Restart your Mac and then hold down ⌘ + R to activate Recovery Mode. In the first window, select Reinstall macOS ➙ Continue. Agree to the Terms & Conditions. Select the hard drive you’d like to reinstall mac OS Catalina to and click Install.
After months of beta testing, Apple has rolled out macOS 10.15 Catalina to public users. You can download and install macOS Catalina if you have a compatible Mac. The macOS Catalina brings tons of new features such as the Apple Arcade, Screen Time, Voice Control, Sidecar, and Find My app. It has also replaced iTunes with three independent apps – Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, and Apple TV.
Is your Mac compatible with macOS Catalina?
- Step 1: Make sure your Mac is connected to a stable Internet within all the following steps. Step 2: Identify it's an Intel or M1 Mac, and immediately do one of the followings. Press and hold Command + Option + R.This allows you to reinstall the latest version of macOS that is compatible with your Mac computer from the internet.
- The two primary causes are; attempting to install on a Mac that Catalina doesn’t support, or trying to install Catalina on a Mac with limited storage space. Supported Macs: Most Macs from 2012 or later support macOS Catalina. The lone exception is the 2010-2012 Mac Pro, whose graphics cards don’t meet Catalina requirements.
Here’s the list of Mac devices compatible with the new software update:
- MacBook (Early 2015 or later)
- MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or later)
- MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 or later)
- Mac mini (Late 2012 or later)
- iMac (Late 2012 or later)
- iMac Pro (2017)
- Mac Pro (Late 2013 or later)
How to clean install the new software update
Install Catalina Mac Mini 2014
Upgrading to macOS 10.15 Catalina is pretty simple. Tap on the Apple icon in the top-left corner of the screen, then go to System Preferences > Software Update to download it. Alternatively, you can download it directly from the Mac App Store.
But sometimes upgrading macOS from the previous version to the latest one is not the best way. You might want to clean install macOS Catalina to give your Mac a fresh start without any issues from the previous installation. Here’s how to clean install macOS Catalina from USB drive:
Steps to install
How Long To Install Catalina Macos
- Take a full backup of all your important data. Save it to the cloud or an external drive
- You have to create a bootable USB drive. Here’s how you can create it. Make sure the USB drive is at least 8GB in size, and nothing else is stored on it
- Download the macOS Catalina installation file using this link
- Turn off the Mac and then insert the bootable USB drive
- Now turn the Mac back on while holding the Option key
- It will take you to the boot menu where you can select the USB drive. If your Mac has the T2 security chip, you have to first enable booting via external drives from macOS Recovery
- After a while, you’ll see the macOS Utilities menu on the screen. Select Disk Utility and then Continue
- Check to make sure you’ve selected the main drive of your Mac. Also ensure that the format is set as APFS or Mac OS Extended
- Now click Erase to wipe out the drive
- Once the drive has been erased, select Install macOS and then Continue. Just follow the on-screen prompts to clean install macOS Catalina
Once you’ve successfully installed the new software, you can transfer all your data back from the cloud or external storage drive to the Mac. Also, head over to the Mac App Store and re-install all the apps you want.
From a desert to an island, the Mac is all set to welcome the brand new OS Catalina. With a number of new features like Sidecar, voice control, Music, Podcasts and Apple TV, it may be the best OS yet. But before you get started, there are a couple of things you can do to prepare your Mac for the new OS Catalina. Read through this blog to understand the important prep work before installing along with steps on how to install Catalina.
Note: When you are upgrading from Mojave to Catalina or from High Sierra to Catalina, you may encounter a Pre-Boot volume error. Know how to fix ‘Could not create a pre-boot volume for APFS install’ here.
Prep work for installing Mac OS Catalina
1. Check your Mac for compatibility
Before you install Catalina, make sure that the Mac you have is compatible and supports the new OS. The following list of Mac devices support Catalina.
·iMac (2012 and above)
·iMac Pro (2017)
·MacBook (2015 and above)
·Mac Book Air (2012 and above)
·MacBook Pro (2012 and above)
·Mac Pro (2013 and above)
·Mac Mini (2012 and above
2. Clean up your Mac
If your Mac contains a number of outdated and unnecessary files, now is the time to clear them all up. This will save tons of space on your Mac and also helps your Mac perform better.
To clean up your Mac, you can either go through every file/folder manually and clear them. Or you could use a third party software to do the job automatically.
3. Create a backup
Sometimes even simple tasks like a macOS Catalina upgrade can cause data loss when you least expect it. Hence, creating a backup is the most essential thing to do to avoid data loss or photo loss on Mac after update.
You can easily create a backup on Mac using Time Machine as follows:
- In the menu bar, click on the Time Machine icon
- Select ‘Backup Now’
Time Machine will back up all your data and set it up. Alternatively, you can manually backup or use third party software to create a backup for you.
If you have lost data during an OS upgrade process, Remo Mac Data Recovery Tool is all you need to get back your lost data. It has unique recovery abilities to recover data lost during OS upgrade or OS reinstall from any Mac device. Download a free trial now and see how quick and easy it is recover data from Mac using this tool!
Mac OS Catalina Download & Installation Guide
After you have cleared up your computer and created a backup, you are all set to download and install Catalina.
There are 2 methods of installing Catalina, one is a regular install and other a Clean install (regular installation process is covered here). The regular installation installs Catalina over the previous OS, whereas the Clean install wipes the entire boot drive.
In the next section of this post, you will learn how to install Catalina.
How to install Mac OS Catalina?
If you choose this method, all the applications on your Mac will remain, so you will not need to reinstall any apps to start using your Mac. Your Mac with the new OS will be exactly similar to the state before OS upgrade, the only difference being the addition of new features with Catalina.
These steps will help you upgrade your Mac to OS 10.15 Catalina:
Install Catalina Mac Os
- Have your Mac connected to a reliable Wi-Fi connection and a source of power
- Click on the AppStore in the dock and launch it
- Search for ‘Mac OS Catalina’ and click Get
- Now, the new OS will be downloaded
- Click Continue to install and enter your admin credentials
- Allow the installation to complete fully
After installing, your Mac may restart several times to complete the set up process. Please don’t turn OFF your Mac during this time. After the process completes, you will have Catalina set up on your Mac.
Turning OFF your Mac in the middle of an OS upgrade can cause your Mac to hang and may cause data loss. If encountered with such a situation, Remo Recover Mac can help you recover data lost during OS upgrade/reinstall. Check out the free trial for a reliable and safe Mac data recovery experience.
Conclusion
Download Install Macos Catalina
The new features of Catalina like Sidecar, Music, Apple TV along with additional security certainly makes it exciting for users. However, please note that when you install Catalina on your Mac, the older 32-bit apps will not be supported. So, if you have any 32-bit apps, upgrade them to 64-bit apps or install alternative apps that are supported by Catalina.
If you are planning to install Catalina, we hope that this guide has provided you with the information required to carry out the installation process smoothly. Just remember to create a backup before you install Catalina, this will save you from bitter data loss situations.