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My hard drive has broken. I would like to install a new SSD. When I turn it on for the first time I will need to download High Sierra OS. Will I be able to do that with the new SSD installed (control-R) at start up?
iMac 27″, macOS 10.13
Yes, you will.
Once your failed drive has been replaced, you should be able to restart in Internet Recovery mode and reinstall macOS High Sierra.
For additional info, please see this support document –
How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204904
Without knowing what model year iMac we cannot answer the question. Also you need to be specific about which SSD. you will be using. Perhaps looking over Writing an effective Apple Support Communities Question will help when asking a question here, without having complete information we cannot answer question.
A 2010 iMac is too old to run Internet Recovery, that feature did not become available until 2012 however there were some reports of late 2011's having it. My 2011 never did though.
You will need a Snow Leopard original DVD, do not buy a flash drive or a replica of the SL DVD they likely will not work and may contain malware. You have simply waited too long. Apple has not carried the SL DVD for several years now and they are disappearign from Amazon and e-bay. However if you can find one it will look like: https://www.ebay.com/itm/255092011965?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item3b64ab33bd:g:eaUAAOSwmDFhF1-L&amdata=enc%3AAQAGAAACkPYe5NmHp%252B2JMhMi7yxGiTJkPrKr5t53CooMSQt2orsSg3Ye8yTWgOW7pmE1t838dgYH4qP2tiB4uaOYGodzQBTmGch%252Bp29%252BB5aXA%252Bx88nKq8wwGvr0hSAHcncLvBuqYR86LRCjnaSIkghspaEjBlL7ZNwrcuJJfBPKUBxxNHpaIgTgWrbpuvFMUTPfVkN4b9Z5M2XciQeREZgAmCa4eYJ98cLdMiJe9b7e7kBMaqx0ucenT%252FXs69T%252BBfpLRGJX15EYBFhDbO90dWm%252BJPqgZTjLpSfLmyMBRFf7MTFFOjJavxIkxwX9mp4A9DZ2LV46ticrMVkkYI2yZO0TSjrkuZc9YXKr09X3sBSZUHm4uwxEHzYfJcKcN0BNm5A9vp1prMyNMVhnz8qIBFmL3LTWig%252BLvflPSx%252B1OQIDti%252FwF5gQNYALo2lfrhlae0utgIZd0iD5ijNgGGGmOLxGrMkB3MPdnozf4z0yDKBVXh%252BkKpva5JE3AwxUDwXaAqf02FPVVwk7P3lGPxpUcdGbawbFZPo3gHV3tf1PNaA0Emhl9yylohAbjuIlZ%252B3PZ2XugME9vKPTNLFjuF1sthE%252BoVHZY4NwMJ9LWKlz07knX7ivrSsfPXhZxuPNGtB41Xb%252FZ15utSXyisbj7tIYA8YD65rFsZcKOgxVmQQJrvMv8pSJfnvlflXZD%252F5vIeAVe5JIgHrpGNO0R1dsaEEHszZPMnAamQYuvjjXYiKYEWwBubsV7zH6MVABTne4xzeSEiiKBbze9Qzi143DiaQZ91JXXU%252BjoeYjv4jZWgGxaBIGOeI%252BsRlrTwlORA8Bfqq0gjvZ5qAPq%252FkZnXQ3ZmxpIohpmcepbF9ly%252B9GzhykuOe5NZIbqHkaA%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A2334524
Yes they are expensive because they are becoming more rare. IMHO, I think it's time to stop putting time and money into a 2010 Mac, it's 12 years old and its market value is about $100. I would seriously consider replacing the computer!
I know I am not telling you what you want to hear however my info is correct. Also, when posting on these forums please never post private information such as
on a public forum. I have asked the moderator to remove your PI.
If you have access to another Apple computer, you can make a bootable USB installer
Didn't realise putting the serial number on here was an issue but do now, won't make that mistake again. Thank you for pointing out my error. Regarding internet recovery mode, my iMac will actually boot into that mode if I start up holding down the CMD/R keys. After the spinning globe I get the macOS Utilities screen
That limited info dates the iMac to 2010, and suggests that the newest macOS it can run is 10.13.6 High Sierra.
So my answer does not change. You will need to restart in Internet Recovery.
“If you use Option-Command-R during startup, in most cases you're offered the latest macOS that is compatible with your Mac.”
TIP - for best results, when you attempt Internet Recovery, connect your Mac to your router with an Ethernet cable rather than going wireless. Wi-fi connections seem to be less reliable.
The model number is A1312 serial number W8****D86 MID 2010 CORE i3 3.2ghz 1TB hard drive.
At this moment in time I can start the computer in internet recovery mode with the broken drive. From what has been said I assume that internet recovery mode is located in the actual computer and not on the drive itself?
[Personal Information Edited by Moderator]
The ability to launch Internet Recovery is built into the firmware (?) of the Mac. Once booted, the Mac reaches out to Apple servers to download and run utility software and finally download and install the macOS software appropriate for the machine.
If you were to dc the internet connection, the Mac would not boot into Internet Recovery mode.
(As I understand this.)
Update on my question.
When my hard drive started to fail I started it in internet recovery, erased and formatted the drive, and then attempted to download High Sierra. This had worked in the past when the drive started to go wrong about a year ago and the Apple shop said it could not be fixed. Well I did manage to fix it for a year. This time when I formatted the drive I could not load on High Sierra and that was the reason why I started this question. What I could not get my head around was that if I had formatted the drive then that meant that the internet recovery option could not have been on the drive because if it had it would have been erased, so it must have been embedded in the actual computer itself. The Apple website says that the mid 2010 27 inch does not have the capability to start in internet recovery mode, so why was I able to do it?
I have now replaced the faulty 1TB drive with a 500GB SSD. Powered up holding Command/R buttons and the spinning globe came up. Then the internet recovery screen, then disk utility. Checked the drive and the basic Mac OS was on there so I formatted the new drive, clicked install High Sierra and thats exactly what it did.
Yes this is an old MAC Mid 2010 but I have managed to repair it for £108 (about $150), which is a fair saving on a new computer. We only use it to browse the internet and send the odd email so even for an old unit it is way over spec for what we actually need, but best of all it has the big screen which is great for old guys like me.
Thanks for all the replies and good luck.
Further to above I should had added install the OS by using internet recovery mode
Thanks for the info. I can't access the spec on my iMac but a serial number search days it has a Core i3 3.2 GHz processor, will that affect your answer?
Thanks for the info that is very reassuring. I'll post back with the result once I've bought and fitted the drive.
Thank you for the great catch re the release date for Internet Recovery.
Plugging that into my memory core now.
🖖🏽
No worries.
However it will not work due to its age.
Starting in internet recovery mode after installing a new SSD
