' Had 2 partitions on iMac 2017 . One had High Sierra and other partition had Ventura. I finally was able to erase the whole 1TB drive with no partitions using the Disk Utility. Now there is no operating system. Invites me to install High Sierra, but after a couple of easy clicks, it says must be connected to the internet. I am connected to the internet 🛜! Should I bring it on top of the router?
iMac 21.5″ 4K, macOS 13.7
Yay! I found my Ethernet cable, only one receptacle that fits in the router, plugged it in, shut down the computer and started it up with command option R. Low and behold it’s loading Ventura!
Thanks to all who had the right answer!
Cheryl
Yay! I found my Ethernet cable, only one receptacle that fits in the router, plugged it in, shut down the computer and started it up with command option R. Low and behold it’s loading Ventura!
Thanks to all who had the right answer!
Cheryl
While you got things working, I just wanted to post a solution to your original issue when trying to reinstall macOS High Sierra and "the server could not be contacted" error message you received. Unfortunately Apple is breaking the older online installers and not always fixing them. People can use Fix #3 in the following article to get around this specific error (should apply to any online OS which gives you that error):
Try to connect the iMac with Ethernet/LAN cable. You see a folder blinking, no? Hold Command + Option + R (downloads the newest OS avalible for your mac)
Happy to help
Wired ethernet is preferable. Try that.
Getting High Sierra these days can be a real chore. And without any OS in this Mac you may need a second Mac (at least temporarily) in order to get High Sierra.
Not intending to get too far ahead of things here, but the most common problem downloading High Sierra is the dreaded "The Recovery Server Could Not Be Contacted” error message. Let us know if you encounter that problem. There are ways to overcome it. (Not intending to withhold any info here, just want to focus on one problem at a time,.)
Establishing an Internet connection is a fundamental prerequisite. You need to fix that first.
Should I bring it on top of the router?
That probably won't help. Does the Wi-Fi "fan" icon in that Mac's menu bar appear at all? Refer to Wi-Fi menu icons on Mac - Apple Support to decipher its meaning.
I’ve been getting the (error) message The Recovery Server Could Not Be Contacted” so I concluded that it was the connection. !?
So now I’m connected directly to the router with the same message “The Recovery Server Could Not Be Contacted.”
I will try command >option >R! Stay tuned.
Good luck getting High Sierra. I tried to get it about a month ago and after spending half a day trying different ways I had to give up.
Thanks for all your help. There’s good ideas here, but I seem to have lost all the Ethernet cables I had! Maybe I’ll find one at a thrift shop.
Cheryl
tried to install OS from the web and it would
