ctdrummond
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: can't reinstall OS X

I cleared out my hard drive and I am trying to reinstall OS X Yosemite on my 2011 Macbook. It wants me to use the apple id I first used with the computer but I am not the original owner. Previous discussions have said to hold down COMMAND + OPTION + R to open the Online App Store to buy and download the OS X but that screen does not pop up for me.

MacBook

Posted on Feb 15, 2016 8:49 PM

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ctdrummond

Q: can't reinstall OS X

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  • by amr.oka,

    amr.oka amr.oka Feb 15, 2016 8:58 PM in response to ctdrummond
    Level 1 (7 points)
    Feb 15, 2016 8:58 PM in response to ctdrummond

    press and hold option (Alt) join wifi network or use lan cable wait for internet recovery then follow instructions

  • by keg55,

    keg55 keg55 Feb 16, 2016 5:53 AM in response to ctdrummond
    Level 6 (8,407 points)
    Mac OS X
    Feb 16, 2016 5:53 AM in response to ctdrummond

    If you never downloaded OS X Yosemite from the App Store when it was available, you won't be able to reinstall it. It sounds like the original owner never properly reset to factory the Mac they sold you. They should have put the original OS that was pre-installed prior to selling.

     

    Internet Recovery is possible from your Mac using Command+Option+R but that will only allow you to reinstall the version of OS X that came pre-installed on your system which I believe is OS X Lion (10.7.5) as you have a 2011 Mac. If you want to install Yosemite, I'm not sure how you would do that if you never downloaded it before. If you can create a USB thumb drive installer from a friend's Install OS X Yosemite.app file then you can try, but I'm not sure if you'll keep having the same issue you're seeing now.

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Feb 16, 2016 10:41 AM in response to ctdrummond
    Level 9 (71,180 points)
    iTunes
    Feb 16, 2016 10:41 AM in response to ctdrummond

    You may need to do a Firmware update to get to Internet Recovery.

     

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