How to wipe your Internal Mac Hard Drive , reinstall the Mac OS and prepare for Most Audio/Midi Recording Software Packages.
1.First back up any Data that is important! This Procedure will Totally ERASE all DATA on the MAC HD!!!!
2.Next start your Mac off of a Mac OS 9.x Installer CD.Put CD in the Mac and when it shows up on the Mac Desktop ,choose “Restart” under the “Special” Menu ,and hold down the “C” key on the Mac Keyboard until the Mac is booted up again.You will know you are running off of the CD , becuase you will see a backround full of CD’s instead of the normal backround screen.
3.Once the Mac is running off of the CD, go into the CD and open the “Utilities” Folder.Open the “Drive Setup” folder and double click on Drive Setup to launch it.
4.Drive Setup will scan and find all of the drives connected to your computer.You will see the name of your current Mac HD listed.Select it in the list by clicking on the name.It will then become highlighted.With the drives name highlighted press the “Initialize” button.You will get a confirmation screen.Press “Initialize” again , and the process will begin.
5.You will see a new hard drive Icon appear on your Desktop.It will be labeled “Untitled”.Rename the new “Untitled” drive , “Mac HD”.Just click onto the text field of the untitled drive.It will become highlighted and just type the new name , “Mac HD”
6.Now go back to Drive Setup. You will see the drive’s new name in the list.Click on it again to highlight it , and go under “Functions” at the top of the apple menu and choose “Update Driver” . The Mac will alert you that the Driver wont be available until the next restart.Hit “OK”
7.Now go under the “File” menu and choose “Quit” . Drive Setup will close.
8.No go back to the CD and double click on “Mac OS Installer” . Go through the licensing agreement screens until you get to the Install page.Do a “Easy Install” of the Mac OS to the new Hard Drive.This process should take between 8 -13 Minutes.Do NOT stop it, wait until it finishes.
9.Now you can “Quit” the installer when it is finished.
10.Now click on the apple menu in the top left corner of the screen. Choose “Control Panels” and then “Startup Disk” . When the Startup Disk panel appears , make sure your new hard drive is highlighted, NOT the Mac OS Install CD. Hit restart at the bottom of this window.
11.When the Mac is back up you will need to go through Mac OS Setup Assistant.
Wait until it prompts you for info and follow the directions given.You can enter in a password when prompted,and when asked about the “Simple Finder” choose “NO”. If you want to go on line with the Mac , use the Internet setup assistant at the end of the Mac OS assistant.Otherwise choose “Quit” when prompted.
12.Now we are ready to set the Mac up for Midi and Audio programs.
13.Go under the “Apple Menu” in the top left corner of the screen.Go down to “Chooser” and make AppleTalk “inactive” .Close this window when done and press “save” if prompted.
14.Now go under the “Apple Menu” again and go to “Control Panels” and then to “Energy Saver” .Set your ” Energy Control Panel “to “Never” by sliding the tab to the far right.Close this window when done.
15. Go back to the “Apple Menu” and to “Control Panels” , this time go to “Memory”
Here you need to make “Virtual Memory” OFF . Also , you will need to change the “Disk Cache” size.Click the “Custom” button, and then “Custom” again when prompted .Depending on the software you use , change the Disc Cache size to the following:
JUST HOLD THE DOWN ARROW NEXT TO THE CURRENT NUMBERS AND LOWER TO:
PROTOOLS: 512K
DIGIDESIGN HARDWARE: 512K
CUBASE: 2048K
DIGITAL PERFORMER: 2048K
MOTU HARDWARE: 2048K
ALL OTHERS: LEAVE DEFAULT. NO CHANGE NEEDED!
16.Now you can close the Memory Control Panel.
17.Now go back to the “Apple Menu” and to “Control Panels” and then to “Extensions Manager”
18.Here you will see the selected set: “My Settings”. Click and Hold on “My Settings” and change to “Mac OS 9.x BASE SET ” . With the base set selected, press the “Duplicate Set” button. Rename the set “Music” . Hit “OK” when done. Now you can hit the “restart” button at the bottom of the Extensions Manager.
19.When the Mac boots back up , you are ready to install you music applications and hardware drivers etc…. See our Knowledge Base for more instructions for your specific gear !
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