This way, you will still have all your data if anything goes wrong during the reinstall process.

However, we recommend taking a backup on an external drive using the Time Machine backup feature. Reinstalling macOS without removing the dataĪs you can see, it’s fairly simple to reinstall macOS without losing any files, data, or documents. You can also choose to restore data from a Time Machine backup. The process can take some time, and your Mac will restart a couple of times before booting into the login screen. The reinstall process requires you to be connected to the internet at all times, so make sure you have a stable connection.Īs mentioned in the beginning, it’ll only replace the system files and settings. The utility will now start to reinstall macOS on your Mac and will not erase any files or data on your drive. Choose the Macintosh HD or the external hard drive to restore the selected backup to it. Select a backup by date and click Continue. Choose the correct Time Machine backup disk and click Continue.

On Mac with an Intel processor, press the Command + R keys until you see the Apple logo or any other image on the screen.Ģ) You should see a macOS Utilities window with several options.ģ) Start the process by clicking Reinstall macOS Ventura, macOS Monterey, or the shown version name.ĥ) Select the main drive on your Mac when asked where you want to reinstall macOS. Select Restore from Time Machine on the macOS Utilities screen and click Continue.

On a Mac with Apple silicon (M1, M2), press and hold the power button until you see Loading startup options on the screen.A reinstall will only touch the system files and settings while keeping all your data safe. When you reinstall macOS from Recovery, you will not lose any data if you don’t erase your main drive. In this article, we will show you how to reinstall macOS without losing any data. However, some people don’t do it, worrying they will lose all their files, documents, or data in the reinstall process. There could be several other reasons you may want to reinstall macOS on your Mac. If your Mac isn’t performing as expected or shows signs of slowing down, you could reinstall macOS to improve things.

Mac os restore from backup