used imac OS X changeover trouble

If you received a Snow Leopard 10.6.3 DVD, that would good as a retail

disc to install a working system on your computer; as it appears to have

shipped with Snow Leopard 10.6.1 or 10.6.2 on a gray-label restore install

DVD originally; which also would have included several software titles; plus

the original software kit would have had the Apple Hardware Test on DVD.

Not sure what they sent you or where you went...

An 'original replacement operating system on DVD' direct from Apple online

or via Apple Sales (1800MYAPPLE) or AppleCare should have been at least

Snow Leopard 10.6 on equivalent version DVD for your computer, or a little

newer, as a retail version if not a replacement of original discs themselves.

There is the retail 10.6 DVD (or original 10.6 version gray) plus Combo D/L:

•Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard - Apple Store (US)

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard

Followed by download/install of update file into the running Snow Leopard:

Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1

Then locate and run 'Software Update' in the machine to see anything else.

A retail Apple Store may have the $20 (USD) Snow Leopard 10.6 on DVD

in stock; then the process to go to a later OS X would include going online

to download (software update) the Combo 10.6.8 update 1.1, & install that.

There would be no need for a redemption code, since your machine, by

what you said it supposedly is (model number, build info) should run 10.9.4.

Mavericks is a free upgrade from the Mac App Store online, via Snow Leopard

once it is updated to the Combo 10.6.8 -- after installation from the 10.6 DVD.

•How to identify iMac models

•iMac: How to remove or install memory

If your machine identifies with this (plus 'how to identify your iMac) it's not hard:

Introduced October 2009

Discontinued July 2010

Model Identifier iMac10,1

Model Number A1311

EMC 2308

Order Number MB950LL/A (3.06 GHz : 500 GB), MC413LL/A (3.06 GHz : 1 TB)

Maximum Memory 16 GB

Memory Slots 4 - 204-pin PC3-8500 (1066 MHz) DDR3 SO-DIMM

Original OS Mac OS X 10.6.1 (10A2155)

Later OS Mac OS X 10.6.2 (10C2234)

Maximum OS Latest release of OS X

AirDrop Supported

Hardware Test AHT 3A176

{specification info from http://mactracker.ca download database application}

And if there is a doubt as to the build info of the computer, you can also check

against other web-based 'get info by serial number' sites for your own information

such as this one https://www.powerbookmedic.com/identify-mac-serial.php

By the way, there are two models 21.5 - inch Late 2009 iMac, by processor spec:

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/specs/imac-core-2-duo-3.06-21-inch-al uminum-late-2009-specs.html

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/specs/imac-core-2-duo-3.33-21-inch-al uminum-late-2009-specs.html

PS: I've never bought a computer from a pawn shop, and have heard stories of

dodgy or incompetent results from those who have done so. They aren't expert

qualified or capable of troubleshooting or repair on these kinds of things.

http://www.apple.com/retail/geniusbar/

• Find an Apple Authorized Service Provider
• Visit an Apple Retail Store

Hopefully this helps somewhat, to get the correct info & further progress...

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

edited 2x

Whenever one buys a used computer you NEVER know for sure what you are getting. I'd suggest making a Apple Store appointment with a Genuis and see if they can help you install 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard), once you have then you should upgrade directly to Mavericks 10.9.5. When you get a used machine the first thing that shoudl be done is an erase and install of OS X to wipe the HD clean and install a fresh license of OS X. After that is up and running then you can look into upgrading to a more current version of OS X.

To get started making an appointment please click https://www.apple.com/retail/geniusbar/

What information was on the DVD from Apple?

If it were Snow Leopard, then you're already there;

since that is the system needed to access the

Mac App Store online to purchase/download OS X
past OS X 10.6.8.

By Serial Number (see About this Mac under Apple

icon in Finder, left side top menu) and use that to

co-relate the correct OS X replacement version it

shipped with; talk to Apple Sales/support about

your experience and what they sold you. A DVD

if you got one, has numbers on it to identify that.

If it is a retail DVD, it may be newer than the spec

of those computer models, so it would work.

You should see an Expert or Specialist at an Apple

Authorized service provider, or a Genius at a Store.

And Mountain Lion OS X 10.8.5 is a download version

from the Mac App Store online. Unless you have an

odd version on DVD they sent you. Or on USB flash.

There would be no need for a redemption code if you

were able to run Mavericks 10.9, you'd just download

& install it rather than Mountain Lion 10.8.

•OS X: About OS X Recovery

http://www.apple.com/support/osx/

The computer likely still has a Recovery partition on

the hard disk drive, and if so, that may be telling to

a trained Apple specialist or an experienced Genius

should you get an appointment to try your luck there.

You should have a bootable system DVD so as to

perform disk maintenance and repair, so when or if

you have to replace the hard disk drive you have tools

to reformat and correctly apply a base OS X.

If the computer was running Mt Lion 10.8.5, and now

it shows that, you may have bought what the other

owner had onboard, in a redemption code. This is an

unexplained situation, as far as I can tell the model

you have should run Mavericks 10.9.4... If it had

access to the App Store, Mac App Store, etc from

a running Snow Leopard 10.6.8 in the computer.

And either one would be free. Yet, Lion 10.7 would not.

An Authorized Apple service provider may have more

options and facilities to help you, likely on a fee basis.

Not sure what to suggest at this time, and am going offline.

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

edited, too

Contact AppleCare and request replacement discs for the machine. Use those to erase, reformat, and install the original OS. Update it via Software Update and then try DLing and installing a later OS.