Apple Mac problem! Experts please help!

[LouieB23]

hello, I have just purchased a mid 2007 Apple Mac desktop. The person who sold it to me sold it without a hard drive. I am completely stuck with what to do next! I’ve looked online at hard drives which are not too expensive but will this have the correct OS on?
I am really stuck on whether I purchase one, will it just be a blank hard drive with no system settings on. If anyone can resolve this or help to sort this problem please help!

 

[honestone]

We need some important information:

1. What exact Mac model is it?

2. How are you making posts here? If it is with another Mac, what model is it?

For #1, it is critical to know what exact model it is, so that it can be determined which Mac OS can run on it. Given it is a 2007 model, it will certainly not be able to run Mojave, High Sierra, Sierra, or El Capitan, at the minimum.

 

[LouieB23]

We need some important information:

1. What exact Mac model is it?

2. How are you making posts here? If it is with another Mac, what model is it?

For #1, it is critical to know what exact model it is, so that it can be determined which Mac OS can run on it. Given it is a 2007 model, it will certainly not be able to run Mojave, High Sierra, Sierra, or El Capitan, at the minimum.

It is a A1224 Apple iMac. I have purchased a usb off of eBay will el capital on it and tried to buy a hard drive but don’t know whether this will work. Please let me know if you have any suggestions!!

 

[LouieB23]

Also not got another Mac, I am using my iPad to post to this site

 

[honestone]

First, A1224 is not definitive enough. There are quite a few iMac models associated with "A1224":

https://everymac.com/ultimate-mac-lookup/?search_keywords=a1224

Given, though, that you stated yours is a 2007 model, I suspect it is one of the first 2 on that list. Which one is it?

Next, the maximum Mac OS either of those machines can run is El Capitan, OS 10.11.x (last version was V10.11.6). So, the USB stick you have with El Capitan on it should be fine.

Third, unfortunately you are not presently setup to do anything. What you need to do is 1) find a friend who has a "newer" Mac, 2) purchase a hard drive along with an external case, 3) connect the drive to your friend's Mac, and use Disk Utility there to Erase and Format the external drive, 4) use that USB stick and the (empty) drive inside the case on your friend's Mac to install El Capitan onto the drive, and 5) install the drive inside your iMac. The other way to do it is 1) find a friend who has a "newer" Mac (it will need to have a Firewire 800 port), 2) purchase a bare hard drive and install it inside your iMac, 3) connect the 2 Macs with a Firewire 800 cable, 4) boot your iMac in "Target Disk Mode", 5) Erase and Format the drive inside the iMac with Disk Utility on your friend's machine, 6) install El Capitan from the UDSB stick (plugged into a USB port on your friend's Mac), and finally 7) turn everything off, unplug everything, and then start up your iMac.

I am not aware of doing any such thing using your iPad.

 

[honestone]

There is one "somewhat" easier possibility, but I am waiting for clarification about it. Stay tuned!

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

If it is a 2007 model iMac, it shipped with either Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger or 10.5 Leopard. The maximum it will support is Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan.

If you purchase a new hard drive, it will not have an operating system pre-installed. They are blank from the factory. In addition, it is not a simple user-serviceable process to install a hard drive into an iMac. Internal components can easily be damaged if you don't have the experience to do so.

Normally, any USB flash drives you purchase off eBay are technically not a licensed copy of Mac OS X, and violate the software license agreement. In addition, it would depend on how it is setup as to whether you could use it to install Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan onto another drive.

Honestly, I suggest finding a local Apple Authorized Service Provider to purchase/install the hard drive and install a copy of Mac OS X. You could also use an external FireWire drive instead of an internal drive, and install Mac OS X on it. An iMac will startup and run from an external, although the fans may kick up if the internal drive sensor isn't connected.

Hope that helps,

C

 

[RonProchot]

Hi!

Entering this discussion 4 years after it was originally posted, is probably not much help to anyone, however I did come upon it, so perhaps others will too. I am not an experienced computer techie, but I managed to upgrade my iMac 2008 and install a 960GB Mercury Electra SSD with the help of several good videos available on line, mostly those from Other World Computing.

One requirement however is you must have reasonably stable hands and fingers, the tools to do the work, and you MUST work in a very organized fashion so that you know what part came from where and where it goes on reassembly. For those of us who do not live near a licensed Apple Service Depot, I've found OWC to be an excellent source of parts/toos, information and expertise.

I too used my iPad in order to follow along in the videos as I was performing the upgrade. Many years later, this iMac (with OSX 10.10.5) is still running very well.

MERRY CHRISTMAS to you all. (Dec. 20, 2022)

Ron