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User profile for user: Jessmeadows19
Jessmeadows19 Author
User level: Level 1
4 points

Bootable Installer for iMac 2012

I have an old iMac (2012) that was completely wiped. When turned on it only shows a white screen with a "🚫". After entering internet recovery mode I was unable to reinstall MacOS as I am getting an error that says my system does not support this version of OS. After some researching on how to get around this error, as I am very new to this level of administration and using Terminal, I am trying to create a bootable installer on a USB drive. I am trying to use a 2021 Mac book Pro to do this, running Ventura. I have treid with Sierra, El Capitain, and Yosemite, but cannot seem to get the installer drive to open, so that i can access the installer application (in order to run the command in terminal provided by apple, example ;;; sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app)


I have tried manually opening the pkg. with terminal and creating a file for it in applications, but to no avail. Not entirely sure how to progress so i can reinstall macOS and get this computer working. Any ideas..

Posted on Jan 27, 2023 3:02 PM

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User profile for user: John Galt
John Galt
User level: Level 10
146,384 points

Posted on Jan 28, 2023 10:17 AM

Thanks for the additional information. A 2012 iMac would have shipped with OS X 10.8.x "Mountain Lion", and if its startup disk had been completely erased that is what it should offer to reinstall.


Boot Recovery using the following key chord, as described in Use macOS Recovery on an Intel-based Mac - Apple Support:


  • Option-Shift-Command-R: Start up from macOS Recovery over the internet. Use this key combination to reinstall the version of macOS that came with your Mac or the closest version that’s still available.


The startup disk must first be formatted Mac OS X Extended (Journaled) as a prerequisite, so when the OS X Utilities screen appears, choose Disk Utility. You should not be confronted with an error since the disk is not mounted in Recovery mode.

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User profile for user: John Galt
John Galt
User level: Level 10
146,384 points

Jan 28, 2023 10:17 AM in response to Jessmeadows19

Thanks for the additional information. A 2012 iMac would have shipped with OS X 10.8.x "Mountain Lion", and if its startup disk had been completely erased that is what it should offer to reinstall.


Boot Recovery using the following key chord, as described in Use macOS Recovery on an Intel-based Mac - Apple Support:


  • Option-Shift-Command-R: Start up from macOS Recovery over the internet. Use this key combination to reinstall the version of macOS that came with your Mac or the closest version that’s still available.


The startup disk must first be formatted Mac OS X Extended (Journaled) as a prerequisite, so when the OS X Utilities screen appears, choose Disk Utility. You should not be confronted with an error since the disk is not mounted in Recovery mode.

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User profile for user: John Galt
John Galt
User level: Level 10
146,384 points

Jan 28, 2023 5:51 AM in response to Jessmeadows19

When starting a Mac from Recovery, the startup disk is not mounted: Use macOS Recovery on an Intel-based Mac - Apple Support. Scroll down to Erase and reinstall macOS.


Step 5 will not offer APFS as an option. Choose Mac OS X Extended (Journaled) instead.


Step 7 will not offer to reinstall macOS Ventura. It will probably be El Capitan instead, but the steps are otherwise the same.

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User profile for user: John Galt
John Galt
User level: Level 10
146,384 points

Jan 27, 2023 4:26 PM in response to Jessmeadows19

Creating a "bootable installer" is not required and attempting to make one just going to introduce complexity and increase the likelihood of error.


Start from the beginning. You wrote that you "completely wiped" that Mac's original startup disk. That must be accomplished by booting macOS Recovery, and the startup disk needs to be formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled) before you can reinstall its originally installed operating system.


Did you do that?

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User profile for user: Jessmeadows19
Jessmeadows19 Author
User level: Level 1
4 points

Jan 28, 2023 9:29 AM in response to John Galt

The imac is from 2012. I am unable to reinstall Sierra in the recovery mode because it gives me an error, saying the computer is not compatible with this version of macOS. I know this is not the case, however, to resolve the problem I have tried following the steps outlined in the "Erase and reinstall macOS". When I get to the step to hit continue and erase, it gives me an error and "cannot complete". If i look at the details portion of the error, it says "cannot unmount disk". I have tried repairing the disk with first aid and partition but none of this has shown to help.


This is why I was trying to use a bootable installer. I dont know what else to try to get around this error message in reinstalling macOS.

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Bootable Installer for iMac 2012

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