Please help reinstall os x on older imac

[telestar97]

can anyone help, have older iMac 2006 had mountain lion installed. I think it came with tiger , I wanted to do factory out of the box reset. I formatted drive. it took me to internet recovery . said the operating system was not available try back later. apple website says the iMac is obsolete. I can get into disk utility. I can get into safari. . I can see base system folder. it says there are folders and files in base system I cant access them. is there anything I can do to get this iMac up and running. I also have an hard drive from an even older iMac with snow leopard installed if that would help anyway. please forgive me I am a pc user. I would like to get this mac running again before I have to trash it. it was running before I messed with it. it was a gift from my brother to my daughter. maybe set up with my brothers apple id. he has since passed on . any help a appreciated

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

If Internet Recovery isn't working, it may be tough, unless you have the grey install disc(s) that came with it. You could try to access Internet Recovery with an Ethernet connection, instead of Wi-Fi - if that is possible in your location.

Unfortunately, the latest version of Mac OS X that the 2006 iMacs will run is Snow Leopard. Are you sure it was running OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion? You can check the exact model of the iMac by entering the serial number here: Check Your Service and Support Coverage. Let us know the exact model name - i.e. iMac (Mid 2006 17-inch) and we can confirm the correct latest version it will run.

The oldest version still available from Apple's website is a retail OS X Lion (10.7) install disc for $19.99 USD, or OS X 10.11 El Capitan from a direct download link - free.

C

 

[telestar97]

thank you for your response, I had the two macs mixed up ( iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2011) is the actual mac I'm trying to fix . I was using Ethernet connection. I read somewhere I might need my brothers apple id which I don't have. idk thanx. I believe it had mountain lion installed before I formatted the HD there are no disks in the box

 

[Cory Cooper]

Ahhh...that makes things a little easier. That model came with OS X 10.6.6/7 and can support up to macOS 10.13.6 High Sierra.

You may be able to download El Capitan from the link above, then make an installer on a flash drive if you have another Mac.

C