Reinstall macOS High Sierra

[Crossie0405]

Hi there,

I’m having problems reinstalling High Sierra on my mid-2011 iMac. I keeping getting The Recovery server could not be contacted messages. I’m connected to the internet and I’ve also updated the iMac date and time via Terminal but I still get the message. Can anyone help? Thanks

 

[TonyAguila]

Hi there,

I’m having problems reinstalling High Sierra on my mid-2011 iMac. I keeping getting The Recovery server could not be contacted messages. I’m connected to the internet and I’ve also updated the iMac date and time via Terminal but I still get the message. Can anyone help? Thanks

Okay, try this suggestion I made on an earlier thread. I will just paste in what I wrote,

“Open Terminal (located in /System/Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app). Then enter this command,

softwareupdate --list-full-installers

Press <return>. You should see the list of system software and version available for your Mac. The newest version applicable to your Mac should be on top. Make a note on that version number (##.#.#) and let me know.”

…
If you are determined to stay with High Sierra, get the version number that comes after the first entry of High Sierra. I can’t find out for myself because the oldest version available for my setup is Monterey.

 

[Crossie0405]

Thanks Tony,

Version number is 10.13.6

 

[TonyAguila]

Thanks Tony,

Version number is 10.13.6

Wonderful! Now, go to Terminal again and enter this code:

sudo softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 10.13.6

Enter your password and the download should begin. It will place the installer file in your Applications folder. Once it finishes, it will probably self-launch and start the installation. At this point, QUIT the installer because you need to make a copy of the file, probably named “Install macOS High Sierra.app,” or something similar, to another location that you will use when you create a self-contained installer. This is for creating the installer disk, and for future reinstallations.

If you are on the Mac that you wish to install this version of High Sierra, after making the copy, you can go ahead and restart the installer if you are confident that the Mac is stable at this point. Otherwise, you could restart, preferably in Safe Mode, but not absolutely necessary. Restart the installer and the process will again start.

If the reinstall was meant for your other Mac, then you can copy the installer file to its Applications folder and run it there. If you still need to make a bootable installer, I can give you the specific instructions for doing it. Let me know. Good luck!

 

[Crossie0405]

Great! It’s doesn’t seem to like “sudo”. It says command not found?

 

[Crossie0405]

 

[TonyAguila]

View attachment 4850

Are you signed in as an Administrator?

 

[Crossie0405]

Not sure. I reset my iMac to factory settings and now need to reinstall macOS from recovery.

 

[TonyAguila]

Not sure. I reset my iMac to factory settings and now need to reinstall macOS from recovery.

I have forgotten what the windows look like in High Sierra, but you can go into Users & Groups to check if your user is Admin or not. I don’t think you can set up a system without at least one Admin user.

 

[Crossie0405]

Thanks for your help Tony, much appreciated. All I can seem to do is get into recovery mode. I’m not able to get into anything else, I think because I’ve deleted/erased my system.

 

[MacsBug]

Instead of using Command R to get into recovery, hold down Command Option R. This will let you log directly into the recovery server. It will then download and install macOS 10.13.6

 

[Crossie0405]

thanks MacsBug. I’ve just tried this and it starts internet recovery and then I’m stuck on the Apple logo? I’ve rebooted and back at the same issue.