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Help Restoring 2008 iMac

D

Detox99

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 6, 2017
12
0
Hi All,

Now that I have my glorious new 27" 5k imac, I want to give away my old iMac.

I have a 2008 20" iMac running El Capitan that I want to clean up so I can give the computer away working fresh, but I don't have any discs/software etc.

How would I go about doing this?

Thanks.
 
Thanks for the response. How do I make a USB Installer? Is the Operating System Available for download from the Apple website?
 
Detox99 said:
Now that I have my glorious new 27" 5k imac, I want to give away my old iMac.

I have a 2008 20" iMac running El Capitan that I want to clean up so I can give the computer away working fresh, but I don't have any discs/software etc.

How would I go about doing this?
Click to expand...
Here is Apple's instructions on how to prepare your Mac to give it away (includes instructions on reinstalling the OS):
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201065

If you still want to download El Capitan and make a USB installer then let us know.
 
You need a copy of the OS installer of your choice.

You need a USB flash drive 16gb or larger.

You need ONE of the following:
- Boot Buddy
- DiskMaker X
- Install Disk Creator
Any of the above 3 can create the USB flash drive installer.

You should boot from the installer, then
Erase the internal drive, then
Install a clean copy of the OS, then
Power it off (at the setup screen).

Then the new owner can power it up and go through the setup process "as if it were new".
 
Fishrrman said:
You need a copy of the OS installer of your choice.

You need a USB flash drive 16gb or larger.

You need ONE of the following:
- Boot Buddy
- DiskMaker X
- Install Disk Creator
Any of the above 3 can create the USB flash drive installer.

You should boot from the installer, then
Erase the internal drive, then
Install a clean copy of the OS, then
Power it off (at the setup screen).

Then the new owner can power it up and go through the setup process "as if it were new".
Click to expand...


Ok, I managed to erase the HD, got to the install screen ......... asked me if I wanted to install El Capitan....... ensured it was connected to the internet, logged in with my AppleID

Then I received an error "Temporary Unavailable", tried later and received the same error.

Now what?

Is there a work around?

Many thanks.
 
internet recovery said it would take 7 hours to download for me over weekend so stopped it.

I'm gonna make a usb installer and do it that was as have el cap app on my laptop.
 
Detox99 said:
Ok, I managed to erase the HD, got to the install screen ......... asked me if I wanted to install El Capitan....... ensured it was connected to the internet, logged in with my AppleID
Then I received an error "Temporary Unavailable", tried later and received the same error.

Now what?
Is there a work around?.
Click to expand...
Here is a link to download El Capitan from the App Store:
https://itunes.apple.com/app/os-x-el-capitan/id1147835434?mt=12
BUT, you can only download El Capitan to a Mac capable of running El Capitan since the "Install OS X El Capitan" app (in the Applications folder) automatically launches after download (and automatically deletes itself after installation). If your new 27" iMac is a 2017, then it can not download El Capitan since it is too new to run it.
If you are able to download El Capitan from the App Store, then Quit the installer app at the first screen then create a USB installer (found in the Applications folder):
https://www.macworld.com/article/29...le-os-x-10-11-el-capitan-installer-drive.html

If you can not download El Capitan from the App Store, then you may have to buy a bootable El Capitan USB installer from some place like eBay.
 
CoastalOR said:
Here is a link to download El Capitan from the App Store:
https://itunes.apple.com/app/os-x-el-capitan/id1147835434?mt=12
BUT, you can only download El Capitan to a Mac capable of running El Capitan since the "Install OS X El Capitan" app (in the Applications folder) automatically launches after download (and automatically deletes itself after installation). If your new 27" iMac is a 2017, then it can not download El Capitan since it is too new to run it.
If you are able to download El Capitan from the App Store, then Quit the installer app at the first screen then create a USB installer (found in the Applications folder):
https://www.macworld.com/article/29...le-os-x-10-11-el-capitan-installer-drive.html

If you can not download El Capitan from the App Store, then you may have to buy a bootable El Capitan USB installer from some place like eBay.
Click to expand...

Ok, still a bit confused but I can give it a try. My new iMac is brand new (and it's awesome btw).

On my old 2008 iMac after I erased the HD using the Disk Utility thing, and tried to reinstall the "El Capitan" is showing on the screen give me the option to install, but when I try it says "temporary unavailable" Is there some other way around this.

Was really hoping to give this away to someone who could benefit from having a computer in the home. How do I go about making my own USB installer if that is the next step.
 
Detox99 said:
Ok, still a bit confused but I can give it a try. My new iMac is brand new (and it's awesome btw).

On my old 2008 iMac after I erased the HD using the Disk Utility thing, and tried to reinstall the "El Capitan" is showing on the screen give me the option to install, but when I try it says "temporary unavailable" Is there some other way around this.

Was really hoping to give this away to someone who could benefit from having a computer in the home. How do I go about making my own USB installer if that is the next step.
Click to expand...
In order to download El Capitan from Recovery you would have to have previously downloaded El Capitan from the App Store using the Apple ID that you previously used to download El Capitan. Have you previously downloaded El Capitan from the App Store? If yes, then are you MUST use the same Apple ID used for the download?

To make a USB installer see my Post #9. You must have the "Install OS X El Capitan" app (about 6.2 GB) to make a USB installer yourself.
 
CoastalOR said:
In order to download El Capitan from Recovery you would have to have previously downloaded El Capitan from the App Store using the Apple ID that you previously used to download El Capitan. Have you previously downloaded El Capitan from the App Store? If yes, then are you MUST use the same Apple ID used for the download?

To make a USB installer see my Post #9. You must have the "Install OS X El Capitan" app (about 6.2 GB) to make a USB installer yourself.
Click to expand...

Ok I think I'm screwed and will need to figure out this USB installer piece. Could be a lost cause.
 
Detox wrote:
"Ok I think I'm screwed and will need to figure out this USB installer piece. Could be a lost cause."

NO!
The USB flash drive installer is "the answer" that you're looking for.

Try this URL to get El Capitan:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206886

Also reread post #6 above.
 
Fishrrman said:
Detox wrote:
"Ok I think I'm screwed and will need to figure out this USB installer piece. Could be a lost cause."

NO!
The USB flash drive installer is "the answer" that you're looking for.

Try this URL to get El Capitan:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206886

Also reread post #6 above.
Click to expand...

Ok, wasn't able to download El Capitan on my 2017 5k iMac. In order to add it to a USB stick to install. Is there another way?
 
Looking for some help.....2008 Imac was previously running El Capitan.

I created a bootable USB on my Windows PC using the program Transmac and a DMG El Capitan file. Followed the steps (which seems pretty straight forward) and created the USB with no errors.

I plugged the USB into my iMac, restarted and pressed Option Key but the USB Device does not show up. What am I missing?
 
I had same thing with a 2008 macbook air.

It turned out to be the chipset in stick.

use another stick and was fine.
will read the "iffy" stick once OSX installed but will not boot from it.

what stick you using?
 
Detox99 said:
Looking for some help.....2008 Imac was previously running El Capitan.

I created a bootable USB on my Windows PC using the program Transmac and a DMG El Capitan file. Followed the steps (which seems pretty straight forward) and created the USB with no errors.

I plugged the USB into my iMac, restarted and pressed Option Key but the USB Device does not show up. What am I missing?
Click to expand...

You did that on a windows machine which means you couldn't have your usb formatted to apple file format.

Do it again use disk maker x and do it on your 5K imac, it won't work on a PC.
 
Samuelsan2001 said:
You did that on a windows machine which means you couldn't have your usb formatted to apple file format.

Do it again use disk maker x and do it on your 5K imac, it won't work on a PC.
Click to expand...

I will try another stick. From the tutorials, it looks like Transmac formats it to Mac. I will try Diskmaker X on my new Imac as well .
 
Detox99 said:
I will try another stick. From the tutorials, it looks like Transmac formats it to Mac. I will try Diskmaker X on my new Imac as well .
Click to expand...

Ok, what I need is a good copy of EL Capitan. Ive tried various downloads from internet sites and none will work with Diskmaker X and I've tried a couple with Transmac that say they worked but then don't boot.
 
Detox99 said:
Ok, what I need is a good copy of EL Capitan. Ive tried various downloads from internet sites and none will work with Diskmaker X and I've tried a couple with Transmac that say they worked but then don't boot.
Click to expand...
Maybe it is time to stop wasting so much effort and just buy a "bootable El Capitan USB installer" from eBay. I mentioned this as a option in Post #9 on Oct 17, it is now Nov 6.
 
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