[SOLVED] Windows installed on Macbook as the only OS

[Parsa_t]

Hi
I bought a second hand Macbook pro 17 inch 2012 model and it has windows installed on it as the only operating system since the old HDD was replaced with a new ssd. The guy i bought it from said i could simply install mac os on it again but dear god. Ive tried every possible way and had no chance so far. I tried booting from a usp but the usps containing the mac os wont be recognized.I contacted apple support and they told me that the 'system is overwritten'.
You might say maybe i should just use the windows. The problem is the mac has many small problems that cant be fixed. Ive installed the boot camp drivers, it helped a little but there are still some issues.For example, the audio drivers dont work so i cant get any sound of the mac. Also, I cant use the 'sleep' function cuz the mac just shuts down when I try. And also the screen brightness cant be adjusted.
I appreciate any help

 

[McHenryB]

Use Internet Recovery to install OS X.

http://osxdaily.com/2014/12/14/reinstall-os-x-mac-internet-recovery/

 

[Parsa_t]

Use Internet Recovery to install OS X.

http://osxdaily.com/2014/12/14/reinstall-os-x-mac-internet-recovery/

I tried .. it doesn’t work .. Mac gets stuck In a white screen

 

[McHenryB]

Take it to an Apple reseller (preferably an Apple Store). You may have a hardware problem.

 

[Rhinofart]

Put the USB with MAC os in the machine. Boot it up holding down the Option Key, and then select the USB as the boot. Then when the OS installer starts up, go to Utilities, Disk Utility, and format the HD as a new Mac OS Journaled filesystem, exit disk utility, and then continue with your MAC OS install.

 

[Parsa_t]

Put the USB with MAC os in the machine. Boot it up holding down the Option Key, and then select the USB as the boot. Then when the OS installer starts up, go to Utilities, Disk Utility, and format the HD as a new Mac OS Journaled filesystem, exit disk utility, and then continue with your MAC OS install.

Maybe I didn’t state this clearly, the Mac won’t recognize a bootable usb with Mac OS on it. I’ve tried different USB sticks as well

 

[Rhinofart]

Put the USB with MAC os in the machine. Boot it up holding down the Option Key, and then select the USB as the boot. Then when the OS installer starts up, go to Utilities, Disk Utility, and format the HD as a new Mac OS Journaled filesystem, exit disk utility, and then continue with your MAC OS install.

Maybe I didn’t state this clearly, the Mac won’t recognize a bootable usb with Mac OS on it. I’ve tried different USB sticks as well

But did you hold down the Option Key, and keep it held down while you powered it on? Also, a Power on while holding down Option +P +R may also help.

 

[Parsa_t]

Put the USB with MAC os in the machine. Boot it up holding down the Option Key, and then select the USB as the boot. Then when the OS installer starts up, go to Utilities, Disk Utility, and format the HD as a new Mac OS Journaled filesystem, exit disk utility, and then continue with your MAC OS install.

Yes I did but no luck.. I think this Mac had turned into a windows computer. And maybe I should treat it as a windows machine. So how would one install Mac OS on a windows computer? Also do macs have bios? Maybe I can try and mess with the settings there

 

[Rhinofart]

Put the USB with MAC os in the machine. Boot it up holding down the Option Key, and then select the USB as the boot. Then when the OS installer starts up, go to Utilities, Disk Utility, and format the HD as a new Mac OS Journaled filesystem, exit disk utility, and then continue with your MAC OS install.

Yes I did but no luck.. I think this Mac had turned into a windows computer. And maybe I should treat it as a windows machine. So how would one install Mac OS on a windows computer? Also do macs have bios? Maybe I can try and mess with the settings there
There is no user accessible BIOS on the Macs. If your Windows runs fine, I would suggest looking into VMWare Workstation. Seeing as it's actual Mac hardware, you can run a Mac OS on a VM.
Do you have access to any other Macs? If so, have you tried putting the machine into Target Disk mode, and installing Mac OS in it from the other machine?

 

[McHenryB]

Macs don't "turn into" Windows computers. If it doesn't boot from a USB stick then either the stick is not bootable or there is a hardware error.

Macs don't have a BIOS they use EFI.

BTW, I'm not convinced that you can install OS X in a VMWare VM on this machine. I think the host OS is the limiting factor, rather than the hardware.

 

[toshibitsu]

You'll have to boot up & hold down COMMAND + R to go to the macOS Recovery system. It should boot to a screen that says 'macOS Utilities'. From here, click on 'Disk Utility' and have it erase/partition the hard drive. Specify Mac OS Extended (Journaled). After that, you should be able to continue with Internet Recovery(so long as you have an internet connection)... Otherwise you can reboot it and this time hold down C. If your USB drive has a mac Install OS on it, you should be able to proceed from there. If C doesn't work, then try OPTION.

The reason OPTION would not work initially is because the laptop has detected the NTFS file system on the HD and it's been set as default... thus not recognizing any OSX based media.

Last resort option would be to pull out the hard drive and completely delete the partition on it from a Windows PC, or just use Disk Utility on it from another Mac.