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I deleted my Macintosh HD

T

tholl1201

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 14, 2017
3
2
Hey y'all I am trying to figure out what to do. I was prepping my laptop to give to an employee I mistakenly deleted the Macintosh HD 499 gb drive while in recovery mode attempting to wipe computer. All that is left in the left menu is "Mac base OS" drive that is just 2.1gb

I am unable to reinstall Mac OS because it asks me to select the drive it is to be written to. I do not have a time machine back up nor an external drive. I have tried to partition the Mac OS drive but it isn't doing anything. I have tried "command+option+r' and doing internet recovery but that doesn't do anything either.

Not sure if there is anyway to recover the Macintosh HD drive or how to advance beyond the disk utility screen. Any help to recover would be greatly appreciated.

FYI its a MacBook Pro 13" 500gb purchased 11/17/16
 
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jerryk said:
If you reformatted the drive I suspect the data it is gone.
Click to expand...

I am not looking for the data I wanted it erased.

I just want to reinstall the base OS but it won't let me without selecting a drive and when I deleted the Mac HD it left me with no drive to select
 
jerryk said:
Sounds like you did not completed wipe the drive.

Start here (which is back at cmd+r) and follow the link to Disk Utility. Erase the drive as instructed and then re-install.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201314
Click to expand...
Unfortunately I did complete wipe but it never asked me how secure I wanted the wipe as I had read I should do as I am giving the computer to an employee and don't want anyone accessing my private data. While looking to see if I did it wrong I manually deleted the actual Macintosh HD folder on the left side under the "internal" drop down menu.
 
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OP:

Do you have ANOTHER working Mac available to you?
If you do, then do this:

1. Get a USB flash drive 16gb or larger.
2. Get the OS installer of your choice.
3. Use ONE of the following free apps: "Boot Buddy" or "Diskmaker X" or "Install Disk Creator".
4. The app will use the installer to create a BOOTABLE USB flash drive installer.
5. Boot the problem MacBook using this flashdrive. (press power-on button and IMMEDIATELY hold down the option key until the startup manager appears -- select the flashdrive and hit return)
6. Don't run the installer just yet. Go to Disk Utility first and ERASE THE ENTIRE DRIVE. Nuke it.
7. Now, run the installer.
8. When the installer finishes, it will present the first setup screen.
9. Press and hold the power-on button until the MacBook "goes dark".
10. Hand it to the employee to whom you wish to give it, let them press the power-on button again and do setup on their own.

I'll reckon that if you follow these instructions, your problems will be solved! ;)
 
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Maybe you removed the partition instead of wiping the existing installation. Go back into disk utility and try to make a new partition on the hard disk. Then you will see the option again to install macOS on the newly created partition.
 
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tholl1201 said:
Hey y'all I am trying to figure out what to do. I was prepping my laptop to give to an employee I mistakenly deleted the Macintosh HD 499 gb drive while in recovery mode attempting to wipe computer. All that is left in the left menu is "Mac base OS" drive that is just 2.1gb

I am unable to reinstall Mac OS because it asks me to select the drive it is to be written to. I do not have a time machine back up nor an external drive. I have tried to partition the Mac OS drive but it isn't doing anything. I have tried "command+option+r' and doing internet recovery but that doesn't do anything either.

Not sure if there is anyway to recover the Macintosh HD drive or how to advance beyond the disk utility screen. Any help to recover would be greatly appreciated.

FYI its a MacBook Pro 13" 500gb purchased 11/17/16
Click to expand...
https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT204904


How to reinstall macOS


Learn how to install the Mac operating system on your Mac or an external drive.


Install from the Mac App Store
The easiest way to install macOS is from the App Store app. For example, learn how to install the latest macOS version from the App Store.

If you're reinstalling because you're preparing to sell or give away your Mac, you should disable certain features and services first, then follow the remaining the steps in this article.

divider.png


Or install from macOS Recovery
If you don't have the App Store, can't access it, or are selling or giving away your Mac, follow these steps.

Start up from macOS Recovery
  1. macOS Recovery installs different versions of macOS depending on the key combination you use while starting up. Turn on or restart your Mac, then immediately hold down one of these combinations:
    Command (⌘)-R
    Install the latest macOS that was installed on your Mac, without upgrading to a later version.*
    Option-Command-R
    Upgrade to the latest macOS that is compatible with your Mac.**
    Shift-Option-Command-R
    Requires macOS Sierra 10.12.4 or later Install the macOS that came with your Mac, or the version closest to it that is still available.
    * If you're selling or giving away a Mac that is using OS X El Capitan or earlier, use Command-R to make sure that the installation isn't associated with your Apple ID.
    ** If you haven't already updated to macOS Sierra 10.12.4 or later, Option-Command-R installs the macOS that came with your Mac, or the version closest to it that is still available.
  2. Release the keys when you see the Apple logo or a spinning globe.
  3. When you see the macOS Utilities window, continue to the next section to determine whether to erase your startup disk or begin installing macOS.
macos-high-sierra-recovery-mode-reinstall.jpg


Decide whether to erase your startup disk
Decide whether to erase (format) your startup disk before installing macOS. You should erase your startup disk in the following circumstances:

  • You're selling or giving away your Mac, so you're clearing your Mac of anything associated with you, your data, or your Apple ID.
  • You're trying to resolve an issue that Disk Utility can't repair.
  • The macOS installer says that it can't install on your computer or volume. For example, it might say that your startup disk isn't formatted correctly, isn't using a GUID partition scheme, already contains a newer version of the operating system, or can't be used to start up your computer.
If none of the circumstances above apply to you, skip to the next section to install without erasing. Erasing your disk permanently deletes all of the data stored on it.

If you need to erase your startup disk, follow these steps:

  1. Select Disk Utility from the utilities window of macOS Recovery, then click Continue.
  2. Select your device or volume in the sidebar of Disk Utility.
  3. Click the Erase button or tab.
  4. Complete these fields:
  5. Click Erase to begin erasing your disk.
  6. When done, quit Disk Utility to return to the utilities window. You're now ready to install macOS.
macos-high-sierra-disk-utility-erase-internal-drive.png


Install macOS
Follow these steps after starting up from macOS Recovery:

  1. Choose Reinstall macOS (or Reinstall OS X) from the utilities window.
  2. Click Continue, then follow the onscreen instructions. You'll be asked to select your disk. If you don't see it, click Show All Disks.
    To verify eligibility to install macOS, your Mac serial number is sent to Apple, and you might be asked for your Apple ID.
  3. Click Install. Your Mac restarts after installation is complete.
If you erased your disk before installing, or you installed on an external drive or other new disk, your Mac restarts to a setup assistant.

  • If you're keeping your Mac, complete the setup assistant with your own information.
  • If you're selling or giving away your Mac, press Command-Q to quit the setup assistant without completing the setup steps. Then click Shut Down. When the new owner starts up the Mac, they can use their own information to complete setup.
Choose your new startup disk
If you have more than one disk that contains a compatible macOS installation, you can use Startup Disk preferences or Startup Manager to choose which disk to start up from.

Published Date:October 2, 2017

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While in Disk Utility in Recovery Mode, go to the Menu Bar and choose View>Show All Devices..

After doing that you should see the physical volume show up in the side bar. Choose that volume, erase it and that should create a new logical volume (aka Macintosh HD). If that does not work, choose partition and create the new partition. Though that should not be required
 
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