I just picked up a used iMac and turned it on and to my astonishment it came with a Windows OS Windows XP Pro.......I know this system BUT I was expecting Mac......I got this iMac for photography use.......can anyone help me out here???? I have the iMac OS X software disk 1 and 2......Thanks in advance!
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Need help with an iMac its an older 17" model....
- Thread starter CLUELESSPCUSER
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Thanks....do I hold the "options" button or at what time do I push it?
Ok ......I held it down and it did come up to a screen where you only had one choice which was windows.....soooooooo I loaded the Mac OS X disc one and it started the load.....we will see what happens......stay tuned....
Ok ......I held it down and it did come up to a screen where you only had one choice which was windows.....soooooooo I loaded the Mac OS X disc one and it started the load.....we will see what happens......stay tuned....
You will need to install OSX. By the sound of it you're probably doing that now. Let us know how it works out.
ok..........heres what I got now........I have a screen up that says "Select a Destination" and below it says "Select a destination volume to install the Mac OS X software" Well..........there is NOTHING to select below.....Hmmmmmm help! 
Since it sounds like you've never done this before:
• Once you've got Disk Utility open as described above, click on your hard drive in the left column.
• Click the "Partition" tab.
• Create however many partitions you want.
• One of your partitions should be Mac OS Extended (Journaled) (this will be where you install OS X)
• Don't forget to click "Options..." and change the partition map to GUID or Apple Partition Map depending on whether this is an Intel or a PowerPC iMac. (GUID=Intel, Apple Partition Map=PowerPC, see How to Identify Your iMac)
• Once you've got Disk Utility open as described above, click on your hard drive in the left column.
• Click the "Partition" tab.
• Create however many partitions you want.
• One of your partitions should be Mac OS Extended (Journaled) (this will be where you install OS X)
• Don't forget to click "Options..." and change the partition map to GUID or Apple Partition Map depending on whether this is an Intel or a PowerPC iMac. (GUID=Intel, Apple Partition Map=PowerPC, see How to Identify Your iMac)
ok I am there......this is what I see....
on the left of the box I see 4 icons......
the top icon says 152.7 GB Maxtor 6l160M0 media
just below that a little to the right (kinda like a sub menu) the icon looks the same and says disk0s1
below that the same type of icon and says 4.7 GB Pioneer DVD-RW DVR-K05
then below that a little to the right I see Mac OS X Install Disc 1
I dont see an option there that says "format"........I know I am asking alot, but this is my first time with a MAC...THANKS!!!
on the left of the box I see 4 icons......
the top icon says 152.7 GB Maxtor 6l160M0 media
just below that a little to the right (kinda like a sub menu) the icon looks the same and says disk0s1
below that the same type of icon and says 4.7 GB Pioneer DVD-RW DVR-K05
then below that a little to the right I see Mac OS X Install Disc 1
I dont see an option there that says "format"........I know I am asking alot, but this is my first time with a MAC...THANKS!!!
Click on that. On the right, a bunch of options will be presented. Click on the "Partition" tab near the top of the window. Then follow my instructions from my previous post.
Intel Core Duo 2104 17-inch iMac (Early 2006) this is what I have....and yes I am a TOTAL ID10T when it comes to MACs.....
So now that I have done the above....what would be my next step????
You should be ready to install OS X now. Click on the "Disk Utility" menu at the top of the screen and "Quit Disk Utility". This should bring you back to your installer screen where you can select the disk you just formatted and get started!
ok it shows up BUT it has a red stop sign with an exclamation point in it and below it it says "Installing this software requires 15.5 GB of free space. Then below that is another stop sign and it says "You cannot install Mac OS X on this volume. Mac OS X cannot start up from this volume."
Did you make sure that you clicked "Options..." then "GUID Partition Scheme" in the popup dialog when you were in Disk Utility?
http://www.kenstone6.net/fcp_homepage/images_partitioning_tiger/24_partitioning_tiger.jpg
http://www.kenstone6.net/fcp_homepage/images_partitioning_tiger/25_partitioning_tiger.jpg
http://www.kenstone6.net/fcp_homepage/images_partitioning_tiger/24_partitioning_tiger.jpg
http://www.kenstone6.net/fcp_homepage/images_partitioning_tiger/25_partitioning_tiger.jpg
OK.......thanks for the screen prints......I am on that screen and for some odd reason I dont have the "Option" button.......just the other ones.....
Are you sure you clicked on the "Partition" tab at the top (circled in red)? If you did and the "Options..." button isn't showing up that is certainly strange...
You need to change the Volume Scheme to 1 Partition, the Options button should show up between Revert and Delete. From Options you should then be able to choose the partition scheme, which as jdmlight posted, should be GUID Partition Table. Once the format is complete, go through the installation to the last screen and you should be able to put Mac OS X back onto the iMac.