Installing macOS won't work

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Level 1

5 points

Installing macOS won't work

So recently i wiped my iMac disk and tried reinstalling macOS and it will not work no matter what, I've tried the following things:

• Going into recovery mode (doesn't work because it tells me "Recovery server could not be contacted")

• Going into internet recovery mode (originally this didn't work because after the spinning globe there would be an apple logo just loading for an infinite time, but then i tried booting my mac while only holding the "option" key which allowed me to connect to wifi and from there, i went into internet recovery mode, but that's where the real problem came, first off i noticed that my mac wanted me to install macOS X Lion which i was confused by because my mac should be able to install newer os, it should have been high sierra i believe, but despite that i tried installing it anyways but then the 2nd and 3rd problem came: the installation time had an completely unnecessary time, like minus 2 million or something, also a few minutes in the install, it would give me a message saying "Can't Download The Additional Components Needed To Install Mac OS X")

So please help me out with this problem. If you're wondering, my mac is from mid 2011.

Earlier Mac models

Posted on Sep 27, 2023 12:27 PM

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Answer 1

a brody

Level 10

85,273 points

Sep 30, 2023 9:44 AM in response to Aqua-8

Notice the second port from the right lets the blue cable fit in it on the image below. That's the ethernet port and cable:

You will find a similar port on your modem, and can use a cable like the blue cable to link the two.

Some Macs do not come with an ethernet port, but if you are running 10.7 that likely is not at issue.

iaipa, please start a new topic thread, we need to solve Aqua-8's problem. Adding your problem to theirs in the same thread makes it harder to isolate the problem..

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Answer 2

BDAqua

Level 10

250,181 points

Sep 30, 2023 1:22 PM in response to Aqua-8

Start up from macOS Recovery

Option-⌘-R

Upgrade to the latest macOS compatible with your Mac.

In Disk Utility>View, select Show all Devices, highlight the top left entry.

APFS won't work for Sierra or earlier, Sierra or earlier needs MacOS Extended Journaled. High Sierra won't work for APFS on earlier Macs.

What has often worked for others is to use this Restore Method instead of CMD+r keys...

Option-⌘-R

Upgrade to the latest macOS compatible with your Mac.

Messed up Factory Reset on MacBook Pro Mi… - Apple Community

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/254793247?answerId=258936149022#258936149022

Clean Install of High Sierra: Multiple Fa… - Apple Community

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/255040953?answerId=259391356022#259391356022

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Answer 3

Aqua-8 Author

Level 1

5 points

Sep 28, 2023 7:28 AM in response to a brody

No, i unfortunately did not back up my data

I don't know what you mean by have you hard wired your computer to modem, could you explain?

I tried booting with both command-option-r and command-option-shift-R and they both take me to the same macOS X lion page, and they also both have the installation problem that i mentioned before

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Answer 4

a brody

Level 10

85,273 points

Sep 30, 2023 9:46 AM in response to Aqua-8

If after doing an ethernet cable, command-option-shift-R does not get you to the point of installing, it likely is that Apple's recovery servers are down. We have noticed this has been a problem recently. You might need to visit a Mac usergroup to see if anyone has an installer.

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