Try this - macOS Recovery over the Internet, hold down Option-Command-R or Shift-Option-Command-R at startup.
Failing this you will need to create a boot usb drive. An easy tool is - http://diskmakerx.com/ however you need access to another mac to do this.
Outside of this you can try an Apple store to see if they will restore the OS for you ;)
Recently switched to Debian from OS X. There are sole helpful guides, search DebianOn. Duel boot works fine. You can use TimeMachine to backup your old system and restore if needed. I recommend having a solid backup and 2 USB sticks, one with whatever Distro (search Debian USB on OS X) you want and one with OS X (http://diskmakerx.com) before you start doing anything. You can get a USB to ethernet adapter on Amazon relatively cheap. You with have to wrestle with drivers for a in to get WiFi working on the Linux side. I ended up reinstalling my system a few times after various mistakes. You will learn a lot should you choose to be diligent. Internet searches are your friend. Good luck.
This issue occurs if the computer was registered with an Apple ID that was different than the one you are attempting to reinstall with. I'm not sure if this is deliberate on Apple's part, but using the original Apple ID seems to solve the issue for people.
Failing that, you will need access to another Mac. You can use DiskMaker X to create an installer out of an external drive and a copy of OS X downloaded from the App Store.
What I did in the past:
Download the 10.9 installer from the store on your machine (obviously you need to install it first). Use DiskMaker X to make a bootable USB (http://diskmakerx.com/). Wipe and install without being asked for your ID.
If you boot into recovery mode (Cmd - R while booting) you can use disk utility to wipe your drives and then it will download a fresh copy of El Capitan and install it.
You could also use Diskmaker X to create a bootable usb fob of El Capitan (using the copy you downloaded from the App Store) for a fresh install.
Enjoy!
You would probably have a better experience by doing a clean install of Yosemite. I would try that first.
Regarding the browser, I hope you use Safari. Google Chrome is known to be pretty slow/power hungry. (Not slow to render webpages, but it makes the computer slow.)
Regarding startup speed, it might be an old disk working a bit slower now because of corrupted blocks or similar. Perhaps buy a new HDD or SSD?
But yes you could install 10.6 again, but you will probably need to to a complete wipe of your disk. At least wiping your disk is what I recommend. You could have a look at http://diskmakerx.com to create a installer USB, but the easiest would probably be to use original DVD install media.
Not sure where the dmg came from, but I would do this:
If you have access to another Mac, you could log into the App Store with your iCloud credentials and download El Capitan. After that, download DiskMaker X to build a bootable thumb drive installer out of the El Capitan download from the App Store.
If you have Yosemite installed, you've already got a bootable Yosemite installer; hold command+R on startup to access it.
Otherwise, yes, you can use a partition as a bootable installer. Use DiskMaker X.
Google Drive link: Mavericks
Download the entire folder.
And in case you need to make a bootable USB drive: Diskmaker X
the best way would be, if you have a friend/family/co-worker who owns a mac, download OSX on their machine. Make a bootable USB flash drive (8GB). Download DiskMaker here and choose your compatible version. Extract the diskmaker, run follow the onscreen instruction. It will take a while...30mins may be.
So insert your bootable USB to your MBP. Hold down Alt key and power on. Do not release the Alt key until you see the boot options appear. Select your usb to continue to boot. When it comes to a screen with 4 Options...choose Disk Utility, make sure to format the drive...format, exit, Install OSX...
There will be no recovery partition on the blank SSD. However, booting with an empty drive should trigger the internet install. You may have to hold option while booting.
This requires an internet connection and probably 2-3 hours (less if you have a fast internet connection).
Conversely, you can create a Yosemite install disk from a working Mac using DiskMaker X: http://diskmakerx.com
Create the install disk, reboot, hold option, select the disk, follow install screens.
Disk install takes less than an hour on average.
I prefer the clean install method which does not use the recovery partition.
I find that a clean install doesn't migrate settings forward and allows me to have a fresher start. I prefer to do this on every OSX release in case some files aren't updated properly.
I would highly recommend doing all 3: SSD + RAM + OS Upgrade.
Check what RAM you need here:
Get any SSD that is in your budget (name brand at least). You will see a world of difference when running 10.9 or 10.10.
Have fun.
Edit: Upgrade clarify: 10.6 doesn't have security updates any more. Lion sucks as does ML. If you get an SSD you will need to build a bootable installer and put it onto a flash drive. This is good because you will have a nice fresh install of the OS. You can easily build one using this.
You can try to reboot holding CMD R to get into recovery partition on the internal drive, and if that does not work CMD OPTION R to get into internet recovery (you will see a spinning globe). https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201314
This will eventually give you the screen where you can verify and repair the hard drive with Disk Utilities and then Reinstall MacOS. After the OS reinstall you should still have account A and the internal HD will boot again. This recovery partition installs the OS that created it (what was the OS on the mac when it died), so might not be High Sierra.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204904
In your current situation the internal drive is acting as an external drive, so you cant log into Account A but you can see its files. You can google the location of the specific files you want and see if you can save them somewhere.
Alternatively you can create a USB installer flash drive. So you need to re-download the OS installer but this time do not install. Then you can use DiskmakerX to create a USB bootable installer for this OS (you can also use terminal commands - google it if you need). Then boot from this USB disk and it will install the OS. This is similar to what the Recovery partition method I mentioned above, but will let you install High Sierra directly.
I hear ya. I’ve rebuilt many a Macs, and the issue I ran into again and again was the type of USB stick. Even though OSX appeared to be installed on the USB stick, something would go awry and trying another USB stick always seemed to fix it. I also use Diskmaker X as my go to software for making the bootable USB stick, but again, even it would fail if the USB stick had issue or wasn’t compatible and don’t ask me why some USB sticks aren’t compatible. http://diskmakerx.com/
You can still use createinstallmedia method (if available) or an older version of DiskMaker X (formerly Lion DiskMaker).
I don't know if diskmaker X is compatible with VM, but createinstallmedia is...
Do you have access to another Mac? You could download the MacOS software and then use a thumb drive to create a bootable install disk. If you're comfortable using terminal you can follow Apple's instructions here, or you can use DiskMakerX which will manage the process for you.
I'm going to assume you've performed a PRAM reset and an SMC reset. If not, google those terms and perform the procedure.
Is this from the recovery partition? It's possible there is some issue with your recovery partition.
Try making a USB install disk with Diskmaker X.
Boot the disk by holding opt after the chime and select the USB disk and install with it.
If you want a "clean install" (it will lose all data on the drive), format the whole disk as: GUID Partition Map and MacOS (Journaled). Install to the newly formatted HDD. The install will reboot to the "out of the box" setup.
I'm not sure, actually. I typically use this to create USB installers: http://diskmakerx.com
Or even better:
https://github.com/munki/createOSXinstallPkg
You could also just download the delta update of 10.11.5 from Apple's site, which would then download locally, allowing you to install and get around the corrupt 10.11.5 download from the App Store.
If Apple is only suggesting you try to download again, I guess I would do so again just in case, then look at your date and time. Also I use Diskmaker to put the install on a USB drive, then install from there. This gives you a copy of the install if you ever need to do it again or want to take to another computer. http://diskmakerx.com
We do this at work all the time, in fact, we are running most of our machines on 10.9.5. This includes 8 and 12 core Mac Pros
I use DiskMakerX5 to build my installers.
I'm sure you can find an image of Mavericks (10.9) or Yosemite (10.10) but PM me if you can't and I'm sure I can get one to you
When logged into the App Store using an Apple ID that has previously downloaded it, it will show up under the "Purchases" tab. You will need to create an external installer using DiskMaker X or Install Disk Creator.
For iTunes this knowledge base article is very straightforward:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201625
For a fresh install, you can go about this a couple of ways. You could boot to the recovery drive using these instructions and re-format your boot partition and re-install your current version of Mac OS X:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201314
Personally, I like to completely reformat a drive and start with a clean slate. In order to do this, you need to make a bootable USB drive with whatever version of Mac OS X you want to use (Mavericks or Yosemite). This software is the easiest way to do that.
Using the bootable USB drive, reboot your computer with the drive plugged in and hold down the Options key. Select the orange drive icon representing the USB drive. Format using Disk Utility and use the wizard to do a fresh install of the operating system.
Edit: You don't have to stick with Mavericks for a fresh install. You can jump straight to Yosemite if you like using the second method. You could technically upgrade to Yosemite, then re-install; but that would take much longer.
> I'm getting a "Not available at this time" error when I try to reinstall after erasing the HD with DU.
That's actually an unrelated issue (and an annoying as hell one at that).
People report that this occurs if you try to use an Apple ID different than the one with which you registered the computer. Are you able to use the original one?
Failing that, you can use DiskMaker X on another Mac to create a bootable installer out of an external drive.
No, any internet connection will do, but obviously a wifi connection will (probably) be much slower than an ethernet connection; your computer will need to download the entire install, which is a few GB. You could then make an install disk with something like DiskmakerX, just in case it happens again and you don't want to have to download again.
Absolutely, particularly if you have been running the same installation for four or five years.
There's two ways you can do this.
First way:
Follow the steps /u/ddiiggss listed. When your computer is up to Yosemite, you can reboot holding down Command-R, then use Disk Utility to erase the disk, then go back to the main window and select the Reinstall OS X option.
Second way:
Download Yosemite from the App Store, but don't run the installer. Instead, follow the instructions here or use a program like DiskMaker X to create a bootable USB installer disk. Then, boot up from the USB disk and erase the internal drive, and install Yosemite.
If this is your first recent Mac before you do either of those what I would be sure to do is go into the Mac App Store and accept the iLife and iWork programs (iPhoto, iMovie, Pages, Numbers, and Keynote) to your Apple ID, because reinstalling OS X from scratch does not include those programs. When you "Accept" them to your Apple ID they will be added to your previous purchase list, which will allow you to re-download them onto any computer that you are signed into.
Download this torrent:
https://kickass.so/mountain-lion-10-8-mac-app-store-release-t6603569.html
Then burn the InstallESD.dmg to a dual layer (8.5GB) DVD: https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=burn+dmg+to+dvd+windows&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
If it's a 2010 you may as well just do Yosemite. Contact Apple for a refund explaining that you thought it was a DVD. Apple Stores can help you with getting Yosemite on a blank Mac, or you can download it from a friends Mac and use this to make it into a bootable installer: http://diskmakerx.com
If you have access to another mac and an 8 GB Flash drive its not too hard
download the OS :
Get the right version of DiskmakerX for the OS you choose:
http://diskmakerx.com/whats-this/
Use Diskmaker X to create a bootable flash dive of the chosen OS
Finally flash put drive into you mac and hold the option key down while booting it on
choose the flash drive in the boot manager and then you can use Disk Utility to fix issues or reinstall the OS
If it's plugged in but not appearing at the boot picker, it wasn't created correctly.
You don't need to enter your Wi-Fi details to use it.
You can also try the app Diskmaker X to create the USB installer instead.
What model iMac? If it's older than a 2010 model, Internet Recovery won't be available.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Beyond that, your only recourse will be to find install media. Easier option would be to find a friend with a Mac, and ask politely to use it to make a setup media for yourself.. Download macOS from App Store, prep it onto USB with any of the several tools out there. The only catch here is that if your iMac is old enough to have a dead-stop for OS support (like a 2007-9 iMac that only supports up to El Capitan), then you'll still need that person to have old OS X installers tied to their Apple ID "purchase" history. Otherwise they'll only be able to download High Sierra from the App Store.
> "I have a Mid 2014 MacBook Pro to help me if that is needed."
Re-download High Sierra from the App Store on your 2014.
Then use http://diskmakerx.com ... to create a USB installer of High Sierra.
Nice that you could fix it. For future references, this two apps let you make an USB Mac OS install "disk" really easy:
http://diskmakerx.com/
https://macdaddy.io/install-disk-creator/
I had better results with Install Disk Creator.
It's not "bricked." All you need is a USB installer.
Use a friend's Mac to download macOS from the app store. Find an 8 GB flash drive and use this app http://diskmakerx.com/ to make a bootable installer on it. Plug it into yours, hold down the option key at boot, and reinstall the OS.
El Capitan will only show in your Mac App Store.. if your AppleID originally downloaded it at some point in the past. So if you're not seeing El Cap.. then it's not associated with your AppleID.
that leaves you with a couple options:
1.) Find a friend who did originally download it.. and it will show in their App Store.. and use that download.
2.) Take your machine to an Apple Store.. and simply ask them to wipe it and install El Cap.
http://diskmakerx.com will take the El Cap download and help you burn it to USB ,.. that's the method I always use.
Do you have access to another Mac? If so, download Mavericks from the App Store and download DiskMaker X. Follow the directions, plug the flash drive into the Mac you want to install Mavericks on and hold Option while it's booting. There'll be an option to boot from the flash drive.
Or just boot into internet recovery (assuming the Mac is new enough to do that).
If you know anyone else with a Mac, sign onto the App Store on their comp, download the macOS installer, get a flash drive and create a bootable installer on it.
This is what I've used to make the installer
You can definitely fix this. I'm not sure on the policy for Apple stores, but any authorized Apple service provider would be able to get your system upgraded to 10.7 and then 10.12. Alternatively, if you have a free USB key, you can load Sierra onto it using Disk Maker X and boot directly to it, then install. If you need any help navigating the waters here, reach out. I'll be happy to point you in the right direction.
If you have access to a Mac with the App Store, this is much easier with a 8GB+ USB drive.
Using the App Store, first acquire the version of OS X that you want to install (Mavericks, Yosemite, El Capitan, Sierra). If it does not appear in the App Store, check your purchased tab.
Once the installer is downloaded, you can use Disk Utility to format the USB thumb drive (as a single HFS+ partition), leaving the default 'Untitled' volume label is fine. WARNING: This will erase all content on that USB drive!
Then you can use the built-in createinstallmedia
tool via Terminal (see Apple docs):
sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Untitled --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app --nointeraction
If you don't feel comfortable using the Terminal, try DiskMaker X.
It will ask you for your password and then take several minutes (10-30 depending on the speed of your computer/drive). Once that is done, you can use that USB drive to install OS X on another Mac (even if it is a blank hard drive).
For most Intel Macs, you just have to hold the Option (Alt) key down when booting up (right after the startup noise). You should get a screen allowing you to pick the USB drive and install from there.
NOTE: Some desktop Macs are finicky about keyboards and will not detect the Option keypress without a proper Apple keyboard. Most generic keyboards should be fine though.
Highly unlikely that its a one-time thing. Again with your laptop it's probably the cable which is a known common failure point in that model. Try this guide for the repair (it's easy). Note that they have a separate instruction set for the replacement and the cable. Remember to create a bootable USB thumb drive so that you can boot from it and format the new SSD before you restore from your time machine backup.
I had the same problem last summer. Save the El Capitan.app and use this to make a bootable usb. Next your going to need a new hard drive I recommend an SSD since the original HDD is really slow. Then replace the HDD with the SSD. There are many tutorials online showing how to replace the hard drive in MacBooks. I personally have done it many times and after the first try it is pretty easy.
To my knowledge you have to download El Cap from the app store. Creating a bootable USB drive might solve your issues. DiskMaker X makes that pretty easy to do. However there are theoretically other ways to download Yosemite/El Cap like "sailing" the seas in a "pirate ship", if you catch my drift.
It should say "temporarily unavailable" (for the English localization at least), in which case that usually indicates you're using an Apple ID that is not associated with the purchase of Lion. The Apple ID you originally signed into the machine with when you got it will do.
Failing that, you can use DiskMaker X on another Mac to create a bootable installer out of a copy of OS X downloaded from the App Store.
Use Disk Utility!
Create a USB boot disk with DiskmakerX
Boot from USB and open Disk Utility
Plug in your external drive and create a partition (Journaled) that's the same size as the disk you're looking to 1:1 backup.
Click restore, and use your internal drive as the source (new external partition as destination)
This creates a 1:1 clone of the disk, which you can boot from by simply holding ALT and selecting during startup.
Since you have a working Mac .. you can build a bootable USB stick (or use an external drive) with something like http://diskmakerx.com
Once you have that you can boot from it then wipe and reinstall his system.
Do a full backup of his drive first! Use Superduper to clone it to a Disk Image on to a drive plugged in to your Mac.. then he can plug it into his Machine later to restore data from it, instead of copying back and forth.
> I managed to download the pkg file from Apple's servers [El Capitan] on my Windows desktop.
I'm sorry, what exactly did you download, and from where?
In any case, while there are serval guides out there claiming that this is possible, there is no way of creating a functional OS X installer from Windows. If you have access to another Mac, you may use DiskMaker X to create one from a copy of OS X downloaded from the App Store. Otherwise, your last option would be the Apple Store, where they would take care of it for free.
P.S. You should know that your account is Shadowbanned.
I bet the hard drive is bad.
Connect the Mac to another Mac and transfer your data using Disk Mode ASAP.
Using the other Mac download El Capitan or Yosemite, then, with a USB drive 8GB or bigger build a bootable OS X with this tool: http://diskmakerx.com/
Boot using the USB and run Disk Utility to test your drive.
Even if the tests are good, I would wipe the partitions and start with a brand new partition. Then install OS X on the new partition and test the other hardware (WiFi, etc.)
Let me know if you have questions about the specifics.
> In that case, do you have any advice how to fix my problem?
What would I do ?...
1.) Depending on the Make/Model of the Mac in question.. I'd use guides from www.ifixit.com to remove the dead/dying HDD and replace it with an SSD.
2.) Then I'd find another Mac (friend, coworker, whatever).. and go into their App Store... re-download OSX (El Capitan, or whatever version fits the Mac you're trying to fix).. and then use a tool like DiskMaker ( http://diskmakerx.com ) to create a bootable USB.
If you or anyone you know has an Apple ID that was used to download Yosemite, it will show up under the "Purchases" tab of the App Store. You can use DiskMaker X or Install Disk Creator to create a bootable drive if need be.
DiskMaker X is a great tool for creating bootable USB's. When it's done, you can boot from the USB by pressing the Option key and selecting the USB or by pressing the "C" key. You can skip formatting because when you install OS X, it'll erase and format the disk anyway. But you can check by quitting the install and selecting Disk Utility from the Utilities drop down.
The Thermal Sensor is an annoying problem. It either works or it doesn't. If it doesn't, your fans will run at full speed to prevent overheating. You can install SSD Fan Control and it'll override the failed sensor.
> Rebooting in Recovery Mode and trying the run "csrutil disable" doesn't work - it's telling me it's not a recognised command.
It's gotta be El Capitan's recovery mode. If you don't have an El Capitan Recovery HD partition, you can use an external installer created using Install Disk Creator or DiskMaker X.
Sounds like you're booting into internet recovery instead of from a Recovery HD partition. Do you see the spinning globe animation after holding command+R on startup?
Assuming this is the case (i.e. you don't have a Recovery HD partition), you can use DiskMaker X to create a bootable installer out of a copy of El Capitan downloaded from the App Store.
Be sure to backup all your data.
You have to do a clean install. Make a bootable usb installation drive onto a flash drive. The easiest way is to use DiskMaker X (http://diskmakerx.com). Once you're done with that, enter recovery mode ,command+R, when you reboot your machine. Go into disk utility and reformat your drive. Make sure it's OS X Extended (Journaled) and have the partition scheme as GUID partition table. once doing so, you'll be able to do the install of OS X El Capitan. With your bootable usb flash drive plugged in, restart your computer and hold down the option key. You'll be able to select the install disk.
Hope this helps!
Any other Apple ID you can think of? Previous owner maybe?
Failing that, you can use another Mac to create a bootable installer using DiskMaker X and a copy of OS X downloaded from the App Store.
Shot in the dark, but try this... Reboot into recovery mode by holding command+R on startup, and run the following in Terminal to disable System Integrity Protection:
csrutil disable
If it still doesn't work after that, you may just need to use DiskMaker X to create a bootable USB instead.
You should have an El Capitan recovery partition for this purpose; hold command+R on startup to boot into it.
Alternatively, you can use DiskMaker X to create a bootable USB.
> Would the recovery boot still be the best option in this case, or would a bootable thumb drive be better/quicker?
Either/or; the only difference with the bootable thumb would be that you wouldn't have to wait on the OS X packages to download after installing the SSD. If you wanna make one, download Mavericks from the App Store (if you don't already have "Install OS X Mavericks" in your Applications folder), and use DiskMaker X.
Man, that error is a pain in the a**.
Your best bet is to find any other Mac, and use DiskMaker X to create a bootable installer on an external drive using a copy of OS X downloaded from the App Store.
Sure, you can do that too; it's gotta be Snow Leopard though since that's the only one that comes on physical disks (the newer ones are just App Store redemption codes).
Alternatively, you could also use DiskMaker X on another Mac to create an installer out of a copy of OS X downloaded from the App Store.
> it says the "item is temporary unavailable"
Ugh, I hate that. It should go away if you use the same Apple ID with which you registered the machine... Any chance that's possible?
Sorry, if I knew of a way to create a bootable drive without OS X, I'd tell you (many people have tried and failed at this). If you can borrow a Mac from anyone, it's as simple as using DiskMaker X.
I totally missed the version you specified in your original post. 10.5 (Leopard) doesn't have recovery mode, it wasn't added until 10.7 (Lion). Provided that the hard drive isn't dead and there is just a problem with the installation of OS X, you could purchase a copy of Mountain Lion from store.apple.com for $19.99. You can redeem it by signing in to the Mac App Store with your Apple ID on another Mac. Then you could use DiskMaker X to create a bootable USB flash drive and try to re-install OS X.
It is possible your boot files have been corrupted, especially if you have been doing hard shut downs. I can possibly help! Do you have access to another OS X machine and an 8gb or higher USB?
If you do have all of the above, do the following:
Download DiskX maker on the other machine from here. Then, on the other OS X machine, open up the Mac App Store and download Yosemite. If you are on a machine already running it, you may need to go to the "Purchased" tab at the top to download it. This download will take a while. After it has finished, insert the USB drive, and open Disk X maker. It will guide you through the process of making a Yosemite USB installer. The final step is copying files. This will take A WHILE. Once that has finished boot up your iMac (with the USB inserted) while holding the option key, use the arrow keys to go over to the Yosemite installer, and hit enter. Then go through the install process and install on your original OS X partition. This should fix the boot files, but not overwrite your files. This should fix your problem!
Disclaimer: while this shouldn't cause data loss, it is possible.
If you have another drive available try that. It could also be that the install file was not downloaded properly. Could try to delete and re download file.
After that can try http://diskmakerx.com to do it for you.
> What options do I have.
The iMac would have originally shipped with a copy of OS X on DVD... Don't suppose the seller included that?
> Is there a way to load os x into a usb and install it from there?
Yep, you can use another Mac to download Lion, then use DiskMaker X to create a bootable USB. Of course, if you can download Lion from the App Store, you should be able to download it from recovery mode on the iMac.
Do it.
You'll see a bigger increase in speed by upgrading to an SSD. Frankly, unless you're doing professional video or photo editing, the RAM upgrade won't matter.
If this is something you're looking at tackling yourself, you'll need an external HDD dock, an ssd, and a way to install OS X.
The items linked are what I personally use. If you do more searching online, you can find some different priced options.
Hey, make sure to hit the "reply" button to someone's comment if you want them to be notified of your response.
Anyway, that "try again later" issue when trying to install OS X is a huge pain... As a workaround, download OS X from the App Store, and use DiskMaker X to create a bootable installer out of a USB drive. You can then boot into the USB drive by holding the option key while turning the machine on, and from there you will be able to install OS X.
No :) By external enclosure, I mean One of these
Also, If you have made a time machine backup on the 1 TB external drive, you'll be able to restore all your files and settings and programs exactly as they were, with just one click. :)
However, you still need to:
Once this is done, you should have a bootable disk, that will work just like an OS X CD would, however it's a USB drive :)
Now... what you'll do is put the SSD you just bought into the external enclosure (from the link above) and you'll be able to plug it in like an external hard drive. Run Disk Utility on OS X and format the external SSD as a "Mac OS X Extended (Journaled)" drive.
Once you do that, back up your computer using Time Machine, to the external 1TB hard drive you already have.
Finally, Open up your mac, Swap the SSD for the HDD. This is the tutorial I'd watch in order to do this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_vk2wKwmzg (they upgrade the RAM and the Hard drive to an SSD) I've watched the entire thing to make sure it's legitimate :)
:) Feel free to PM me anytime if you have issues with the process. I'll get back to you as quickly as I can. Cheers.
You've got 2 options.
1) Download Yosemite from App Store, prep a USB drive either manually (/u/izzaistaken's method) or with DiskMaker X.
2) Internet Recovery. On newer Macs(starting with 2010 models I think), you can have a completely blank drive in the system, and hold Command+R on startup. This starts Internet Recovery. Either over wired or wireless connection, it downloads the OS X recovery environment and boots it. Then you prep your disk with Disk Utility, and start the OS X installation, which also downloads the OS files from the internet on-the-fly.
Obviously your clients could do the latter own their own if they had instructions and access to a decently fast internet connection. If they have are not having hardware issues and want to start from scratch or are wiping due to software issues, they should have the default recovery partition to use as well, which is configured on factory installs. No need for external install media, unless of course they have Mavericks or something and want to avoid a few rounds of upgrades/updates via the App Store later.
The issue is that you have a corrupt filesystem, meaning your drive must be erased and reformatted. That would explain why it had been so slow recently, and it's a good thing you caught this now before your data became totally inaccessible.
Here's the guide for recovery. If you do not have the installer DVD that came with the machine, you will need to create a one. You can use DiskMaker X to create a bootable Yosemite installer, but you will need access to a working Mac. Are you able to boot into your normal 10.6.8 system by holding the option key on startup?
The article has absolutely nothing new or interesting to reveal; it just tells you to use Diskmaker X with the Yosemite installer.
Nope, you just need an internet connection. If you'd like, you can download a copy of OS X from the App Store and use DiskMaker X to create self-contained installation media from it.
Absolutely; I've run an iMac off of an external drive before. What I'd try first, though, is:
* Boot the bad laptop into target mode (reboot and hold 'T')
* Plug it into a working computer via firewire cable
* Launch Disk Utility (Applications->Utilities->Disk Utility)
* In the sidebar, select your disk; it'll have the firewire symbol next to it.
* Select the 'First Aid' tab if it isn't already
* Click 'Repair Disk'. If the button is greyed-out then you probably selected the wrong disk in the sidebar.
If you do decide to run the bad laptop itself off of an external drive, then
* Plug the external firewire drive you want to install OS X onto into the bad laptop
* Boot that laptop either with an install DVD or USB drive that has the installer on it
* Install OS X onto the external firewire drive. Just make sure you select the external drive, not the internal one, when installing.
* Reboot holding the 'option' key
* Select external drive (it'll have the firewire disk icon)
* ?
* Profit!
Ok, maybe the 'profit' part is a bit optimistic. But you do need to do the installation with the bad laptop (or an identical one) so that the proper kexts (hardware drivers) are installed on the external drive.
Hope this makes sense.
[edit] This should also work if you want to install the system onto a USB drive and boot off of that. Just replace 'firewire' with 'USB'.
So just to confirm, you're looking to have one USB drive which contains each installer version? Start by creating an 8 GB partition for each version.
Faulty RAM does manifest as kernel panics. However, the first thing you should do is perform a fresh install of OS X (possibly why the seller didn't bother getting back to you about their password).
That machine originally came with an OS X Install DVD, did the seller happen to include that? If not, you can download Yosemite from the App Store and use DiskMaker X to create an installer out of an external drive. Either way, erase the drive as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) before installing.
If the computer came with Mavericks, Internet Recovery (booting with Command-Option-R) will bring it back to Mavericks no matter what is on the regular Recovery Partition. If someone had previously "bought" Mavericks and has it on their previous purchase history on the Mac App Store, you can re-download the installer from the Purchased list and use these instructions or use DiskMaker X to create a bootable USB drive to do it.
Apple hasn't actually removed it from the App Store, it's just no longer listed. If you can find someone with an Apple ID that was previously used to download Mavericks, it will still show up in their "Purchases" tab of the App Store. You can then use DiskMaker X to create a self-contained external installer if need be.
If you have a SATA to USB/FireWire adapter:
Open App Store download copy of Yosemite.
Plug SSD into SATA adapter.
Open Disk Utility, partition SSD as Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Make sure to press options and choose GUID partition table if not defaulted.
Open Yosemite installer, point towards SSD as target hard drive.
If no adapter:
Download DiskMakerX from here http://diskmakerx.com
Image USB drive with installer of Yosemite.
Boot to USB drive by restarting holding option (alt) key.
Open Disk Utility, partition SSD as Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Make sure to press options and choose GUID partition table if not defaulted.
Install Yosemite to SSD.
If you've got access to another Mac, use it to download OS X from the App Store... Her machine is capable of everything up through Yosemite. You can then use DiskMaker X to create a bootable installer on an external drive.
Don't mess with your Time Machine drive.
Download DiskmakerX, and make your own installer with a 16Gb flash drive (actually, an 8Gb one might be enough). Once you're done, you can restore your data back to your Mac from your Time Machine backup.
See if you can get a friend to make a bootable Yosemite disk for you. They would need to download the install file and use DiskMakerX to make the bootable drive. Directions can also be found here or on one of the mirror sites for DiskMakerX.
Stop using the Macworld or whatever version you're using and download Diskmaker X.
It's free, and it's only purpose is to completely automate what you're trying to do. It works with the last 4 or 5 versions of OSX (different versions of Diskmaker exist) and there's even a beta version for Yosemite.
Get it here: http://diskmakerx.com
After downloading Mavericks, do not install, just quit the installer. Then you can use DiskmakerX to create a Mavericks installer on a flash drive. You can use this to install Mavericks on other Macs, or re-install on your mac, all without having to download again. This will not help the installation process but gives you a bonus for your effort. You should have a backup of all your important data (files you created) at a minimum. Ideally a full backup with Time Machine. Stuff happens so this is just good practice before upgrading. I have a 2009 MBPro and am running Mavericks just fine. The download and installation was seamless. There is a small chance some applications you have will need to be updated, so you can check the web sites of any critical applications. By now, if they had issues, they have been updated to run on Mavericks.
Well, I'm not comfortable guiding you through the safe boot mode, but in any case, if you have access to another Mac tomorrow, you can try several things:
connect your Mac to the other Mac in target mode and see if the problem can be solved using Disk Utility.
this one you can actually ask a friend to do for you now, because it takes a while: have him/her download Diskmaker X (http://diskmakerx.com) and make a bootable installer for whatever version of OSX he's running (10.7/8 or 9 will do fine). He'll also need an empty 8Gb usb drive. Boot with it, launch Disk Utility and try to fix the problem. If this fails, you can use it reinstall the system (after you backup your visible partitions.
The reason you aren't seeing Mojave is Apple will only allow you to install either the original OS (Yosemite) or the latest (Catalina). You can download Mojave directly from Apple here (scroll down to #4). You can then make a USB installer with either <code>createinstallmedia</code> or DiskMaker X. Might also be able to set the boot disk to the Mojave installer via System Preferences, but I'm not sure; might not let you boot into an older OS, Apple is weird about that.
Google Drive link to Mavericks installer. Unzip it, and make a USB installer with either DiskMakerX or by following these instructions from Apple.
If you have any questions I'm happy to answer them or walk you through the process.
I'm going to assume that you downloaded the installer to your "Downloads" folder. If it's elsewhere you'll need to change the path for the shasum
command. If this is the case I'm happy to help with that, just let me know.
First, unzip it; this is done by double-clicking on the "elcap.tbz2" file. Be patient, it might take a few minutes.
Once it's done unzipping you verify the installer integrity. You do this by typing shasum ~/Downloads/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app/Contents/SharedSupport/InstallESD.dmg
and comparing the value with the list of values on the "notpeter" Github page. The version you're looking for is "10.11.6 El Capitan (15G31)". shasum
may take a few minutes to complete.
To make a bootable USB installer I'd recommend using DiskmakerX since you're a "total newb" :-) The version of Diskmaker you need is this one. You'll need at least an 8GB USB stick. If you'd rather do it from Terminal I'm happy to walk you through that process as well but DiskmakerX is easier.
From there you'll need to boot from the USB stick which can be done by holding the 'option' key during startup and then selecting the USB stick from the presented options. If the Mac you're installing El Capitan on already has a newer version of macOS then you'll need to reformat it and do a fresh install, or at the very least delete the /System
folder if you want to keep the user files. But I always recommend a fresh install if possible.
Seems like you need to boot from a USB drive which has MacOS to boot from, and MacOS to install. If you have a friend with a Mac you can use Diskmaker (or terminal commands) to create such a USB stick. Then boot with the USB stick in your computer (boot holding Option key and select USB stick) and install the OS.
Any chance you have an Apple Store near you?
Just make a Genius Bar appointment. Tell the Genius you want the drive wiped and a clean install of El Cap. DONE.
They don't charge for software support.
As far as trying to get the installer to work. Have you tried a different USB drive?
If you still need to go the route of the installer… use this http://diskmakerx.com. there is a link at the bottom of the page for older versions if needed.
Are you trying to install OS Sierra on the USB? Or just want to move the installation app onto the USB? Many people use software like DiskmakerX to create a bootable USB that you can use to install the OS on any computer. You do have to download the OS installation dmg and have that available for the software to create this USB.
That rules out Target Disk Mode.
How are you creating the bootable flash drive? Just for "s's and g's" try on a friend's Mac (or a different friend if you've already tried with one) using Disk Maker and a newly downloaded installer.
Edit: Didn't see your update an hour ago, n/m. lol
Easiest way to do it is this:
Backup to time machine.
Download Sierra from the Mac App Store using your current install, but don't install it. Use diskmaker x http://diskmakerx.com/ to create a bootable USB Drive.
Insert new hard drive, launch from the Sierra USB drive and use Disk Utility to format and name your new drive (Macintosh HD is the standard).
Install OS X Sierra to this drive. When the machine starts you can choose to migrate from a time machine backup, do so.
Profit.
As for Office 2011, it works fine on Sierra and will Migrate with Time Machine, our entire office runs Office 2011 on Sierra with no problems.
PM me if you need anymore help.
If this is an older MacOS that cost money it might need the account information for the account that bought it.
Easiest thing is to make a USB installer of MacOS Sierra from another Mac using a tool like DiskMaker X, and boot from that holding ⌥ at start-up and selecting the bootable USB.
Yes, the flashing question mark tells you that it didn't find a bootable drive (no operating system).
CMD+R (or Windows Key+R on non-mac keyboards) should trigger Internet Recovery. The timing can be a little tricky though, if you aren't used to it.
I've never heard of a non-apple keyboard causing a problem accessing recovery. Wireless keyboards, might have issues (not connected in time to perform the key combo), but you have a wired keyboard. It should work, just might take a few tries.
If you can't get that going, you will need a MacOS install disk. You can create this with another Mac and Diskmaker X. Hopefully, you have access to another Mac if that's the case.
This is all assuming that the mac is indeed a 2012. If it's actually a 2010 or earlier, then it doesn't have built in Internet Recovery and will require an install disk.
Try this: http://diskmakerx.com
I have 3x USB 3 sticks with current version, minus one, and minus two. Each is bootable, each has either App Store latest with point release rolled in. I also have latest combo updater on there for when I just need to roll that out.
This should be everything you need to know!
Edit: or use this
Can you still boot into OS X and download your original OS from the App Store? If so, make a USB installer; here are Apple's instructions, or you can use DiskmakerX. If you do it this way I think that you'll need to manually reformat your drive with Disk Utility (which is available from the installer itself, one of the menu items has a list of utilities), otherwise the installer will try to "upgrade".
You will also need to make a bootable USB stick to install the operating system on the freshly installed drive. Hopefully you have access to another Mac. Download DiskmakerX http://diskmakerx.com/ and el cap from the App Store, but don't install it, get yourself an USB stick 8gb or greater, make the bootable USB stick and boot up your MacBook holding the option key, select your USB drive and follow instructions to install the OS. Also make sure to format the stick for OSX journaled and you'll be good to go!
http://betanews.com/2015/11/11/how-to-create-a-bootable-os-x-10-11-el-capitan-usb-drive/
Source I've done this a few times
If you have access to another Mac, you may create a bootable recovery/installation USB by downloading OS X from the App Store and running DiskMaker X. If you don't, you will need to take the machine in to Apple or another service provider.
Ok so reading through the comments I've learned that I have the exact same model. I am currently running El Capitan easily on this model. There is a real easy way you can install it on a blank drive but you need to create a bootable OS X usb using DiskMaker X which you can then boot into holding the option key. You mentioned you downloaded the installer from the App Store I believe so you use that as the necessary ISO image of El Capitan. I repair and upgrade Macs at my work so I've done this many many times. There are many tutorials online available to help but let me know if you need guidance.