I am having some trouble downloading updates.

Double-check your Time Machine backup. Make sure it has the files it should and that it has been doing backups. EtreCheck didn't report Time Machine information for your machine. Sometimes it doesn't work on old versions of the OS like 10.7.5. Make sure you don't have any important files excluded form your backup in System Preferences > Time Machine > Options.

The ideal approach would be to purchase a new backup drive and use Disk Utility to make a clone of your system. Time Machine is a great backup tool. It best feature is that it makes backups in the background before you realize you need them. But nothing is perfect. If you know you are going to need a backup and that you plan to erase your hard drive, then having another backup is a very good idea.

And on second thought, I think you shouldn't erase your hard drive. Just try to install Yosemite as an upgrade to your current system. Usually I don't recommend upgrading a system is that has problems. It often only makes the problems worse. But I'm getting more cautious in my old age with other people's data. Let's try the least destructive option first and only erase the hard drive as a last resort. All of the same precautions about backing up still apply. If the upgrade doesn't work, you'll have to erase and reinstall.

This suggest issues with the drive. If you have a clone backup you can boot from the clone and run Repair Disk. Running Repair Disk could fix the issues and allow you to partition. It's possible you will get a message advising you backup all data and reformat the drive. Reformatting erases all data. Otherwise you can boot from the Recovery Drive and try Repair Disk.

Boot into the Recovery Drive by holding down Command R when restarting.

Run Repair Drive and Repair Permissions using Disk Utility in Recovery.

My best recommendation is to clone your drive first. This will assure your data is backed up safely.

Create a Clone backup:

A clone is an exact bootable copy of your internal drive. Unlike standard copying of all files to another drive, the clone software copies hidden files along with other in-use files that are not available when you copy over files to another drive.

More info on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk_cloning

Time Machine is not bootable. You can only restore from Time Machine.

Software used to Clone:

SuperDuper! http://www.shirt-pocket.com/ (free to make the clone)

CCC http://www.bombich.com/download.html

dianeoforegon wrote:

Time Machine is not bootable. You can only restore from Time Machine.

Hello diane,

Time Machine now includes a recovery volume. I don't remember when Apple added that feature to Time Machine. It may not exist in an old version like 10.7.5. It will boot up enough to run your machine, reinstall the operating system, and restore user applications and files. It doesn't give you the zero-downtime recovery that a clone or mirror would do, but for most people, it should be fine.

Thanks for the updated info.

My Time Machine backup drive is not showing in Disk Utility > Startup Disk so the must be hidden like the Recover Drive.

I have found that it wasn't an option in Lion, but have found no reference to later versions of OS X. Would be nice to know when this was added.

Supposedly it was 10.7.2. I thought it was later than that but I remember it was a minor update: http://pondini.org/OSX/RecoveryHD.html

The startup key combinations might be an issue. With Core Storage and FileVault2 everywhere in Yosemite, those aren't always available like they used to be.

FlixQuiz wrote:

Hello again,

I repaired permissions and repaired the disk and voila that extra space showed up. I then partitioned the HD and created HD2, Downloaded Yosemite and installed it on HD2. Everything seems to work fine, safari included. Now, where do I go from here?

Hello again FlixQuiz,

Good idea. Maybe you should start posting answers here. 🙂 I say go back to the start and try diane's suggestions again. They might work now. If not, you could still try an upgrade to Yosemite. Just make real sure you have good backups. I do not normally recommend an upgrade as a solution to problems. Upgrades should be done on a healthy system. But a complete erase and reinstall would be a likely solution to this problem. It just so happens that a Yosemite upgrade is major enough to essentially be the same thing, but without having to restore your files. Of course, there are other issues with Yosemite. In this case, it may be the lesser of two evils.

We'll need to be aware of free space during this process. If the data on the old partition is larger, you'll need to selective in what you bring over. It's not unusual to find lots of old files that are no longer needed that can be discarded. However, if all the data needs to be transferred, you would need an external drive to backup in order to make the complete transfer.

Most apps can be brought over by drag and drop. Some apps like Adobe and Microsoft need to be installed using an installer to get all the bit and pieces required. During this process make sure your apps are updated. Chrome and Firefox especially are updated frequently and need to be the latest version.

See this article for details. Move your data to a new User or a new Mavericks partition

http://www.needhelp4mac.com/2014/06/move-your-data-to-a-new-user-or-a-new-maveri cks-partition/

While it was written for Mavericks the same steps apply. Details in the top section (Transferring files from one account to another on the same Mac) contain the details on what you want to bring over). The bottom section (Transferring files when data is another drive or partition) explains how to setup for the move.

Note: I like to be on the cautious side when moving over data. You can always go back and bring over additional data if needed.

We can help with specific questions as they come up.

**(Fair disclosure: NeedHelp4Mac is my site and contains a Services link so I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link. Using my services is an option.)

FlixQuiz wrote:

I prepared for the worse and upgraded the system with Yosemite on HD1. Safari is back! My Time Machine was operating all this time, not sure why it didn't show up on the system check (EtreCheck). I restored a few files from my Time Machine so that looks good. The reviews were a little scary on how it's so much slower and it is much slower. I'm pretty sure as I reboot and turn off/on the system it will probably improve. I'm sure it's got to find it's grove. Thanks so much for the help. I will definitely look up NeedHelp4Mac in the future once I run into more difficulties. (Notice I didn't say "if", lol)

Hello again FlixQuiz,

I'm glad you've finally got it working again. See my note about RAM upgrades from OWC. You can purchase an additional 8 GB RAM, to bring you up to 12 GB, for about $80. This is an easy upgrade. All you need is a screwdriver and 5 minutes. Even Apple provided instructions on how to do it: iMac (27-inch, Mid 2011)

If you are outside of the US, or don't want to order online, you can write down the RAM specifications from OWC and buy the RAM anywhere else.

There are options to tweak your Yosemite setting on older Macs. Start by turning off Transparency.

http://www.howtogeek.com/199201/how-to-disable-window-transparency-in-os-x-yosem ite/

Yosemite very laggy after installation