Reinstall macOS Problem with Old iMac

[rayben]

I have followed an online instruction to what I thought was to revert my old iMac to apple start up only to find every thing has been erased now when I try to boot it up I just a flashing ? symbol how can I get past this and try to start over

 

[Raz0rEdge]

What instructions did you follow? It looks like you've erased the entire contents of your drive including the recovery console on OS' past Lion.

If that is indeed true, then you'll need to create a bootable USB stick with the installer of the version of macOS you were running and use that to re-install macOS again.

At a high level, the process of "restore to factory defaults" on a Mac are the following:

• Power down Mac
• Hold down CMD+r while powering up the mac (recent Macbooks automatically power up when this combination is pressed)
• Release the keys once the Apple logo is visible for a little while
• In Recovery Console
  • Go to Disk Utility to erase the Macintosh HD partition
  • Exit Disk Utility
  • Choose to re-install macOS

 

[Rod]

If as Ashwin says, you have completely erased the internal drive, including the Recovery partition you would need another bootable source to restore it.
I'm a bit puzzled though, you cannot use the internal drive to erase itself so could you describe how you did it.
My theory is that you did it correctly but you haven't reinstalled the macOS using the Recovery partition.
Try starting up from OFF holding the Command & R keys again until the Recovery menu appears. If that works you should see the Reinstall macOS option.
If that works, it will take a while, you will end up with the Setup Assistant.

 

[MacInWin]

Here is Apple's guidelines for reinstalling macos;

How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support

You can use macOS Recovery, your computer's built-in recovery system, to reinstall the Mac operating system. Reinstalling macOS doesn't remove your personal data.

support.apple.com

Note the Shift-Option-Command-R option that will download the OS even if you have no recovery partition left.

 

[rayben]

Thanks for your replies they are very helpful. I got the instructions from off YouTube obviously I have done something wrong

 

[Raz0rEdge]

Please share the YouTube link to see if it's actually bad instructions or misunderstanding leading to the issue.

 

[rayben]

Hi every one tried reinstalling Mac OS Siera in safe mode but get the following answer, The recovery server could not be contacted, I am hard wired to the Mac from the hub.

 

[rayben]

FasgearFasgear
Fasgear USB C Cable 4.9ft - USB A to Type C 3.2 Gen 2 Cord Braided 10Gbps Android Auto Type C Data Cable 3A Fast Charge Compatible for Portable SSD Galaxy S23 X-box Series PS5 Controller USB-C DevicesFasgear USB C Cable 4.9ft - USB A to Type C 3.2 Gen 2 Cord Braided 10Gbps Android Auto Type C Dat…
153 Would this cable suite my Mac thunderbolt 4 the end marked 10GB I have an external hd and was thinking of backing from my new iMac and reinstalling on my old Mac

 

[pm-r]

Hi every one tried reinstalling Mac OS Siera in safe mode but get the following answer,

Booting up into safe boot mode will disable a lot of extensions needed for internet and file sharing amongst many other things.

Would this cable suite my Mac thunderbolt 4 the end marked 10GB I have an external hd and was thinking of backing from my new iMac and reinstalling on my old Mac

I am completely lost as to what you are asking or wanting to do here. Sorry. There seem to be lots of missing information in your posts that could help my understanding if more was included.



- Patrick
=======

 

[Rod]

I'm confused too, why would you try to Reinstall macOS in Safe mode. If you can get to Safe mode then you haven't wiped everything off your Mac.

So, I go back to what I said earlier,
"Try starting up from OFF holding the Command & R keys again until the Recovery menu appears. If that works you should see the Reinstall macOS option."
If that works, it may take a while, you will end up with the Setup Assistant.
Online Recovery seems a bit "sketchy" these days though and you're asking to download a MacOS from 2016 so...

Usually most users have had more success with downloading early MacOS's from a specific App Store link but to do that you need a working device with a functional web browser.

 

[Rod]

Re your question about a cable: If you are thinking you could do a backup of your newer Mac and transfer it to the older iMac it would depend on what sort of backup you are intending.
You could create a bootable clone of your newer iMac and reverse clone that to your older iMac IF the two devices are running compatible operating systems.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

How about you better explain what old Mac you have and what version of macOS you were running on it? Getting details in bits and pieces is very hard for everyone to follow and provide a good answer.

Safe mode is NOT recovery mode. Sierra is an old version of macOS that is likely not available anymore. That's 7 versions older than the current version and more importantly is only supported on what Apple calls obsolete hardware, so the error about not getting it from the recovery server is likely accurate.

 

[rayben]

Sorry about not being clear enough I have a have a new iMac running Sonoma and I have an external hd as regards to the cable I would like download from my new iMac to the ext hd and then install it on my old Mac. Before I deleted every thing from my old Mac I was running Ventura 13.6.3, my old Mac is i5 3ghz 2 thunderbolt 3 slots.

 

[rayben]

when I tried to set my Mac back to factory settings I did from apple support and YouTube so to end with every thing I must have done some thing ie not followed the instructions precisely and ended up in the predicament I find myself in.

 

[pm-r]

every thing I must have done some thing ie not followed the instructions precisely and ended up in the predicament I find myself in.

I think at this point it might be worth your while to hire a Mac Tech to visit and have a look at your Macs and the situation you are now in and may be able to help you rectify things.

But if you ended up wiping your old Mac of all data and no backup of any sort, I would say all your personal data you had on your old Mac is now gone into computer data Heaven.


As our home carpenter-builder would say when something didn't go quite right... S**t happens.. And we learned to live with the mistakes and carry on with life.




- Patrick
=======

 

[Rod]

I would like download from my new iMac to the ext hd and then install it on my old Mac.

Just to make things as clear as possible, you cannot do what you propose in the above quote. You can transfer user data in that way but not the Operating System. For that ,you need a macOS Installer application first.
There is of course one exception ie. a Bootable Clone but the process of doing this with your limited resources is long and complicated.
Most Apple techs would already have a library of macOS installers, I have a copy of the macOS Ventura installer right here on a USB thumb drive.

 

[rayben]

Hi every one spent over 2hrs this afternoon with apple support and finally got Ventura downloading on my old Mac, all this thanks to the apple agent being so patient with me and persisting with the different instructions.

 

[Rod]

Aww, that's great to hear. It's so much easier to do with direct contact, even the phone is so much better than texting. As much as we try to assist on these forums some issues need instructions and immediate response. I'm glad to hear there are still good, patient Apple agents willing to spend the necessary time to assist.

 

[IWT]

glad to hear there are still good, patient Apple agents willing to spend the necessary time to assist.

Hear! Hear!

Ian

 

[rayben]

Even had a phone call from apple but the problem couldn't be resolved so they made me an appointment at the liverpool shop to try .T he apple support team have been great all through.