How to update to Big Sur after reinstalling an earlier macOS
Agree to the software terms and conditions.Click Continue again when the installer window appears.Click on Reinstall a new copy of macOS.When you hear the startup chime (or when the screen goes black on newer Macs), keep holding the keys until your computer reboots. Hold down Command and R (⌘ + R) at the same time.Click on the Apple icon in the upper left corner of your screen.Connect your Mac to the internet via Wi-Fi or Ethernet.
It is the easiest way to install a fresh copy of an operating system. It creates a temporary boot partition that allows you to access certain things on your computer that you might not be able to if your system froze or crashed. Recovery Mode is the special salvation of the Mac that first launched with OS X 10.7 Lion. How to install a new copy of macOS Big Sur in Recovery Mode If you are using a laptop, make sure it is connected to a power source.An Internet connection is needed in order to reinstall the macOS operating system. Make sure the computer on which you're installing a fresh copy of macOS Big Sur can be connected to the internet, either via Wi-Fi or Ethernet. You can also back up files and documents using a cloud-based storage system like Dropbox, OneDrive, or the easiest: iCloud.
It is a good idea to perform one full backup before starting with a clean copy of macOS Big Sur. Completing this process replaces the core files of macOS Big Sur in case something wasn't working right before. Applications and settings will remain the same. Reinstalling a fresh copy of macOS Big Sur will not affect your current settings. In fact, you have a couple of ways to do this: either using Disk Utility to format the drive before installing macOS or cloning your drive using a third-party tool.If something doesn't quite work right after you've installed macOS Big Sur, you can reinstall the operating system so it is a fresh copy. macOS users can also install the OS onto a USB drive and work with the same installation that’s on your internal (and faster) drive. Linux users know that booting from a USB drive is a useful way to get into the OS. In short, we don’t recommend it, and it’s likely not supported. We also don’t know whether you’ll experience issues if you look to install an older OS you don’t own.
Though, if your Mac is based on Apple Silicon, you may find incompatibilities. In theory, there’s no reason why you couldn’t boot an older version of macOS, and Apple does offer ways to install older versions on a USB. Can I boot older versions of macOS from a USB drive? Our testing gave us no issues when using a USB 2.0 to USB-C connector, so you’re able to press your older USB drives into service. Am I able to use a USB connection other than USB-C? We recommend 16GB to give yourself enough “wiggle room” when it comes to the installation process. As such, you’ll need a large enough USB drive to store Big Sur. In our experience, you will not be able to do this. Can I split an installation across multiple USB drives?
Disk operations on the boot drive can be performed safely from a USB stick as well. You can now run the operating system as normal and use this USB drive to boot up your Mac. For Intel Macs, restart and hold the Option key to enter into the boot selection dialog.įor both types of machines, use your keyboard’s arrow keys to select the USB drive from the list of bootable devices, click to confirm, and your USB drive will begin to boot.