macOS Sierra is Apple tree's latest desktop operating organisation, which succeeds OS Ten El Capitan and adopts a new name to bring information technology in line with iOS, watchOS, and tvOS. The OS will come pre-installed on all new Macs once current stock is depleted and is a free download for existing Mac owners.

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The main new feature in macOS Sierra is deep Siri integration, bringing Apple'southward personal assistant to the Mac for the first time. It too adds new features to Photos and Messages, and includes Continuity smarts like Universal Clipboard and an Car Unlock choice for Apple tree Scout owners.

This tutorial explains how to download macOS Sierra and perform a clean install, which offers several benefits over the automatic upgrade process included in the installation bundle.

Benefits of a Clean Install

A clean install can remove annoying quirks and strange behaviors that your Mac may have inherited over time due to driver upgrades, wonky apps, and messy installation procedures. Performing a fresh install can also repossess lost deejay space caused by junk files left by 3rd-political party apps, and tin generally brand your Mac feel a lot snappier, enabling you to relive that feeling of booting it upwards for the first time.

SanDisk USB Flash Drive (U3)To complete the clean install procedure described below, you'll need an 8GB or larger USB thumb bulldoze and an hour or two to spare.

You should also perform a total backup of your Mac beforehand using Time Machine. That way you tin can restore your system from the Recovery sectionalisation if something goes incorrect. Alternatively, save a bootable mirror image of your organization to an external drive using a clone utility similar SuperDuper! ($27.95) or Carbon Copy Cloner ($39.99).

Compatibility Check

Before y'all do annihilation, bank check that your Mac is uniform with Apple'south new operating system. macOS Sierra supports the following:

  • iMac (Belatedly 2009 or newer)
  • MacBook Air (2010 or newer)
  • MacBook (Late 2009 or newer)
  • Mac mini (2010 or newer)
  • MacBook Pro (2010 or newer)
  • Mac Pro (2010 or newer)

Another fashion of checking if your Mac is compatible is to open the Apple menu in the upper left corner of your Mac's screen and selecting Nigh This Mac. Look simply beneath the Os X version number in the Overview tab – if the Mac model name is the same or a later model year than the one shown in the compatibility list to a higher place, your Mac is compatible with Sierra.

Pre-Install Notes

If y'all want total command of what information gets transferred to the new OS, you can sidestep the Migration Assistant and manually copy any important files and folders on your existing system to an external drive instead. It'south also worth taking a screenshot of your desktop, to serve as a record of how you similar things fix upward.

Some users may find it useful to make a note of the contents of their Applications folder for after reference. A screenshot may suffice (Command-Shift-iv, and then Space to capture the Finder window), but if non, the following steps describe a uncomplicated fashion to create a list of apps.

Finder & TextEdit

  1. Open up the Applications folder and printing Control+A to select all apps in the Finder window, and so printing Command+C.
  2. At present open up TextEdit, create a new document, select Format -> Make Plainly Text from the menu bar, and press Control+V to paste a list of app names into the document.
  3. If necessary, add details of download locations for any non-Mac App Store apps you use, append whatever serial numbers you lot might need, and save the text document to an external drive.

Be sure to allow any cloud services you use to complete synchronization before continuing. It's besides worth screen-grabbing or noting downwards any custom preferences, settings, Wi-Fi passwords, and app-specific profiles yous use.

Lastly, de-authorize any services on your Mac, including your iTunes account (iTunes carte > Store > Deauthorize this Computer), since these are commonly limited to a set number of systems.

Create a Bootable Installer

Download the macOS Sierra installation package from the Mac App Store. One time it has downloaded, follow these steps to create a USB bootable installer.

  1. Open up Disk Utility (found in the Applications/Utilities folder), select the thumb bulldoze in the sidebar and click the "Erase" button.
  2. Proper noun the USB drive "Untitled" if information technology isn't already, cull the Format "Os X Extended (Journaled)", and click "Erase". In one case your thumb bulldoze is formatted and the macOS installation package has finished downloading, open upward Concluding (found in Applications/Utilities).
  3. Now, ensure the USB drive is the simply disk named "Untitled" connected to your Mac, and then paste the following control into the Terminal window, and press Enter: sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Untitled --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sierra.app --nointeraction
  4. You should be prompted for your administrator password. Enter it, and the command will create a bootable Sierra installer on the USB drive. The procedure volition accept a few minutes to complete, then leave it running.

clean install Sierra

Restart and Install

Once the USB installer has been created, restart your Mac and hold downwards the Selection key every bit soon as you hear the reboot tone. Then follow these steps:

  1. Utilize the mouse pointer or the arrow keys on your keyboard to select the deejay called "Install macOS Sierra" in the drive list that appears on the screen.
  2. Once the USB drive has booted, select "Disk Utility" from the Utilities window, choose your Mac'southward startup bulldoze from the list, and click "Erase".
  3. When your Mac's startup disk is formatted, return to the Utilities window and select "Install macOS", choose your freshly erased startup drive when asked where to install the Os, and follow the onscreen prompts to consummate the installation.

Mail service-Install Steps

One time the clean installation of macOS Sierra is upwardly and running on your Mac, you tin can either restore your information from a Time Automobile backup using Migration Assistant (establish in Applications/Utilities), or begin restoring your apps, files, and settings manually to become your Mac fix upwardly just the mode you like it.

macossierraroundup

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