Can't access Utilities Menu??

[Oscar_Ross]

Hi Ian, Okay so it sounds like from this ill go for option 2.
Ill go do that now and let you know how it works, and obviously theres the option of swapping in a SSD, and adding more RAM
Thanks

 

[Oscar_Ross]

Alright thanks!!
Yeah i could always swap the HDD and all

 

[Oscar_Ross]

Ian,
CMD + R boot option is not available until "after" the updated OS is installed.
It is during the installation of the new OS that the Recovery partition is created.
The downloaded installer is not bootable.
Hence, why you can't just copy the downloaded file to a flash drive instead of all the rigamarole of having to use Terminal and the 'createinstallmedia' command.

Doing it without creating a bootable installer, would mean downloading and installing 10.11 as an upgrade intallation.
Then you could boot via the CMD+R key combo to the Recovery partition just created, then erase the drive and do a clean install.

So am I installing El Capitan, then going CMD+R and doing the other steps to start fresh but with El Capitan, correct?
Thanks

 

[bobtomay]

That would be correct. However, I really recommend you stop by your nearest electronics store and pick up an 8 GB flash drive and make/keep the bootable installer. They're pretty cheap nowadays and having that installer could save some grief down the line for not much money.

 

[Oscar_Ross]

That would be correct. However, I really recommend you stop by your nearest electronics store and pick up an 8 GB flash drive and make/keep the bootable installer. They're pretty cheap nowadays and having that installer could save some grief down the line for not much money.

What do you mean keep the bootable installer sorry?

 

[bobtomay]

Keep:
1) have or retain possession of
2) retain or reserve for future use

 

[Oscar_Ross]

Keep:
1) have or retain possession of
2) retain or reserve for future use

Haha, i mean what is a bootable installer

 

[lclev]

Oscar_Ross - back a few post I gave you this link: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372

This will walk you through how to create a bootable USB drive installer of El Capitan. You download El Capitan then follow the instructions in the link. You need an 8GB USB Flash drive to do this. When you are done you restart the laptop, hold down the Option key and select the USB Flash drive installer. The installation will start because it is bootable media (if you followed the instructions in the link correctly.)

Now when you are done - keep the USB Flash Drive for the potential emergency that could arise. ;D

I have USB installers of Maverick, Yosemite, and El Capitan - just incase. You never know when you might need one.

Lisa

 

[Oscar_Ross]

Oscar_Ross - back a few post I gave you this link: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372

This will walk you through how to create a bootable USB drive installer of El Capitan. You download El Capitan then follow the instructions in the link. You need an 8GB USB Flash drive to do this. When you are done you restart the laptop, hold down the Option key and select the USB Flash drive installer. The installation will start because it is bootable media (if you followed the instructions in the link correctly.)

Now when you are done - keep the USB Flash Drive for the potential emergency that could arise. ;D

I have USB installers of Maverick, Yosemite, and El Capitan - just incase. You never know when you might need one.

Lisa

Alright got it! Thanks for everything

 

[cradom]

Note: when you download El Capitan, make the bootable installer FIRST!! Before you do an install. Installing first deletes the installer you downloaded.

 

[pigoo3]

Haha, i mean what is a bootable installer

As mentioned. You want/need to make a bootable installer BEFORE you use the El Capitan installer the first time. The installer is deleted after it is used.

A bootable USB installer is just like the OS DVD's/CD's Apple used to distribute/sell (before download only OS's). Just like a OS install DVD/disk…a bootable USB installer can come in very handy. Especially if you have no access to the internet…or at the very least…don't have to spend all the time redownloading a 5+ gigabyte OS installer a 2nd, 3rd, 4rd, 4th, 5th, etc. time in the future.

- Nick