Reinstall El Capitan

Start up from macOS Recovery

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

Reinstalling macOS is a piece of cake provided you have created a USB install disk for El Capitan to begin with. As you may have guessed, not many people take that extra step. As you may have guessed, not many people take that extra step. But other preinstalled apps aren’t on the App Store, which makes things a bit more complicated. On earlier versions of OS X, you could use the installation disc to reinstall the apps, but as of the most recent version of OS X–10.11 El Capitan–you need to reinstall the entire system.

Apple silicon

Aug 26, 2021 El Capitan has a multi-step process to build an installer, and that path requires a second Mac and particularly a second Mac capable of running El Capitan. That’s discussed both in the Apple article, and in the other link. OS X 10.11 is at the edge of being able to make a secure network connection these days, too. Apr 26, 2016 In that case, head over to the App Store and download the El Capitan installer (if you don’t have it in your Applications folder already). When you download and install El Capitan using the App Store, it’s important to know that it won’t erase your apps, documents, and other personal files, so when you reinstall OS X, your computer will appear just as you left it, except now you won’t be missing any apps. Reinstall El Capitan. Now that the macOS Sierra has been erased from your drive, you will need to re-install the OS X El Capitan. Re-install OS X from OS X utilities and choose the OS X El Capitan Installer.once the process is complete, restart the Mac. Invoke Recovery mode while the Mac is starting up by pressing together the Command + R keys.

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.

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

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Reinstall macOS

How To Reinstall El Capitan Os X

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

Follow these guidelines during installation:

Reinstall El Capitan Without Losing Data

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El Capitan Os X

  • 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.

Other macOS installation options

Reinstall El Capitan

El Capitan Download

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:

How Do I Reinstall El Capitan

  • 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.