2007 iMac Only Boots to Disk Utility

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Level 1

8 points

2007 iMac Only Boots to Disk Utility

I've got an early 2007 iMac that has stopped booting to the desktop and instead directly loads Disk Utilities. I'm assuming that several files are corrupt. I've attempted to reload the OS (have the original discs) but when I try to access the optical drive by inserting the install disc it reads it and spits it back out without any error message. I've tried to boot from the install discs but it loads Disk Utilities from the hard drive anyway. I've attempted to access the internet via WiFi AND ethernet but the computer says it isn't connected to the internet even though I can select my WiFi (and all the neighbors WiFi) from the WiFi menu. I've tried to create a bootable USB from my "newer" iMac (2017) but have to download Leopard or Snow Leopard from non-apple sites and, so far, none of the dmg files I've found will "restore" to the USB drive. Again, I've got the original install discs (both Leopard and Snow Leopard) but with the old Mac not accepting either and the new Mac not having an optical drive they do me no good.

What I need to do is erase the hard drive in the 2007 iMac and then reinstall the OS from the original discs. If I understand correctly I can't connect the old iMac to the new iMac in a Target Disk arrangement due to the fact that my new Mac is running Monterey and this OS version no longer allows for USB access for Target Disk. The idea of booting the old iMac from a USB has turned out to be another dead end. So any ideas on what to do?

PHOTOS

This is that loads when I boot:

"Missing" WiFi Menu but . . .

. . . WiFi Options show available and connected

iMac, OS X 10.11

Posted on Mar 12, 2022 1:58 PM

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Answer 1

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Jack-19

Level 8

46,008 points

Mar 12, 2022 11:29 PM in response to bowdidge

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities.

Connect your Mac to the internet using Ethernet, then select "Disk Utility" in OS X Recovery. You can then use Disk Utility to erase your hard drive. When erasing your Mac, select the name of your drive in the left sidebar, and make sure this information matches:

- Name: Macintosh HD
- Format: Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
- Scheme: GUID

Erasing your disk destroys all data on it.

After erasing your startup disk, select "Reinstall OS X".

Jack

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Answer 2

bowdidge Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 15, 2022 1:50 PM in response to Jack-19

Jack,

Connecting to ethernet does not work. However, I was able to restore from the "restore disk" to a USB Drive and boot it up from there. I tried to load the OS then from the original discs but it still wouldn't work--would read the discs and spit them back out all while the blinking file folder/question mark was displaying.

Then I tried something desperate. I still had my old hard drive that failed (years ago) and, miraculously, was able to boot from the old hard drive. The problem now is I can't restore from the old hard drive to the current internal hard drive. I get the 254 error (with various combinations of other error messages). How can I transfer the date from the old hard drive to the new internal hard drive? The old hard drive is running El Capitan.

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2007 iMac Only Boots to Disk Utility

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