Can't access Utilities Menu??

[Oscar_Ross]

Hi
I've got my girlfriends old laptop and want to reset it to factory settings, looking at tutorials i see i have to access the utilities menu and then do the rest...
However i restart the mac and hold down cmd+R and et go when the apple logo pops up (i tried holding it all the way, and from shutdown) but it just restarts the Mac.
Any help would be great
Thanks

 

[IWT]

Hello Oscar_Ross

A warm welcome to our Forums.

You may or may not be doing the correct thing. It really depends on which operating system is on your girlfriend's laptop. We need to know this since the Recovery function only came in with Lion, if I recall correctly.

So questions to be answered please: Which OS? What is the model of laptop and from which year? If in doubt, this info can be determined by clicking on the Apple icon, far left on Menu Bar at top of screen, then select "About this Mac'.

Then we can take you through the stages for resetting etc. BTW, what you are seeking is called Disk Utility (DU). Obviously, DU cannot erase its own hard drive, hence the need to go into the Recovery partition, if installed, or use the original CD if the OS was Snow Leopard or earlier.

Ian

 

[lclev]

You do not give us a lot to work with. What model and year is the laptop? Also what version of OS X? Versions of OS X was before Lion did not offer a hard drive based recovery.

Here is more information: https://support.apple.com/en-sg/HT201314

Lisa

 

[IWT]

Hey Lisa, beat you to it by 5 minutes!!

Ian

 

[dtravis7]

Boot the Mac normally and click on the Apple in the upper left hand corner and on About This Mac. Like was said already what OSX version do you have installed? More about the computer would be helpful in us helping you also.

 

[Oscar_Ross]

Hello Oscar_Ross

A warm welcome to our Forums.

You may or may not be doing the correct thing. It really depends on which operating system is on your girlfriend's laptop. We need to know this since the Recovery function only came in with Lion, if I recall correctly.

So questions to be answered please: Which OS? What is the model of laptop and from which year? If in doubt, this info can be determined by clicking on the Apple icon, far left on Menu Bar at top of screen, then select "About this Mac'.

Then we can take you through the stages for resetting etc. BTW, what you are seeking is called Disk Utility (DU). Obviously, DU cannot erase its own hard drive, hence the need to go into the Recovery partition, if installed, or use the original CD if the OS was Snow Leopard or earlier.

Ian

Hi Ian,
Thanks alot for the quick reply, sorry that was stupid of me i should have said what its running. It says Mac OS x, 10.6.8.
2.53Ghz, intel core 2 and 4gb of RAM
I was watching this on how to reset to factory settings VVV
http://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/ma...e-your-mac-original-factory-settings-3494564/
Thanks

 

[dtravis7]

with a Core2 Duo your machine might be made before they started using Command+R recovery.

 

[pigoo3]

It says Mac OS x, 10.6.8.

The "Utilities Menu" (you actually want Disk Utility) you are trying to access is part of the "Recovery Partition" (which you were trying to get access to with the command + r on reboot. Recovery Partition began with OS 10.7. OS 10.6.8 on this computer is too old.

You need an OS X install DVD to boot from to do what you want to do. An OS 10.6 DVD costs $19.99 from Apple. Another option would be to go to the App Store & download the latest OS X version (El Capitan)…which is free. Then you do the command + r to get access to the Recovery Partition…and use Disk Utility.

- Nick

 

[IWT]

Oscar_Ross

10.6.8 is also known as Snow Leopard and does not have a Recovery Partition, hence your disappointment when trying to access same.

Couple more questions, sorry: Did the laptop originally ship with Snow Leopard and if so, do you or your girlfriend have the original CDs of Snow Leopard? These determine how we go from here.

If the original disks are lost, Snow Leopard is still available to buy from Apple On-line Store for 20USD including postage in the USA. If you live outside the US, you can still purchase it at roughly equivalent cost. One way or another, we need the CD to boot up your Mac and then use DU to restore or do a fresh install and so forth.

I understand you want to restore "as new", yes? What is your eventual game plan for this Mac?

Sorry for these tedious questions, but they will, hopefully, lead to a happy outcome for you.

Ian

 

[IWT]

Nick, I've got to type faster! Luckily, we both said more or less the same thing! Sure the Mac is up to El Cap, yes technically; but in real working terms?

Ian

 

[Oscar_Ross]

Oscar_Ross

10.6.8 is also known as Snow Leopard and does not have a Recovery Partition, hence your disappointment when trying to access same.

Couple more questions, sorry: Did the laptop originally ship with Snow Leopard and if so, do you or your girlfriend have the original CDs of Snow Leopard? These determine how we go from here.

If the original disks are lost, Snow Leopard is still available to buy from Apple On-line Store for 20USD including postage in the USA. If you live outside the US, you can still purchase it at roughly equivalent cost. One way or another, we need the CD to boot up your Mac and then use DU to restore or do a fresh install and so forth.

I understand you want to restore "as new", yes? What is your eventual game plan for this Mac?

Sorry for these tedious questions, but they will, hopefully, lead to a happy outcome for you.

Ian

Hi Ian,
Okay so as Nick said about updating to El Capitan, is that an option? Or would it not be worth doing?
Honestly she doesnt know a thing about computers and got it of a friend, so not sure whether it was from a CD or what not.
If i could find snow lepoard where i live then would that be the easiest thing, or to just go with el capitan?
Its running slow and shes downloaded loads of rubbish on it, i was going to use it myself, thus i thought starting fresh would be the easiest option.
Thanks

 

[Oscar_Ross]

Really appreciate everyones responses by the way!!
Thanks all

 

[lclev]

Hey Lisa, beat you to it by 5 minutes!!

Ian

Yeah I caught that. And you even typed more. I plead coffee deprivation. I hadn't finished my first cup.

Lisa

 

[IWT]

Oscar_Ross,

Okay. I think I've got a pretty fair idea of where you stand and what your options are. Luckily, any posts to this thread are copied to all those who have participated already. So, others can chime in, either in general support of my ideas or to suggest alternatives.

As I see it: your girlfriend got the Mac from another friend, so chances that the original OS Disks are around is close to zero.

It looks like you are the one who is going to use it. For the moment, let's assume so.

Option 1. Buy an Install Disk from Apple OnLine Store. Use it to do a clean install. This will clear out all the "rubbish" and more that has accumulated and leave you with a "new-feel" Mac. But 5 versions behind the current OS and no longer officially supported by Apple. Potential security risks the minute you go on the Internet. Need to be awfully careful. However, the clean install and clear-out can similarly be accomplished by option 2.

Option 2. As Nick said; as you are running Snow Leopard at the moment, however slow, you can click on the App Store app (found usually in the Dock, but always in the Applications Folder - Open Finder > Applications). From the App Store you can download the latest OS, called El Capitan, 10.11.2. It is free. For the download, you'll need a good broadband connection.
Once downloaded and running - then do what you started out to do - Reboot holding down Command + R. This boots you into the Recovery partition from which you can Click on Disk Utility and do a clean install, wiping everything off the HDD and leaving you with a "new-feel" Mac running the latest OS.
Problem is that 4GB of RAM, although generally regarded as the minimum, is going to make your Mac seem pretty sluggish. 8 GB would be better. You can't change your processor, so there's a certain limitation there.

The choice is yours. Quick & easy option 1, but leaving you with an outmoded OS and potential security issues. Or option 2 which brings you bang up to date; but takes more time & patience and may be a touch slow.

If it were me, I'd take option 2 and just not push the Mac too hard with heavy duty apps.

I hope that's a fair-minded summary. Others will freely chip in with their views.

Ian

 

[lclev]

I agree with Ian. Download and install El Capitan. Except if I read correctly CMD + R does not work on this laptop. If that is the case the OP will have to create a bootable USB drive to install El Capitan. To make a bootable USB install drive follow the directions found here:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372

I have a 2009 Macbook Core2Duo with 4GB and it runs El Capitan fine. I did later upgrade the HDD to an SSD and that made a HUGE difference.

Lisa

 

[cradom]

I also am running a 2009 core2duo macbook with 8g ram and an SSD running El Capitan. Runs just fine.
I say go for it. Be sure to make an install USB stick, especially if you don't have the original Snow Leopard disks.

 

[IWT]

Lisa

You're right, Cmd + R doesn't work now because he has 10.6.8; but he can use the App Store on 10.6.8 to download El Cap and then use its Cmd + R to do the rest. Is that not correct?

Don't spare me if I'm wrong. It's much more important the OP gets the proper advice.

Ian

 

[cradom]

If he downloads El Capitan and does a clean install from an install stick he doesn't need to boot from the recovery partition.
Unless something else is wrong?

 

[bobtomay]

Ian,
CMD + R boot option is not available until "after" the updated OS is installed.
It is during the installation of the new OS that the Recovery partition is created.
The downloaded installer is not bootable.
Hence, why you can't just copy the downloaded file to a flash drive instead of all the rigamarole of having to use Terminal and the 'createinstallmedia' command.

Doing it without creating a bootable installer, would mean downloading and installing 10.11 as an upgrade intallation.
Then you could boot via the CMD+R key combo to the Recovery partition just created, then erase the drive and do a clean install.

 

[IWT]

Thanks, bobtomay, for the explanation. So it is possible to do it as I suggested, but much more hassle. Better done as you & Craig suggested. Got it.

Much obliged.

Ian