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How to install 10.11.6 on an external drive?

I'm trying to install 10.11.6 on an external drive using Recovery. I get an error message: "No packages were eligible for install". Now what? Thanks.

MacBook Pro 15", OS X 10.10

Posted on May 17, 2020 1:48 AM

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Posted on May 17, 2020 7:06 AM

Ok so when you open the InstallMacOSX.pkg and you get the Installation window, this is not installing El Capitan, I mentioned that before, that is why the window says it will take only 7MBs (a full install will take up 20-30GBs of space.). As I said before if you follow the prompts it will create the Install OS X El Capitan.app in your Applications folder. Therefore don't go trying to install it on your external drive, click on the disk you are booted on, i.e your macs internal drive.


When you get the Install OS X El Capitan.app and start the installation, then and only then do you select your external drive.

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May 17, 2020 7:06 AM in response to jason-voltaire

Ok so when you open the InstallMacOSX.pkg and you get the Installation window, this is not installing El Capitan, I mentioned that before, that is why the window says it will take only 7MBs (a full install will take up 20-30GBs of space.). As I said before if you follow the prompts it will create the Install OS X El Capitan.app in your Applications folder. Therefore don't go trying to install it on your external drive, click on the disk you are booted on, i.e your macs internal drive.


When you get the Install OS X El Capitan.app and start the installation, then and only then do you select your external drive.

May 17, 2020 3:35 AM in response to jason-voltaire

Why are you using Recovery there is no need for that.

In October 2019 the certificates for several Apple OS's expired, and they have not been renewed on the Recovery servers, that is why you are seeing that error message.


If your mac is capable of running El Capitan you can download it from here.


How to upgrade to OS X El Capitan – Apple Support


Go to Section 4 and click on Download OS X El Capitan.

This downloads InstallMacOSX.dmg to your Downloads folder.

When downloaded open to InstallMacOSX.pkg, double-click on

that and an installation window will open, this does not install El Capitan

but converts the .pkg to the Install OS X El Capitan.app which you will find in 

your Applications folder, it should be 6.2GBs in size.

To start the installation of El Capitan double click on the Install OS X El Capitan.app.

From the installer screens you will asked which disk to install to, select your external drive.


The copy of the install app self deletes after installing El Capitan, so make sure you keep a copy of the InstallMacOSX.dmg if you need it in future, or you could just make a copy of the Install OS X El Capitan.app prior to installing and moving it to an external drive for safe keeping. It is also possible to create a bootable USB installer disk, using the Install OS X El Capitan.app in the Applications folder, and the createinstallmedia command in the Terminal app. Read the instructions here,

How to create a bootable installer for macOS – Apple Support

May 17, 2020 6:19 AM in response to jason-voltaire

So what exactly did you download, if you had followed my instructions you would get the InstallMacOSX.dmg,

is that what you got, it should be 6.2GBs. This is all you need to do a full install of El Capitan version 10.11.6

follow my instructions as in my first post to get InstallMacOSX.pkg and then create Install OS X El Capitan.app.


Have you formatted your external drive correctly.


Open Disk Utility (Applications> Utilities)

In the left hand panel highlight the external drives Disk icon, not the indented

Volume, click on Erase.

Give the Disk a name

Format: Mac OS Extended (Journaled)

Scheme: GUID Partition Map

click Erase.



This should take about a minute. Now your disk should be ready

for the installation.


If you have problems please show screenshots of any error messages etc.

May 17, 2020 6:08 AM in response to Eau Rouge

Thank you. I used Recovery because that's what Apple Tech support (chat) told me to do. Using your method I received this "Alert: OS X v10.11.6 is already installed on this computer. Use the Updates page to install the 10.11 update or if you would like to download the full OS X installer click Continue." Apparently I can't install what's already there. And I can't install it on an external because the external drive does not have system software. I tried your "bootable" link but so far no luck.


My goal is the preserve 10.11.6 on an external drive which I can use for a startup drive, so I can continue to run Final Cut Pro 7 for a while but still update my Mac. (If I update/upgrade, Final Cut will no longer run. ) The Apple tech support people told me 3 different things, none worked, and now they are not available. Any further help would be appreciated.

May 17, 2020 6:41 AM in response to Eau Rouge

I downloaded InstallMacOSX.dmg which 6.2 gig.


When I double-click on the .pkg I get this pop-up:

"This package will run a program to determine if the software can be installed.

To keep your computer secure, you should only run programs or install software from a trusted source. If you're not sure about this software’s source, click Cancel to stop the program and the installation."


I click continue and get: "Alert: OS X v10.11.6 is already installed on this computer. Use the Updates page to install the 10.11 update or if you would like to download the full OS X installer click Continue."


Standard install says it will take 7mg of space on my computer (!!!). I don't find the "Install OS X El Capitan.app" in my applications folder or anywhere else.


I formatted the external drive exactly as you said but if try to select it as a destination it says I can't because OSX is not installed.

How to install 10.11.6 on an external drive?

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