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Installing legacy operating systems.

xnthvtc

xnthvtc

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 1, 2022
14
4
Sorry if this doesn't belong here, but I thought posting this on the actual Lion board wouldn't get it much attention.

I have a mid-2011 iMac that I want to install Lion on. I attempted to install Snow Leopard but it kernel panicked and told me the processor wasn't supported even though I read that Snow Leopard supports Intel CPUs. So, I imaged a Lion install ISO to a USB and tried that instead, selecting it from the boot options screen. It then either tells me it failed to install, or brings me to recovery mode. Are there some sort of hoops I need to jump through in order to do this? I know that Apple isn't too fond of people installing older operating systems, and I've seen quite a few videos where people have some trouble doing this themselves. Would I need to get my hands on an actual Lion install disk? Does it matter which version of Lion I'm using?

Thanks,
Exinthevatica
 
Snow Leopard should work on a 2011, if it's the right version of Snow Leopard. 10.6.0 will no but if you get the right version of SL for the iMac it should be possible. The Lion installer should bring you to a recover-like screen. When installing older versions of macOS you will sometimes need to set the time of the computer to a fitting time for the OS to be roughly contemporary. So for Lion you might set it to something like early 2012 or something like that and then try again. If it fails again with that, give os a log of the failed install
 
You must've gotten the wrong Snow Leopard installer because both Mid-2011 iMac's (27-inch and 21.5-inch) came preinstalled with Snow Leopard 10.6.6. If you can find a restore disc for the 2011 iMac, it is supposed to have 10.6.3. Retail Snow Leopard discs will come with 10.6.0 and do not work on the 2011 iMac.

You'll need to find a 10.6.7 ISO. They're archived at certain orgs.
 
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Not specifically relevant to OP, but for others reading I also want to add that you can get full installers straight from Apple from Catalina onwards very easily with the Terminal command:
Code: 
softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer <version>

and the available versions can be listed with
Code: 
softwareupdate --list-full-installers
 
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casperes1996 said:
Snow Leopard should work on a 2011, if it's the right version of Snow Leopard. 10.6.0 will no but if you get the right version of SL for the iMac it should be possible. The Lion installer should bring you to a recover-like screen. When installing older versions of macOS you will sometimes need to set the time of the computer to a fitting time for the OS to be roughly contemporary. So for Lion you might set it to something like early 2012 or something like that and then try again. If it fails again with that, give os a log of the failed install
Click to expand...
Thank you! This was probably the solution, but another problem has arisen. I said in my original post that selecting the USB I made would either say the installation failed, or it would take me to recovery mode. This was because there were originally two options on the boot menu, one that was labeled with the name of the ISO I imaged to the USB, and the other was labeled MacOS X Install. The latter would take me to the recovery, and I assume changing the date there would've fixed it. However now, the only option that appears besides Macintosh HD, and the recovery partition, is the USB drive labeled with the name I assigned to it when I formatted it: "Snow". That just results in an error message saying "Failed to Install" or something of that sort. I already adjusted the time so that doesn't seem to be the issue anymore. I need that other option back on the boot options menu.

btw: It's called Snow because it originally had snow leopard on it, but it now has a Lion installer on it.
 
Last edited:
casperes1996 said:
Snow Leopard should work on a 2011, if it's the right version of Snow Leopard. 10.6.0 will no but if you get the right version of SL for the iMac it should be possible. The Lion installer should bring you to a recover-like screen. When installing older versions of macOS you will sometimes need to set the time of the computer to a fitting time for the OS to be roughly contemporary. So for Lion you might set it to something like early 2012 or something like that and then try again. If it fails again with that, give os a log of the failed install
Click to expand...
How would I go about finding a log for the failed install?
 
xnthvtc said:
Thank you! This was probably the solution, but another problem has arisen. I said in my original post that selecting the USB I made would either say the installation failed, or it would take me to recovery mode. This was because there were originally two options on the boot menu, one that was labeled with the name of the ISO I imaged to the USB, and the other was labeled MacOS X Install. The latter would take me to the recovery, and I assume changing the date there would've fixed it. However now, the only option that appears besides Macintosh HD, and the recovery partition, is the USB drive labeled with the name I assigned to it when I formatted it: "Snow". That just results in an error message saying "Failed to Install" or something of that sort. I already adjusted the time so that doesn't seem to be the issue anymore. I need that other option back on the boot options menu.

btw: It's called Snow because it originally had snow leopard on it, but it now has a Lion installer on it.
Click to expand...
You might want to re-image the installer to the USB
xnthvtc said:
How would I go about finding a log for the failed install?
Click to expand...
There should be a View option in the menu bar that allows for showing the log
 
OP:

A 2011 iMac should be able to do internet recovery.

To get Lion, I believe you need to boot to A SPECIAL VERSION of internet recovery:
Command-SHIFT-OPTION-R
at boot.

If you're connecting via wifi, you'll also need your wifi password.
Be patient "as the globe spins" and the utilities load.

Once the utilities are loaded...
...I don't see above whether you wish to erase the internal drive and "start clean" or not.

So... TWO ways to go here.

FIRST WAY:
If you just want to attempt an OS install, try opening the OS installer.
Because we used a special key combo, I will guess that the installer offers you Lion.
(the special key combo asks the installer to load the oldest version of the OS that will run with that particular model of Mac).

Do you get this?
If so, just start clicking through. The Mac may reboot one or more times, and the screen may go dark for a minute or more, with no indication of activity. Be patient.
When the install is done, you should see the initial setup screen (choose your language). Just proceed from that point.

SECOND WAY:
If you want to erase the drive first...
... open disk utility first.

If there is a "view" menu, you need to set it to "show all devices".
However, for Lion, I don't think you will see it.
If it is not there, IGNORE this, and go to the next step.

Look at the list on the left.
The topmost line is the internal drive.
Click on it and click "erase".
Erase to "Mac OS extended (journaling enabled)", GUID partition format.

When the erase is done, quit disk utility and open the OS installer.
Then proceed as in "first way" above.

Good luck.
 
Fishrrman said:
OP:

A 2011 iMac should be able to do internet recovery.

To get Lion, I believe you need to boot to A SPECIAL VERSION of internet recovery:
Command-SHIFT-OPTION-R
at boot.

If you're connecting via wifi, you'll also need your wifi password.
Be patient "as the globe spins" and the utilities load.

Once the utilities are loaded...
...I don't see above whether you wish to erase the internal drive and "start clean" or not.

So... TWO ways to go here.

FIRST WAY:
If you just want to attempt an OS install, try opening the OS installer.
Because we used a special key combo, I will guess that the installer offers you Lion.
(the special key combo asks the installer to load the oldest version of the OS that will run with that particular model of Mac).

Do you get this?
If so, just start clicking through. The Mac may reboot one or more times, and the screen may go dark for a minute or more, with no indication of activity. Be patient.
When the install is done, you should see the initial setup screen (choose your language). Just proceed from that point.

SECOND WAY:
If you want to erase the drive first...
... open disk utility first.

If there is a "view" menu, you need to set it to "show all devices".
However, for Lion, I don't think you will see it.
If it is not there, IGNORE this, and go to the next step.

Look at the list on the left.
The topmost line is the internal drive.
Click on it and click "erase".
Erase to "Mac OS extended (journaling enabled)", GUID partition format.

When the erase is done, quit disk utility and open the OS installer.
Then proceed as in "first way" above.

Good luck.
Click to expand...
I believe I've done this before, but it didn't end up working. Maybe I have to set the clock back before I try to install it like casperes said. I'll try when I get the chance and report back.
 
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So, I held command+shift+option+R on boot, and it did take me to the lion installer!! I set the time to mid 2012, and it begins installing. The issue is it gives me an estimated installation time of -2 billion hours and then says "Could not download additional components needed for installation." What do?
 
OP:

You will need an operating Mac to do this.
I'm thinking it had better not be "too new", either (no m-series Macs).

1. Download the Lion installer from here:

Mac OS X Lion Installer - Apple Support

Mac OS X 10.7 Lion is available for older systems that are not compatible with the latest version of macOS
support.apple.com support.apple.com

2. Download DiskMaker X from here:

3. Download Install Disk Creator from here:
macdaddy.io

Make a Bootable USB macOS Installer Download the update for Big Sur compatibility -

What’s needed for a clean install on a Mac A backup of the disk before it’s erased. Two options are to use Duplicate (a free utility which can copy and paste an entire bootable volume), or Mac Backup Guru (a paid, fully featured backup utility with unique incremental backups capability) for...
macdaddy.io macdaddy.io

4. Use either DiskMaker or Install Disk Creator to create a bootable USB Lion installer (8gb flashdrive required).

I provided links to BOTH apps. If one isn't working for you, TRY THE OTHER ONE.

5. Use the flashdrive to boot the iMac.

6. Use disk utility to ERASE the internal drive to HFS+ (Mac OS extended, journaling enabled, GUID partition format).

7. Then try the installer to install the OS.

No promises. But it might work if internet recovery won't.
 
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