2008 aluminium, or early 2009 and newer)
- Mac Mini (early 2009 and newer)
- Mac Pro (early 2008 and newer)
- Xserve (early 2009)
Before you begin the upgrade process, you should save and close any open programs. If you’re upgrading some older Mac hardware, you might also find it useful to clear up your hard drive first, by uninstalling unused apps, transferring large files to external storage, and using a clean-up tool such as CCleaner.
If you have Snow Leopard, Lion, or Mountain Lion installed (10.6, 10.7, 10.8), upgrading to 10.9 Mavericks is as simple as heading to the Mac App Store, clicking the huge OS X Mavericks banner, and clicking “Install.” It will download the update (which is around 5GB), and then ask whether you want to begin the installation process. Once you begin the installation, that’s it: It’s a one-step installer without any “next” buttons.
Download Macbook Pro Firmware
For me, on a fairly bogged-down 2011 MacBook Pro, the free upgrade to OS X Mavericks took around 90 minutes. On a newer and fresher systems, it should be a lot faster.
Download Software For Macbook Pro
After installing OS X Mavericks…
Once the installation process is complete, a notification will pop up offering to teach you about Mavericks’ new features. You should probably click it, especially if you’re coming from Snow Leopard or Lion as quite a lot has changed. The most exciting new features in Mavericks are probably the iCloud Keychain, Notifications tweaks, and some cool low-level tech that should improve battery life and performance (Timer Coalescing, App Nap, and Memory Compression). If you’ve always wished for iBooks, Maps, and Calendar to make the leap from iOS to your Mac, you’re in luck, too.
If you have any problems upgrading, or you want to draw our attention to an interesting new feature (or bug), leave a comment.
Now read: Is the core of Apple’s OS X rotting from within?