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CharlesRobot

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 27, 2016
18
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Hey guys,

my new Macbook Pro with Touchbar will be here today. I want to start with a clean and fresh install of Sierra, as many suggested in the battery health threat. Now I'm wondering: How does this even work?
I can't seem to be able to download an Installer via the App Store on my current macbook. It's too old (says it's not compatible).
So how do I perform a clean install with just the new MBP? Is there a way to do this right away and let it load the installer via wifi during the process? How Do I initiate it?

Sorry for these very basic questions and thanks for your help :)
 
Restart it and hold down Command, Option, and R, and boot into Internet Recovery Mode. This will let you wipe the drive using Disk Utility and download and install macOS onto the machine from Apple's Servers (the same build that's on the machine now). That's what I did when I got mine.

You can read more about it over here: http://osxdaily.com/2014/12/14/reinstall-os-x-mac-internet-recovery/

Hope this helps.
 
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When you get your new machine, you might consider making a USB 3.0 flash drive installer. That way, you wouldn't have to wait on the file to download from Apple, and your install would be quicker. I make one every time there is a new OS release update. I use this free program.
 
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When you get your new machine, you might consider making a USB 3.0 flash drive installer. That way, you wouldn't have to wait on the file to download from Apple, and your install would be quicker. I make one every time there is a new OS release update. I use this free program.

I don't think the version that's downloadable from the App Store is the same as the one that Internet Recovery installs. It certainly wasn't when I performed mine, the version on the App Store was older than the one I installed.
 
I don't think the version that's downloadable from the App Store is the same as the one that Internet Recovery installs. It certainly wasn't when I performed mine, the version on the App Store was older than the one I installed.
I haven't experienced that. However, that can occur depending on when one happens to download the file from the app store.
 
I don't think the version that's downloadable from the App Store is the same as the one that Internet Recovery installs. It certainly wasn't when I performed mine, the version on the App Store was older than the one I installed.
What was the version you got installed from Internet Recovery?
 
It was build 16B2659.

Well that's interesting. My original build number was 16B2657. Yesterday I booted into Recovery mode, wiped the disk and redownloaded from Apple. It installed 16B2657. This is on a 13" tMBP. What type of machine is yours?

Update: So looking at Apple article it shows the 15" and 13" use different build numbers. That's interesting.
 
Well that's interesting. My original build number was 16B2657. Yesterday I booted into Recovery mode, wiped the disk and redownloaded from Apple. It installed 16B2657. This is on a 13" tMBP. What type of machine is yours?

Update: So looking at Apple article it shows the 15" and 13" use different build numbers. That's interesting.
I'm on a 15" and, as you've spotted, we get slightly different builds... for some reason.
 
Is there a real benefit from making a clean install on a new machine ??? I mean there shouldn't be any difference from what you get out of the box .. Am I missing something ??
 
Is there a real benefit from making a clean install on a new machine ??? I mean there shouldn't be any difference from what you get out of the box .. Am I missing something ??

No. There aren't any real benefits.
 
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Though it seems to have worked for many! Could've been a bug with the factory software? Or could be a placebo effect.
 
I purchased a 15 TBMBP. I used Migration Assistant so all my data and apps were transferred. The battery seems to run down quickly.

I do have a lot of Firefox tabs and Pandora running typically. That may be why?

I was considering a clean install and reinstalling apps, but I will lose passwords, etc.

Thoughts?
 
Is there a real benefit from making a clean install on a new machine ??? I mean there shouldn't be any difference from what you get out of the box .. Am I missing something ??
There is zero benefit and it is a complete waste of time.

What you are seeing in these other threads is people have either installed or migrated kext files, apps, or utilities onto their new Macs that are incompatible with Sierra and it causes all sorts of problems. Doing a clean install in that example would get rid of all those incompatible items and fix things. But for a new Mac out of the box, to do a clean install accomplishes nothing and is a waste of time.
 
There is zero benefit and it is a complete waste of time.

What you are seeing in these other threads is people have either installed or migrated kext files, apps, or utilities onto their new Macs that are incompatible with Sierra and it causes all sorts of problems. Doing a clean install in that example would get rid of all those incompatible items and fix things. But for a new Mac out of the box, to do a clean install accomplishes nothing and is a waste of time.

I'm waiting for my new 13'' TB MBP to come and I have a Time Machine backup but what I'll probably do is to transfer my music/movies/documents/movies manually and then I'll install the applications as well .. I believe that by doing so everything will be ok and that there is no need for a clean install out of the box. Thank you for your reply and your time !
 
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