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Deleted OS on MacBook 4,1... Help!

Skrrrtskrrrrt

Skrrrtskrrrrt

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 19, 2018
4
0
United States
Hi there everyone. I have a Early 2008 MacBook 4,1 that WAS running OS X Lion. I was trying to install Windows through bootcamp and I blindly let it create a drive. I checked my Disk Utility and it showed Windows was 160gb out of 160gb and OS X was 79gb out of 79gb. I tried to delete the Windows partition, but with no success. Upon restarting, I have found that all I get when trying to boot is being hung at a white screen, no logos. In the Option menu, there is only 1 disk, which is EFI Boot, and when clicked it just freezes the system and makes me have to restart. Command + Option + R and Command + R doesn’t work. I didn’t have anything important but I need an operating OS on it, I don’t care what it is!
 
Put an os installed on a usb flash drive and boot and install from that. You can download a macOS installed from another Mac or Linux from any device.
 
Skrrrtskrrrrt said:
Hi there everyone. I have a Early 2008 MacBook 4,1 that WAS running OS X Lion. I was trying to install Windows through bootcamp and I blindly let it create a drive. I checked my Disk Utility and it showed Windows was 160gb out of 160gb and OS X was 79gb out of 79gb. I tried to delete the Windows partition, but with no success. Upon restarting, I have found that all I get when trying to boot is being hung at a white screen, no logos. In the Option menu, there is only 1 disk, which is EFI Boot, and when clicked it just freezes the system and makes me have to restart. Command + Option + R and Command + R doesn’t work. I didn’t have anything important but I need an operating OS on it, I don’t care what it is!
Click to expand...
Do you have the Install DVD (10.5.2) that shipped with the MB? Do you have any bootable back ups?

You need to care what OS you get. Your MB will only support Mac OS 10.5.2 (only distributed with the MB install DVD), 10.6 (Snow Leopard only distributed on DVD (10.6.3) purchase from Apple), or 10.7.5 (Lion only distributed from Apple purchase via download to a Mac using the Mac App Store). No other OS will work. Do you have another Mac capable of running Lion so yo can purchase Lion, download it, and create a bootable Lion USB installer?

Your best bet might be to purchase the Snow Leopard DVD so you can boot from it, install 10.6.3, update to 10.6.8, then purchase Lion and install it.
Snow Leopard DVD purchase:
https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MC573Z/A/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard
Lion purchase:
https://www.apple.com/shop/product/D6106/os-x-lion
 
CoastalOR said:
Do you have the Install DVD (10.5.2) that shipped with the MB? Do you have any bootable back ups?

You need to care what OS you get. Your MB will only support Mac OS 10.5.2 (only distributed with the MB install DVD), 10.6 (Snow Leopard only distributed on DVD (10.6.3) purchase from Apple), or 10.7.5 (Lion only distributed from Apple purchase via download to a Mac using the Mac App Store). No other OS will work. Do you have another Mac capable of running Lion so yo can purchase Lion, download it, and create a bootable Lion USB installer?

Your best bet might be to purchase the Snow Leopard DVD so you can boot from it, install 10.6.3, update to 10.6.8, then purchase Lion and install it.
Snow Leopard DVD purchase:
https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MC573Z/A/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard
Lion purchase:
https://www.apple.com/shop/product/D6106/os-x-lion
Click to expand...
Lion was also sold on usb drives and can still be bought.

macOS is also not the only os that can be run so if the op specifically says
The os doesn’t matter, Linux and FreeBSD are options.
 
Skrrrtskrrrrt said:
ChromeOS is unusable
Click to expand...
ChromeOS has a lot going for it, but if you can’t use it then you can try Linux Ubuntu 17.10. (Ubuntu 18.04 comes out today but is buggy.)

IMO, Lion 10.7.5 is unusable in 2018. The browsers are all out of date and very problematic for secure financial websites.

Windows 10 would work though if you can get it installed, and with appropriate drivers.
 
Last edited:
EugW said:
ChromeOS has a lot going for it, but if you can’t use it then you can try Linux Ubuntu 17.10. (Ubuntu 18.04 comes out today but is buggy.)

IMO, Lion 10.7.5 is unusable in 2018. The browsers are all out of date and very problematic for secure financial websites.

Windows 10 would work though if you can get it installed, and with appropriate drivers.
Click to expand...
Ok so... I got Ubuntu quite awhile ago, 17.10 or 17.04, although I suspect it's 17.10. I have been trying for the LONGEST time to get Windows 10 but all my attempts have failed and has led to the OS X drive being deleted, hence this post. I only have a CD-RW and a 16gb USB drive, please tell me how to get windows 10 STEP BY STEP! If possible, send an ISO
[doublepost=1524776207][/doublepost]
EugW said:
ChromeOS has a lot going for it, but if you can’t use it then you can try Linux Ubuntu 17.10. (Ubuntu 18.04 comes out today but is buggy.)

IMO, Lion 10.7.5 is unusable in 2018. The browsers are all out of date and very problematic for secure financial websites.

Windows 10 would work though if you can get it installed, and with appropriate drivers.
Click to expand...
Also, I know Lion is unusable, but I needed it for BootCamp.
 
Papanate said:
Captain Obvious has to ask - do you have backups? Time Machine Backups?
Other than that just do what is being suggested by @CoastalOR - that would be the
easiest route IMO.
Click to expand...
Nope. None at all. If I did have any, they are gone since the Windows partition overwrited OSX. I can't buy any of the things listed by @CoastalOR because I'm broke. If I had some money, maybe $3, I'd already have windows 10 up and running on this old macbook.
 
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