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How do I install El Capitan offline?
You could download the El Capitan installer on another more reliable Mac computer WITHOUT installing it and afterwards make a bootable USB-stick, from which you can install the OS offline. What you need is a USB-stick drive of minimum 8GB and the free program DiskMaker X.
How do I wipe my Mac but keep OS?
Click on your hard drive and select the “Erase” tab. Select “Mac OS Extended (Journaled)” from the Format pop-up menu. Type a name for your hard disk. Click “Erase.” To ensure that your data can’t be recovered, click the “Security Options” button and select a method of deletion.
Will installing El Capitan delete everything?
No. Upgrading your operating system doesn’t wipe your hard drive. If you’re still worried something might happen though, you can back up all your files to an external drive before you install El Capitan.
What do I need to install OS X El Capitan?
All you need to perform the installation is a spare 8GB or larger USB thumb drive, an external drive to back up all your data to (if you have any), and a copy of OS X 10.11 El Capitan. OS X 10.11 El Capitan can be downloaded from the Mac App Store.
How do I erase OS X El Capitan?
Click on the Erase icon in Disk Utility’s main window. A panel will drop down. Set the Format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Apply button, then wait for the Done button to activate and click on it. Quit Disk Utility and return to the Utility Menu. Select Reinstall OS X and click on the Continue button.
Is there a way to clean install macOS?
If you’re reinstalling the latest version of macOS, or installing a new version of macOS, the next step is relatively easy although the process for obtaining the installer will be different. If you are currently running Catalina and want to do a clean install of macOS Big Sur then you can download the installation package via System Preferences.
How to clean install macOS Big Sur, Catalina or older?
Select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) as the format type. Choose GUID Partition Map from the Scheme options (if you don’t see this you are in the wrong view – you need to select the external drive, not the container below it).