Cannot boot 2011 Macbook pro

[MacInWin]

From what i can see DiskMaker do not provide information on what to do once the drive is created.

I gave the next step. I'll repeat it here.

Put the USB drive that Diskmakerx made in the 2011 Mac. Holding down the Option key, power on the Mac. Keep holding Option until you see on the screen the drives available to boot. Select the USB drive and let it boot. Once booted, you will have the option to install the OS. You can also format the drive if you want to before you do the installation. I think your 2011 will run High Sierra, but if you want just Sierra, you can get that from Apple as well. Here is Apple's instructions on that: How to create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support

 

[MacInWin]

CLIP...
to answer your question,
the older OSXs were always available, now they are not, even when customer paid for the OSX like lion or mt lion.
last weekend i tried upgrading to High Sierra that is storeg on my external HD and then El Captain, the full version which also did not work.

There is a difference between "not available" and "not signed." The version you have stored is not signed because you downloaded under one security certificate and that certificate has now expired. It is available at Apple for new download and will come with new certification so it should install. So it is incorrect to say that they are not available.

Lucky for me i am not a novice and somehow knows how to work around these apple road blocks that were clear paths years ago, but could not last weekend.

seems to me that all this thinking and restricting what their users need is not computing, that is control.
that is why i am here, trying to help those apple will not anymore.

Certificates expire all the time. It is a security aspect. I'm OK with that and am willing to go back to download a new copy with good security certificates. Others see it as a road block instead of a security measure. To me that's a bit like saying having a login password is a road block to using my Mac. The certification is an assurance that the installer is valid.

But hey, that's why there are options in this world. Folks differ. And that's ok. I just don't like it when folks try to blame Apple for having nefarious intentions when they do things. That kind of move makes no business sense. Apple doesn't sell the OS anymore, they give it away, so there is no financial motivation to block older versions of the OS. The last version that cost anything was Mountain Lion, as I recall. And all versions back to that one are available online. You can even go back to Lion if that was the original version your system came with and you use Internet Recovery. The fact that sometimes the server with the installer is busy and not immediately available is unfortunate, but given that the OS is now 9 years old, it's probably stored on a server or set of servers that have lower priority than the ones holding more recent versions because Apple thinks it's more likely that someone will be looking for Mojave than Lion. Not an unreasonable assumption.

It does make financial sense to keep tech support costs down, so making it a bit harder for a novice to muck up their Mac is good business sense. I think that is why Catalina now has even more security over system files by putting them on a separate volume from the user data.

 

[MBAmtloin]

MacInWin
thanks for clarifying this certificate aspect of OSX.
this means the edition of el capitan is useless.
I am so happy for time machine, mountain lion still functional and those extra SSD drives.

 

[MacInWin]

@MBAmtloin, the certificates are not an inherent part of OS X or macOS. Rather, the certificates are from independent third party certifiers that issue certificates to verify who issued the software, or the website. Here is a quick definition: What is a Security Certificate? - Definition from Techopedia

When the installer starts up, it goes to the certificate issuer to see if the certificate is valid. If not, the installer won't run. Apple could have elected to have the user be able to override the invalid certificate, but they chose the more secure method of blocking execution. So if you download a fresh version of ElCap from the App Store today, the certificate will be current and valid, at least for a while. Certificates can last a long time, and I have read elsewhere that current certificates from Apple are good until 2029.

I'm not one of those who hold back from updates. ML was good, but the security of later versions was significantly increased. I guess it's a bit like when I occasionally see old cars and think, "Wow, what a machine that was! Love to have one." But then reality sets in when I get in my new(er) car with GPS, stereo, smoother transmission, fewer maintenance issues, better gas mileage, more comfortable ride, etc, etc, etc, and the attraction of that older car diminishes. Romance over old stuff is OK, but for day-to-day, give me modern every time.

 

[giantjack]

I gave the next step. I'll repeat it here.

Put the USB drive that Diskmakerx made in the 2011 Mac. Holding down the Option key, power on the Mac. Keep holding Option until you see on the screen the drives available to boot. Select the USB drive and let it boot. Once booted, you will have the option to install the OS. You can also format the drive if you want to before you do the installation. I think your 2011 will run High Sierra, but if you want just Sierra, you can get that from Apple as well. Here is Apple's instructions on that: How to create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support

Many thanks for your patience during this. I apologise for coming across a certain way at times, it has been a tiresome process and at stages not clear how to proceed. I appreciate yours and MBAmtloin's assistance.

I managed to get High Sierra installed and I'm currently installing the update from the app store. It's got 40 minutes remaining so I will leave it over night. It seems to run well, the only annoying thing is the update process screens sometimes the bar won't make progress or it'll save 2 minutes left when it takes 30 minutes to get to the next screen but the progress bar will stop at 20% or so. Perhaps a bug or not but as long as it's working I am fine. My 2011 Mac does need a new battery and the trackpad replaced which I will get done. I have replaced a battery in the past but not a trackpad.

It's funny because my 2011 Mac is now running a newer OS than my current laptop (mid 2015). The reason why i went through this whole process is because my mid 2015 which I use for work (front end web developer ironically given my lack of overall computer knowledge) no longer supports Photoshop due to the OS (Yosemite). I'm going to be updating to Catalina tomorrow but before doing so I wanted to restore my old Mac as a extra fail safe for storing my data. So come the update tomorrow I will have all of my data stored on a backup drive and my 2011 Mac.

 

[MacInWin]

Glad you got it running again. On the Catalina upgrade, if you have a backup, make one just before you start the process. it will take some time as it will be completely reformatting your internal drive to use AFPS and have two volumes in it, one for system files and one for user data. Lots of ways it COULD go sideways, so a backup will be essential. However, I can report that my own upgrade to Catalina went pretty well. You can ignore the progress bars and time to go as far as being accurate, but they will show that progress is being made.

 

[giantjack]

Glad you got it running again. On the Catalina upgrade, if you have a backup, make one just before you start the process. it will take some time as it will be completely reformatting your internal drive to use AFPS and have two volumes in it, one for system files and one for user data. Lots of ways it COULD go sideways, so a backup will be essential. However, I can report that my own upgrade to Catalina went pretty well. You can ignore the progress bars and time to go as far as being accurate, but they will show that progress is being made.

Thanks for the advice, I will be sure to take another backup just before

Glad to hear the progress bars are nothing to be concered about.

 

[giantjack]

Just a quick update.

I updated to Catalina on my main Macbook, everything went smoothly and I am genuinely impressed with this new OS. It's running very well on my 2015 Macbook pro.

I really like how they handled incompatible software (thankfully only 1 for me). Also moving certain files to a recovery directory is genius. In my case some fonts which I can now recover to the new location. I am also very happy to see iTunes replaced with the separate apps. I was not a fan of iTunes especially when I had a iPhone and had to use iTunes for syncing. I noticed this is now done via the Finder which I think is a great change.

In a few minutes I'm going to order a new trackpad and battery for my old Macbook. I actually realised yesterday it's a 2010 not 11 but it still supports High Seiera.

So all in all thanks to you both for your assistance with this process!

 

[MBAmtloin]

Im glad everything worked out, MacinWin knows apple OSX and explains these processes incredibly in a very understandable manner.
personally im pondering upping my macbook air to el captain this week, i can always go back on time machine.

 

[giantjack]

Im glad everything worked out, MacinWin knows apple OSX and explains these processes incredibly in a very understandable manner.
personally im pondering upping my macbook air to el captain this week, i can always go back on time machine.

He sure does.

Sounds like a good plan. It's a huge update for me going from Yosemite to Catalina. I'm sure it'll be great for you too if you are able to update.

 

[MacInWin]

Gosh, you guys will make my head swell up with that. Happy to help when I can.