El Capitan bootable USB installer fails after running for a while

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El Capitan bootable USB installer fails after running for a while

I've created a bootable installer of OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 (which is the latest version of the OS installable on this iMac) on a USB stick for use with a Mid-2007 iMac with 6 GB of RAM using the link in this article to get the disk image file:

How to download and install macOS – Apple Support (UK)

I created the installer on a USB stick with the following terminal command found at Create a bootable installer for macOS – Apple Support (UK)

sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app

where MyVolume was replaced with the name of the USB stick.

I've successfully booted from the USB stick multiple times but when I try to install to a freshly formatted external HDD, the install fails after a while (about 2 hours the first time and about an hour and 15 minutes the second time) with a dialog box with 4 options including Restart and with the install log displayed in the background. I saved the install log the first time, but hit Restart the second time without saving the log. I looked through the logs both times and saw some errors regarding fonts and, just before the lines saying Crash Report, a line saying “missing core services”. I don’t know what I’m looking at but just want to test the installer before wiping the internal HD and reinstalling the OS so that I can give the computer away to someone who said she’d like to have it. I wanted to make sure that she had a bootable installer to work with in case something went wrong since my understanding is that you can’t use Internet recovery on a 2007 iMac.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

iMac, OS X 10.11

Posted on Jan 14, 2025 12:45 PM

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Answer 1

Jan 15, 2025 12:16 AM in response to LV.bob

Try again to re-download, prepare, and make a bootable installer and see if it then works as expected.

Unlike real SSDs, USB flash thumb drives are unreliable so try another drive or, better yet, a real SSD as a bootable installer disk.

Resetting SMC and PRAM might sometimes help. Connect the external HDD directly to the Mac and use the bootable installer's Disk Utility to erase the whole device as MacOS Extended, GUID, case insensitive. Try another external drive if also that fails.

I guess this is not your problem, but if the installer certificate has expired "sudo date 0110120019" or something like that in MMDDhhmmYY format.

BTW, at least a few years ago these El Capitan 10.11.6 updates were available:

Mac App Store Update for OS X El Capitan

iTunes Device Support Update

Safari 11.1.2

And also these which you might download to the next owner:

Security Update 2018-004 (El Capitan)

iTunes 12.8.2 for Mac

Apple Remote Desktop 3.9.3 Client

Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 6.21

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Answer 2

LV.bob Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 15, 2025 7:06 AM in response to Matti Haveri

Thank you for your response, Matti.

I actually gave the abbreviated version of what I've tried. I initially downloaded an apparently different version of the installer from the Apple site which behaved a bit differently: it displayed the utility menu up front giving you the option to make your choice of operation very clear. Unfortunately, after successfully creating the bootable installer to the same USB flash drive I'm using, the install would repeatedly quickly fail with the error "POSIX reports: The operation could not be completed. Invalid argument". Some research suggested that the problem was with the destination drive's format (even though it was formatted with a GUID partition table) so I pulled an old USB HDD out of the closet and reformatted it with a GUID partition table using Disk Utility. At this point, I should have tried the install again, but I I got ahead of myself and redownloaded the El Capitan instalerl using the link at this page: How to download and install macOS – Apple Support (UK) and successfully remade the bootable USB installer.

I booted from the new version of the installer and tried to install to a partition on the freshly formatted drive. I was ecstatic as I watched the progress bar long pass the point at which I was getting the POSIX error and the last time I checked the progress bar was past the 50% point, but then I ran into the situation I described above. As you suggest, this make the problem more likely the USB flash drive. I don't know where the others have gone, but I currently have only a 16GB Lexar flash drive. I can order a new flash drive: do you have any brand that you have had good success with? I'm inclined to go this route over the SSD since I will be giving the flash drive away with the iMac.

I think I will reserve resetting the SMC and PRAM until I've tried a new USB flash drive.

My goal is to provide the owner with a new setup experience so that they can set it up as they wish with their own Apple Account.

As I am writing this, I am making a copy of the iMac's internal drive to another partition on the same freshly formatted HDD using Carbon Copy Cloner that I tried to install on. I am thinking that I can test the MacOS Recovery (Command-R) on this partition by changing the Startup Disk. and not mess with the internal drive. I want to make sure the new owner is aware of all her options.

To be honest, I'm not even sure why I am so protective of the internal drive as I only use the iMac for web browsing these days because I enjoy the larger display compared to my MBP.

Thanks again for your help.

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Answer 3

LV.bob Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 16, 2025 1:33 PM in response to Matti Haveri

I finally got this resolved.

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El Capitan bootable USB installer fails after running for a while

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