McElmore
Level 1
(4 points)
Q: What can I do when my iMac starts up with a circle with a line through it?
When I turn my iMac on, the Apple icon appears with the spinning wheel under it, then a circle with a line through it and a spinning wheel underneathe it replaces the Apple icon. What does that mean?
iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8)
JimmyCMPIT
Level 6
(8,385 points)
it means the OS can not be found
Shut down.
disconnect all external devices except mouse and keyboard. Use OEM devices if possible.
reboot and reset the PRAM
How to Reset NVRAM on your Mac - Apple Support
If the issue continues you will need to recover your OS by either Recovery or Internet Recovery if they are supported on your system or with the disks originally shipped with your computer at the time of purchase if it predates recovery.
for systems where recovery is supported:
About OS X Recovery - Apple Support
for systems that predate Apples recovery option:
How to reinstall OS X - Apple Support
If your system does not support recovery and you don't have those disks you can purchase OS 10.6.8 (shown in your profile) from Apple, OS 10.7 and 10.8 are also available in the US App Store, but not the UK or possibly elsewhere
http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MC573Z/A/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard
If your system will support a later OS:
To obtain OS 10.9, or 10.10 they need to preexist in your purchase history of your App Store ID, otherwise there is no legal way to obtain them any longer.
If you wish to download OS 10.11.6 it can be obtained for free from the App Store until September 20th, 2016.
You may need to make a bootable USB installer, use the directions here
Create a bootable installer for OS X - Apple Support
If you have a Time Machine backup you can restore your backup into the update.
Use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac - Apple Support
