How To Clean Install High Sierra From Usb

macOS Sierra is Apple tree'due south latest desktop operating organisation, which succeeds Os X El Capitan and adopts a new proper name to bring it in line with iOS, watchOS, and tvOS. The OS will come pre-installed on all new Macs once current stock is depleted and is a gratuitous download for existing Mac owners.

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The main new feature in macOS Sierra is deep Siri integration, bringing Apple'south personal assistant to the Mac for the first time. It too adds new features to Photos and Messages, and includes Continuity smarts similar Universal Clipboard and an Auto Unlock selection for Apple Lookout owners.

This tutorial explains how to download macOS Sierra and perform a clean install, which offers several benefits over the automatic upgrade process included in the installation bundle.

Benefits of a Clean Install

A clean install can remove annoying quirks and strange behaviors that your Mac may have inherited over time due to driver upgrades, wonky apps, and messy installation procedures. Performing a fresh install can also reclaim lost disk space acquired by junk files left by third-political party apps, and can generally make your Mac experience a lot snappier, enabling yous to relive that feeling of booting information technology up for the first time.

SanDisk USB Flash Drive (U3) To complete the clean install procedure described below, you'll demand an 8GB or larger USB thumb bulldoze and an 60 minutes or 2 to spare.

You lot should also perform a full backup of your Mac beforehand using Time Machine. That way you can restore your arrangement from the Recovery partition if something goes incorrect. Alternatively, salve a bootable mirror epitome of your system to an external drive using a clone utility like SuperDuper! ($27.95) or Carbon Copy Cloner ($39.99).

Compatibility Check

Earlier yous do anything, check that your Mac is uniform with Apple's new operating organisation. macOS Sierra supports the post-obit:

iMac (Late 2009 or newer)
MacBook Air (2010 or newer)
MacBook (Late 2009 or newer)
Mac mini (2010 or newer)
MacBook Pro (2010 or newer)
Mac Pro (2010 or newer)

Another mode of checking if your Mac is compatible is to open the Apple menu in the upper left corner of your Mac's screen and selecting Nearly This Mac. Look just below the OS X version number in the Overview tab – if the Mac model name is the same or a after model year than the one shown in the compatibility list above, your Mac is compatible with Sierra.

Pre-Install Notes

If y'all desire total control of what data gets transferred to the new Os, you lot can sidestep the Migration Assistant and manually copy any important files and folders on your existing system to an external drive instead. It's too worth taking a screenshot of your desktop, to serve as a record of how you similar things set up.

Some users may find information technology useful to make a note of the contents of their Applications binder for after reference. A screenshot may suffice (Command-Shift-iv, then Space to capture the Finder window), but if not, the following steps depict a simple style to create a list of apps.

Finder & TextEdit

Open the Applications folder and printing Command+A to select all apps in the Finder window, so press Command+C.
Now open upwards TextEdit, create a new certificate, select Format -> Make Manifestly Text from the menu bar, and printing Command+V to paste a list of app names into the document.
If necessary, add details of download locations for whatsoever non-Mac App Store apps yous apply, append whatsoever series numbers y'all might need, and salve the text document to an external drive.

Be sure to allow any cloud services you use to complete synchronization before standing. It's also worth screen-grabbing or noting down whatever custom preferences, settings, Wi-Fi passwords, and app-specific profiles you use.

Lastly, de-authorize any services on your Mac, including your iTunes business relationship (iTunes menu > Store > Deauthorize this Calculator), since these are usually limited to a ready number of systems.

Create a Bootable Installer

Download the macOS Sierra installation package from the Mac App Shop. Once it has downloaded, follow these steps to create a USB bootable installer.

Open up Disk Utility (found in the Applications/Utilities folder), select the pollex bulldoze in the sidebar and click the "Erase" button.
Name the USB drive "Untitled" if it isn't already, choose the Format "Os X Extended (Journaled)", and click "Erase". One time your thumb bulldoze is formatted and the macOS installation package has finished downloading, open up upwards Terminal (found in Applications/Utilities).
Now, ensure the USB drive is the only disk named "Untitled" connected to your Mac, and then paste the following control into the Terminal window, and press Enter: sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resource/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Untitled --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sierra.app --nointeraction
Y'all should exist prompted for your administrator password. Enter it, and the command will create a bootable Sierra installer on the USB bulldoze. The process will take a few minutes to complete, so go out it running.

clean install Sierra

Restart and Install

Once the USB installer has been created, restart your Mac and hold downwardly the Option central as presently as you lot hear the reboot tone. Then follow these steps:

Use the mouse pointer or the arrow keys on your keyboard to select the deejay called "Install macOS Sierra" in the drive listing that appears on the screen.
One time the USB drive has booted, select "Disk Utility" from the Utilities window, choose your Mac'southward startup bulldoze from the list, and click "Erase".
When your Mac'south startup disk is formatted, render to the Utilities window and select "Install macOS", choose your freshly erased startup drive when asked where to install the OS, and follow the onscreen prompts to complete the installation.

Postal service-Install Steps

One time the clean installation of macOS Sierra is up and running on your Mac, you can either restore your information from a Fourth dimension Car backup using Migration Assistant (establish in Applications/Utilities), or brainstorm restoring your apps, files, and settings manually to get your Mac ready upwardly just the mode you like information technology.

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