Install El Capitan On New Ssd

  1. Install El Capitan On New Ssd
  2. Install El Capitan On New Ssd Drive
  3. El Capitan Install Dvd
  4. Mac Os El Capitan Install

With the release of El Capitan, Apple took the opportunity to give Disk Utility a facelift. You can still use the software to format a startup drive—it’s similar to the steps in the previous version.

Before you can use your new SSD with your Mac® system, or install macOS® onto it, you have to initialize and partition it first. Follow the steps in this article if you are using OS X El Capitan or later. If you have not upgraded, follow our guide for earlier versions of OS X. I suggest using an SSD as this will improve boot times on the Mac Pro once you are done. Once the restore is done you can reboot the Mac Pro and hold down the Option key until you get the boot chooser screen. Pick the new copy of El Capitan you just restored and start up from it. That is all there is to it!

This how-to goes through the steps of formatting a startup drive using Disk Utility 15 in El Capitan. If you’re using an older version of Disk Utility, the steps are here.

1. Connect your drive

To format an external storage device, connect it to one of the ports on your Mac. Turn the drive on, and make sure it appears in the Finder.

If you’ve already installed El Capitan and you want to format you Mac’s internal drive, you can boot into Recovery Mode to format the drive. To boot into Recovery mode, start up your Mac and hold down Command-R. You should see a window labeled OS X Utilities. (Note: if you format your Mac’s internal drive, this will erase all of the data on the drive, including your apps, file, and the operating system.)

2. Open Disk Utility

You’ll use OS X’s Disk Utility app to format the drive. Locate Disk Utility in Applications > Utilities and open it.

If you booted into Recovery mode, select Disk Utility at the bottom of the window (see below).

3. Select the storage device in Disk Utility

Disk Utility’s left pane shows the storage devices connected to your Mac. Underneath each device are the drive’s partitions. Select the device you want to format. Then click the Erase button at the top.

If the Erase button is dimmed, it means the drive you want to format is in use and you need to boot off another drive or into Recovery mode, which was described in step 1.

4. Name and Format

A dialog box will appear. You need to enter a name for your storage device.

Click the pop-up menu for Format, and you can select one of the formats. The default selection is OS X Extended (Journaled); if you want a layer of security, you can go with OS X Extended (Journaled, Encrypted), which will encrypt your storage device. (If you don’t see the Encrypted options, that’s probably because the drive you are formatting is currently not using a GUID Partition Map. Select OS X Extended (Journaled), proceed to step 5, and then come back to step 4, repeating the step but with an Encrypted option selected.)

The “Case-sensitive” formats allow for file names with capital letters to be different from lowercase letters. So, for example, three files named FILE, File, and file can exist in the same folder. You probably don’t need to use a Case-sensitive format.

MS-DOS and ExFat are PC formats. Since we’re formatting a Mac startup drive, you can ignore these two.

Capitan

5. Scheme

There’s a third selection you need to make called Scheme. For an Intel-based Mac running El Capitan, select GUID Partition Map. There are two other options you can ignore: Master Boot Record is for Windows, and Apple Partition Map is for PowerPC-based Macs (remember those?).

Install el capitan on new ssd drive

When you click Erase, Disk Utility will erase the data, reformat the storage device, and mount the drive on your desktop. Click Erase when you’re ready to proceed. After a few minutes, your storage device will be ready for you to install El Capitan.

Start up from macOS Recovery

Install El Capitan On New Ssd

External

Determine whether you're using a Mac with Apple silicon, then follow the appropriate steps:

Apple silicon

Turn on your Mac and continue to press and hold the power button until you see the startup options window. Click the gear icon labeled Options, then click Continue.

Intel processor

Make sure that your Mac has a connection to the internet. Then turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold Command (⌘)-R until you see an Apple logo or other image.

Install El Capitan On New Ssd Drive

If you're asked to select a user you know the password for, select the user, click Next, then enter their administrator password.

Reinstall macOS

Select Reinstall macOS from the utilities window in macOS Recovery, then click Continue and follow the onscreen instructions.

Follow these guidelines during installation:

  • If the installer asks to unlock your disk, enter the password you use to log in to your Mac.
  • If the installer doesn't see your disk, or it says that it can't install on your computer or volume, you might need to erase your disk first.
  • If the installer offers you the choice between installing on Macintosh HD or Macintosh HD - Data, choose Macintosh HD.
  • Allow installation to complete without putting your Mac to sleep or closing its lid. Your Mac might restart and show a progress bar several times, and the screen might be empty for minutes at a time.

After installation is complete, your Mac might restart to a setup assistant. If you're selling, trading in, or giving away your Mac, press Command-Q to quit the assistant without completing setup. Then click Shut Down. When the new owner starts up the Mac, they can use their own information to complete setup.

El Capitan Install Dvd

Other macOS installation options

Mac Os El Capitan Install

Install el capitan on mac

When you install macOS from Recovery, you get the current version of the most recently installed macOS, with some exceptions:

  • On an Intel-based Mac: If you use Shift-Option-Command-R during startup, you're offered the macOS that came with your Mac, or the closest version still available. If you use Option-Command-R during startup, in most cases you're offered the latest macOS that is compatible with your Mac. Otherwise you're offered the macOS that came with your Mac, or the closest version still available.
  • If the Mac logic board was just replaced, you may be offered only the latest macOS that is compatible with your Mac. If you just erased your entire startup disk, you may be offered only the macOS that came with your Mac, or the closest version still available.

You can also use these methods to install macOS, if the macOS is compatible with your Mac:

  • Use the App Store to download and install the latest macOS.
  • Use the App Store or a web browser to download and install an earlier macOS.
  • Use a USB flash drive or other secondary volume to create a bootable installer.