iMac (2008) wipe and re-image with El Capitan

[RayningFire]

All, I hope this is simpler and less painful than Apple support makes it... Got a hand me down iMac. Used it for a while now want to sell it. Have a buyer. I was able to wipe via recovery mode. Then it crashed and hangs. I finally am able to get back in after doing a safe boot. I have to install El Capitan on it. I found the .dmg file. I am pretty new to this side of tech Mac so I chatted with support. Since this is "Vintage", they don't support it and actually have pulled install files from the store. Won't even look at it in the Apple store so have to go third party ($150) for help. It can't be that hard. It won't work with recovery partition and am looking for instructions on how to get back up and clean via USB (at this point it is non bootable).

Any help would be greatly appreciated. And if I have left out any info, please let me know and I will post immediately. Thank you, Ryan.

 

[pm-r]

[This post will be split into two parts as it won't upload in one!!] most annoying...

What is not working or why in the recovery partition???

Do you have any way of downloading and using the Download OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 Combo Update ?
Download OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 Combo Update

...

- Patrick
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- - - Updated - - -

[2nd half]
...

If that works mm you can then boot the Mac, then just set it up with a new "Tester" admin user, bypass using any password if you like or if you're allowed, then make sure your old user account has been deleted.

Then it would be ready for the new purchaser to test and set up a new admin user account for themselves.

If those don't work, use the services of a good mac tech, not Apple paid or res, to help you out.


- Patrick
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[pm-r]

@admins

OT, but why will some of my posts intermittently but still too often the last month or so not post when first posted. I must try a recover using auto-save or copy/paste and try postong again.

This is now three times I've had to retry posting my last previous post here. I couldn't even use the Edit Post to add this to my post above.

Actually, it may be a 50/50 chance whether this one gets posted or not on its first attempt. Most annoying.

I am not having any other such problem at any other similar Forum site.


- Patrick
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[RayningFire]

Patrick, thanks for the quick response. Is the combo update truly an update (noticed that it is 1.4GB) not the whole image (the .dmg is 6.24GB)? And I am not using the iMac since it has been wiped so I can't DL straight to the machine (or just don't know how).

Since the running partition has already been wiped (checked it in DU), what will it use to actually install? Would it be faster just to make a USB bootable drive? I don't have another runnng Mac here, but used transmac to format and get the USB key readable as it sees it in DU. I just don't know how to get it to install the image (again, new to the Mac but learning).

Thanks, Ryan.

 

[pm-r]

Is the combo update truly an update (noticed that it is 1.4GB) not the whole image (the .dmg is 6.24GB)?

It's that size as it only has the actual Mac OS X SYSTEM version, the main part that you need, and maybe some app and stuff that might have got updated,

It won't contain ALL the applications etc. of a basic NEW OS X version install.

The OS combo installs are often used to correct any glitches after a major OS update.

- Patrick
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[ferrarr]

See if this helps, About macOS Recovery - Apple Support. It works with the Recovery partition. Here are some other boot key combos, How to reinstall macOS from macOS Recovery - Apple Support

Do you have a Time Machine backup, or a clone you can boot from?

With the USB inserted, startup and press and hold option, this should get to the boot options screen.

 

[chscag]

@admins

OT, but why will some of my posts intermittently but still too often the last month or so not post when first posted. I must try a recover using auto-save or copy/paste and try postong again.

This is now three times I've had to retry posting my last previous post here. I couldn't even use the Edit Post to add this to my post above.

Actually, it may be a 50/50 chance whether this one gets posted or not on its first attempt. Most annoying.

I am not having any other such problem at any other similar Forum site.


- Patrick
======

Don't know what to tell you Patrick. No one else that I know of is reporting the same problem(s) you're having. Since the glitches seem to be intermittent that makes it even more difficult to track down. Does it happen with every browser or just Chrome?

 

[Rod]

I know, I know, its unfair but the idea is to make another bootable source before you erase the device. Anyhow, sorry but now you only have a few options and a HDD of unknown status. One of the things that can really stuff up a HDD on the brink of failure is rewriting to it.
So you can boot via recovery and I really think that would be your best option, then use internet recovery to reinstal the original macOS that the device came with as new. You would then need to supply your buyer with instructions on how to upgrade to El Capitan because as you say you cannot do that for them without creating a user account in your name.
Really this is how it should be anyway. How to reinstall macOS from macOS Recovery - Apple Support

 

[pm-r]

[Sorry to go OT here...]

Don't know what to tell you Patrick. No one else that I know of is reporting the same problem(s) you're having. Since the glitches seem to be intermittent that makes it even more difficult to track down. Does it happen with every browser or just Chrome?

Yes Charlie, with the problem so intermittent it really is hard to pin down the cause or reason.

I did try both Safari and Firefox when I had the problem a week or so ago, and they acted the same way. Regardless of whether my reply is new, re-trying posting or using the auto-save and/or copy and paste from the auto-save, when posting, the animated Circle just spins a short bit and then the window just closes and I end back in the list of forum subjects page and the post I just attempted to post does not show up, so I have to try all over again.

As you probably noticed, when that problem happens, I have also tried doing a test post and using the same thread and post area, and it usually seems to work okay.

I was suspicious that maybe some of such non-posting posts we're using some "naughty" or blacklisted words, but I couldn't find anything that looked suspicious, so I tried splitting the post that wouldn't post in half and sending each half separately. That worked, and for each half, but the last time I tried doing that both halves ended up in the same post for some reason or other. I don't care about that and I was relieved it finally got posted.

It was also during a previous attempt to post I got this message which I took a screenshot of, and maybe you can make some sense out of it:






All very strange and as I said previously, I have never had any such similar problem at any other Forum site.

Sometimes I have found when the problem exhibits itself, that if I just leave everything alone, at least as far as attempting any posts go, for at least half an hour to an hour, things and posting will very often work as it should.

If you or anyone can think of what the possible reason could be for the problem or what I might be doing wrong, please let me know.

When it does happen, it seems that the mac-forums server has forgotten that I am connected and typing a reply yet everything seems to work okay, up until the time I go to post, then drop the connection to that window and close it. But the other windows thankfully stay open and working.

Let me know if you need any other information and my apologies for side-tracking this thread here.


- Patrick
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[chscag]

All mysterious for me too Patrick. We'll leave this for Nick to pass along to the programmer who works on our site and the forum software.

I know that a while back we did have some errors that showed up which prevented some replies from being posted. Thankfully, I haven't seen any of those for quite some time. And it seems for now no one else is reporting errors while trying to post.

 

[ferrarr]

Patrick, are you using any Extensions/Add-ons with the browsers your use? Maybe you can try to disable them when it happens again?

 

[chscag]

Patrick:

In addition to Bob's suggestion, you might also look into your carrier's settings. I know you said that there were no problems with other forums.

 

[pm-r]

@Charlie / chscag what is the name of that

you might also look into your carrier's settings

Could you be a bit more specific as to what you mean by my "carrier's settings"???

Not much for me to change or configure as far as I know.

I pay for the cable connection and internet, they supply the Cisco router, and it just gets connected and turned on and DNS looks after the rest and Bingo I'm online using a direct ethernet cable between my iMac and their rotor.

My iMac Network Pref Pane has its DNS settings set to those recommended by the "namebench.app" network utility and get checked and maybe changed once a year or so.

I'm not that sure what other network carrier settings I could change would be. ????

PS: By all means move this discussion to its own separate thread if you like.

Thanks,

- Patrick
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[chscag]

Nothing specific, just grasping at possibilities. Let's wait until Nick has our programmer look things over.