I've made a boot disk from my late 2015 iMac running Monterey for my mid 2010 iMac to run El Capitan and it won't work

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I've made a boot disk from my late 2015 iMac running Monterey for my mid 2010 iMac to run El Capitan and it won't work

I've made a boot disk from my late 2015 iMac running Monterey for my mid 2010 iMac to run El Capitan and it comes up with the no entry sign.

The reason I went this route is because the opt-R menu won't install El Capitan. It goes through the motions and takes me back to the opt-R menu. When I restart the computer, the process just starts again.

I have erased the hard drive and want to give it to my daughter, but I just can't get passed this OS problem.

Any ideas?

Posted on Mar 15, 2023 3:53 AM

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Answer 1

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Jack-19

Level 8

46,008 points

Mar 15, 2023 9:33 AM in response to ChromePete

Hi there!

I'd reccomend that using the 2015 iMac, you create a macOS High Sierra bootable installer.

To begin, download macOS High Sierra here: How to download macOS - Apple Support, and follow these installation steps:

1. Click the link to open the App Store page for that macOS.

2. In the App Store, click the Get button to begin downloading the macOS installer.

3. After downloading to your Applications folder, the installer opens automatically. Follow the onscreen instructions to install macOS.

After the installation app for macOS High Sierra is installed, follow the steps to create a macOS bootable installer: Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support.

You can then use the bootable installer to reinstall macOS and erase the disk, if necessary.

Jack

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Answer 2

Ronasara

Level 6

15,013 points

Mar 15, 2023 8:45 AM in response to ChromePete

You should have followed Apple's process for preparing the computer for transfer instead erasing it. Now, try restarting the computer in the Internet Recovery Mode. Press the Command + Option + R keys on restart to install the latest operating system that is compatible with that Mac.

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Answer 3

ChromePete Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 15, 2023 10:57 AM in response to Ronasara

initially I did, but nothing seemed to happen. Every time I booted the iMac it had all my stuff still on there. I found a forum post about erasing the drive and re installing from recovery mode, which I tried but El Capitan just didn't seem to do anything.

I did exactly the same steps to make a High Sierra boot drive and it worked first time, so all is good now. I guess there must be a problem with El Capitan?

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Answer 4

Apr 14, 2023 3:50 AM in response to ChromePete

I just got a mac mini m2 delivered and, somehow, screwed up resetting my imac (late 2015) for my daughter in law. Now the imac doesn’t boot as it cannot find the boot strap. The imac has a 1TB SSD.

When I try to get a High Sierra or later installer from the app store MacOS will not all it as it is not compatible with my M2 chip. Can someone help me please?

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Answer 5

BDAqua

Level 10

245,189 points

Apr 14, 2023 8:19 AM in response to patrickfromterneuzen

m2 Macs can't run High Sierra.

Start up from macOS Recovery

To start up from macOS Recovery, turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold one of the following combinations on your keyboard.

Command (⌘)-R

Install the latest macOS that was installed on your Mac.

Option-⌘-R

Upgrade to the latest macOS compatible with your Mac.

Shift-Option-⌘-R

Install the macOS that came with your Mac, or the closest version still available.

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Answer 6

ChromePete Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 15, 2023 10:53 AM in response to Jack-19

I did exactly that and it worked first try...... there must be a problem with El Capitan I guess?

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I've made a boot disk from my late 2015 iMac running Monterey for my mid 2010 iMac to run El Capitan and it won't work

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