iMac hard drive initialise issue

[mattymoo]

So i have a mid 2011 iMac 27
the hard drive seemed to be having issues and I tried to replace the os on it but it created small partition with os and all my files on the rest of hard drive seem to be inaccessible.....
Replaced the hard drive with an ssd evo 850 or 60 and downloaded the os but it downloaded and installed 10.7.5 and won't let me upgrade past this. i attached my old internal hard drive trough usb but say not initialised...
can any one help me to sort these problems out before i take a sledge hammer to the entire lot and retire to an ice berg in the north sea

 

[honestone]

Need to ask some questions:

1. What exact Mac OS were you using before you tried to upgrade?

2. Which OS did you try to use for "replacing" the old one? And how did you do the "replace"? Did you just try to upgrade "in place", ie, have the newer Mac OS just overwrite what was on your machine already?

3. Have you ever done any disk cleanup/maintenance/repairs, from a software perspective? You actually can do a good amount of disk cleanup on your own, and there are a number of excellent products available (both free and commercial) that can help you with those tasks.

4. This is critical: are you making backups to an external device? And if (hopefully) you are, what software are you using for that?

5. What third party software (ie, non-Apple) do you have? You will most likely need to upgrade some/all of those programs to be compatible with the newer OS.

6. Is the Samsung EVO the 850 or 860 mode? Also, what is its capacity?

7. How are you making posts here? Are you using the iMac, or another Mac? And if another Mac, what exact model?

 

[mattymoo]

I was using high Sierra from memory and tried to replace it
The evo is a 850
I haven't backed up for 6 mths but used time machine last time. just using iPad or phone to post here!
I was hoping I could still access the hard drive I took out...it appears when I plug it in to USB and gives me a green good tick but am unable to iniatilise

 

[mattymoo]

ok well i will try pressing a few buttons and see what happens and will report back what happens !