iMac (hard drive failed) not booting from USB boot drive

[lanzarob62]

Hi, I hope someone here can help me. I have a mid-2010 iMac. My hard drive failed and a tech person removed it for me. I bought a 32GB Cruzer Blade 323GB and installed a boot version of OSX High Sierra. I tested it on my MacBook Pro and it works. However, when I insert into my iMac I can't get it to work. The machine starts up and then I press the option key, but nothing. Just a black screen. After a short time I hear a fan noise. Inevitably I then have too manually shut down the iMac. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

High Sierra is the maximum version of OS X/macOS your iMac can run. Sounds like there may be more hardware issues than the HD.

Are you holding the Option key immediately after powering on, or after you hear the chime?

C

 

[lanzarob62]

Thanks for you reply Cory. I have tried both!

 

[Cory Cooper]

No worries.

Which model is the MacBook Pro that it works on?

C

 

[lanzarob62]

No worries.

Which model is the MacBook Pro that it works on?

C

Macbook Pro Retina 13 inch early 2015 2.7Ghz i5

 

[Cory Cooper]

OK, thanks.

-Is it an Apple keyboard?
-USB or Bluetooth?

C

 

[lanzarob62]

Re: the iMac I have tried both apple keyboard and a logitech with the same result. Both USB. Tried the USB boot drive in different USB ports

R

 

[Cory Cooper]

Have you tried:
-How to reset the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac
-Reset NVRAM or PRAM on your Mac

Then try Option booting.

C

 

[lanzarob62]

Thank you. Yes, I have tried and now just again. Unfortunately, no joy!
R