Bob The Fish

Q: I cant factory restore my MacBook

I am trying to factory restore my macbook Pro however I cant get OS X to reinstall

 

I cleared the disk then attempted to reinstall Yosemite however after I input my Apple ID and Password, it said "This item is temporarily unavailable".  I looked online for answers and everywhere I looked suggested that I enter internet recovery mode (rather than normal recovery mode) and attempt to reinstall Lion. I followed the same steps with lion however it still asked for my Apple ID (which people said it shouldn't have) and when i entered it it still said that it was temporarily unavailable.

 

I just started college and need my laptop for my classes so any help would be greatly appreciated.

MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.6)

Posted on Sep 1, 2016 4:32 PM

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Q: I cant factory restore my MacBook

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  • by Carolyn Samit,

    Carolyn Samit Carolyn Samit Sep 1, 2016 4:36 PM in response to Bob The Fish
    Level 10 (120,594 points)
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    Sep 1, 2016 4:36 PM in response to Bob The Fish

    If your Mac was running El Capitan v10.11, it can't be factory restored to Yosemite v10.10.

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Sep 1, 2016 4:37 PM in response to Bob The Fish
    Level 10 (270,319 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 1, 2016 4:37 PM in response to Bob The Fish

    Install Lion Through Yosemite from Scratch

     

      Be sure you backup your files.

     

    1. Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the Apple logo appears. Wait for the Utility Menu to appear.
    2. Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
    3. After Disk Utility loads select the volume (this is the indented entry, usually Macintosh HD) from the side list. Click on the Erase tab in Disk Utility's main window.
    4. Set the Format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Apply button
    5. When the process has completed quit Disk Utility and return to the Utility Menu.
    6. Select Reinstall OS X and click on the Continue button.

     

    This will install the version of OS X you had installed.

  • by Bob The Fish,

    Bob The Fish Bob The Fish Sep 1, 2016 4:42 PM in response to Carolyn Samit
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Sep 1, 2016 4:42 PM in response to Carolyn Samit

    I put that because I BELIEVE that's what version I was running, however when I entered recovery mode it attempted to reinstall Yosemite.

     

    I also already erased the disk and attempted to reinstall the OS but like I said, it just kept popping up with "This item is temporarily unavailable"

     

    It is an Early 2011 MacBook, so it came installed with Lion, not Yosemite

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Sep 1, 2016 4:39 PM in response to Bob The Fish
    Level 10 (270,319 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 1, 2016 4:39 PM in response to Bob The Fish
  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Sep 1, 2016 4:42 PM in response to Bob The Fish
    Level 10 (270,319 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 1, 2016 4:42 PM in response to Bob The Fish

    See my first post. That is because Yosemite was originally installed when new. That is what will be installed using Recovery HD. You will have to opt for installing El Capitan unless you do the following:

     

    Install Lion Through Yosemite On A Newly Erased HDD/SDD

     

         Be sure you backup your files.

     

    1. Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND-OPTION- R keys until a globe appears. Wait patiently - 5-15 minutes - until the Utility Menu appears.
    2. Select Disk Utility from the Utility Menu and click on the Continue button.
    3. After Disk Utility loads select the drive (usually, this is the out-dented entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the side list. Click on the Partition tab in Disk Utility’s main window.
    4. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions to one volume. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the Format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait for the process to finish. Quit Disk Utility and return to the Utility Menu.
    5. Select Reinstall OS X from the Utility Menu and click on the Install button.
  • by Bob The Fish,

    Bob The Fish Bob The Fish Sep 1, 2016 4:49 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Sep 1, 2016 4:49 PM in response to Kappy

    I followed the last post's instructions (however not exactly, as the wording on some of the buttons was different Ex: Nothing with "Volume" in it however I did set "Number of Partitions" to "1 Partition") however it still asked for my Apple ID and told me that the item was "temporarily unavailable" and proceeded to not download it.

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Sep 1, 2016 4:53 PM in response to Bob The Fish
    Level 10 (270,319 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 1, 2016 4:53 PM in response to Bob The Fish

    Is this what you did:

    Install Lion Through Yosemite On A Newly Erased HDD/SDD

         Be sure you backup your files.

    1. Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND-OPTION- R keys until a globe appears. Wait patiently - 5-15 minutes - until the Utility Menu appears.
    2. Select Disk Utility from the Utility Menu and click on the Continue button.
    3. After Disk Utility loads select the drive (usually, this is the out-dented entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the side list. Click on the Partition tab in Disk Utility’s main window.
    4. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions to one volume. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the Format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partitionbutton and wait for the process to finish. Quit Disk Utility and return to the Utility Menu.
    5. Select Reinstall OS X from the Utility Menu and click on the Install button.

    The above is a Net Restore as if done on a brand new drive. It should install the version of OS X that came originally with the computer when it was new. This will not work if the computer originally came with Snow Leopard or earlier.

  • by Bob The Fish,

    Bob The Fish Bob The Fish Sep 1, 2016 4:55 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Sep 1, 2016 4:55 PM in response to Kappy

    I followed that list almost precisely, with the few exceptions I mentioned above, but to no avail. the OS X Installer says that it is going to install Lion however it doesn't get past asking for my Apple ID

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Sep 1, 2016 4:58 PM in response to Bob The Fish
    Level 10 (270,319 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 1, 2016 4:58 PM in response to Bob The Fish

    What is the computer's exact model ID: To find the model identifier open System Profiler in the Utilities folder. It's displayed in the panel on the right. What OS X version was installed new out of the box? Are you the original owner? Did the computer come with software restore DVDs?

  • by Bob The Fish,

    Bob The Fish Bob The Fish Sep 1, 2016 5:02 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Sep 1, 2016 5:02 PM in response to Kappy

    I'm not sure where the utilities folder is (im still on the network recovery home screen), but I'm pretty sure it either came with Lion or Mountain Lion. I am not the original owner, we bought it used when I started High School, Mid 2012. I do not believe it came with software restore DVDs and I do not have the box with me at this time to find out.

  • by Kappy,Helpful

    Kappy Kappy Sep 1, 2016 7:10 PM in response to Bob The Fish
    Level 10 (270,319 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 1, 2016 7:10 PM in response to Bob The Fish

    Your problem may emanate from not wiping the drive and installing your own copy of OS X. If you did not do that, then you may be trying to upgrade the prior owner's copy of OS X. The only way for you to go is the net restore that will install whatever the original version of OS X came with the computer when it was new. That may be Lion or Mountain Lion. Of course you must have a valid Apple ID and password in order to download the software. Lion and Mountain Lion were paid upgrades, so you may need to purchase OS X.

  • by Bob The Fish,

    Bob The Fish Bob The Fish Sep 1, 2016 7:10 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Sep 1, 2016 7:10 PM in response to Kappy

    Well that stinks big time... All this time I assumed that when my parents had bought the laptop for me, they had wiped and reinstalled everything properly. If what you say is true then I will go by the Apple Store and see what they say about it, and see if I can buy Lion/Mountain Lion and go from there.

     

    If I had known that this could even be an issue in the first place, I definitely would not have wiped the drive...

     

    Thanks for your help Kappy

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Sep 1, 2016 10:10 PM in response to Bob The Fish
    Level 10 (270,319 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 1, 2016 10:10 PM in response to Bob The Fish

    I wouldn't accuse anyone just yet. Did your parents buy it from a reliable, local store? Was it new when they bought it? Was it their computer first or was it purchased used?

     

    There is no Utilities folder in the network recovery window. Network recovery should open with what looks like the screen you see when you startup from the Recovery HD - a dark gray screen with the Utility Menu in the middle.

  • by OGELTHORPE,

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Sep 2, 2016 4:08 AM in response to Bob The Fish
    Level 9 (52,113 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 2, 2016 4:08 AM in response to Bob The Fish

    What is the EXACT model/year of your MBP?

     

    Ciao.