Installation after formatting

[Hashmi]

Hullo!
Please please help! Im relatively new to Mac. Have a MacBook Pro. It wasnt starting since ages so I followed instructions and went through the DU- erased disk and tried to reinstall Lion. It kept saying its not available on the app store anymore. So another internet search and I find I should download Maverick. Only Safari says it cant access the App Store since it doesnt recognise 'macappstore' adresses.
Im going mad. Please help!

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

-Which model MacBook Pro?
-Can you give the exact steps that you used to erase the hard drive using Disk Utility?

C

 

[Hashmi]

Thank you for replying!
How do I find out what model it is?
I pressed commd n R while starting up.
Grey screen popped up.. asking me to wait. Then desktop utilities gave the option of using the time machine, reinstalling lion.. etc
I chose the disk utility option I think its called. Following instructions from a mac help chat, I erased data, deleted partition and went back to reinstall lion. Went thru all motions to install and it said this is currently not available..

 

[Hashmi]

So for now my mac is an empty shell. And I have no idea what to do

 

[Cory Cooper]

If you enter you Mac's serial number here, it will tell you what exact model you have:

Check Your Service and Support Coverage

Once we have that, we can determine the course of action, depending on what version of Mac OS X came on it from the factory.

C

 

[Hashmi]

It says MacBook Pro 13 inch early 2011.
Does that help?

 

[Hashmi]

It was running os x lion 10.7

 

[Cory Cooper]

Yes, that model originally came with Mac OS X 10.6.6/10.6.7 Snow Leopard. There should have been grey discs that came with it, which you can use to reinstall Snow Leopard, then upgrade to a later version of Mac OS X. including Yosemite, via the App Store.

Do you still have those discs?

C

 

[Hashmi]

No it was a gift from someone.. came so. Would these disks be available? Though I doubt Id find them in the back of beyond where I live..

 

[Cory Cooper]

They are available through Apple, but it would probably be better to get a retail version instead of the machine-specific grey discs. Usually, an Apple Store would be able to reinstall Snow Leopard for you as well.

Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard

C

 

[Hashmi]

I might be able to find copied cds somewhere in the market. Would they do?

 

[honestone]

I suspect you can probably get it on eBay, but here is a link for Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/version-Leopard-computer-processor-required/dp/B001AMHWP8

One thing you'll also need to do is that after you install anything less than OS 10.6.8 (I believe no matter where you purchase it, that will be the case), you'll then need to upgrade to OS 10.6.8, before attempting to upgrade further. You can get the OS 10.6.8 Combo Update from here:

https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1399?locale=en_US

It's imperative that you get and apply the Combo Updater. Any other OS 10.6.8 Updater requires OS 10.6.7, and I'm not sure if you can find that particular version. Anyway, it is always better to use the Combo Updater (when applicable).

 

[honestone]

By the way, the Snow Leopard one I have is a DVD. So, that could be what you'll be purchasing.