Hello everyone I'm new to mac and need help !

[new2imac]

I've have always used windows and never really used apple os except on an ipod. So, I thought I'd buy an older imac to get myself used to using that operating system. I failed ! somehow, I messed with it and the operating system didn't start up and it said please restart for settings to update, over and over and i did everything it said to do but it didn't work. So I tried installing a different os x from mountain lion which it had. Not only did it no install, but I formatted the hard drive for the install. So now I cant do anything. Please help me ?? !! I have tried to install 3 different mac os x, lion, mountain lion, and leopard from usb and dvd but nothing works. I don't know what to do. Is there a program I can use to recover mac os ? from usb or disk?

 

[motate]

I've have always used windows and never really used apple os except on an ipod. So, I thought I'd buy an older imac to get myself used to using that operating system. I failed ! somehow, I messed with it and the operating system didn't start up and it said please restart for settings to update, over and over and i did everything it said to do but it didn't work. So I tried installing a different os x from mountain lion which it had. Not only did it no install, but I formatted the hard drive for the install. So now I cant do anything. Please help me ?? !! I have tried to install 3 different mac os x, lion, mountain lion, and leopard from usb and dvd but nothing works. I don't know what to do. Is there a program I can use to recover mac os ? from usb or disk?

I could be wrong but i'll give it a shot. My first question is, "how old is the iMac. Once you upgrade from one operating to the next level, the apple will not allow you to go back. A lot of questions. First: Do you have enough ram for the install? The newest operating system out there right now is El Capitan. Do you still have the original disk that came with the iMac. If you do, the first thing you have to do is put THAT back on the computer. Using the operating system disk boot the computer. Hopefully you will be able to do this from the original disk. You will most likely have to reformat but that's ok for you have nothing to lose. IF you can get the original software back on the computer, go to the app store on the internet and download el capitan. Once loaded, you should be back in business.Let me know how you come out.

Mo

 

[oldscribe]

Hi New2imac,

So, I thought I'd buy an older imac

We need to know the year, that way we can determine its original OS X, which you will have to reload first.

And motate

Once you upgrade from one operating to the next level, the apple will not allow you to go back

You can always go back OS X levels.

 

[motate]

Hi New2imac,



We need to know the year, that way we can determine its original OS X, which you will have to reload first.

And motate


You can always go back OS X levels.

I have tried on my desktop unit and have not been able to. I'm just typing from personal experience. I admit when i've tried this I did NOT format the drive for I didn't want to lose the media on the machine so I may have mis-typed.

 

[oldscribe]

Hi,

So it came loaded with mountain lion, but I suspect this may not be it's original OS X if as you say it is an old iMac. Thus trying to get mountain lion back on first will not work, you have to replace its original OS X then upgrade from there.
If it is a 2010 model for example then you would be looking at snow leopard as it's OS X ,did you get any installation discs with the iMac?

Also could you give us the model number as that may help.

 

[new2imac]

I could be wrong but i'll give it a shot. My first question is, "how old is the iMac. Once you upgrade from one operating to the next level, the apple will not allow you to go back. A lot of questions. First: Do you have enough ram for the install? The newest operating system out there right now is El Capitan. Do you still have the original disk that came with the iMac. If you do, the first thing you have to do is put THAT back on the computer. Using the operating system disk boot the computer. Hopefully you will be able to do this from the original disk. You will most likely have to reformat but that's ok for you have nothing to lose. IF you can get the original software back on the computer, go to the app store on the internet and download el capitan. Once loaded, you should be back in business.Let me know how you come out.

Mo

Thank you for responding and giving it a try. I appreciate it. Okay here is some info: Apple iMac - 20" LCD - Core 2 Duo 2 GHz - 1 GB RAM - 250 GB HDD - ATI Radeon HD 2400XT - MacOS X 10.5. I bought it on craigslist for a good deal, but I didnt get any operating system disks with it. The problem I have is that after I updated it couldn't start and kept saying press power button down to restart and finish changes. I did that and it just kept doing the same thing over again. I noticed behind that message there was all the startup info and errors showing. So I downloaded the same OS it came with to try to restore or reinstall and I tried everything. dvd and usb boot discs i made with mac os x on three different usb flash drives, I used all the keyboard startup shortcuts and even the terminal but nothing works. It would start trying to install or restore for a while than the same message saying I need 2gs of memory to finish the install, but it does give the option to recover from back up which I can't do because I never backed up the imac or used time machine. I only had it a few days. But those days it worked perfectly until the update. So my question is if I can recover it back to only what it was before the update? I tried the command and R keys and tried installing ubuntu even, but nothing has worked. I really am a windows user and can do everything on those, even building and repairing them, lol, but I feel like a dummy on macs. Thank you and I hope you can help, if not, I am grateful you tried because nobody else responded.

 

[new2imac]

Hi New2imac,



We need to know the year, that way we can determine its original OS X, which you will have to reload first.

And motate


You can always go back OS X levels.

Apple iMac - 20" LCD - Core 2 Duo 2 GHz - 1 GB RAM - 250 GB HDD - ATI Radeon HD 2400XT - MacOS X 10.5

 

[new2imac]

Hi,

So it came loaded with mountain lion, but I suspect this may not be it's original OS X if as you say it is an old iMac. Thus trying to get mountain lion back on first will not work, you have to replace its original OS X then upgrade from there.
If it is a 2010 model for example then you would be looking at snow leopard as it's OS X ,did you get any installation discs with the iMac?

Also could you give us the model number as that may help.

Apple iMac - 20" LCD - Core 2 Duo 2 GHz - 1 GB RAM - 250 GB HDD - ATI Radeon HD 2400XT - MacOS X 10.5. No I didn't get the installation disks with it.

 

[oldscribe]

Hi,

Without the exact year we are in the dark, if 2008 then could be Leopard.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

Sounds like an aluminum iMac (20-inch Mid 2007) to me. That would have come with Mac OS X Tiger 10.4 or Leopard 10.5, depending on when it was purchased.

C