Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
So if the RMBP doesn't have a CD drive, how am I supposed to reformat?
- Thread starter omizzle
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
you download OSX from the Mac app store, in fact thats the only place you can get current versions of OSX from now, they don't even sell them on DVD anymore.
Either put it on a flashdrive, or just use the built in recovery partition if you are reformatting the installed drive.
I used the internet recovery feature of the RMBP to reload the OS on mine after formatting my hard drive..
I connected it to Wifi, it downloaded the Lion recovery environment, partitioned the hard drive and booted into the recovery partition, where it proceeded to download Lion from apple's servers.
I'd have preferred a usb stick or something like Apple gave out with the 2010 macbook air.. but i suppose I can make my own.
I connected it to Wifi, it downloaded the Lion recovery environment, partitioned the hard drive and booted into the recovery partition, where it proceeded to download Lion from apple's servers.
I'd have preferred a usb stick or something like Apple gave out with the 2010 macbook air.. but i suppose I can make my own.
It is hinted but not explicitly explained in these answers. All Lion Macs have a recovery partition on the hard drive that "is" your DVD. You boot to your recovery partition, do any reformatting you want and it will redownload and reinstall Lion or Mountain Lion from the Mac App Store.
A DVD or even a thumb drive is a non issue, unless the SSD itself is corrupt in which case you can't reinstall the OS anyway. So basically the new process makes it a total non-issue.
A DVD or even a thumb drive is a non issue, unless the SSD itself is corrupt in which case you can't reinstall the OS anyway. So basically the new process makes it a total non-issue.
I have a similar question, how can I install my logic pro 9 on to the RMBP. Can anyone help me please?
I have a similar question, how can I install my logic pro 9 on to the RMBP. Can anyone help me please?
The easiest way would be to use an external DVD drive, or the Remote Disc feature from another Mac or PC that has a built in legacy drive.
What if the recovery partition is killed for some reason? Like a bad Windows utility in a bootcamp session? If the recovery partition is just a bootable OSX file system that can be used to re-download lion over the internet, maybe it makes sense to keep a copy of the recovery partition on a USB drive?
Something no one has mentioned is that when you download OSX from the App store, the installation package actually contains a .DMG of a OSX install disc. Keeping that thing around is the ultimate flexibility - burn it to a DVD and then boot it with an external USB DVD drive, write it to a USB stick and boot from that, ...
Thanks for the response. I have Logic installed on my imac, would it be possible just to put it on a memory stick from my imac and transfer it to my RMBP?
The internet recovery feature is a firmware update, so I believe it's not a partition, but a feature part of the firmware. When you install a new hard drive, the computer will boot into the internet recovery mode and you can download and install Lion on to the brand new HD. that's what i did w/ my upgrade (mbp 15 2011)
----------
this is incorrect. the recovery is actually part of your Firmware (BIOS in Windows XP for example), not on your HD.
No, it is on your hard drive. Have a look at your boot drive in your mac with gpt fdisk. There's a large, hidden partition marked "Recovery". This is the Lion recovery partition that we're all talking about here.
I haven't used the internet recovery, but it sounds from Apple's website (http://www.apple.com/osx/recovery/) that the recovery partition contains Disk Utility and Safari at the very least:
Apple recovery webpage said:
It goes on to say,
Apple recovery webpage said:
So it sounds like the recovery partition at least has Disk Utility, Safari, the Time Machine client libs, and perhaps a complete version of Lion? If the recovery partition is gone, it sounds like this Internet Recovery takes over (which I didn't even know about and sounds remarkably cool) and downloads a new copy of OSX.
Last edited:
Does the rMBP come with a USB Flash Drive for Recovery. The MBA I got my Wife last year came with everything on a Flash Drive to restore. Interesting to know if it doesn't how do you recover iLife that comes preinstalled?
You are both correct. On 2010+ MacBooks the firmware has been updated to provide Lion recovery in the firmware of the computer. In addition to the firmware Lion recovery, a default Lion installation will create a 650MB Lion recovery partition on your drive that provides the same functionality as the firmware Lion recovery.
Wow. All this hubbub over spending $40 on a external DVD burner that's a hell of a lot faster than what Apple will give you, if you must. Otherwise, Apple is making it so you need not even spend the $40.
All the complaining about the loss of a crappy 8x internal DVD burner has me perplexed.
All the complaining about the loss of a crappy 8x internal DVD burner has me perplexed.
A simple summary would be:
If your OS becomes corrupt, you hold the Option key on boot and go into recovery mode. This is a partition on the drive that lets you access basic functions such as Time Machine and Disk Utility, useful for restoring backups or reloading your OS
If your disk dies or you replace it, you have no such recovery partition any more, and thus boot into internet recovery mode which as mentioned above, is tied into the firmware. From here you are able to download a complete OSX install to your new disk.
If your OS becomes corrupt, you hold the Option key on boot and go into recovery mode. This is a partition on the drive that lets you access basic functions such as Time Machine and Disk Utility, useful for restoring backups or reloading your OS
If your disk dies or you replace it, you have no such recovery partition any more, and thus boot into internet recovery mode which as mentioned above, is tied into the firmware. From here you are able to download a complete OSX install to your new disk.
