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How can I wipe a hard drive and reinstall MacOS on an Intel Mac WITHOUT an internet connection?

How can I wipe an Intel iMac hard drive and reinstall MacOS WITHOUT an internet connection? The iMac communicates with a Macbook on the same network which does have an internet connection, so can it somehow piggy back on the latter's internet connection?


Any wisdom anyone?

iMac 21.5″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Apr 23, 2022 9:35 AM

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Posted on Apr 23, 2022 10:37 AM

The simple answer is to use the Mac which does have an internet connection to download the operating system installer. Then that installer can be copied onto a flash drive. Next, insert the flash drive into the Intel iMac to install the OS. Note - the Intel Mac uses the Monterey operating system. The other computer must be capable of downloading Monterey. Finally, when doing the download I would not use a Wi-Fi access. Use a wire Ethernet connection to ensure that the data does not get corrupted. Wi-Fi/internet downloads very often fail. It is just too slow for these very large files.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Apr 23, 2022 10:37 AM in response to navtis

The simple answer is to use the Mac which does have an internet connection to download the operating system installer. Then that installer can be copied onto a flash drive. Next, insert the flash drive into the Intel iMac to install the OS. Note - the Intel Mac uses the Monterey operating system. The other computer must be capable of downloading Monterey. Finally, when doing the download I would not use a Wi-Fi access. Use a wire Ethernet connection to ensure that the data does not get corrupted. Wi-Fi/internet downloads very often fail. It is just too slow for these very large files.

Apr 23, 2022 11:19 AM in response to navtis

navtis wrote:

I'm happy to bow to superior knowledge. If you can suggest a linhk that makes it possible, I'll go there.

Maybe there's some confusion. Any of these Macs can download and install Monterey…

MacBook Pro introduced in 2015 or later

MacBook Air introduced in 2015 or later

MacBook introduced in 2016 or later

Mac mini introduced in 2014 or later

iMac introduced in late 2015 or later

iMac Pro

Mac Studio

Mac Pro introduced in 2013 or later

How can I wipe a hard drive and reinstall MacOS on an Intel Mac WITHOUT an internet connection?

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