Fresh Install El Capitan

Mac operating system’s twelfth major version is the El Capitan Installer (version 10.11). All the Mac computers which don’t have the privilege to upgrade to MacOS High Sierra or the computers that need to upgrade to El Capitan first, can download this twelfth version on the computer. This is the very last version of the Mac operating system which comes under the name OS X. And it is named as ‘El Capitan’ after the formation of a rock in the Yosemite National Park. El Capitan Installer is the post version to the Yosemite, and it was built by adding up more improvements to the Yosemite. In this version of the Mac operating system, the Apple Inc. has focused on the performance, stability, and security of the computer. Anyone who is interested can download it on the Mac PC.

El Capitan Clean Install on Empty Volume with El Capitan Installer This is the easiest method for the clean install. Here, you can install the OS X El Capitan Installer onto an empty volume, or you can use a storage space that has the content which no longer needed and don’t mind removing. Rename the USB Flash Drive to Become the OS X El Capitan Bootable Installer: The next thing you’ll.

How to download El Capitan Installer?

If you want to upgrade to OS X El Capitan, first you have to collect gather your Mac PC and then download the El Capitan Installer. That’s what we are going to do now.

If El Capitan is there, download it. If not, try using the link below to download it. You can make a bootable USB stick to install using this free program which will do all the work for you. Boot off of USB and install the OS. Now includes Note Widget! “Apple has designed OS X so that one can just upgrade to the next version, ‘over the top,’ seamlessly,” John Martellaro writes for The Mac Observer. “With this kind of upgrade, all user data, settings and accounts remain as before, and that works for most users most times,” Martellaro writes.

  1. Go to the App Store and open the El Capitan page there.
  2. Then you must click on the ‘Download; button on the El Capitan Page.
  3. If your Mac PC is compatible to perform this upgrade, a file named ‘Install OS X El Capitan’ will download to your Applications folder.
  4. The installer will open automatically after finishing the download process. All you have to do next is click on the ‘Continue’ button and follow the onscreen instructions.

Upgrade Mac OS Version with El Capitan Installer while Protecting your Data

Before executing the Upgrade, you must prepare the Mac PC for the El Capitan Update. For that, gather these requirements first.

  • The Mac PC must have at least 2GB of memory and 8.8GB of storage space.
  • The PC must have at least 45% of battery life.
  • Connect the Mac PC to Wi-Fi or any other internet connection.
  • The Mac Apps must be up to date with the latest versions.
  • Take backups of all your personal data and present OS of the Mac PC.
Fresh Install El Capitan

Important! It is very important to backup your important data on the Mac PC to an external storage device because it will help you to avoid the data loss issues. If any case, you forgot to backup the data, your data may be lost while executing the El Capitan Installer update. So make sure you make a backup of the device data.

How to use El Capitan Installer for a Clean Install?

01. El Capitan Clean Install on Empty Volume with El Capitan Installer

This is the easiest method for the clean install. Here, you can install the OS X El Capitan Installer onto an empty volume, or you can use a storage space that has the content which no longer needed and don’t mind removing. What it matters here is that you don’t use the current startup volume as the destination here. What makes this method easier is the fact that it is possible to perform this clean install while booted from the current startup drive. You don’t need a special, custom-made startup environment for the empty volume clean install. All you have to do is, start up the installer and go.

02. El Capitan Clean Install on Startup Volume with El Capitan Installer

This is the most common method of the two. Usually, the clean install process deletes the contents of the destination drive. Therefore, if you choose the startup drive method to perform the clean install of El Capitan Installer, you have to follow some extra steps as well.

  • First, you have to create a bootable USB flash drive that has the Installer of OS X El Capitan.
  • Then erase the startup drive.
  • After then, start the clean install process.

How to Create El Capitan Installer with USB?

Requirements

  • The USB flash drive must be at least 8GB
  • El Capitan Installer must be on the Mac PC’s Applications folder.

Process

  • Plug the USB drive into the Mac PC with the Installer of the El Capitan on it.
  • Rename the USB driver using an easy to remember and use name. (For the ease of the steps ahead, I will rename it as ‘ElCaptIns’)
  • Be sure that the Installer of the El Capitan named ‘Install OS X El Capitan.app’ is in its default location (Applications folder).
  • Select and copy the text of the below-mentioned terminal command.
  • sudo/Applications/InstallOSXElCapitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/ElCaptIns --applicationpath /Applications/Install OS X El Capitan.app
  • Now you can launch the terminal in the Applications/Utilities/
  • In this step, it deletes the data in the destination drive. So make sure it doesn’t contain any valuable data and paste the copied command into the terminal, then press ‘Return’.
  • When the windows prompted, enter the admin level account password of yours and press to Return.
  • Then a message telling “To continue we need to erase the disk at /Volumes/ElCaptIns. If you wish to continue, type (Y) then press return:” will emerge. You can type ‘Y’ and press to return to continue. You are already set if you don’t see this message.

USB installer and El Capitan Installer in Apple Store

El Capitan Installer is only available in the Mac App Store. So you can only download it from the App Store. By the way, having a USB installer to perform the El Capitan is a good idea. Because having a copy of the OS version in a separate device ensures that you always have a backup plan to install it or re-install it on the PC. When you have the USB installer with the El Capitan Installer in it, you no longer need the internet connection or the access to the Mac App Store to perform the upgrade.

Fresh Install El Capitan Without Usb

What is createinstallmedia?

“createinstallmedia” is a unix program hidden inside the OS X Installer which is provided by the Apple Inc. to create a bootable installer drive. createinstallmedia is the ideal and the easier to use tool if you are comfortable to use the terminal. This is only available for the OS versions of Lion (OS X 10.7) and above.



System and Hardware Requirements for El Capitan Installer

System Requirements

  • iMac models from mid 2007 or later
  • MacBook models from late 2008 or later
  • MacBook Pro models from mid 2007 or later
  • MacBook Air models from late 2008 or later
  • Mac mini models from early 2009 or later
  • Mac Pro models from early 2008 or later
  • Xserve models from early 2009

Hardware Requirements

  • OS X v10.6.8 or later
  • 2GB of memory
  • 8.8GB of available storage
  • Some features require an Apple ID (terms apply)
  • Some features require a compatible Internet service provider (fees may apply)

FAQs:-

01. What is the best method to install El Capitan?

You can either use the default method to upgrade install or clean install methods to get El Capitan Installer but, without any doubt, Clean Install is the best method to upgrade your Mac OS. I hope all the above facts prove that.

02. How to save previous data when upgrading the OS X?

El capitan install dvd

Simply, take a backup by using the Time Machine.

  1. Open the Time Machine app.
  2. Click on the ‘Select Backup Disk’.
  3. Select the external drive or internal location where you want to save the files.
  4. Click on the ‘On’ to turn on the Time Machine.
  5. Click on the Arrow Clock icon in the Finder Bar at the top of your screen and select ‘Backup Now’.

03. Is it secure to install El Capitan without Apple Store?

No, it is not safe to get El Capitan Installer outsider of the Apple Store. It is only safe to get this OS upgrade from the Mac App Store. Besides, there is no such external place to get this OS upgrade. I have provided the steps to install El Capitan in the above of this site. Just follow those steps and upgrade your Mac PC to the El Capitan.

Fresh install of el capitan on ssd

These advanced steps are primarily for system administrators and people who are familiar with the command line. You don't need a bootable installer to upgrade macOS or reinstall macOS, but it can be useful when you want to install it on multiple computers without having to download the installer each time.

What you need to create a bootable installer

  • A USB flash drive or other secondary volume formatted as Mac OS Extended, with at least 14 GB of available storage
  • A downloaded installer for macOS Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra or El Capitan

Download macOS

  • Download: macOS Big Sur, macOS Catalina, macOS Mojave or macOS High Sierra
    These will be downloaded to your Applications folder as an app called Install macOS [version name]. If the installer opens after download, quit it without continuing the installation. To get the correct installer, download from a Mac that is using macOS Sierra 10.12.5 or later, or El Capitan 10.11.6. For enterprise administrators, please download from Apple, not a locally hosted software update server.
  • Download: OS X El Capitan
    This will be downloaded as a disk image called InstallMacOSX.dmg. On a Mac that is compatible with El Capitan, open the disk image and run the installer within, which has the name InstallMacOSX.pkg. It installs an app named Install OS X El Capitan into your Applications folder. You will create the bootable installer from this app, not from the disk image or .pkg installer.

Use the 'createinstallmedia' command in Terminal

  1. Connect the USB flash drive or other volume that you're using for the bootable installer.
  2. Open Terminal, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
  3. Type or paste one of the following commands in Terminal. These assume that the installer is in your Applications folder and MyVolume is the name of the USB flash drive or other volume you're using. If it has a different name, replace MyVolume in these commands with the name of your volume.

Big Sur:*

Catalina:*

Mojave:*

High Sierra:*

Fresh Install El Capitan Without Usb

El Capitan:

* If your Mac is using macOS Sierra or earlier, include the --applicationpath argument and installer path, similar to the way this was done in the command for El Capitan.

Fresh install el capitan on new ssd


After typing the command:

  1. Press Return to enter the command.
  2. When prompted, type your administrator password and press Return again. Terminal doesn't show any characters as you type your password.
  3. When prompted, type Y to confirm that you want to erase the volume, then press Return. Terminal displays the progress as the volume is being erased.
  4. After the volume has been erased, you may see an alert stating that Terminal would like to access files on a removable volume. Click OK to allow the copy to proceed.
  5. When Terminal says it's finished, the volume will have the same name as the installer you downloaded, such as Install macOS Big Sur. You can now quit Terminal and eject the volume.

Use the bootable installer

Determine whether you're using a Mac with Apple silicon, then follow the appropriate steps:

Apple silicon

  1. Plug the bootable installer into a Mac that is connected to the Internet and compatible with the version of macOS you're installing.
  2. Turn on your Mac and continue to hold the power button until you see the startup options window, which shows your bootable volumes.
  3. Select the volume containing the bootable installer, then click Continue.
  4. When the macOS installer opens, follow the onscreen instructions.

Intel processor

  1. Plug the bootable installer into a Mac that is connected to the Internet and compatible with the version of macOS you're installing.
  2. Press and hold the Option (Alt) ⌥ key immediately after turning on or restarting your Mac.
  3. Release the Option key when you see a dark screen displaying your bootable volumes.
  4. Select the volume containing the bootable installer. Then click the up arrow or press Return.
    If you can't start up from the bootable installer, make sure the External Boot setting in Startup Security Utility has been set to allow booting from external media.
  5. Choose your language, if prompted.
  6. Select Install macOS (or Install OS X) from the Utilities window, then click Continue and follow the onscreen instructions.

Learn more

A bootable installer doesn't download macOS from the Internet, but it does require an Internet connection to get firmware and other information specific to the Mac model.

For information about the createinstallmedia command and the arguments you can use with it, make sure the macOS installer is in your Applications folder, then enter the appropriate path in Terminal: