iMac (Late 2014) Won't reboot

I have foolishly updated my iMac 2014 to OS High Sierra and now I cannot get it to boot up. I have accessed Internet Recovery Mode numerous times by holding down the (Command+R) keys during start-up. From the Disk Utility I can see that my Internal Disk (1 TB APPLE HDD ST1000LM024 Media) "appears to be OK" and likely just won't start because it is now attempting to run the updated, incompatible OS. The partition directly below it (disk0s2) is currently "Not mounted" and I cannot perform any First Aid options or Restore it (it is slightly greyed out). {update: I can Restore it but I am unsure of what should go into Source and Destination. I am tempted to use "Source: disk0s2" and "Destination: 1 TB APPLE HDD ST1000LM024 Media" as that seems like it will work but I really don't want to accidentally delete any files I have on this computer}


Currently, when attempting to Reinstall OS X, I get to the screen that prompts me to "Select the disk where you want to install OS X" and there is no disk to select. I am wondering if there is any way for me to reinstall a MacOS compatible with my iMac without erasing my current unmounted disk? I understand that will erase all my data and I have nothing backed up. In fact I just moved all my files from my MacBook to this iMac because it has more space. I've read around and it seems like its possible to move the data on my current unmounted disk to a new partition and use that partition to reinstall OS X? I am completely unknowledgeable on this and would really appreciate some help.


Again, iMac will boot into internet recovery but there is no drive for me to reinstall OS X on. I would like to keep my data but understand that's not very likely. I have negative money lol. Thank you

Posted on May 2, 2023 9:35 AM

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May 2, 2023 10:24 AM in response to damean208

I did, did you read the instructions that were provided to you?


Also, if you are unsure of what you are doing, please give AppleCare a call and someone can walk you through what needs to be done which may include visiting an Apple Authorized Service Provider near you. You can reach AppleCare by first finding the phone number for your area, you can do this by clicking AppleCare Contact Info


Good luck!

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May 2, 2023 10:38 AM in response to damean208

The late-2014 iMac can run any OS version from 10.10 Yosemite thru 11 Big Sur. macOS 10.13 High Sierra is fully compatible.


You need to format your drive properly in order to select it as a destination for reinstalling macOS.

Boot into recovery and launch Disk Utility. Click View > Show All Devices. Then select the up-most device - Apple HDD ST... media - then click Erase (Format?) and select GUID partition scheme, Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format and name the drive Macintosh HD, and click the Erase button below. Yes, this will wipe and erase the drive, but is unavoidable. I hope you already have a backup, otherwise it's too late for that.


Quit the Disk Utility and then launch Reinstall macOS High Sierra and follow the prompts. You now should be able to select Macintosh HD as the destination. Follow the prompts and click through to completion.


Please see: How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support


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May 2, 2023 10:43 AM in response to D.I. Johnson

Sorry I meant to say Catalina. I tried to update it to Catalina. And yea I figured as much, I don't want to erase the drive but I've had a similar issue before and was hoping there was a way to reinstall OS without erasing the drive but I guess not. Now that I think of it, its the same issue except before the drive malfunctioned and now the drive cannot run the OS.

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May 2, 2023 11:17 AM in response to damean208

The iMac is fully compatible with 10.15 Catalina.

However, the drive format is different. Catalina will require that you format the drive with APFS.


Use the same instruction as above, but use GUID partition scheme, then select the APFS format of your liking (case sensitive, encrypted, or not) and name the drive Macintosh HD.


What OS is being offered when you boot into recovery?


Also know that Catalina and newer OS disallows running any older 32-bit software, including device drivers and applications. If that's an issue then macOS 10.14 Mojave will be the newest you'll want to install. The Mojave drive format guidance is the same as for Catalina, though.

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iMac (Late 2014) Won't reboot

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