Buzz
If the Command + R shortcut to launch the Recovery Partition falters, rendering itself useless, you're stranded without the ability to reinstall macOS (or Mac OS X) through the Recovery Partition. In this article, Mytour guides you on reinstalling macOS without relying on the Recovery Partition.
Reviving macOS without a hitch: Fixing the glitch in the Recovery Partition shortcut
Unraveling the Causes Behind a Non-Responsive Recovery Shortcut
In cases of severe Mac malfunctions, your solution lies in reinstalling the macOS (or Mac OS X) through the Recovery Partition. But what if the Command + R shortcut for the Recovery Partition refuses to cooperate?
Several factors could render the Command + R shortcut inactive, preventing your Mac from booting into Recovery Mode. Some possible reasons include:
- Running outdated operating systems like Mac OS X Snow Leopard or earlier, lacking the Recovery Partition feature. The only recourse in such cases is to utilize the installation disc that comes with your Mac.
- If your Mac runs on macOS versions older than Sierra (released in 2016), you won't find Recovery options.
- Your keyboard might be acting up; try using a different one and see if it makes a difference.
- Certain actions could damage the Recovery partition, or you might accidentally delete it while replacing a new hard drive or installing Windows.
There are various methods to reinstall Mac without relying on the Recovery partition, but these can be a bit intricate, especially on older Macs. They include:
- Use Internet Recovery to reinstall macOS or Mac OS X on a Mac lacking a Recovery partition.
- Create a Bootable USB drive for macOS installation.
- Utilize Time Machine backup as a startup drive.
Additionally, you can also craft a Recovery partition on your Mac. Check out the article on creating a Recovery HD partition on Mac at Mytour for a step-by-step guide.
What is a Recovery Partition?
Most users don't grasp the concept of a hard drive partition. Essentially, the hard drive is divided into smaller sections called partitions, akin to rooms in a house. The main partitions are like different rooms within the hard drive.
Typically, users utilize a partition containing folders like Desktop, Folders, and Applications. However, in reality, there are up to 4 distinct partitions, including one dedicated to completely reinstalling the macOS (or Mac OS X on older Macs).
Even if users wipe their Mac clean, starting afresh, the Recovery partition remains untouched. It can be used to reinstall macOS, restore from Time Machine backups, and perform disk repairs or erasures.
The challenge arises when there's a need to reinstall macOS, but your device lacks the Recovery partition. Fortunately, alternative solutions are still available.
On older versions, predating Mac OS X Lion (released in 2011), there was no Recovery partition. Instead, users had to use the installation disc that came with the Mac to reinstall Mac OS X.
How to Check if the Recovery Partition is Operational?
The first step is to verify whether the Recovery partition is active on your Mac. If it is, the cause could be a mispressed key or a faulty keyboard.
Here's how to boot into the Recovery Drive:
Step 1: Turn off your Mac (access the Apple menu => Shut Down).
Step 2: Press and hold the Command + R keys, then press the Power button.
Step 3: Continue holding Command + R until the Apple logo appears on the screen, then release the keys and wait for your Mac to complete the startup.
Step 4: At this point, you'll see the macOS Utilities (or OS X Utilities on older versions) window on the screen. This is the Recovery partition.
If your Mac boots into the normal screen or a blank white screen, it means your Mac lacks a Recovery partition.
If your Mac boots into macOS, you can check for the presence of the Recovery partition through the Terminal window:
Step 1: Open the Terminal.
Step 2: Enter the command diskutil list into it.
On the screen, you'll see a list of all partitions on your computer. The first hard drive (/dev/disk0) should have a partition (often listed as '3 Apple_Boot Recovery HD'). Try pressing the Command + R shortcut again.
Additionally, you can try some other methods below to check if the Recovery partition is visible:
- Reset the PRAM. Turn off the Mac, then turn it back on, press and hold Command + Option + P + R during startup, and release when you hear the startup chime.
- Double-check if the keyboard (especially Bluetooth keyboards) is malfunctioning.
If the Recovery partition is missing or non-functional, the next step now is to reinstall macOS without relying on the Recovery partition.
Reinstalling macOS with Internet Recovery
If your Mac lacks a Recovery partition and requires a macOS reinstallation, you can use Internet Recovery.
On newer Mac models, users can boot directly from the internet connection even without a Recovery partition. Here's how to use macOS Internet Recovery:
Step 1: Power off your Mac.
Step 2: Press and hold Command + Option / Alt + R simultaneously, then press the Power button (On some Mac models, the Option key is labeled Alt).
Step 3: Hold down these keys until the message Starting Internet Recovery. This may take a while appears on the screen.
Step 4: Now, the message will be replaced by a progress bar; this process may take some time.
Step 5: Wait until the MacOS Utilities window appears on the screen.
Step 6: Click on Reinstall macOS and follow the on-screen instructions to reinstall macOS.
A limitation is that Internet Recovery only works with networks using WEP and WPA security. If you use a proxy network or PPPoE, you may encounter issues during installation. In such cases, consider an alternative solution: creating a Recovery Stick USB.
Create a Bootable USB Drive
If you can't access Internet Recovery, another solution is to create a bootable USB drive. Ensure the USB has at least 12GB of free space, meaning you'll need to back up or copy essential files from the USB to another to prevent data loss.
The simplest method to create a Bootable USB drive is to use Terminal:
Open the Applications folder and check if you have the installation file for the macOS or Mac OS X version you desire.
If not, you can search for the installation file by accessing the Purchased tab in the Mac App Store. However, note that if you are running macOS Mojave, the system does not allow downloading macOS High Sierra.
After downloading the installation file for the desired macOS version, follow the steps below to create a Bootable USB drive:
Step 1: Connect the USB drive to your Mac.
Step 2: Open Disk Utility.
Step 3: Select your USB drive.
Step 4: Click on Erase to wipe the data on the USB drive, freeing up available space.
Step 5: Your USB drive will be named Untitled; keep the name as it is and click on Erase.
Step 6: Open Terminal.
Step 7: Enter the command below into the Terminal window: createinstallmedia.
This command depends on the macOS version you are using.
Step 8: Next, you will be prompted to enter the Admin password, then type Y and press Return to create the Bootable USB drive. This process will take some time.
Install macOS from the Bootable USB Drive
Next, proceed to reinstall macOS from the Bootable USB drive. Follow the steps below:
Step 1: Plug in the Bootable USB drive you just created into your Mac.
Step 2: Power off your Mac.
Step 3: Press and hold the Option / Alt key simultaneously with the Power button.
Step 4: The screen will display a list of bootable devices, including the USB Bootable drive you created, with the option to Install.
Step 5: Select the Bootable USB drive and press Return, then wait for a moment.
Step 6: Choose Disk Utility.
Step 7: Select the main hard drive on the computer under Internal.
Step 8: Click on Erase.
Step 9: Name the hard drive Macintosh HD, or you can choose any name. In the Format section, select Mac OS Extended (Journaled), and the Scheme is GUID Partition Map.
Step 10: Click on Erase.
Step 11: Click on Done.
Step 12: Choose Disk Utility =>Quit Disk Utility.
Step 13: Select Install macOS and then click Continue.
Step 14: Follow the steps to install macOS.
Step 15: When prompted, choose Macintosh HD as the installation drive, then click Install.
macOS will be installed on your hard drive, and the installation process may take about 30 minutes or more. After completion, your Mac will be like new, with an added Recovery partition.
If you receive a message saying: 'This copy of the Install [macOS name] application can't be verified. It may have been corrupted or tampered with during downloading', it means you need to adjust the date and time on your Mac.
Reinstalling Mac OS X on Older Macs without Recovery Mode
As mentioned by Mytour, if your Mac is running older versions like Mac OS X Snow Leopard or older without a Recovery partition, and if you still have the original installation disk that came with your Mac, you can use it to reinstall Mac OS X. Otherwise, you can purchase installation disks for these versions from Apple.
In case the shortcut for launching Recovery partition is not working, here's how to reinstall macOS. Hopefully, after reading this article, readers will learn various ways to reinstall macOS or Mac OS X on older Macs in case the Command + R shortcut doesn't work.
