Tinribs Posted January 28, 2019 Posted January 28, 2019 Hi All, My school has a lot (300) of old iMac 9 and 10s that they have replaced with PCs. They want to give the old Macs away to students etc. The plan is to install vanilla MacOS and just hand them out. It's my job to replace the OS (currently Windows 10 via Bootcamp) with plain ol' MacOS. Mac 10s are easy - I've created a bootable USB stick with High Sierra (the latest OS that will boot from USB on this model) and everything installs nice and easy - takes about 20 mins per Mac. Mac 9's however, are proving somewhat troublesome. Firstly the latest OS they will boot from is El Capitan. So I've created a bootable USB stick the same way as the for the Mac 10s but using an El Capitan DMG file. Issue is that when I boot to the start up device menu (option key on boot) the USB stick does not show up. If I boot with the High Sierra USB stick at least that shows up but that gives a grey no-entry sign when I attempt the install which, I am told, means the OS will not run on this CPU. So, given that the USB sticks are formatted and created the same way (using trans mac on a Windows PC) why does one work and the other not? I've tried different Macs and different USB sticks but no joy. If anyone can think of how to fix this or of an easier way of doing this I would be grateful. Also if anyone has a reliable and safe site from which to download an alternative (to the one I am using) version of El Capitan.dmg that would be nice - just to eliminate the possibility that the file I'm using is screwed in some way. I got mine from here: Mac OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 DMG Image Free Download - ALL PC World TIA Mark P.
3s-gtech Posted January 28, 2019 Posted January 28, 2019 When getting hold of a .dmg for installing old versions of OS X, I use a Mac. By going back through the App Store purchases, I can re-download older versions of the OS. There's a few commands in the terminal that then directly create the USB boot media from there. This has worked pretty well for me in the past, on some older machines.
MatthewL Posted January 28, 2019 Posted January 28, 2019 I thought you could hold down a certain key combination and it would download the OS for these rather than messing around with USB sticks?
atcoates Posted January 28, 2019 Posted January 28, 2019 https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT204904 Option-⌘-R Upgrade to the latest macOS compatible with your Mac.
Tinribs Posted January 28, 2019 Author Posted January 28, 2019 Unfortunately the Mac 9's we have do not support internet recovery mode and they also do not have the HD based recovery partition (wasn't deemed necessary as they have been used to run Windows and not MacOS) That's not an option for us here. You can't even upgrade the EFI firmware on this model because it's so old...
Arthur Posted January 28, 2019 Posted January 28, 2019 (edited) given that the USB sticks are formatted and created the same way (using trans mac on a Windows PC) why does one work and the other not? I've tried different Macs and different USB sticks but no joy. If anyone can think of how to fix this or of an easier way of doing this I would be grateful. I would format the USB flash drives on a Mac, download the El Capitan installer from the Mac App Store (rather than a potentially dodgy third-party website) and do what @3s-gtech suggested to create a bootable macOS installer via createinstallmedia in Terminal. https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201372 sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/[color="#FF0000"]Untitled[/color] --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app --nointeraction Edit. Direct link to installer... http://osxapps.itunes.apple.com/apple-assets-us-std-000001/Purple20/v4/dc/94/05/dc940501-f06f-2a91-555e-3dc272653af5/izt4803713449411067066.pkg More info: https://7labs.io/tips-tricks/el-capitan-direct-download.html Edited January 28, 2019 by Arthur 1
3s-gtech Posted January 28, 2019 Posted January 28, 2019 You may have trouble finding older version in the App Store, but they are there and can be found with the direct links listed here: https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/331688/how-to-download-macos-high-sierra-from-the-mojave-app-store
Tinribs Posted January 28, 2019 Author Posted January 28, 2019 OK - thanks for the suggestions. We only have High Sierra Macs here. I have tried the links supplied by 3s-gtech but I get the "the OS is too new" error when I try to download it. SO basically to get that method working it looks like I need a Mac running El Capitan or earlier before I can download a version of El Capitan.... Any one got any suggestions??
Arthur Posted January 28, 2019 Posted January 28, 2019 SO basically to get that method working it looks like I need a Mac running El Capitan or earlier before I can download a version of El Capitan.... Any one got any suggestions?? See the 7labs.io link in my post above.
Tinribs Posted January 28, 2019 Author Posted January 28, 2019 OK - so maybe I should have explained that these refurbished macs will not have any internet access at the school due to firewall restrictions and them not being on any domain/network etc. So I'm having to do all the downloading on a windows 10 pc. I do have a version of El Capitan.dmg on the PC that I have transferred across to the High Sierra Mac (on the desktop). Assuming that the dmg file I have is genuine how do I get it in a state so the sudo command will work?
Arthur Posted January 28, 2019 Posted January 28, 2019 (edited) Assuming that the dmg file I have is genuine how do I get it in a state so the sudo command will work? Does your El Capitan.dmg contain an "Install OS X El Capitan" app inside? If so, drag this to the desktop of the High Sierra Mac and then run the command below from Terminal (replace Untitled with the volume name of your USB flash drive). sudo ~/Desktop/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/[color="#FF0000"]Untitled[/color] --applicationpath ~/Desktop/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app --nointeraction or if that doesn't work... sudo /Users/[color="#800080"]YourUserAccountName[/color]/Desktop/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/[color="#FF0000"]Untitled[/color] --applicationpath /Users/[color="#800080"]YourUserAccountName[/color]/Desktop/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app --nointeraction Edited January 28, 2019 by Arthur
Tinribs Posted January 28, 2019 Author Posted January 28, 2019 OK - so that is now going.. I guess it will take a while. Once done, and if it works, I'll need to keep a copy of that USB for when I start building the 9s in earnest. Is there a way to clone the USB to a file that I can "re-clone" back to the five USB sticks I have been given for this whole job? That will have to be done in Windows 10..
SamanthaD Posted January 28, 2019 Posted January 28, 2019 Random thought - can you just give away Macs to students? Not sure this would comply with WEEE regulations?
Arthur Posted January 28, 2019 Posted January 28, 2019 Is there a way to clone the USB to a file that I can "re-clone" back to the five USB sticks I have been given for this whole job? That will have to be done in Windows 10.. ImageUSB is a good Windows app for cloning USB drives.
bald_pig Posted January 28, 2019 Posted January 28, 2019 OK - so that is now going.. I guess it will take a while. Once done, and if it works, I'll need to keep a copy of that USB for when I start building the 9s in earnest. Is there a way to clone the USB to a file that I can "re-clone" back to the five USB sticks I have been given for this whole job? That will have to be done in Windows 10.. You could use Win32diskimager: https://sourceforge.net/projects/win32diskimager/
Arthur Posted January 28, 2019 Posted January 28, 2019 You could use Win32diskimager: I think Win32diskimager only lets you write to one USB drive at a time. ImageUSB can write to all five of @Tinribs drives simultaneously (if they were all connected to the computer or a hub).
bald_pig Posted January 28, 2019 Posted January 28, 2019 I think Win32diskimager only lets you write to one USB drive at a time. ImageUSB can write to all five of @Tinribs drives simultaneously (if they were all connected to the computer or a hub). Correct, but I didn't know of the existence of the utility you suggested.
Tinribs Posted January 28, 2019 Author Posted January 28, 2019 Thanks again all. Unfortunately we're not at the cloning stage yet. The sudo script appears to have worked but when I boot from the stick I get the apple logo and the progress bar for a bit then I get the grey no-entry sign again. It's looking like these Mac 9s are not even El Capitan compatible despite my research suggesting they are. They're 2009 vintage from what I can tell and the information from http://www.everymac.com suggests that they should run El Capitan. If I have to go back to the previous OS things are looking pretty bleak as far as their usability is concerned. Any suggestions?
bald_pig Posted January 28, 2019 Posted January 28, 2019 Thanks again all. Unfortunately we're not at the cloning stage yet. The sudo script appears to have worked but when I boot from the stick I get the apple logo and the progress bar for a bit then I get the grey no-entry sign again. It's looking like these Mac 9s are not even El Capitan compatible despite my research suggesting they are. They're 2009 vintage from what I can tell and the information from www.everymac.com suggests that they should run El Capitan. If I have to go back to the previous OS things are looking pretty bleak as far as their usability is concerned. Any suggestions? Have you entered the machines serial number into everymac? It can tell you what machine it is from that.
Tinribs Posted January 28, 2019 Author Posted January 28, 2019 Indeed. I get this: System: Apple iMac "Core 2 Duo" 2.66 20-Inch (Early 2009) *This system fully supports the last version of OS X 10.8 "Mountain Lion" and OS X 10.9 "Mavericks" except for Power Nap and AirPlay Mirroring functionality (which also requires an Apple TV 2nd Gen or later). It also supports the last version of OS X 10.10 "Yosemite" and OS X 10.11 "El Capitan" -- including Mac-to-Mac AirDrop capability -- but no other advanced features are supported, including Metal graphics acceleration. It is not capable of running macOS Sierra (10.12) or subsequent versions of the macOS at all.
3s-gtech Posted January 28, 2019 Posted January 28, 2019 Those are the same spec as our iMacs. El Capitan is as late as they’ll go without using http://dosdude1.com/highsierra/ - I can’t advise on the wisdom of doing so.
jmak Posted January 29, 2019 Posted January 29, 2019 (edited) Edit: post removed because it was such a stupid idea [emoji15] Edited January 29, 2019 by jmak
PotNoodleTech Posted January 29, 2019 Posted January 29, 2019 Yes I've got some older imacs and a couple of macbooks here that could do with SSD drive fitting and a reinstall to hopefully perk them up a bit. This thread is useful!!!
Arthur Posted January 29, 2019 Posted January 29, 2019 (edited) Could the issue be that the iMacs have never had any EFI firmware updates installed? Like 3s-gtech I have also successfully installed 10.11 on 2009 iMacs. The firmware can be downloaded from the following link. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201518#imac The tricky thing will be installing it since you can't boot into macOS or a recovery environment. Another option if you have a suitable FireWire cable may be able to boot up one of the iMacs in target disk mode and install El Capitan from the High Sierra Mac. Edited January 29, 2019 by Arthur
Tinribs Posted January 29, 2019 Author Posted January 29, 2019 OK - most of the iMac 9s we have are windows 10 only. We have no firewire cables. Is there a way to install Mac firmware from Windows rather than MacOS? If not then I'm looking at installing Mavericks instead and I'm having a hard time finding a download of that outside of the App store and I can't get it that way as I have no Macs with an earlier OS than Mavericks....
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