Vintage iMac 2011 hasn’t been updated in years, trying to revive it but having trouble booting it up, when I hold cmd R and try to reinstall OS X it’s trying to install Yosemite but then bring message that it can’t update as there is an update missing. Any ideas as to how I get round this?
iMac 21.5″, OS X 10.11
Assuming 'trouble booting it up' is a euphemism for 'No version of MacOS installed...'
Do you have any friends, coworkers, or acquaintances with a 2009-2016 Mac? If so beg for one to create a USB Installer with El Capitian, Sierra, or High Sierra.
As a plan B you could insert a Linux Live CD/DVD into the optical drive and install Linux from that. Not as good as MacOS of course, but it at least gets you a working OS without physically carrying an iMac into an AppleStore.
Assuming 'trouble booting it up' is a euphemism for 'No version of MacOS installed...'
Do you have any friends, coworkers, or acquaintances with a 2009-2016 Mac? If so beg for one to create a USB Installer with El Capitian, Sierra, or High Sierra.
As a plan B you could insert a Linux Live CD/DVD into the optical drive and install Linux from that. Not as good as MacOS of course, but it at least gets you a working OS without physically carrying an iMac into an AppleStore.
If you don’t, then you’ll need to make an appointment at an Apple Store so they can install macOS High Sierra.
Get started here: Apple Store - Find a Store - Apple & Get Support.
Cheers,
Jack
Welcome to the Apple Support Communities.
Do you have access to another Mac? If so, what year and current macOS version?
Jack
I don’t I’m afraid.
Hasn’t worked I’m afraid, still requiring missing download.
Does your mac have a working operating system on it, if so you should not need to access Apples Recovery Servers
via the Command R restart.
If the mac does not have an operating system then read the following instructions.
The certificates for several of Apples OS's expired in October 2019, Apple haven’t bothered getting these updated on
their Recovery Servers with valid certificates.
This may be the problem you are experiencing.
Try this workaround, we are going to set the time and date on your mac to a date previous to the expiry date of the certificates.
Connect your mac to your router via cable, not WiFi
Boot to your Recovery HD, click on Utilities in the menubar select Terminal.
Make sure WiFi is switched off, it can reset the date back to today.
Enter a new date, for example or just copy and paste
sudo date -u 011421002017
press Return
enter your password
press Return
If Terminal returns an error saying sudo : command not found, then try again without sudo.
just enter
date -u 011421002017
press Return
You won't be prompted for a Password if you did not need to use sudo
Once the date has changed you can quit Terminal.
Now try downloading the OS.
Click on Install OS X, press Continue.
If this works then when the OS is installed and booted up you can Open System Preferences> Date & Time
and reset the time back to today.
Vintage iMac updates
