so i picked up a used but free Apple MacBook Air "Core i5" 1.4 13" (Early 2014) i would like to know how i go about acquiring the stock os that would have shipped with my macbook air so that if i upgrade to a newer os and find i dont like how well it runs i can re install the stock os my macbook only has 4gigs of ram plus i just want the stock os just in case i will also need to know how to install the stock os if i ever need to
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need help sourcing an os for my macbookair
- Thread starter kaitlin4599
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Go to MacOS Internet Recovery and install the operating system. Once the operating system that came with the system is installed, you can then use the Apple Store to download the latest version.
Use macOS Recovery on an Intel-based Mac
Learn how to use macOS Recovery on an Intel-based Mac.
support.apple.com
@JustAnExpat but where can i get the original os that shipped with the os so i can make a bootable usb istaller
AFTER you re-install the OS from Internet Recovery, follow these instructions:
https://support.apple.com/en-in/101578
I'm not sure what version of MacOS you want to create a bootable USB Installer from though
@JustAnExpat i want to vreate an installer from this version Pre-Installed MacOS: X 10.9.2 (13C1021)
also what do i do if when the laptop arrives the owner didnt reset it properly cuz i read that i cant activate it if the owner logged out and didnt properly reset it
also what do i do if when the laptop arrives the owner didnt reset it properly cuz i read that i cant activate it if the owner logged out and didnt properly reset it
When you turn on the Mac and hear the boot-up chime, hold Option-Shift-Command-R until you see activity on the screen - it will reinstall the version of OS X that your Mac originally shipped with over the internet.
If you run into an issue with being locked out once your Mac arrives, let's cross that bridge when we get to it. One step at a time.
If you run into an issue with being locked out once your Mac arrives, let's cross that bridge when we get to it. One step at a time.
According to Everymac.com, your MBA shipped with OS X 10.9.2 (Mavericks). That's a problem, since Apple does not provide a download for Mavericks for reasons known only to them. You can download a Mavericks iso from archive.org. If you don't have a usb dvd then I would expect that you can copy the iso to a usb stick using balenaEtcher. The iso was uploaded by @MrMacintoshBlog.
Everymac also says that the most recent os version your MBA can run is Big Sur, and it's possible that's what it is running now. If Big Sur is (or has ever been) installed, I would be interested in whether internet recovery works. I'm sure it will not work for the original Mavericks, but it may or may not work for newer versions too because Big Sur also updates the system firmware. On my newer T2-equipped 2019 MBA, the firmware update killed internet recovery entirely. YMMV, and hopefully will. If you try it, please report back.
EDIT: after booting to recovery by powering on while holding command-R, the recovery screens with the new firmware have a black theme, as opposed to the older firmware's light theme. Also, your MBA does NOT have a T2 chip, hence my interest.
Everymac also says that the most recent os version your MBA can run is Big Sur, and it's possible that's what it is running now. If Big Sur is (or has ever been) installed, I would be interested in whether internet recovery works. I'm sure it will not work for the original Mavericks, but it may or may not work for newer versions too because Big Sur also updates the system firmware. On my newer T2-equipped 2019 MBA, the firmware update killed internet recovery entirely. YMMV, and hopefully will. If you try it, please report back.
EDIT: after booting to recovery by powering on while holding command-R, the recovery screens with the new firmware have a black theme, as opposed to the older firmware's light theme. Also, your MBA does NOT have a T2 chip, hence my interest.
A little late or early with that question.
Wait until you actually get whatever you already bought and then deal with any problems.
Tom
All Intel Macs to my knowledge can boot into Internet Recovery. Use Internet Recovery first and restore the machine.
I do not believe you can download a copy of Mavricks (OS X 10.9) outside of Internet Recovery. Mac OS X 10.10 will work on the machine just fine though.
Slightly off-topic, but sorry, you are mistaken. My Intel 2019 MBA (currently running Sonoma, slowly) can NOT sucessfully boot to Internet Recovery. Attempts to do so result in a spinning globe, followed by a lengthy download and finally an error -1008f failure.
This started after an upgrade to Big Sur, which also updated the T2 firmware. I skipped Catalina, so I don't know if that would result in the same thing, and I don't know if non-T2 machines are affected. Unfortunately, firmware 'upgrades' are a one way street. Apple Support's response was ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
If I reinstall Mojave on that MBA, it can't boot to Recovery at all, Internet or otherwise - attempts to do so result in the spinning globe and error -1008f. The firmware also includes a startup security feature which, by default, disallows booting from external media. If you've never changed that and the Recovery partition gets damaged, then at best you are stuck with no Recovery, and at worst your machine is bricked.
I don't know if Mavericks can be reinstalled using Internet Recovery on machines that originally shipped with it, but I doubt it. If you purchased it via the App Store in the past, I believe you can re-download it, but otherwise it seems that Apple really doesn't want you to have it. I've never seen an explanation for that. I managed to install it on a 2008 MB using the the ISO I mentioned above, and now that machine has a place of honor on top of the pile of all my other disused obsolete MacBooks