Erased HDD, Reinstall Doesn't Work for Lion

[Bacidash]

Hi guys,

So long story short, I have an older iMac, and it froze, I restarted it and it wouldn't start up any more. I would just get the Apple logo and the loading circle. I read online to try and unplug, press power for 5 seconds, then plug in, wait 10 seconds and turn on, then I got a flashing folder with a question mark.

So, I tried to repair disk, but it wouldn't work. I didn't have anything that needed saving so i erased it, hoping to reinstall MAC OS X lion. After the erase I tried reinstalling Lion, only to find out that its not available anymore in the App Store. I tried just downloading a MAC OS X Lion.dmg online and put it into a USB hoping it would start up, nothing. I put it into the HDD i previously erased. Still nothing. When i look at Startup Disks, its does show either the USB nor the HDD. I don't know what else to do. Please help.

Thanks in advance.

 

[CoastalOR]

What year is your iMac? What OS did it ship with? Did it come with a gray install CD?
What OS was the iMac running when you erased it?
Have you downloaded Lion from the App Store previously?
Do you have access to another working Mac?

Try booting to Recovery (command + r at startup).
if that doesn't work then
Try booting to Internet Recovery (option + command + r at startup).
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201314

 

[Bacidash]

What year is your iMac? Not sure. What OS did it ship with? Not sure. Did it come with a gray install CD? Yes but i dont have it with me, i live abroad.
What OS was the iMac running when you erased it? I think snow leopard
Have you downloaded Lion from the App Store previously? No
Do you have access to another working Mac? No

Try booting to Recovery (command + r at startup). Goes into flashing folder with ?
if that doesn't work then
Try booting to Internet Recovery (option + command + r at startup). Tried this, nothing happens, does same thing, goes into MAC OS X UTILITIES.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201314

Some of those questions i cant answer, because my brother gave it to me, and he also received it as a gift before that, from a friend. It doesn't get used for much, i basically use it as video/movie watching pc for the kids, sometimes even for other easy/simple things. I took a picture of the box sticker, maybe that helps you. I dont know if im missing something from the installer usb. As i said, i downloaded it online (torrent) and wanted to start the pc up with it. Do i need anything else?

 

[CoastalOR]

So long story short, I have an older iMac, and it froze, I restarted it and it wouldn't start up any more. I would just get the Apple logo and the loading circle. I read online to try and unplug, press power for 5 seconds, then plug in, wait 10 seconds and turn on, then I got a flashing folder with a question mark.

So, I tried to repair disk, but it wouldn't work. I didn't have anything that needed saving so i erased it, hoping to reinstall MAC OS X lion. After the erase I tried reinstalling Lion, only to find out that its not available anymore in the App Store. I tried just downloading a MAC OS X Lion.dmg online and put it into a USB hoping it would start up, nothing. I put it into the HDD i previously erased. Still nothing. When i look at Startup Disks, its does show either the USB nor the HDD. I don't know what else to do. Please help.

The "flashing folder with a question mark" means that iMac can't find a bootable OS. May be a sign of a failing internal HDD. Reinstalling Lion will not fix a hardware problem like a failing internal hard drive and the reinstall may not work.

How are you "trying to repair disk", "erasing", and "looking at the startup disks" mentioned in your first post? Was that from starting into Recovery (command + r at startup)?

You have a Late 2006 20" iMac. You can use OS 10.4.8 through 10.7.5.

The maximum OS it can use is Lion (10.7.5). You can still purchase Lion from Apple, they will email you a code that will allow you download the installer app from the Apple App Store. You will need a Apple ID, access to another Mac to download the Lion installer app ("Install OS X Lion" app to the Applications folder), and to create a bootable USB Lion installer.
A simpler solution might be to purchase a bootable USB Lion installer from Amazon or eBay.

Another alternative OS is to install Snow Leopard (10.6). It can be purchased from Apple. Apple will ship you a bootable install DVD (you will need a working internal DVD drive). You can boot from the DVD and install Snow Leopard (10.6.3 on DVD, can be updated to 10.6.8 after the install). Once you have a working iMac, you can purchase and install Lion from Apple if you want.

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

And further to the above, considering the age of the iMac, I would suggest you stick with Snow Leopard when updated to OS X.6.8 as Lion was not a great operating system. Neither receive any further Security or Software Updates from Apple.