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Clean Mountain Lion install without USB & drive

H

Hyldig

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 24, 2011
15
0
hi all

Just wanted to tell that on Macs with the internet recovery function, it's posible to to a complete clean Mountain lion install already.

On my air i bought and install mountain lion from store.
After install was complete, booted into the recovery, formated with diskutility, and it could install Mountain Lion over internet :)

EDIT: This is not using the Internet recovery funtion. This is just using the Recovery Partition
 
Last edited:
Hyldig said:
hi all

Just wanted to tell that on Macs with the internet recovery function, it's posible to to a complete clean Mountain lion install already.

On my air i bought and install mountain lion from store.
After install was complete, booted into the recovery, formated with diskutility, and it could install Mountain Lion over internet :)
Done in 5min :)
Click to expand...

So new mac, if you just format with the internet recovery they will install Mountain Lion instead of lion? I got my macbook pro yesterday and was going to download mountain lion, burn it then fresh install. You mean I don't have to do this?
 
I don't know if you need have mountain lion installed first, from a normal App stroe upgrade like i did.

But you don't have to burn anything.
 
Hyldig said:
I don't know if you need have mountain lion installed first, from a normal App stroe upgrade like i did.
Click to expand...

But the recovery doean't ask for your mac store I.D just checks your computer and downloads the relevant version right?
 
Good to know. I have a 2011 MacBook Air and I want a clean ML install.
I'll try it, thanks.
 
BadaBing!! said:
Good to know. I have a 2011 MacBook Air and I want a clean ML install.
I'll try it, thanks.
Click to expand...

I think if you do internet recovery on 2011 it will install Lion. I presume it will check serial number and only install ML on newer machines that qualify?
 
peejack said:
But the recovery doean't ask for your mac store I.D just checks your computer and downloads the relevant version right?
Click to expand...

Hmm.. actually it asked for my app store login somwhere in the odwnload process from recovery, if i remember correct.


peejack said:
I think if you do internet recovery on 2011 it will install Lion. I presume it will check serial number and only install ML on newer machines that qualify?
Click to expand...
Mine is a 2011 Air
 
So, to confirm ... Buy ML from App Store, Install it, then reboot and do a recovery to get a clean ML (NOT Lion) install will work on a 2011 Air ?
 
So upgrade then clean install?

I've got time machine/time capsule combo. I presume I can choose which folder to restore after the clean installation? The only concern I have right now is my iTune library. Every time I mess with it, it either lost album cover or put tracks on different albums...
 
scarred said:
Worked for me as well. Not quite '5 minutes', but painless nonetheless.
Click to expand...
heh no the "done in 5min" was meant as. Mine is done 5min from now, when i posted
But i can see why it's understood this way :)

takes about 45min with a good internet connection from you press "buy"
 
peejack said:
Did you install ML first?
Click to expand...

Yes. Just like the OP noted:

From OSX Lion, purchase ML.
Install it.
Shutdown and start with cmd+R.
Enter disk utility, Erase your drive.
Click the Install button.

Done. Very happy to have done this. Dock, Launchpad and other settings nicely defaulted.
 
scarred said:
Yes. Just like the OP noted:

From OSX Lion, purchase ML.
Install it.
Shutdown and start with cmd+R.
Enter disk utility, Erase your drive.
Click the Install button.

Done. Very happy to have done this. Dock, Launchpad and other settings nicely defaulted.
Click to expand...

Cool think I will do that. I done recovery yesterday for a brand new machine as I installed a new ssd. So i'll purchase ML then do the recovery again :)
 
Is this legit? If so, I'm surprised there isn't more discussion in this thread. This method basically saves you the time of creating a bootable USB key, right?
 
Why would you do it this way? Seems like the slowest way possible to do a clean install. Just get an 8 GB flash drive and make a USB installer. Much, much faster.

----------
Vctr said:
Is this legit? If so, I'm surprised there isn't more discussion in this thread. This method basically saves you the time of creating a bootable USB key, right?
Click to expand...

And adds the time of re-downloading most of the OS again. Unless your internet connection is faster than USB 2 (in other words, unless you have all the internet resources of a large university or corporation at your, and only your, disposal) you still save time (and future headache) by creating a USB installer.
 
iThinkergoiMac said:
Why would you do it this way? Seems like the slowest way possible to do a clean install. Just get an 8 GB flash drive and make a USB installer. Much, much faster.
Click to expand...
Not all MBPs can be booted from USB, and should you not have the things needed this is the fastest way of doing it than venture out to purchase what's missing. Unless you live next to a store selling what you need :)
 
wow this will really work? I was getting ready to make a USB drive but if its this easy I won't bother. My internet is really fast at home and if this truely is possible on the new MacBook Airs(2012) ill do it when I get home.
 
hafr said:
Not all MBPs can be booted from USB, and should you not have the things needed this is the fastest way of doing it than venture out to purchase what's missing. Unless you live next to a store selling what you need :)
Click to expand...

There are no Macs that can't boot from USB that Mountain Lion can install to (who said anything about just MBPs?) that I'm aware of. And, if you don't have a USB device with that much storage or a DVD burner, those are probably things you should get anyway.

There's nothing WRONG with doing it this way, just seems like a waste of time to me.
 
iThinkergoiMac said:
There are no Macs that can't boot from USB that Mountain Lion can install to (who said anything about just MBPs?) that I'm aware of. And, if you don't have a USB device with that much storage or a DVD burner, those are probably things you should get anyway.

There's nothing WRONG with doing it this way, just seems like a waste of time to me.
Click to expand...

The early 2011 MBP can't boot from USB, the option to create a bootable USB in BootCamp Assistant is even greyed out :( Either way, far from everyone have a USB stick of at least 8 GB or writeable DVD's just lying around.

This way might be a waste of time for you, but for others it's both the simplest and the fastest way of doing it. For me, it would be the only option until tomorrow morning when I can go out and get writeable DVD's, since I can't boot my mac from any of the USB sticks or drives that I have :mad:
 
hafr said:
Not all MBPs can be booted from USB
Click to expand...

Which models are able to use Internet Recovery but can't boot from USB? I'm not thinking of any...


Scuba629 said:
I was getting ready to make a USB drive but if its this easy I won't bother. My internet is really fast at home and if this truely is possible on the new MacBook Airs(2012) ill do it when I get home.
Click to expand...

It's really easy to make the USB drive. The time to do the restore to the drive from the downloaded installer is less than upgrading then downloading ML the second time, but maybe not enough to balance a separate trip to a store to buy a $7 8GB stick.

Still, having the recovery stick isn't a bad thing.

Whichever works for ya.

----------
hafr said:
The early 2011 MBP can't boot from USB,
Click to expand...

Weird. My daughter's 2010 MBP13 was able to boot from the USB stick this morning.

I *did* have to select it as Startup Disk from System Preferences first then reboot and it came up booting from the stick.
 
agreed, it's alot easyer to use a USB if you got one...
i dont..

If you don't have a 4+GB USB or DVD-drive. (why it says "without USB & drive" in topic title) this method seems pretty easy and not very time consuming to get a clean install to me.
 
deeddawg said:
Which models are able to use Internet Recovery but can't boot from USB? I'm not thinking of any...

Weird. My daughter's 2010 MBP13 was able to boot from the USB stick this morning.

I *did* have to select it as Startup Disk from System Preferences first then reboot and it came up booting from the stick.
Click to expand...

Take a look at this discussion, I read it and followed every tip in there (plus tons of tips from other sites) to get my MBP to boot from USB - never did succeed... I'm not even sure target disk works with USB-drives (but I know it works with FireWire and ThunderBolt). https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3410900?start=0&tstart=0

Maybe USB-drives with an OS X install is different and would boot even early 2011 MBP's... But I can't choose a USB-drive as a startup disk no matter what boot loader is on there...
 
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