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leesyg

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 16, 2021
8
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Morning folks, I have a 2009 Mac that I am looking to sell. I followed the instructions to clear the 'disk utility' but not sure if I logged out of iCloud etc. first. I want to reinstall macOS so I can check, but when I go on this it tries to put it onto 'OS X Base system' but it is saying that the disk is locked and so can't get past this stage.

Any advice would be appreciated???
 
How did you get to "where you are now"?
Are you trying to do this with internet recovery?
A 2009 iMac CANNOT DO internet recovery.

You'll have to use a USB flashdrive installer to install a copy of the OS onto it.
Or... boot from EXTERNAL drive, and run an OS installer that way.
 
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How did you get to "where you are now"?
Are you trying to do this with internet recovery?
A 2009 iMac CANNOT DO internet recovery.

You'll have to use a USB flashdrive installer to install a copy of the OS onto it.
Or... boot from EXTERNAL drive, and run an OS installer that way.
Thanks for getting back to me, I am a complete novice when it comes to the Mac (and computers in general) hence the sale. Where would I get a USB flashdrive installer from? I have an external hard drive but assume I can't run installer via that ???
 
How did you get to "where you are now"?
Are you trying to do this with internet recovery?
A 2009 iMac CANNOT DO internet recovery.

You'll have to use a USB flashdrive installer to install a copy of the OS onto it.
Or... boot from EXTERNAL drive, and run an OS installer that way.
Yes, via internet recovery
 
not sure if I logged out of iCloud etc. first. I want to reinstall macOS so I can check
The good news is you don't need to reinstall Mac OS/macOS for that.

Regarding the OS (re)install, I'll give a walkthrough a shot.*

1. Restart your Mac and immediately hold the Command and R keys. This should get you into Recovery Mode.
2. In the Utilities window, click on Disk Utility to select it, then click Continue.
os-x-utilities-window-100620944-large.jpg

3. In Disk Utility, the first thing to do is click on View (menu, then ensure Show All Devices is checked. If not, click on it.
Hopefully, Disk Utility should look similar to the following:
Rb1591d217a137aca7493eda79583d424

If you don't see the sidebar, go back to the View menu and click Show Sidebar.
4. Click on the topmost, unindented item -- very likely could be APPLE HDD [drive model] as is shown in the screenshot -- then click Erase.
5. In the Erase "[drive name]"? dialog, enter Macintosh HD for the Name. You shouldn't need to change the Format or Schema fields, which should be Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and Apple Partition Map or GUID Partition Map.
If all goes well, Macintosh HD should appear, indented below the drive as in the above screenshot.
6. Quit Disk Utility, which should bring you back to the Utilities window.
7. Click on Reinstall OS X/macOS, then click Continue.
8. Proceed with the installation.
Hopefully, you're now offered Macintosh HD as an installation destination.


* I haven't used Recovery Mode in quite awhile, especially with an OS from that era.
 
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The good news is you don't need to reinstall Mac OS/macOS for that.

Regarding the OS (re)install, I'll give a walkthrough a shot.*

1. Restart your Mac and immediately hold the Command and R keys. This should get you into Recovery Mode.
2. In the Utilities window, click on Disk Utility to select it, then click Continue.
os-x-utilities-window-100620944-large.jpg

3. In Disk Utility, the first thing to do is click on View (menu, then ensure Show All Devices is checked. If not, click on it.
Hopefully, Disk Utility should look similar to the following:
Rb1591d217a137aca7493eda79583d424

If you don't see the sidebar, go back to the View menu and click Show Sidebar.
4. Click on the topmost, unindented item -- very likely could be APPLE HDD [drive model] as is shown in the screenshot -- then click Erase.
5. In the Erase "[drive name]"? dialog, enter Macintosh HD for the Name. You shouldn't need to change the Format or Schema fields, which should be Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and Apple Partition Map or GUID Partition Map.
If all goes well, Macintosh HD should appear, indented below the drive as in the above screenshot.
6. Quit Disk Utility, which should bring you back to the Utilities window.
7. Click on Reinstall OS X/macOS, then click Continue.
8. Proceed with the installation.
Hopefully, you're now offered Macintosh HD as an installation destination.


* I haven't used Recovery Mode in quite awhile, especially with an OS from that era.
Thanks for the response. The main internal drive is 'Hitachi HDS722020ALA330 Media' and shows as being full (solid blue line) but there is no erase option showing (it's greyed out). When you got to the drop down, it shows the 'OS X Base System' as erased (solid white line), but doesn't look as though I can clear the main drive above it?
 
Thanks for the response. The main internal drive is 'Hitachi HDS722020ALA330 Media' and shows as being full (solid blue line) but there is no erase option showing (it's greyed out). When you got to the drop down, it shows the 'OS X Base System' as erased (solid white line), but doesn't look as though I can clear the main drive above it?
I can see the Mac as a device through my iPhone and it is giving me the option to Erase the device as well as remove device. I assume I am best erasing and then removing?
 
Since you're not Mac-savvy, and not "a computer person" in general, I'm going to provide you with the easiest way to achieve your objective:

You need to go on ebay.
There are folks there who sell USB flashdrives that come pre-configured with OS installers.
You connect the flashdrive, boot from it, and then it will install a copy of the OS onto the Mac.

These cost about $20, typically.

The OS version I recommend you ask for is Mac OS 10.12, also called "Sierra" (NOT "High Sierra").

With this, you can:
a. boot the iMac (you need to hold down the option key continuously after you press the startup button)
b. use disk utility to erase the internal drive
c. use the OS installer to install a fresh copy of the OS onto the drive.

It's possible to make one of these yourself, but again, doing so involves "Mac knowledge".
How much are you willing to learn?
 
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Thanks for the response. The main internal drive is 'Hitachi HDS722020ALA330 Media' and shows as being full (solid blue line) but there is no erase option showing (it's greyed out). When you got to the drop down, it shows the 'OS X Base System' as erased (solid white line), but doesn't look as though I can clear the main drive above it?
My mistake. You can't erase the HDD because you're booted from a partition on it -- the process could have been that simple if that Mac supported Internet Recovery or if you take @Fishrrman's advice.

Speaking of such... Do you have the installation DVD for the iMac? It would look similar to:
21801524255139_474.JPG


Anyway...

If you click on Hitachi HDS722020ALA330 and then Partition, is there empty/free space? Will it allow you to add a partition?
 
My mistake. You can't erase the HDD because you're booted from a partition on it -- the process could have been that simple if that Mac supported Internet Recovery or if you take @Fishrrman's advice.

Speaking of such... Do you have the installation DVD for the iMac? It would look similar to:
21801524255139_474.JPG


Anyway...

If you click on Hitachi HDS722020ALA330 and then Partition, is there empty/free space? Will it allow you to add a partition?
I've attached a copy of the image it shows when I click 'partition'? Doesn't seem to be an option to do anything on this page.
I don't have the disk anymore - I bought it second hand.
Mac.jpg
 
I clicked on the '?' icon and the following came up - which one should I choose?
 

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I clicked on the '?' icon and the following came up - which one should I choose?
That error is new to me. I would probably click Continue. If it allows you to continue the Partition window, can you add a partition?

P.S. I will admit based on more research, we're getting close to the USB installer option.
P.P.S. I hadn't seen this problem before but with all of the searching realize there are quite a few posts similar to yours.
 
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That error is new to me. I would probably click Continue. If it allows you to continue the Partition window, can you add a partition?

P.S. I will admit based on more research, we're getting close to the USB installer option.
P.P.S. I hadn't seen this problem before but with all of the searching realize there are quite a few posts similar to yours.
Thanks again for your help. I tried the continue option and nothing happened. I also tried the crash option as a last resort and that didn't do anything either.

I've had a look on eBay and can't see any USB installers for Sierra in UK. Any other OS I should consider?
 
I've had a look on eBay and can't see any USB installers for Sierra in UK. Any other OS I should consider?
There were a few models that year. The 20 and 24-inch models can use Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard through Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan. The 21.5 and 27-inch models are compatible with Mac OS X 10.6 (technically 10.6.1) through macOS 10.13 High Sierra. Basically, the safe overlap is anything from 10.7 Lion through 10.11 El Capitan.
 
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