Can’t install MacOS

[Pippin123]

Hi



ive purchased a second hand imac From eBay, It’s a earl 2009 model running El Capitan 10.11.6 saw it running and seller reset it, removed from their apple account and iCloud



im now having an issue trying to reinstall the os, it goes into the menu where you can reinstall os, disk utility etc.



i logged onto my WiFi, clicked the reinstall os option, went as far as logging in and then it just says temporary unavailable every time and gets no further



ive tried downloading the El Capitan from apple website and using transmac from my windows laptop but it doesn’t recognise the usb



so I’m stuck and need help please



thanks

 

[mmfood]

Have you made bootable USB?

 

[Pippin123]

I downloaded the El Capitan file from Apple, and use the Transmac program to format the USB and make the bootable drive but it doesn't show up on the Mac

I don't have another mac to do this on, so I did it via Windows using a YouTube video.

Would I be better of trying a bootable usb from Amazon?

 

[mmfood]

Are you getting to the Disk Utility screen?
And is that where the USB is not showing up?

 

[Pippin123]

It only boots into the MacOS Utilities, I can get into Disk Utility to fortmat the HDD and it does show the USB is there

It's not showing up if I turn on and hold options, it just shows the Mac recvoery partition/drive

 

[mmfood]

Are you pressing down the option key when you turn the iMac on?

 

[Pippin123]

Yeah, it goes to the screen that is like this, but mine just shows the partition and no usb. i've tried different usb slots

 

[mmfood]

It maybe that the USB is not formatted correctly.
See this post on iFixit. See the answer.

SOLVED: I made a bootable Sierra USB but it can't detect it as a startup disk! - MacBook Pro

I think you forgot to reformat the thumb drive. Unless you reformat its set for FAT32 or exFAT which won't work for MacOS (OS-X). From a working Mac open Disk Utility and reformat the thumb drive to GUID partition map and create a Mac OS Extended (Journaled) partition, that should fix the...

www.ifixit.com

 

[mmfood]

you might have to get help from a friend with a mac so they can create the bootable USB for you.

 

[Fishrrman]

If you're trying to create a bootable USB flash drive using transmac on a PC, I've heard that this can be a very "iffy" procedure.

Creating such a flashdrive had best be done ON A MAC -- then it becomes a pretty simple operation.

Hmmm....
You wrote in post 5 above:
"It only boots into the MacOS Utilities, I can get into Disk Utility to format the HDD and it does show the USB is there"

Can you connect the iMac into ethernet?
I WOULD NOT rely on wifi for this.
Plug it into ethernet. Move it if you have to.
Now, get to the recovery partition you describe above.
Can you now open the OS installer?
Does it go any differently using ethernet?

If not...

Do you know someone with a Mac?
If you do, that could make things MUCH easier.
IMPORTANT:
Tell us WHICH Mac, and WHAT VERSION OF THE OS is running on it.

 

[Pippin123]

Thanks for your replies

I've tried the Ethernet option but it just has same outcome

I don't know anyone with a Mac which sucks, this is a Early 2009 model, 24" 2.66ghz with 4gb memory

Is there an option of buying a MacOS from ebay, as this has a disc drive? If so, any specific os I should aim for?

 

[Fishrrman]

You can go on ebay.
There are sellers there who will sell you a USB flashdrive, with the OS installer of your choice pre-installed onto it.
Just "boot and go..."
Price seems to be around $20 or so.
I've never needed one, just passing this info along.

 

[r6mile]

Can you not do a clean Yosemite install from the recovery partition which you clearly have, and from there upgrade to El Capitan?

 

[Pippin123]

Thanks I'll look into the usb option from Amazon or eBay
How do I do the recovery to Yosemite?

 

[Taz Mangus]

How do I do the recovery to Yosemite?

How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support

You can use macOS Recovery, your computer's built-in recovery system, to reinstall the Mac operating system. Reinstalling macOS doesn't remove your personal data.

support.apple.com

 

[Pippin123]

Just an update: I decided to go for the USB El Capitain installer from Amazon, and it worked!

Turns out trying to make bootable via Windows 10 just doesn't work


Thanks for your help guys.