Fastest way to redeploy and image?

Andrew_Kuntz1
New Contributor III

Hey all, I was wondering what your process(s) is to wipe and reinstall a MacBook? We currently use a script to download the newest OS version and run the installer from there. Anyone know of any faster ways? Thanks!

5 REPLIES 5

sdagley
Esteemed Contributor II

@Andrew.Kuntz1 Are these Macs you have physical access to? If so, MDS from Twocanoes or Apple's Mac Provisioner 3 utility would be worth a look.

dpertschi
Valued Contributor

I tested Mac Provisioner 3 yesterday: 5 minutes and 19 seconds to erase and restore an up to date Catalina build! NICE!

MrRoboto
Contributor III

Fastest would be MacProvisioner3 if using the Catalina block copy option. Unfortunately this feature is no longer available with Big Sur and beyond. Using MP3 with Big Sur it is about 30-40 minutes to erase and reinstall. The utility is great because you don't have to change T2 boot security settings and don't have to manually erase the disk. Its automated and very similar to MacDeployStick.

The most convenient is an erase and install policy via Jamf. I use macOSUpgrade script with the erase option and run it via a jamf policy trigger or self service. It will call another policy to download the macOS installer and then prepare things, reboot to erase and reinstall. Once setup it is only one click and done!

MrRoboto
Contributor III

The new M1 MacBooks are incredible. You can use Apple Configurator 2 to restore the full macOS Big Sur in 12 mins. Can also connect multiple Macs and complete them all in about 16 mins! Take a look at this video... https://youtu.be/wiEWl2dyXGQ

AJPinto
Honored Contributor II

We use USB keys when time is of importance. MacOS will install within an hour, unfortunately it is not the 10-20 minutes it takes for Windows 10 to install from USB but it is much faster than the 3hrs of the online install.

With Apple Configurator you can revive a Mac which updates the firmware and reinstalls macOS in addition to purging all data. With Apple Silicon and Monterey there are changes coming to this workflow to make it faster. Keep an eye on changes with Apple Configurator, Apple is making it a lot more relevant with Macs and even more so with Apple Silicon Macs.

https://support.apple.com/guide/apple-configurator-2/revive-or-restore-a-mac-with-apple-silicon-apdd5f3c75ad/mac

I'm referring to a flat install of Win10 not a totally drop in place preconfigured install.