Late 2009 imac, stuck in Recovery with AMD-Action error

[Spitzerphoto]

A little backstory. I'm trying to follow instructions to wipe out my old imac, so that I may pass it along to a friend who is in need of a computer for his family. During the process, I booted in recovery mode, and erased the Mac HD. I then proceeded to re-install OS from recovery mode, and every time I try (Mac OS Sierra), I get a (AMD-Action:downloadProduct:SP) error.

I've read and read and seen a bunch of people having good luck with booting in Internet recovery mode (I don't believe this is offered on older macs), and then changing the time through terminal, followed by crsutil enable and crsutil clear. In the interest of saving somebody else's time typing the extensive instructions. I have done this COUNTLESS times with no luck.

How on earth to I get out of this?

 

[mikehalloran]

You can't boot a 2009 from Internet Recovery. That was 2012 and later.

If you have the complete High Sierra installer on a bootable external drive of any kind, you can install the OS that way.

Do you have another Mac available? If so, you can install the OS from that.

 

[Spitzerphoto]

Yes I do. I have a 2019 imac. How does that work?

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:
Try this.

1. You will need a USB flashdrive 8gb or larger

ON YOUR 2019 iMac...
2. Download the Low Sierra (10.12) installer from here:
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/macos-sierra/id1127487414?mt=12
(download may end up in your applications folder)

3. Download Diskmaker X from this link:
http://diskmakerx.com/downloads/DiskMaker_X_6rc5.dmg

4. Connect USB flashdrive, open DiskMaker. With a few clicks of the mouse you can create a bootable USB flashdrive installer for (Low) Sierra.

5. Take the bootable flashdrive to the 2009 iMac, boot from it (hold down option key continuously at boot and select flashdrive in startup manager)

6. When the OS utilities open, quit the OS installer and open Disk Utility.

7. ERASE the internal drive to Mac OS extended with journaling enabled, GUID partition format.

8. Quit DU and re-open the OS installer. Try installing a copy of the OS now. This may take one or more reboots and then some time. BE PATIENT.

9. If the OS install is successful, you should see the initial setup screen.

10. If it was me, at this point I'd PULL THE PLUG OUT OF THE WALL, and let the iMac go dark. When the new person starts it up, it will be like setting it up "right out of the box"...

 

[Spitzerphoto]

OP:
Try this.

1. You will need a USB flashdrive 8gb or larger

ON YOUR 2019 iMac...
2. Download the Low Sierra (10.12) installer from here:
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/macos-sierra/id1127487414?mt=12
(download may end up in your applications folder)

3. Download Diskmaker X from this link:
http://diskmakerx.com/downloads/DiskMaker_X_6rc5.dmg

4. Connect USB flashdrive, open DiskMaker. With a few clicks of the mouse you can create a bootable USB flashdrive installer for (Low) Sierra.

5. Take the bootable flashdrive to the 2009 iMac, boot from it (hold down option key continuously at boot and select flashdrive in startup manager)

6. When the OS utilities open, quit the OS installer and open Disk Utility.

7. ERASE the internal drive to Mac OS extended with journaling enabled, GUID partition format.

8. Quit DU and re-open the OS installer. Try installing a copy of the OS now. This may take one or more reboots and then some time. BE PATIENT.

9. If the OS install is successful, you should see the initial setup screen.

10. If it was me, at this point I'd PULL THE PLUG OUT OF THE WALL, and let the iMac go dark. When the new person starts it up, it will be like setting it up "right out of the box"...

This sounds like fantastic info, and I was super excited to try it, except that I can't even seem to get Low Sierra to download.. I get this

 

[Fishrrman]

If you can't get a copy of the version of the OS you need from Apple's official channels...
Well... all I can tell you is...
... There are OTHER WAYS to get ahold of it...

 

[Spitzerphoto]

If you can't get a copy of the version of the OS you need from Apple's official channels...
Well... all I can tell you is...
... There are OTHER WAYS to get ahold of it...

Ha! 10 years ago I’d have probably had a copy of all of this myself, or known exactly where and how to find it. I’m so out of touch these days though.

 

[Spitzerphoto]

If you can't get a copy of the version of the OS you need from Apple's official channels...
Well... all I can tell you is...
... There are OTHER WAYS to get ahold of it...

UPDATE: Well I was able to secure a copy of Mac OS Sierra installer, but now I'm unable to get disk maker x to work.. Getting an error every time, and it's not an error that's even listed in the FAQ on the diskmaker website..

 

[Fishrrman]

"I was able to secure a copy of Mac OS Sierra installer, but now I'm unable to get disk maker x to work.. Getting an error every time"

Questions:
Where -is- the installer app? (the normal place when you download it from Apple is inside the applications folder)
Is it a FULL installer app (should be 4-5gb in size), or something "smaller"?
What format is it in? (is it a dmg file, something else)
If it was obtained from (ahem) non-Apple channels, it might not be an accurate "reproduction" of the "official" Apple installer. (you might have to try a -different- one).

 

[Spitzerphoto]

"I was able to secure a copy of Mac OS Sierra installer, but now I'm unable to get disk maker x to work.. Getting an error every time"

Questions:
Where -is- the installer app? (the normal place when you download it from Apple is inside the applications folder)
Is it a FULL installer app (should be 4-5gb in size), or something "smaller"?
What format is it in? (is it a dmg file, something else)
If it was obtained from (ahem) non-Apple channels, it might not be an accurate "reproduction" of the "official" Apple installer. (you might have to try a -different- one).

I moved the installer app into the Applications folder once I received it. Despite not coming through.. (Ahem) the appropriate channels, it IS the official Apple installer and its like 5.**GB. It was received from a reputable source.

 

[Fishrrman]

"I moved the installer app into the Applications folder once I received it. Despite not coming through.. (Ahem) the appropriate channels, it IS the official Apple installer and its like 5.**GB. It was received from a reputable source."

ok, understood.

You're trying to create this on the 2019 iMac, right?
Is it running APFS?

I'm wondering if DiskMaker X is having problems because of this.

One other thing to check (you probably did already):
Are you using the correct version of DiskMaker X?
I believe the version that works with Sierra is properly linked in my post above.
If that doesn't work, just for the heck of it, I'd try LATER versions and see if they worked.

If that doesn't work, I'd try to use the terminal to create the flashdrive.
Instructions for doing that are available on the net.

Another thing to check:
What format is the USB flashdrive in BEFORE you address it with DiskMaker?
I would first erase it to Mac OS extended with journaling enabled, GUID partition format.

Hope this helps.

 

[Spitzerphoto]

Thank you! I just got a text from a friend who was also trying to assist me that he successfully made a boot disk for me last night (we were both picking away at it), so I think I may be in the clear.

All of your help is much appreciated.

 

[Spitzerphoto]

Update. All fixed, setup as a new mac for delivery. Thanks to everybody who helped.