Just got an older I mac with El capitan on it, did a factory reset and now when I go to reinstall the os and sign in with my apple ID I get a 403 error I know it's 2023 and way old but can anyone hep !?
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
iMac, OS X 10.11
Erasing the computer without another startup disk in hand was a mistake.
You may not want to hear that, but it was.
These days, with old versions of Mac OS X, it's always best to have a bootable backup to work from when you are thinking about erasing your main startup disk. With a bootable system, you could do things like
The El Capitan 10.11 link is from How to download and install macOS - Apple Support . I copied and pasted it here because the latter link is a https one, and https security has changed over the years in ways that prevent a lot of old versions of Mac OS X from being able to access https sites.
You may need to find someone else who has an old Mac (maybe a repair shop in your area) and get them to fix up a bootable external drive for you, to get your system going again. Whether you could upgrade to a version of the operating system newer than El Capitan would depend on your specific Mac model and hardware release year. I'd normally ask someone to get that information from About This Mac in the Apple () menu, but you probably will not be able to do that until such time as you get the Mac running again. All we have to go on now is that the Mac was running El Capitain (which we know was the end of the line for some models, and not for others).
As expecting rkaufmann87 to solve your problem instantly (without any help from you), or to buy you a new Mac, both expectations are unrealistic.
Erasing the computer without another startup disk in hand was a mistake.
You may not want to hear that, but it was.
These days, with old versions of Mac OS X, it's always best to have a bootable backup to work from when you are thinking about erasing your main startup disk. With a bootable system, you could do things like
The El Capitan 10.11 link is from How to download and install macOS - Apple Support . I copied and pasted it here because the latter link is a https one, and https security has changed over the years in ways that prevent a lot of old versions of Mac OS X from being able to access https sites.
You may need to find someone else who has an old Mac (maybe a repair shop in your area) and get them to fix up a bootable external drive for you, to get your system going again. Whether you could upgrade to a version of the operating system newer than El Capitan would depend on your specific Mac model and hardware release year. I'd normally ask someone to get that information from About This Mac in the Apple () menu, but you probably will not be able to do that until such time as you get the Mac running again. All we have to go on now is that the Mac was running El Capitain (which we know was the end of the line for some models, and not for others).
As expecting rkaufmann87 to solve your problem instantly (without any help from you), or to buy you a new Mac, both expectations are unrealistic.
Use another Mac, and build a bootable installer:
How to download and install macOS - Apple Support
Note the extra preparatory steps older versions have needed after the download.
El Capitan is as far back as the createinstallmedia tool goes.
Create a bootable installer - Apple Support
I’m getting an indication the El Capitan DMG is available, but I’m not inclined to try the full download.
Sorry to be a bit late to the game here, but I believe the 403 error you are seeing may be directly related to the version of OS X that you are running on this Mac.
As you have been informed, OS X El Capitan is the very latest version for your iMac.
One reason for getting an HTTP error 403 (forbidden) is that the client computer does not have the latest TLS security certificates ... which currently is TLS 1.3 (I believe it was incorporated with macOS Mojave). El Capitan still is on TLS 1.2. Support for 1.2 is starting to dwindle and you may find accessing more and more secure websites impossible.
Unfortunately, I don't have a Mac running OS X El Capitan available so I can't verify if using a different web browser would make any difference.
You can test your Mac's TLS support capability using this link: https://www.howsmyssl.com/
BSallans wrote:
Don't even care to update it I just want to get past the 403 error code but I'm stuck haha.
Either build a bootable installer in another Mac and use that, or maybe this Mac is new enough to boot something newer than El Capitan. If this Mac is new enough, use Option-Command-R to boot into Recovery. Otherwise, see my previous reply.
I would generally discourage the use of older versions.
Servant of Cats wrote:
I’d suggest looking for the optical discs that came with your Mac. If you can reinstall Tiger or Leopard from them, you might then be able to use the http link to the El Capitan installer disk image to reinstall El Capitan.
If you can't find your discs, and go looking on a "marketplace" site, hoping by some miracle to find a retail Mac OS X kit, look for a Leopard or Snow Leopard one. Apple shipped Intel versions of Tiger with early Intel-based Macs – but only with those Macs. Retail Tiger upgrade kits are PowerPC-only.
What is the year of this iMac? If you don't know, find the serial number printed on the underside of your Mac, near the regulatory markings. It’s also on the original packaging, next to a barcode label. You can then enter that serial number on the Check Coverage page to find your model.
Next, let us know if you have access to a second Mac. If you do, let us know the model and year of it.
-Jack
Use macOS Recovery on an Intel-based Mac - Apple Support
If your Mac supports Recovery mode, note that there are several variations on Recovery. I don't know if you'll have any more luck with some than with others, but it may be worth a shot.
A Mac that old predated Recovery mode and Internet Recovery - which, I believe, first came along with Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion). It would have come with CDs or DVDs that you could have used to reinstall the original operating system (Tiger or Leopard) and any bundled applications.
Major version upgrades to Leopard and Snow Leopard were sold on optical disc. Those are long out of print, and Apple never offered them electronically. Lion was the first to be offered electronically, although you could also buy it on a flash drive.
I’d suggest looking for the optical discs that came with your Mac. If you can reinstall Tiger or Leopard from them, you might then be able to use the http link to the El Capitan installer disk image to reinstall El Capitan.
BSallans wrote:
Next question would a computer that originally ran el capitan be able to support Sierra.
Not enough information to tell.
As far as I know, any Mac that can run Sierra can run High Sierra. You might need to install El Capitan or Sierra first, to get versions of Safari and the App Store that would allow you to use the High Sierra link in the Support article. But if your Mac is compatible with Sierra, and you can still get the links in the Support article to work, I believe that you could upgrade at least to High Sierra.
As a point of reference, my 27" Late 2009 iMac could upgrade to High Sierra – but no higher. But if you look at MacTracker entries for iMacs released between Mid 2007 and Mid 2009, El Capitan was their end of the line. A Mac from Late 2015 might have come with El Capitan, but have the ability to upgrade as far as Monterey.
it's only one or two steps newer than el capitan so I would think it should work
Again, whether you can go beyond El Capitan will depend entirely on the model and hardware release year.
Most pcs can be updated 3 or 4 times before they are no longer compatible without refurbishment
The Mid 2007 iMacs started off with Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) or 10.5 (Leopard). So for them, 10.11 (El Capitan) represents several major upgrades. But it's still their end of the line. Until you can identify the particular Mac which you have, it's too early to jump to conclusions about what versions of the operating system it supports.
BSallans wrote:
December of 07 apparently
MacTracker shows that Apple was selling the following iMacs during December 2007:
For those models, El Capitan is the end of the line.
MrHoffman wrote:
maybe this Mac is new enough to boot something newer than El Capitan …
The "December 07" sticker mentioned earlier would seem to imply that this is a Mid-2007 iMac – for which El Capitan is the end of the line. But maybe after some version of Mac OS X is up and running on it, the About This Mac dialog might tell us something different.
I would generally discourage the use of older versions.
El Capitan is so old that even the ESR version of Firefox available for it (Firefox 78 ESR) is no longer supported by Mozilla, and has not received any security updates since October 5, 2021. (The last El Capitan point release was 10.11.6 – released on July 18, 2016.)
Mozilla – Firefox Mac OS X 10.9, 10.10 and 10.11 users move to Extended Support Release
At a bare minimum we would need to know the model year of the iMac. If it will not boot then it's likely got a hardware error and if it's older than a 2017 model (it probably is) then you best resource is Apple Recycling Programs
The computer was working fine I just felt like giving a factory reset would be to my benefit. I can't afford a new 1200 dollar computer so unless you're offering to buy me one this answer does me no good
Thank you that was actually most helpful and I have flash drives so hopefully I can do that thingy. Next question would a computer that originally ran el capitan be able to support Sierra. Since it's slightly newer there should be fewer issues for more time and it's only one or two steps newer than el capitan so I would think it should work. Most pcs can be updated 3 or 4 times before they are no longer compatible without refurbishment
Thank you, so essentially since I've factory reset it without using the time machine doodads I would need a flash drive with the program to get er going again. And there is no way around this 403 error? Not blaming anyone I just find that silly. If I reset my pc I do t have to sign in to get it to finish booting, and I'm taken aback that there is no way around this problem
I get error 403 on my old iMac with El Capitan after reinstalling the OS
