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Why won't my Macbook let me install a new OS X?

Ok, first of all, I'm far from a computer expert or anything like that, so you'll have to excuse me if any of the problems I describe sound dumb. I still hope people can understand what happened.


I bought a refurbished Macbook A1181 (2009) a while back, and it has been working fine ever since. It used to run on OS X 10.7.5 and it was in a 100% technical condition. I ran into a problem two weeks ago when I discovered a lot of apps from the App Store that I need, do not run on OS X 10.7.5 simply because it's outdated. For example, I need to use Xcode 7.2 (the latest version) but it's not available unless you have a Macbook with the new OS X El Capitan. I decided to simply install El Capitan from the App Store, but I already got suspicious when it told me, it couldn't download the installation file for El Capitan for some reason. When I asked about it, someone told me their could be a problem with the license of the OS X Lion I was using at that time (after all, it was a refurbished). So I decided to completely re-install the OS X Lion which was already installed on the Macbook, but when I tried to format my Macintosh hard drive, I may have accidentally erased the OS X Lion as well. When I restarted my Macbook, it didn't seem like that big of a deal, since there was a "Re-install OS X Lion" button on the start-up screen (the one you normally have to open by pressing Command+R). When I clicked on that button, I had to sign in to the App Store with my Apple ID, but after I did that, it once again told me it couldn't download the installation file from the App Store. At this point I had discovered that my Macbook was somehow incapable of downloading an officially licensed OS X from the App Store (since both El Capitan and Lion couldn't be downloaded), so I tried something different. I created a bootable USB drive on my Windows PC by downloading the "Install OS X El Capitan.dmg" file from a third-party website, figuring if the Macbook couldn't download the installation file from the App Store, I could just download that installation file on a different PC and then boot it from a USB flash drive on the Macbook. After I went through some long waiting for the bootable USB drive to be created on my Windows PC (I used a software called TransMac to do it), I inserted the USB flash drive in my Macbook and pressed Option while booting it. The "Install OS X El Capitan" button actually popped up, so for a second I thought I had done the job. But when I clicked on that button, it just gave me a 'no access' symbol (circle with diagonal line through it) and then it shut down.


So, my problem in conclusion: somehow my Macbook won't allow me to install any version of OS X. Not through the App Store nor through a USB flash drive. Does anyone have any experience with this? Or does anyone know where the problem could be? And most importantly, does anyone know how to fix this so I can finally install a new OS X (preferably El Capitan)?

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Feb 6, 2016 10:46 AM

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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Feb 6, 2016 11:02 AM

You are using software and an OS installed by the previous owner. You need to wipe the drive completely, then install the original OS that came with the computer originally. It should be on an installer DVD the old owner should have provided. If you don't have the discs then you will need to get the retail Snow Leopard DVD: You can purchase Snow Leopard through the Apple Store:Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard - Apple Store (U.S.). The price is $19.99 plus tax. You will be sent physical media by mail after placing your order.


After you install Snow Leopard you will have to download and install the Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1 to update Snow Leopard to 10.6.8 and give you access to the App Store.


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. 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.

When you have 10.6.8 installed you can then access the App Store and download El Capitan:

Basic Steps for Upgrading OS X

Upgrading to El Capitan


To upgrade to El Capitan you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or Lion installed. Download El Capitan from the App Store. Sign in using your Apple ID. El Capitan is free. The file is quite large, over 5 GBs, so allow some time to download. It would be preferable to use Ethernet because it is nearly four times faster than wireless.


Macs that can be upgraded to OS X El Capitan



1. iMac (Mid 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 7,1 or later

2. MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 5,1 or later

3. MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later

4. MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 2,1 or later

5. Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later

6. Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later

7. Xserve (Early 2009) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later


To find the model identifier open System Profiler in the Utilities folder. It's displayed in the panel on the right.


Are my applications compatible?


See App Compatibility Table - RoaringApps

2 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Feb 6, 2016 11:02 AM in response to BBouhoud

You are using software and an OS installed by the previous owner. You need to wipe the drive completely, then install the original OS that came with the computer originally. It should be on an installer DVD the old owner should have provided. If you don't have the discs then you will need to get the retail Snow Leopard DVD: You can purchase Snow Leopard through the Apple Store:Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard - Apple Store (U.S.). The price is $19.99 plus tax. You will be sent physical media by mail after placing your order.


After you install Snow Leopard you will have to download and install the Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1 to update Snow Leopard to 10.6.8 and give you access to the App Store.


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. 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.

When you have 10.6.8 installed you can then access the App Store and download El Capitan:

Basic Steps for Upgrading OS X

Upgrading to El Capitan


To upgrade to El Capitan you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or Lion installed. Download El Capitan from the App Store. Sign in using your Apple ID. El Capitan is free. The file is quite large, over 5 GBs, so allow some time to download. It would be preferable to use Ethernet because it is nearly four times faster than wireless.


Macs that can be upgraded to OS X El Capitan



1. iMac (Mid 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 7,1 or later

2. MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 5,1 or later

3. MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later

4. MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 2,1 or later

5. Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later

6. Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later

7. Xserve (Early 2009) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later


To find the model identifier open System Profiler in the Utilities folder. It's displayed in the panel on the right.


Are my applications compatible?


See App Compatibility Table - RoaringApps

Feb 6, 2016 2:53 PM in response to BBouhoud

Have you ever had a computer that was authorized to your apple ID in Itunes or the app store? When you bought the computer, it may have been authorizer to another account. If the app store does not see your computer as authorized It will not let you download and install the El Capitan update. You can check thru Itunes,if you still have access, on that computer. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201251 You have to use Itunes. If when going to Itunes,you go to the top menu/store and click on authorize. it will ether let you or or say that the computer is already authorized. This may or may not help. The reason I think this is ,I bought my daughter a used macbook. It had Yosemite installed. Then the hard drive died. I downloaded Yosemite and made a flash drive installer to reinstall to new drive. It let me.

Why won't my Macbook let me install a new OS X?

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