How to re-install OS X El Capitan after erasing HDD?

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How to re-install OS X El Capitan after erasing HDD?

I got a used 24”, Early 2009 iMac today that I purchased for homework and school tasks whilst also wanting to transition over to macOS from Windows.

I went into Disk Utility to erase the current hard drive as I wanted to completely start afresh as I’m a little skeptical about buying used products. I erased it and I couldn’t re-install OS X at all. I’ve tried booting into the recovery USB I own and purchased for El Capitan, but to no avail. I can’t do internet recovery due to the age of the model.

Additionally, my wired keyboard won’t let my Mac go to the bootable accessories menu when turned on and ALT / OPTION is held....

Do I need to get a second machine to make a Time Machine back-up with to restore the OS or do I need to buy the original Snow Leopard DVD to re-install a version of OS X with?

Any help is hugely appreciated! Thank you :-)

iMac, macOS 10.15

Posted on May 13, 2020 10:13 AM

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Answer 1

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AndrewB43 Author

Level 1

8 points

May 14, 2020 8:19 AM in response to Kappy

Response much appreciated thank you! I found another keyboard that was wired and I got onto the bootable drives menu, and launched my bootable USB.

I initially had an issue where El Capitan would not install because some firmware packages were not retrievable and so I had to change the date in Terminal in order to install it onto my hard drive.

It has booted successfully and has worked for me - thanks for your help!

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Answer 2

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

May 13, 2020 11:35 AM in response to AndrewB43

You will need a keyboard that produces the same code that the Option key produces on a Mac. What keys are on your keyboard to the left of the Space bar?

Depending on how you erased the disk - whether the volume or the physical drive - you may be able to do the following if you haven't tried already:

Install El Capitan or Later from Scratch

If possible, back up your files.

Restart the computer. Immediately, at or before the chime, hold down the Command and R keys until the Apple logo and progress bar appear. Wait until the Utility Menu appears.
Select Disk Utility from the Utility Menu and click on the Continue button.
When Disk Utility loads select the target drive (out-dented entry w/type and size info) from the Device list.
Click on the Erase button in Disk Utility's toolbar. A panel will drop down.
Set the partition scheme to GUID.
Set the Format type to APFS (SSDs only) or Mac OS Extended (Journaled.)
Click on the Apply button, then wait for the Done button to activate and click on it.
Quit Disk Utility and return to the Utility Menu.
Select Install OS X and click on the Continue button.

This procedure may require verification by prompting for an Apple ID and password of the previous owner. In this case, the procedure will not work.

You would then need to install Snow Leopard 10.6.6 or later, or Lion. Apple no longer sells a Snow Leopard disk.

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How to re-install OS X El Capitan after erasing HDD?

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