Clean Installation of macOS

In some cases, it helps to reinstall macOS on a clean (empty) hard drive. To do so, please follow the instructions below:

  1. Back up all your data to a second disk. The current startup disk is likely to be where most (if not all) your data resides. It is very important, before proceeding onto the next steps, that you preserve all important files by copying them to a different disk before erasing the startup disk. In most cases, an external drive connected via USB will do the trick. If you are familiar with any backup software, feel free to use it at this point. We recommend against using Time Machine to avoid backing up and restoring system files too. It is best to copy the data manually to a second disk through the Finder, or to use backup software that will, by default, skip applications and drivers during the backup process.
  2. Once the backup is complete, restart your Mac into Recovery Mode by holding down the Cmd+R keys. Hold them down at the same time, and do not let go until you notice that the macOS / OS X Installer is loading. If you notice that the system boots to your regular Desktop, you may have to try again, holding down the Cmd+R keys earlier into the startup process, immediately after hearing the startup sound. If you are unable to start your Mac in Recovery Mode, the recovery partition may not be available or working correctly on your system. Should this be the case, please contact us for assistance.
  3. Assuming that your Mac is now booted into Recovery Mode, select the Disk Utility. Disk Utility is one of a few utilities available under the Menu Bar before installation of macOS.
  4. When Disk Utility has loaded, select the startup disk and Erase it. The startup disk is the one that already contains both macOS and the data you backed up in step 1. Erasing the drive ensures that no previous software and configuration files on the disk will be reused (and reloaded) after the installation is complete.
  5. Once the disk has been erased, quit Disk Utility.
  6. Proceed to installing macOS onto the newly-erased disk.
  7. When the installation of macOS is complete, do not restore from a Time Machine backup and do not perform a system migration from a different system. The goal of this operation is to start with a clean system configuration and install third-party software piecemeal.
  8. Apply pending updates to macOS available through the Mac App Store, if any are available.
  9. Reinstall your video applications first (Final Cut Pro, Motion, Adobe Creative Cloud, etc.)
  10. Reinstall FxFactory, available on this page: https://fxfactory.com/download/
  11. Sign in with the account you used to purchase from our store.