How do I obtain software start up disc Mac
My 2009 or 2010 IMac needs an operating system' it came with El Capitan but it’s unavailable. Do I need to buy it from the Apple store? Help!
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El Capitan is and always has been available and only ever came as a free download.
You will need to use another mac, one that is capable of running El Capitan.
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.
The next section can only be done on a mac that is capable of running El Capitan,
a mac that came preinstalled with an OS later than El Capitan will refuse to do the next bit.
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 InstallMacOSX.pkg to the Install OS X El Capitan.app which
you will find in your Applications folder, it should be 6.2GBs in size.
(If the installation window asks which disk you want to install to, you must pick
the disk that you are booted to at the time. Not any internal or external disk that
you want to eventually install El Capitan on, that is for later.)
Using the Install OS X El Capitan.app in the Applications folder and the createinstallmedia command in the Terminal app
you can now create a bootable USB stick installer, which you can then transfer to your mac and use to install El Capitan.
Read the instructions here,
How to create a bootable installer for macOS – Apple Support