Once macOS is installed, why not check out our list of the best free Mac apps to make the most of your new (old) machine. If that still doesn’t work then use the USB boot drive. If your Mac isn’t connecting to the Internet to download macOS, click the Wi-Fi menu in the upper-right corner of the screen, select the Wi-Fi network and enter your Wi-Fi password.

Enter your Apple ID if required and wait while macOS is reinstalled.

Select Reinstall macOS in Disk Utilities.

You should be able to install macOS via the internet, but you may prefer to use the USB drive you prepared with the installer for macOS earlier (which could be faster). The process, again, depends on whether you have an Intel-powered Mac, or one with Apple silicon (an M1, M2 or later). You now need to reinstall macOS via Recovery. We run through how to reinstall macOS, separately, but we’ll explain the steps below.

The macOS Utilities screen will show a series of options.Įrasing the drive can take a few minutes, but once it’s done head back to the macOS Utilities menu and select Reinstall macOS.Turn it on again while holding the Command and R keys simultaneously until you see the Apple logo or hear a chime.Eventually you will be able to select Options > Continue and this will open up Recovery, as per the image below (please excuse the quality when it’s not possible to screenshot!).Eventually the Apple logo will appear with text below it informing that if you continue holding the power button you will be able to access startup options.Press the on button and keep it pressed.The method depends on whether you have an Intel powered Mac, or one with an Apple M-series chip. We run through how to use Mac Recovery Mode in a separate article, but we will run through the process quickly here: Whether you need to wipe your Mac to pass it on to a new user, or because you have forgotten the password, you need to boot into Recovery mode.

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