exe bunge
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Q: iMac restore: HDD is locked when trying to reinstall OSX

I've been trying to prep my iMac for sale. I did the whole back up and then erased the disk using the disk utility from start up. After that I started trying to reinstall OSX. The name of my drive is now Mac OS X Base System and it's absolutely locked. I can't do anything within disc utility, all the buttons are dimmed. I first tried installing OS X from internet, but a "locked hard drive" message shows up. I tried with the Start Up disc the computer came with. Nothing, it just spits it out. So then I did a timemaschine backup with my MacBook and stored it in a usb drive. When I tried restoring from Time Maschine, the backup does show up but then no disk. It just says "Searching for disk" and stays like that.

 

The computer was working perfectly, I just wanted to restore all the factory settings. Please help!

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Jul 18, 2014 2:53 PM

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Q: iMac restore: HDD is locked when trying to reinstall OSX

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Jul 18, 2014 2:59 PM in response to exe bunge
    Level 10 (271,811 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 18, 2014 2:59 PM in response to exe bunge

    Are you doing this?

     

    Clean Install of Snow Leopard

     

         1. Boot the computer using the Snow Leopard Installer Disc or the Disc 1 that came

             with your computer.  Insert the disc into the optical drive and restart the computer.

             After the chime press and hold down the  "C" key.  Release the key when you see

             a small spinning gear appear below the dark gray Apple logo.

     

         2. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue

             button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.

             After DU loads select the hard drive entry from the left side list (mfgr.'s ID and drive

             size.)  Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.  Set the number of

             partitions to one (1) from the Partitions drop down menu, click on Options button

             and select GUID, click on OK, then set the format type to MacOS Extended

             (Journaled, if supported), then click on the Apply button.

     

         3. When the formatting has completed quit DU and return to the installer.  Proceed

             with the OS X installation and follow the directions included with the installer.

     

         4. When the installation has completed your computer will Restart into the Setup

             Assistant. Be sure you configure your initial admin account with the exact same

             username and password that you used on your old drive. After you finish Setup

             Assistant will complete the installation after which you will be running a fresh

             install of OS X.  You can now begin the update process by opening Software

             Update and installing all recommended updates to bring your installation current.

     

    Download and install Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.

  • by exe bunge,

    exe bunge exe bunge Jul 18, 2014 4:08 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 18, 2014 4:08 PM in response to Kappy

    Thanks for the quick answer!

     

    Unfortunately, ALL the options in DU are dimmed. I'll attach a picture:

    20140718_200422.jpg

    Its the same for every other button in DU except Verify and Repair disk (which say that everything is OK).

  • by exe bunge,

    exe bunge exe bunge Jul 29, 2014 12:33 PM in response to exe bunge
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 29, 2014 12:33 PM in response to exe bunge

    Any other suggestions? I'm struggling here!

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Jul 29, 2014 1:45 PM in response to exe bunge
    Level 10 (271,811 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 29, 2014 1:45 PM in response to exe bunge

    Yes. Repartition the drive:

     

    Clean Install of Snow Leopard

     

         1. Boot the computer using the Snow Leopard Installer Disc or the Disc 1 that came

             with your computer.  Insert the disc into the optical drive and restart the computer.

             After the chime press and hold down the  "C" key.  Release the key when you see

             a small spinning gear appear below the dark gray Apple logo.

     

         2. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue

             button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.

             After DU loads select the hard drive entry from the left side list (mfgr.'s ID and drive

             size.)  Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.  Set the number of

             partitions to one (1) from the Partitions drop down menu, click on Options button

             and select GUID, click on OK, then set the format type to MacOS Extended

             (Journaled, if supported), then click on the Apply button.

     

         3. When the formatting has completed quit DU and return to the installer.  Proceed

             with the OS X installation and follow the directions included with the installer.

     

         4. When the installation has completed your computer will Restart into the Setup

             Assistant. Be sure you configure your initial admin account with the exact same

             username and password that you used on your old drive. After you finish Setup

             Assistant will complete the installation after which you will be running a fresh

             install of OS X.  You can now begin the update process by opening Software

             Update and installing all recommended updates to bring your installation current.

     

    Download and install Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.

  • by exe bunge,

    exe bunge exe bunge Jul 30, 2014 11:29 AM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 30, 2014 11:29 AM in response to Kappy

    As I said before, all the options in DU are dimmed. I've tried restarting in single user mode and erasing the HDD but nothing. I've tried from the OSX disc but it just spits it out. As I said, all the options for the HDD are LOCKED both in the HDD itself as in the OSX Base System (which is the only partition left, also locked and dimmed in every option except for verify disk and repair disk, which both say everything is working fine)

     

    Thanks for the help

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Jul 30, 2014 12:12 PM in response to exe bunge
    Level 10 (271,811 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 30, 2014 12:12 PM in response to exe bunge

    You cannot fix this unless you can boot from another disk such as an installer DVD or another hard drive or connected to another computer via Firewire to try Target Disk Mode.