Restoring Old iMac

[JohnieBGood]

I have an iMac 11,1 A1312 MB953LL/A that I think has a 2.66 GHz Core i5 processor. I’ve installed 8GB of new memory and I’m installing a new 4TB hard drive. However it appears that the OS is determined by the model number instead of the hardware configuration. My model appears to be compatible with High Sierra, and I have a Snow Leopard (10.6) CD. So will I be able to upgrade to High Sierra (10.13) online after I install my OS 10.6? Thanks

 

[TonyAguila]

If the iMac has internet connectivity by itself, you could try to install macOS from Recovery.Theoretically, you should be able to connect to the internet even without a working system on the drive. If you are able to boot into Recovery, you should be able to access Disk Utility and macOS installer. If it will allow you to, I suggest reformatting the drive as APFS. I believe that APFS was first introduced in High Sierra. Afterwards, see if you can install macOS. Recovery will always offer to install the newest version of macOS that your Mac can run.

Good luck.

 

[JohnieBGood]

If the iMac has internet connectivity by itself, you could try to install macOS from Recovery.Theoretically, you should be able to connect to the internet even without a working system on the drive. If you are able to boot into Recovery, you should be able to access Disk Utility and macOS installer. If it will allow you to, I suggest reformatting the drive as APFS. I believe that APFS was first introduced in High Sierra. Afterwards, see if you can install macOS. Recovery will always offer to install the newest version of macOS that your Mac can run.

Good luck.

 

[JohnieBGood]

Hi Tony, thank you for getting back to me. I forgot to mention that there is no hard drive, so I am installing a new one. Thanks

 

[TonyAguila]

Hi Tony, thank you for getting back to me. I forgot to mention that there is no hard drive, so I am installing a new one. Thanks

I hope you’re putting in an SSD instead of a hard drive.