Imac 2009 prohibitory symbol / hd deleted

[azg20p11]

I have a 2009 Imac that was bricked. It will not boot, I only get the gray screen with the apple logo that turns into the prohibitory symbol. None of the command options work, and it will not go into recovery mode. No matter what I seem to do, I seem to get these same results. I am told that the HD was completely erased via disk utility, and that the OS would not install. The main HD was then deleted which returned an undisclosed error. Upon shutting down after that, it will no longer reboot. Data recovery is not an issue, I am simply trying to get this back online so the owner can sell it. My apologies for the lack of info. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Jeff

 

[azg20p11]

Also wont boot from usb (guid partition). Drive is visible after holding down option key, but once selected, goes to grey screen with apple logo, which changes to prohibitory symbol.

 

[EugW]

What OS are you using to boot from USB?

 

[azg20p11]

10.11.6 which was the oldest file I could find. Is it possible that I need to go with the original OS? I diddnt think that would cause these issues, but its all over my head at this point.

 

[ADGrant]

Did you try reinstalling over the internet. See this article: https://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac/recovery-mode-internet-3636668/

BTW a 2009 should run 10.13.

 

[azg20p11]

Yes, unfortunately since the entire hard drive was wiped, none of the disk utility features work. I dont think that particular command works on this old of a machine(2009), but I did try it to no avail.

I will create a startup with 10.13 and give it a shot

 

[ADGrant]

Yes, unfortunately since the entire hard drive was wiped, none of the disk utility features work. I dont think that particular command works on this old of a machine(2009), but I did try it to no avail.

That is odd, I am pretty sure I used that command on my own 2009 to install High Sierra after wiping the drive. I certainly didn't use a USB stick. What happened when you tried?

 

[azg20p11]

That is odd, I am pretty sure I used that command on my own 2009 to install High Sierra after wiping the drive. I certainly didn't use a USB stick. What happened when you tried?

Nothing happens with any key commands. It will go straight to a grey screen with apple logo which turns to prohibitory symbol. The only command that works is "option" when a properly formatted usb is inserted, but it will not install after you select the drive.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Sounds like an EFI firmware lock to me.

iMac Late 2009 EFI Firmware Locked - Apple Community

discussions.apple.com

 

[Fishrrman]

A 2009 Mac cannot use internet recovery.

 

[EugW]

10.11.6 should boot that iMac fine (if it's not locked). Have you tried booting another computer with that 10.11.6 external drive? Sometimes, if the OS is not installed properly on the drive, it will not boot properly even though all the data is there.

@Fishrrman is correct, 2009 iMacs do not support Internet Recovery. Internet Recovery only is supported with 2010 Macs or later. The 2009 iMac supports Recovery Mode, but not if the drive has been totally wiped, and it's not Internet Recovery.

Computers that can be upgraded to use OS X Internet Recovery - Apple Support (CA)

Some computers that came with OS X Snow Leopard and earlier installed can use the OS X Internet Recovery feature after applying a firmware update.

support.apple.com

If you have a Firewire Mac, you can try to access that iMac's drive via Target Disk Mode.

 

[azg20p11]

10.11.6 should boot that iMac fine (if it's not locked). Have you tried booting another computer with that 10.11.6 external drive? Sometimes, if the OS is not installed properly on the drive, it will not boot properly even though all the data is there.

@Fishrrman is correct, 2009 iMacs do not support Internet Recovery. Internet Recovery only is supported with 2010 Macs or later. The 2009 iMac supports Recovery Mode, but not if the drive has been totally wiped, and it's not Internet Recovery.

Computers that can be upgraded to use OS X Internet Recovery - Apple Support (CA)

Some computers that came with OS X Snow Leopard and earlier installed can use the OS X Internet Recovery feature after applying a firmware update.

support.apple.com

If you have a Firewire Mac, you can try to access that iMac's drive via Target Disk Mode.

I recreated the external drive, and was finally able to boot from it. It kept coming back with the error "This copy of the Install OS X El Capitan application can't be verified. It may have been corrupted or tampered with during downloading."

I ran "installer -pkg /Volumes/Mac\ OS\ X\ Install\ DVD/Packages/OSInstall.mpkg -target /Volumes/HD" in terminal, and it installed successfully.

Thank you very much for your advice.