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User profile for user: Rebel78
Rebel78 Author
User level: Level 1
17 points

Unable to reinstall Mac OS Lion or any other Mac OS

I have an old iMac which I had to erase the hard drive. Now that I am trying to either reinstall Lion OS or any other OS is not letting me.


When booting up the iMac with the following key combinations I always end up with the same "Mac OS X Utilities" screen.


Cmd Option R

Cmd R

Option

Option (this shows the installation drives for Mavericks but when I select it it sends me to the Mac OS X Utilities instead of installing Mavericks


The "Mac OS X Utilities" screen as seen on the screenshot included, only shows "Reinstall Mac OS X" Lion. The problem with this is that no matter how many times I try, I get the following message

This item is temporarily unavailable. Try again later.

I've seen other posts talking about Internet Recovery using Cmd Opt R (which never works)

Resetting the NVRAM booting up with Cmd Opt P R (still it doesn't work)

Using ethernet instead of WiFi (also doesn't work)


It seems nothing I've read online can fix this issue. Anyone from Apple has a real solution for this problem that doesn't require me shipping the iMac anywhere since all Apple Stores around me are closed because of Covid?


iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on Mar 16, 2021 5:18 PM

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User profile for user: Rafael Scheid
Rafael Scheid
User level: Level 5
5,346 points

Posted on Mar 16, 2021 5:43 PM

Do you still have the original install discs of this Mac? That can help, but I advise you differently...


First let us know what are the exact model and year of your Mac. If t is between Late 2009 and Mid 2011 it can run up to High Sierra. If newer, it can run up to Catalina. If older, El Capitan.

Do you have access to another Mac? If yes, things will be easier.

First use that other Mac to create a bootable installer with the version that your Mac can run How to create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support

Now plug in the installer and start your Mac holding Option and choose the installer to enter Recovery Mode.

Once RM is loaded, open Disk Utility and format the disk. Do this How to repair a Mac disk with Disk Utility - Apple Support and this How to erase an Intel-based Mac – Apple Support

Once done, close DU and proceed the installation.


Everything should be fine with this procedure. The most important thing here is the local installer, way more reliable then over the internet.


And if you have the chance (and the budget), get an SSD for this Mac. That'll be the best for the performance.

You can look to have it installed inside the Mac or you can get an USB one and just plug it in there and install macOS on it.

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User profile for user: Rafael Scheid
Rafael Scheid
User level: Level 5
5,346 points

Mar 16, 2021 5:43 PM in response to Rebel78

Do you still have the original install discs of this Mac? That can help, but I advise you differently...


First let us know what are the exact model and year of your Mac. If t is between Late 2009 and Mid 2011 it can run up to High Sierra. If newer, it can run up to Catalina. If older, El Capitan.

Do you have access to another Mac? If yes, things will be easier.

First use that other Mac to create a bootable installer with the version that your Mac can run How to create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support

Now plug in the installer and start your Mac holding Option and choose the installer to enter Recovery Mode.

Once RM is loaded, open Disk Utility and format the disk. Do this How to repair a Mac disk with Disk Utility - Apple Support and this How to erase an Intel-based Mac – Apple Support

Once done, close DU and proceed the installation.


Everything should be fine with this procedure. The most important thing here is the local installer, way more reliable then over the internet.


And if you have the chance (and the budget), get an SSD for this Mac. That'll be the best for the performance.

You can look to have it installed inside the Mac or you can get an USB one and just plug it in there and install macOS on it.

Reply
User profile for user: Rafael Scheid
Rafael Scheid
User level: Level 5
5,346 points

Mar 25, 2021 9:11 PM in response to gregfromaz

For what I saw it won’t install Lion but El Capitan.

2011 can go up to High Sierra.

Best to do is to create a bootable USB installer and make a clean install.

do you have access to another Mac to create this?

If yes, use this procedure https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372

Reboot your Mac holding Option and select the installer to enter Recovery Mode

Now open Disk Utility and completely erase the disk (remove volumes and partitions)

Close DU and proceed with the install.


You can install it to the external drive and then load macOS from it and try to recover your files from the internal if you need to.


If you still have the original discs, you can use them to first install that old version of macOS, update to a more modern one, El Capitan for example, then create the USB installer and make a clean install of High Sierra.


Yes, lot of work, I know, but a workaround if Internet Recovery isn’t getting you anywhere.

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User profile for user: Rebel78
Rebel78 Author
User level: Level 1
17 points

Mar 19, 2021 3:08 PM in response to Rafael Scheid

Hello Rafael, thank you for your reply.


This is a late 2006 iMac.


Based on your reply this iMac should be compatible with macOS Yosemite. I have used a terminal command on my MacBook Pro to make a bootable installer drive.


Booting up the 2006 iMac with the installer connected to it and holding Option I select the installer from the drives screen. This brings me to a screen where I choose English as language and them the Mac OS X Utilities screen shows up. The screenshot I had uploaded with my initial post are the options I get).


When Disk Utility is open if I try to erase the 160 GB Samsung hard drive, I get an error saying it failed because it couldn’t be unmounted. If I select the volume drive within that hard drive and erase it (using Mac OS Extended (Journaled)) it does complete the task.


Closing Disk Utility brings me back to installing Mac OS Lion. If I restart the computer I keep getting back to Mac OS Lion. No matter what installer drive I connect to the computer, I only have the Reinstall Mac OS X Lion as an option.

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User profile for user: gregfromaz
gregfromaz
User level: Level 1
9 points

Mar 24, 2021 4:31 PM in response to Rebel78

I have the same problem on a 2011 MacBook Pro. Trying to reinstall Lion from Internet Recovery Mode, it will allow me to begin the install on an external drive. It starts the process, then says "certain parts of the software cannot be downloaded". I'm paraphrasing, but no matter what I try, it will not finish the install. I did put an SSD in the MacBook Pro and thought that might be the problem, but I'm using an external HD for the install, so I'm not sure what it could be. Any ideas?

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Unable to reinstall Mac OS Lion or any other Mac OS

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