Resolved OS X Mavericks Reinstall Issue

[danerieber]

I have OS X Mavericks on my MacBook Air 13-Inch that I want to reinstall due to countless files that I don't need and I don't have the time to delete.

This was downloaded from the Mac App Store so there is no install disk.

So, I open up Internet Recovery to reinstall, and it turns out that the Internet Recovery is still the OS X Lion version (this is the version I had when I bought the Mac), so I can't reinstall because "there is already a newer version of OS X on that disk."

Is there any way I could update my Internet Recovery so that I can reinstall?

Oh, and I am actually typing this from the Internet Recovery Safari window .

 

[DeltaMac]

You SHOULD be able to reinstall Mavericks by booting to your recovery system (not the internet recovery), by restarting while holding Command-R.

It's possible that your previous Mavericks upgrade did not upgrade your recovery system partition - so, you could simply boot to your normal system, then download the Mavericks installer through the App Store again.
When the installer screen comes up, just quit the install.
Create an installer partition (an 8GB thumb drive would be a great choice, using one of the setups for doing that (search for it). or, even easier, use one of the dedicated utilities, such as DiskMakerX - http://liondiskmaker.com
I would suggest that you purchase an 8GB thumb drive just for that purpose.
Boot to that installer thumb drive, then (if you like), you can erase your hard drive, reinstall Mavericks, whatever…
(hope you have your important files saved before you do that, you'll lose everything that you can't restore or reinstall )

 

[danerieber]

You SHOULD be able to reinstall Mavericks by booting to your recovery system (not the internet recovery), by restarting while holding Command-R.

It's possible that your previous Mavericks upgrade did not upgrade your recovery system partition - so, you could simply boot to your normal system, then download the Mavericks installer through the App Store again.
When the installer screen comes up, just quit the install.
Create an installer partition (an 8GB thumb drive would be a great choice, using one of the setups for doing that (search for it). or, even easier, use one of the dedicated utilities, such as DiskMakerX - http://liondiskmaker.com
I would suggest that you purchase an 8GB thumb drive just for that purpose.
Boot to that installer thumb drive, then (if you like), you can erase your hard drive, reinstall Mavericks, whatever…
(hope you have your important files saved before you do that, you'll lose everything that you can't restore or reinstall )

1. I did hold Command-R and it started Internet Recovery for some reason

2. Could I just use the installer to fix my Recovery partition, then reinstall from it?

3. Will a 4GB thumb drive work?

 

[DeltaMac]

...

2. Could I just use the installer to fix my Recovery partition, then reinstall from it?

3. Will a 4GB thumb drive work?

If the recovery system is not there, then you would need to use some other method to reinstall Mavericks.
That will also give you the means to reinstall Mavericks directly, even if your system drive fails (and you replace that)
The Mavericks installer app is around 5.4GB, so no, it can't fit on a 4 GB thumb drive.

 

[danerieber]

If the recovery system is not there, then you would need to use some other method to reinstall Mavericks.
That will also give you the means to reinstall Mavericks directly, even if your system drive fails (and you replace that)
The Mavericks installer app is around 5.4GB, so no, it can't fit on a 4 GB thumb drive.

The recovery partition is there, but it is just outdated. Under "Reinstall OS X" it says the version is OS X Lion.

So since my recovery system is there, could I use the installer?

 

[DeltaMac]

The recovery partition is there, but it is just outdated. Under "Reinstall OS X" it says the version is OS X Lion.

So since my recovery system is there, could I use the installer?

Sure, and that will certainly install Lion…
and you will be downgraded to Lion - if that's what you want to do.

If you prefer to stay with Mavericks, and you want to reinstall - just - Mavericks, then download Mavericks through the App store, create the thumb drive from that downloaded installer, and use that to install Mavericks.

Maybe you think that I am giving your more steps than you need - and, yes I am… But - you will end up with the Mavericks installer on a thumb drive, that you can use at any time that you need it (without waiting for all the system files to download - much better than what you are asking about, which would mean downloading ALL of Lion, then upgrading to Mavericks, which involves (again) downloading all of Mavericks.
If you have the thumb drive, that's all you need to maintain your Mavericks system - and you can then get along fine, even if the Mavericks install STILL ignores installing the Recovery HD. You can use the Mavericks installer in much the same way that you would use the Recovery HD (if you should need to do that)

 

[danerieber]

Sure, and that will certainly install Lion…
and you will be downgraded to Lion - if that's what you want to do.

If you prefer to stay with Mavericks, and you want to reinstall - just - Mavericks, then download Mavericks through the App store, create the thumb drive from that downloaded installer, and use that install Mavericks.

Maybe you think that I am giving your more steps than you need - and, yes I am… But - you will end up with the Mavericks installer on a thumb drive, that you can use at any time that you need it (without waiting for all the system files to download - much better than what you are asking about, which would mean downloading ALL of Lion, then upgrading to Mavericks, which involves (again) downloading all of Mavericks.
If you have the thumb drive, that's all you need to maintain your Mavericks system - and you can then get along fine, even if the Mavericks install STILL ignores installing the Recovery HD. You can use the Mavericks installer in much the same way that you would use the Recovery HD (if you should need to do that)

Ok. Thank's for all the help! I really appreciate it!