I just bought a new MacBook Pro, a 13″ without Retina display, that came without the install discs. Should I make some. If yes, how?
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Joe
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Install CD/DVD, Yes or No?
Comments: 5 Responses to “Install CD/DVD, Yes or No?”
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Macs haven't come with install discs for a while. Actually, if you look carefully at your new MacBook you can see that it doesn't have a CD/DVD drive at all.
OS X no longer comes on an optical disc and hasn't since Snow Leopard.
So what happens if you need to re-install?
Well, for most users, you should never need to. I'm a power user and I haven't needed to re-install OS X for years.
But if you did, you can use the Recovery Partition that is on your Mac. See http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4718
Gary, the non-Retina MBP 13" has an optical drive:
http://store.apple.com/xc/product/MD101LL/A
I find it useful to keep an installer on external media. This can be as simple as keeping the "Install Mac OS X" app from the Mac App Store on a bootable backup. To make an installer on a little USB thumb drive or a DVD disc, read this:
http://www.macworld.com/article/1167857/how_to_make_a_bootable_mountain_lion_install_drive.html
Ah, sorry. I read it fast and saw "retina" and assumed it was the one with the drive.
I have a video on creating an external USB drive recovery drive: http://macmost.com/creating-a-recovery-disk.html
But it isn't the kind of thing that most users need to do.
"But it isn’t the kind of thing that most users need to do."
I agree.
If you need an optical drive you can always purchase an external one if needed.