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Up in post #21 you posted a picture that showed Macintosh HD as an install target. When you took that photo, were you booted to recovery (command-r boot)?
 
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Just so I am clear... you rebooted and help command-r at boot and got to the recovery screen yes?

Then when you clicked install what happens when you try to select Macintosh HD as the destination for the install?
 
Just so I am clear... you rebooted and help command-r at boot and got to the recovery screen yes?

Then when you clicked install what happens when you try to select Macintosh HD as the destination for the install?
Yes and when i try to click to install it says "This disk is locked"
 
When i boot Macintosh HD it shuts off halfway on startup and i think one of my files got corrupted. I was using this laptop to go the internet not too long ago and it randomly just shuts off on me, this usually doesnt happen.
 
When i boot Macintosh HD it shuts off halfway on startup and i think one of my file got corrupted because i was on the internet and it randomly just shuts off on me, this usually doesnt happen
I'm now wondering if you have a failing drive.

When you have done the command-r boot to recovery... can you start Disk Utility and run First Aid on the Macintosh HD volume?
 
I'm now wondering if you have a failing drive.

When you have done the command-r boot to recovery... can you start Disk Utility and run First Aid on the Macintosh HD volume?
 

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I think you have a failed drive there. Hopefully you have a backup you can restore from. Do you have a Time Machine backup?
 
One option is if you have a install disk is to do a low level format on the drive. You can use the dd command to do it. In your case it would be:
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/disk0

If the drive has bad sectors then this will probably be your last command with it. After that it will be 100% blank as it's full of zero's and you will need to recreate it's partitions.
 
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One option is if you have a install disk is to do a low level format on the drive. You can use the dd command to do it. In your case it would be:
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/disk0

If the drive has bad sectors then this will probably be your last command with it. After that it will be 100% blank as it's full of zero's and you will need to recreate it's partitions.
What if i dont have an install disk
 
Isn't internet recovery part of the partition? My disk for example lost internet recovery so i can't use it. If for some reason you were not able to remain in recovery and install the OS after wiping it you would essentially brick your device until you were able to make an install disk to boot from. But if you have internet recovery working and have no other option go for it. Just don't exit recovery after doing the low level format. Kind of wonder if recovery would work in the instance it suddenly lost it's partition.
 
Isn't internet recovery part of the partition? My disk for example lost internet recovery so i can't use it. If for some reason you were not able to remain in recovery and install the OS after wiping it you would essentially brick your device until you were able to make an install disk to boot from. But if you have internet recovery working and have no other option go for it. Just don't exit recovery after doing the low level format. Kind of wonder if recovery would work in the instance it suddenly lost it's partition.

No, normal Recovery partition uses the local disk to mount. Internet Recovery is similar to connecting an external drive and booting from that, Internet recovery allows you to completely format the drive as you're not booted from it and then you can install a new OS without inheriting any issues from a prior install.

Normal Recovery Mode - Command R

Internet Recovery Mode - Command OPTION R
 
I'm now wondering if you have a failing drive.

When you have done the command-r boot to recovery... can you start Disk Utility and run First Aid on the Macintosh HD volume?
Is it possible to install os x using a new usb flash drive
 
Please, oh please. I know I messed it up myself but please help me fix it!

I'm having a problem kind of similar to the people above me, but I'm afraid to try the suggested fixes because I notice some differences, and my problem started when I decided to plow ahead ignorantly without caution when in Disk Utility.

To recount what I can remember (this happened over about two weeks) I wanted to erase the data from my Macbook, essentially restoring factoring settings. I booted in recovery mode, went to Disk Utility, and from there it gets all hazy.

I think what happened was I tried to erase the data on the hard drive, but I ended up somehow stupidly erasing the startup disk. I'm pretty sure I tried to restore something, but I have a bad memory and I'm an idiot so I don't remember which disk I selected. I'm sure I was just frantically clicking things. (I know.)

The problem I'm having now: when I turn the computer on, it immediately goes to recovery mode, without me pressing any keys. When I go to "startup disk" the window shows OS X Base System. When I try to restart with this, it takes me right back to disk utility.
When I try to re-install OS X from the internet, no hard drive is available.
When I restart while holding option, the recovery HD appears, but I cannot re-install OS X to the recovery hard drive because it's locked.

When I enter disk utility, this is what it looks like:
DU.jpg
 
Please, oh please. I know I messed it up myself but please help me fix it!

Can you answer some questions to make it easier to help?

What got you started on this? Were you having some specific issue that made you do all this?

What OS X version are you on?

What year and model Mac are you using?
 
No issues, I was trying to erase my data from the computer to sell it.
I believe it's 10.11.2, but I'm not positive because I can't access the about this mac and I don't quite recall. When, in disk utility, I get info on the OS X Base System, it is 10.11.2.
It's a mid-2010, Macbook Pro 13-inch.
 
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