1. Factory Reset El Capitan Imac
2. Reinstall Os X El Capitan

OS X El Capitan (10.11) MacRumors attracts a broad audience of both consumers and professionals interested in the latest technologies and products. We also boast an active community focused on purchasing decisions and technical aspects of the iPhone, iPod, iPad, and Mac platforms. Once you’ve done that, here’s how to install, reinstall, or upgrade to El Capitan, step by step: Boot from your Recovery HD partition by restarting your Mac while holding down the Command+R keys. The OS X Utilities window appears. Select Reinstall OS X, and click Continue. The OS X El Capitan splash screen appears. Open the OS X Terminal and run the following command (copy and paste all 5 lines): sudo /Applications/Install OS X El Capita n.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallme dia -volume /Volumes/INSTALLER -applic ationpath /Applications/Install OS X El Ca pitan.app -nointeraction. When finished, OS X El Capitan will boot into a brand new clean install, running through the initial OS X setup process on the Mac as if the Mac was brand new. No files, no data, nothing will be on the Mac except for what comes with OS X El Capitan, that is what a clean install is for. Remember, this method is not the same as a clean install, and it only reinstalls the version of OS X that is currently running on the Mac (shown here with El Capitan), whereas Internet Recovery will reinstall the version of OS X that shipped with the Mac (in this case it would have been Yosemite) instead. Obviously the versions of OS X will.

These advanced steps are primarily for system administrators and others who are familiar with the command line. You don't need a bootable installer to upgrade macOS or reinstall macOS, but it can be useful when you want to install on multiple computers without downloading the installer each time.

What you need to create a bootable installer

• A USB flash drive or other secondary volume formatted as Mac OS Extended, with at least 14GB of available storage
• A downloaded installer for macOS Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra, or El Capitan

Download macOS

• Download: macOS Big Sur, macOS Catalina, macOS Mojave, or macOS High Sierra
  These download to your Applications folder as an app named Install macOS [version name]. If the installer opens after downloading, quit it without continuing installation. To get the correct installer, download from a Mac that is using macOS Sierra 10.12.5 or later, or El Capitan 10.11.6. Enterprise administrators, please download from Apple, not a locally hosted software-update server.
• Download: OS X El Capitan
  This downloads as a disk image named InstallMacOSX.dmg. On a Mac that is compatible with El Capitan, open the disk image and run the installer within, named InstallMacOSX.pkg. It installs an app named Install OS X El Capitan into your Applications folder. You will create the bootable installer from this app, not from the disk image or .pkg installer.

Use the 'createinstallmedia' command in Terminal

1. Connect the USB flash drive or other volume that you're using for the bootable installer.
2. Open Terminal, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
3. Type or paste one of the following commands in Terminal. These assume that the installer is in your Applications folder, and MyVolume is the name of the USB flash drive or other volume you're using. If it has a different name, replace MyVolume in these commands with the name of your volume.

Big Sur:*

Catalina:*

Factory Reset El Capitan Imac

Mojave:*

High Sierra:*

El Capitan:

* If your Mac is using macOS Sierra or earlier, include the --applicationpath argument and installer path, similar to the way this is done in the command for El Capitan.

After typing the command:

1. Press Return to enter the command.
2. When prompted, type your administrator password and press Return again. Terminal doesn't show any characters as you type your password.
3. When prompted, type Y to confirm that you want to erase the volume, then press Return. Terminal shows the progress as the volume is erased.
4. After the volume is erased, you may see an alert that Terminal would like to access files on a removable volume. Click OK to allow the copy to proceed.
5. When Terminal says that it's done, the volume will have the same name as the installer you downloaded, such as Install macOS Big Sur. You can now quit Terminal and eject the volume.
   

Use the bootable installer

Determine whether you're using a Mac with Apple silicon, then follow the appropriate steps:

Apple silicon

1. Plug the bootable installer into a Mac that is connected to the internet and compatible with the version of macOS you're installing.
2. Turn on your Mac and continue to hold the power button until you see the startup options window, which shows your bootable volumes.
3. Select the volume containing the bootable installer, then click Continue.
4. When the macOS installer opens, follow the onscreen instructions.

Intel processor

1. Plug the bootable installer into a Mac that is connected to the internet and compatible with the version of macOS you're installing.
2. Press and hold the Option (Alt) ⌥ key immediately after turning on or restarting your Mac.
3. Release the Option key when you see a dark screen showing your bootable volumes.
4. Select the volume containing the bootable installer. Then click the up arrow or press Return.
   If you can't start up from the bootable installer, make sure that the External Boot setting in Startup Security Utility is set to allow booting from external media.
5. Choose your language, if prompted.
6. Select Install macOS (or Install OS X) from the Utilities window, then click Continue and follow the onscreen instructions.

Learn more

Reinstall Os X El Capitan

A bootable installer doesn't download macOS from the internet, but it does require an internet connection to get firmware and other information specific to the Mac model.

For information about the createinstallmedia command and the arguments you can use with it, make sure that the macOS installer is in your Applications folder, then enter the appropriate path in Terminal:

Windows Mac; Windows 7 and newer, including Windows 10: Mac OS X El Capitan and newer, including macOS Mojave (Catalina users see warning below): If using MathType with Pages (et.al.) on macOS 10.14 Mojave, please make sure that you are using Pages 7.3, Keynote 8.3, and Numbers 5.3 or later. I might ask if anyone knows how I can run the installer manually - from the command line I can cd to /Volumes and see my main hard drive and the downloaded dmg file 'Install OS X El Capitan'. If I could run the installer from the downloaded file, I'd saver about 2 hours for these tests and not download that installer file over and over.

Reinstalling macOS is usually the last option when fixing an error on Mac. Installing a fresh copy of the Mac operating system should resolve all problems that your computer is experiencing, even those that are normally difficult to get rid of.

You can re-install macOS via the Recovery menu, which can be accessed by holding down Command + R during startup. You can choose to re-install using a bootable USB drive or using Internet Recovery. Most users prefer the latter because it is faster and more convenient.

However, Internet Recovery is not always a good option, especially if your internet connection is not stable. One of the issues that could occur is error code -2003f. Some Mac users reported trying to reinstall macOS Sierra, but error code -2003f appeared, causing the installation to fail. This error can also happen when re-installing other versions of macOS.

What Is Error Code -2003f?

Error code -2003f happens when users try to re-install macOS using Internet Recovery after reformatting the drive. The error may cause your Mac to freeze and the installation of the operating system to fail. Aside from an unresponsive machine, you might also see a spinning globe or a blank screen that means the reinstallation process got stuck. You might even lose all access to your computer because of the bug.

Some users who were trying to install macOS Sierra but got error code -2003f reported seeing a flashing folder with a question mark before the error appeared. The flashing folder with a question mark means that your Mac cannot find its system software, making it impossible to proceed with the installation.

What Causes Error Code -2003f?

Poor internet connection is the leading cause of this error. Negative error codes in this range are usually associated with Wi-Fi problems. This means that your internet connection is not sufficient to successfully complete the process. The error often happens when you’re doing internet recovery over Wi-Fi connection.

Aside from poor unstable internet connection, other factors that could lead to error code -2003f include virus infection, hard disk errors, and incomplete installation of macOS. We’ve listed here several ways to resolve this problem and get rid of this error code.

How to Fix Error Code -2003f

Fixing error code -2003f is simple, especially once you’ve narrowed down the real cause of the problem. Getting rid of the junk files on your Mac with the help of Outbyte MacRepair can help rule out other factors that might be causing the error. Scan your Mac with your antivirus software as well before doing any troubleshooting to make sure that viruses are not wreaking havoc on your computer.

Once you’ve completed these steps, you can then proceed with the fixes below.

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Fix #1: Switch to Wired Connection.

Reinstall El Capitan

Since the main reason behind this error is a poor internet connection, switching to wired connection should be your first course of action. Disconnect your Wi-Fi connection first, then restart your router. Next, use an ethernet cable to connect your Mac to your router, then try running Internet Recovery again to see if the error has been fixed.

Fix #2: Reset PRAM and NVRAM.

Another way to fix error code -2003f is to reset the Parameter RAM (PRAM) or Non-Volatile RAM (NVRAM). NVRAM, which is the modern version of PRAM, stores system settings, including serial port configuration and definition.

To reset your Mac’s PRAM/NVRAM, follow the steps below:

1. Restart your Mac.
2. When you hear the startup sound, hold down Command + Option + P + R immediately.
3. Hold this combination for 20 seconds, then let go to continue booting up.
4. If you have an older version of Mac, keep holding the keys until you hear the second startup sound.

Try reinstalling via Internet Recovery again to see if you can complete the process successfully.

Fix #3: Run Disk Utility.

Reinstall El Capitan On Mac

A damaged or defective hard drive can cause several problems for your Mac, including error code -2003f. You can use macOS’ built-in disk utility to repair a damaged or defective hard drive.

Follow these instructions to run the disk tool to restore your drive:

1. Launch macOS Utilities by restarting your Mac and holding down Command + R.
2. Release the keys when the macOS Recovery page loads.
3. Click on Disk Utility from the options, then hit Continue.
4. Click View, then Show All Devices.
5. Choose your installation disk from the sidebar.
6. Click the First Aid Button >Run.
7. Follow the on-screen instructions to repair the disk.

Reinstall El Capitan Mac

Once the hard drive has been repaired, check if you are able to re-install macOS without encountering error code -2003f.

Fix #4: Use a Bootable USB Installer

If reinstalling via Internet Recovery doesn’t work, you can use a bootable installer instead to install the Mac operating system. This allows you to install macOS even with poor internet connection.

To create your bootable installer, follow the steps below:

Reinstall El Capitan Temporarily Unavailable

1. Download your preferred macOS. For macOS Mojave, you can get it directly from the App Store.
2. For older versions of macOS, check the Purchased tab of your App Store and download the installer from there.
3. When the installer loads after downloading, quit it immediately.
4. Find the installer file in your Applications folder. It should be named Install <macOS version>.
5. Connect the USB device or external hard drive you are going to use as the bootable media to your Mac. Make sure it has at least 12GB of free space and is formatted as Mac OS Extended.
6. Launch Terminal from the Utilities folder.
7. Type in the command that corresponds to the macOS version you want to install:
   • Mojave: sudo /Applications/Install macOS Mojave.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/MyVolume
   • High Sierra: sudo /Applications/Install macOS High Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/MyVolume
   • Sierra: sudo /Applications/Install macOS Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/MyVolume –applicationpath /Applications/Install macOS Sierra.app
   • El Capitan:sudo /Applications/Install OS X El Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/MyVolume –applicationpath /Applications/Install OS X El Capitan.app
8. Hit Enter to execute the command.
9. Type in your account name and password to proceed.
10. Press Y to erase the volume.
11. Wait for the process to be completed, then eject the volume afterwards.

To use the bootable installer to reinstall macOS, edit your startup preferences using Startup Manager and choose your USB or hard drive as the startup disk. Your computer will then start up to macOS Recovery. Just click the Install macOS button and follow the on-screen instructions from there.

Summary

Getting error code -2003f while reinstalling macOS via Internet Recovery can be irritating because it compounds whatever problem you are experiencing instead of fixing it. Fortunately, the methods above should help resolve this error and allow you to finish the installation process successfully.