Follow these easy steps to clean install macOS Catalina on your Mac. Plug your USB stick or external hard drive into your Mac, if it’s not plugged in already. Restart your Mac while holding down the Option key. When you see the options for booting appear on screen, choose the installer disk you just created.

Elearninginfoit dedicated to a free online learning source for Cyber Security.Some of our offerings are as follows, skills in Endpoint and Network technologi. How to Install Catalina on an Old Mac. With that out of the way, we can get started. The problem we face when putting Catalina on older Macs is that, hidden deep within the operating system itself, there is a script that checks what machine you are trying to install it on. If this script detects that your chosen machine is too old, the Catalina.

Clean

Easy way to Clean Install mac OS Catalina

  1. The two primary causes are; attempting to install on a Mac that Catalina doesn’t support, or trying to install Catalina on a Mac with limited storage space. Supported Macs: Most Macs from 2012 or later support macOS Catalina. The lone exception is the 2010-2012 Mac Pro, whose graphics cards don’t meet Catalina requirements.
  2. Apple always recommends its users downloading macOS install file from Mac App Store for security reasons. It is safe and easy. But the actual downloaded file is not an dmg file. Instead, it is an app called Install macOS Catalina, which is used to make the upgrade from current macOS to Catalina.

macOS Catalina is Apple’s shiny new operating system for the Mac and it’s got a ton of great features and improvements. You’re probably keen to get started and install it straight away. Before you do, consider whether you want to install it over the top of your current OS, or as a completely clean install of macOS Catalina. The benefits of the latter are that it will be like a completely new Mac, with all your settings wiped out, and junk files gone. It should make your Mac run faster. The rest of this article will explain how to clean install macOS Catalina.

Before the clean installation of macOS 10.15 Catalina it’s recommended that you first delete junk and dusty files from the current macOS. There are many free and paid tools to clean junk but the quickest option is to run CleanMyMac X. You can expect to free up tens of gigabytes of space, including old apps, and their leftovers.

Here’s how it works.

  1. Download and install CleanMyMac — try a free edition of the app here
  2. Choose the System Junk tool.
  3. Press Scan.
  4. When it’s finished either press Remove to get rid of all the files it recommends, or choose Review to look through what it’s found and decide for yourself what to delete and what to keep.

Backup your Mac

I can’t stress how important this is. You must backup your Mac before you do anything else. You’re going to be erasing your startup drive completely, so you need a complete backup of everything. You can use Time Machine, another backup app, or a cloning tool. Just make sure you have a complete, preferably bootable, copy of your current installation.

You should also make notes of settings for apps you use regularly – screen grabbing them is a good way to do that. And you should make sure you have a copy of any licence codes that you’ll need when you reinstall applications. You can use Apple’s Notes app to make notes, as long as you sync them with iCloud.

Create a bootable installer of macOS Catalina

If you’re reading this after Catalina ships, you can download it from the Mac App Store and then choose Quit when the installation starts. If you’re clean installing the beta (and, by the way, that’s not something I would recommend. It’s much better to create a dual boot system when you run the beta.

  1. Grab a USB stick with a capacity of at least 16GB, or an external hard drive or USB.
  2. Go to Applications>Utilities and launch Disk Utility.
  3. Launch Disk Utilities and Erase the Drive or USB stick, formatting it as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) or APFS and selecting GUID partition map if a selection is available.
  4. The easiest method for creating a bootable installer is to use DiskMaker X. However, if you’re comfortable using Terminal, you can do it like this:
    1. Launch Terminal from Applications>Utilities
    2. Type: sudo /Applications/Install macOS Catalina Beta.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Untitled --applicationpath /Applications/Install macOS Catalina Beta.app where ‘Untitled’ is the name of your USB stick or external hard drive
    3. Press Return and wait for the word Done to appear in Terminal.

Once you see ‘Done’ in Terminal you can quit it. Your USB stick or external hard drive is now a bootable Catalina installer, so keep it safe. Now, it’s time to clean install macOS Catalina.

How to Clean install macOS Catalina

Now you've made a backup and created a bootable installer, it's time to actually install the new macOS. Follow these easy steps to clean install macOS Catalina on your Mac.

Catalina Mac Install
  1. Plug your USB stick or external hard drive into your Mac, if it’s not plugged in already.
  2. Restart your Mac while holding down the Option key.
  3. When you see the options for booting appear on screen, choose the installer disk you just created.
  4. When you see the macOS Utilities screen appear, choose Disk Utility
  5. When Disk Utility launches, choose the Eras tab then select your startup volume (probably called Macintosh HD).
  6. Give your startup disk a name, then choose a format. If you have a recent Mac with an SSD startup disk, select APFS. If you have an older Mac with a mechanical hard drive or Fusion Drive, choose whichever one you want to use.
  7. Choose Erase.
  8. When Disk Utility has finished erasing the disk, quit it to return to the macOS Utilities screen.
  9. Choose Install macOS.
  10. Press Continue and choose the drive you just erased and re-formatted as the destination.
  11. MacOS Catalina will start to install.
  12. When it’s finished, your Mac will restart and it will look like a brand new Mac. Go through the set-up process to set up a user account, add your wifi network, choose a language, and log in to iCloud.

Once you’ve set up your Mac, you can eject the installer disk and remove it. Remember to keep it safe. You can now restore files you backed up earlier from Time Machine or whichever backup tool you used. Remember to restore files and folders individually, don’t, for example, restore your entire user directory otherwise you’ll copy back all the junk files you just got rid of. Reinstall applications and go through them adding license details where necessary. Check that everything works as you expect it to and use the screen shots you made earlier to configure settings.

There are lots of good reasons why you might want to clean install macOS Catalina, but the most important one is that it should make your Mac feel like new and keep it running smoothly. For ultimate Mac refresh you can also download CleanMyMac X and play with its cleanup tools. Getting rid of old junk feels great.

Installing a new macOS version should be fairly straightforward. Simply download the OS update, follow the on-screen prompts, and you should be all set. This trend has started since Cheetah and continues with Catalina.

Even with the easy OS installation process, it’s always a wise idea to know exactly how to do a clean install of macOS. This way, you can easily give your Mac a fresh start in the event that something comes up.

When doing a clean install, the first thing you should do is create a backup of your files. For this, you can use Time Machine or other similar alternatives. As soon as you have a backup, you should be all set to do a clean install of a new macOS version like Catalina.

But it is worth noting that even if you have removed possible backup problems out of your way, there are still installation errors you need to prepare for. Let’s know more about these problems in the succeeding sections.

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Common macOS Catalina Installation Problems

There are many problems you may come across while installing macOS Catalina. These include the following:

Catalina

1. Compatibility Issues

Not all Macs support Catalina. Only Macs released in 2012 or later are compatible with macOS Catalina. Here is a complete list of Macs that support the latest macOS version:

  • 12” MacBook (2015 or later)
  • MacBook Air (2012 or later)
  • MacBook Pro (2012 or later)
  • Mac Mini (2012 or later)
  • iMac (2012 or later)
  • iMac Pro (2017)
  • Mac Pro (2013 or later)

2. Disk Space Problems

To be able to download the macOS Catalina installer, you need to have 6.5 GB of free storage space. However, you have to be aware that the amount of disk space required may vary depending on the type of installation that you are doing: a clean install or an upgrade.

Download macos catalina installer

Generally, a macOS Catalina clean install requires 20 GB of storage space. Then again, you will need more to allocate space for other apps and future updates. An upgrade, on the other hand, requires 6.5 GB of free space plus a few more gigabytes for the files the installer will have to copy to the startup disk. For an upgrade, it’s hard to give a rough estimate about the total free space needed as many factors need to be taken into account. But to be safe, make sure you have at least 25 GB of free storage space available.

If you are tight on space and can’t proceed with the installation, you might need to install a reliable tool to get rid of unnecessary files on your Mac. One that we recommend is Outbyte macAries. In just a few clicks, this tool can identify any space hoggers on your system.

3. macOS Catalina Could Not Be Installed

Even on Macs that are fully compatible with Catalina, this problem may be triggered by the wrong Date & Time configuration. Be sure that you have set the correct date and time. Better yet, use the “Set date and time automatically” option.

Mac

4. Mac Is Frozen While Installing Catalina

If your Mac is stuck while installing Catalina, there could be many reasons behind it. While some are associated with the software, others are hardware-related. But regardless of what’s causing this problem, we can guarantee you that there is a fix. You’ll know more about it below.

What to Do When Catalina Installation Is Stuck?

Is your Mac stuck in the “Setting up Your Mac” part during Catalina installation? We suggest that you try the fixes below:

1. Restart Your Mac.

Oftentimes, your Mac gets stuck while installing Catalina because there are system processes that simply need to be restarted. All you need to do is simply restart your Mac.

You have three ways to restart your Mac. The first one requires you to press the Power button and select Restart from the list of options. The second one is about pressing the Apple key and hitting Restart. Lastly, to restart your Mac, you can press the CTRL + CMD + Eject combo.

2. Reset the NVRAM and SMC.

The NVRAM and SMC store information required when your Mac starts up. Once any of them becomes corrupted, it can cause your machine to freeze. Though resetting the NVRAM and SMC doesn’t always guarantee fixing the problem, it’s still worth trying as it has worked for some.

Here’s how to reset the NVRAM and SMC of a Mac:

  1. Turn off your Mac.
  2. Press and hold the Power button for at least 10 seconds.
  3. Release it and wait for a few seconds more before restarting your computer.
  4. If the issue persists, switch off your Mac again.
  5. Remove the power cord.
  6. Wait for 15 seconds before reconnecting the power cord.
  7. Turn on your Mac.

3. Check the Log Screen.

When you’re stuck in the “Setting Up Your Mac” part of the Catalina installation, you might want to check the Log screen. There might be missing files that need to be installed. If it shows nothing is happening, then proceed to the next possible fix.

4. Install the Combo Update Instead.

If you are having problems with installing Catalina, you can visit Apple’s website and download the Combo update. This includes all the important files required to update to the latest macOS. Downloading and installing this Combo update will replace all outdated system files.

5. Seek Help from Experts.

When all else fails, your last resort is to seek help from the experts. Take your Mac to the nearest Apple Center and have it checked by an Apple Genius. If your Mac is still under warranty, then great because this service might not cost you a lot. Otherwise, prepare to spend a few hundred bucks.

Remove Mac Catalina Installer App

If visiting an Apple Center is not a good idea in your case, then you can reach out to Apple’s online support team. Head over to their website, answer a few questions, and you might just be given a quick fix.

Conclusion

Catalina installation issues are inevitable, especially considering that the macOS version is new. Lots of features still need to be checked and improved, and errors may not have been seen by the QA teams. But even if installation issues are common, they should not stop you from trying the features that the new OS has to offer. After all, the developers of the OS are constantly working to improve Catalina and are regularly releasing patches with fixes to commonly reported bugs and errors. As long as you take note of the important details and try out different solutions being shared on forums and blogs, then you should be able to enjoy Catalina the way other Mac users do.

Mac Catalina Install Java

Did you have other issues while installing macOS Catalina? How did you fix them? Leave a comment below!

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