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I have an old iMac with the specs below.
I want to install the most recent OS available for this machine.
I want erase all existing data and accounts on the machine.
I do not have admin access.
I have an apple id, not associated with this machine.

If Yosemite 10.10.5 is the most recent that can be installed on this machine, then I want to erase all existing data and accounts on the machine.

What can I do?

Available: 158.72 GB (158,723,710,976 bytes)
Capacity: 999.35 GB (999,345,127,424 bytes)
Mount Point: /
File System: Journaled HFS+
Writable: Yes
Ignore Ownership: No
BSD Name: disk0s2
Volume UUID: 94E5A9F7-B5AC-35BA-8B5C-D3973289C5F4
Physical Drive:
Media Name: ST31000528ASQ Media
Medium Type: Rotational
Protocol: SATA
Internal: Yes
Partition Map Type: GPT (GUID Partition Table)
S.M.A.R.T. Status: Verified

screenshot

harddisk

Edit: I've now done this:

Download El Capitan file InstallMacOSX.dmg to hard drive
Dbl-click on this file.
It opens folder that shows InstallMacOSX.pkg
Dbl-click on this file.
It opens dialog Install OS X
Click through a few times, then it says Install time remaining: about 2 minutes
Then after a couple of minutes it shows a message:
The installation was successful. The software was installed

I restarted the machine and ran installer. Now running OS X El Capitan 10.11.6

Then did all the above again with Sierra. Now running macOS Sierra 10.12.6

Now I go to the High Sierra page and attempt to install it and I see this error:

HIGH SIERRA

Al Lelopath
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2 Answers2

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According to everyman.com, the latest version of macOS for your Mac is High Sierra. There is this previous Ask Different question regarding gaining Administrator access: I don't have administrator account on my mac. You should be able to get High Sierra from the Apple website How to get old versions of macOS. There is also this previous Ask Different question: How can I download an older version of OS X/macOS?. One option, for a clean install of High Sierra, would be to create a bootable installer, boot from the installer, erase the internal drive and install macOS.

Example of Downloading High Sierra

Note: All updates available from the App Store application must be downloaded and installed before proceeding.

Open Safari and enter the URL https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211683, as shown below.

The webpage shown below should appear.

Scroll down until you see the link "macOS High Sierra", as shown below.

After selecting the link labeled "macOS High Sierra", the App Store application should open and the following should appear.

Note: If the following does not appear, then all updates available from the App Store application where not downloaded and installed as required.

app store

At this point you should be able to select Get to start the download of the Install macOS High Sierra application.

Note: If the Install macOS High Sierra application opens, then quit the application.

David Anderson
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  • I have downloaded macOSUpdCombo10.13.6.dmg and put it on a USB drive. However, the instructions to create a bootable installer require the admin password, which I do not have. – Al Lelopath Jan 10 '22 at 15:59
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    Al: Why did you download the macOSUpdCombo10.13.6.dmg file? I ask, because I do not see where you would need this file. In other words, this file first requires High Sierra to be already installed. If you install High Sierra, then you should get macOS 10.13.6. Are you still using Yosemite? If so, have you tried to get Administrator access by using any of the answers to the question: "I don't have administrator account on my mac"? – David Anderson Jan 10 '22 at 16:44
  • I'm not sure why the answer included instructions to create a bootable installer, which would include downloading macOSUpdCombo10.13.6.dmg and require the admin password (when I don't have one). Regardless, following the "I don't have adminstrator account.." instructions, I now have my own Admin account on the machine. When I click on the macOSUpdCombo10.13.6.dmg, I get a "corrupt image" message. I've downloaded it several times, so I don't think the file is actually corrupt, but this message means something else. – Al Lelopath Jan 10 '22 at 17:52
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    No part of the answer mentions downloading a combo updater. A combo updater is of no use to you whatsoever until you have that OS 10.13 on your Mac already. It will not upgrade any earlier OS. – Tetsujin Jan 10 '22 at 17:55
  • Thanks for explaining that. So I download macOSUpd10.13.2.dmg and then clicking on that I get the same "corrupt image" message. – Al Lelopath Jan 10 '22 at 18:06
  • Or trying to use the command: sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ High\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /USB30FD

    /USB30FD is not a valid volume mount point.

     – Al Lelopath Jan 10 '22 at 18:19
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    You cannot create install media from any updater. I don't know where you found either of those, but it wasn't from any of the links in the answer. You also need to read the creation command line more carefully. Mount points are at /Volumes/volumename – Tetsujin Jan 10 '22 at 18:59
  • Thanks again for your reply. Since I am not finding the right file, would you be able give me a link to the file that I should download? Also, if the name of the USB drive is "USB30FD", does that mean the command line should be "... /Volumes/USB30FD"? – Al Lelopath Jan 10 '22 at 19:07
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    Al, I updated my answer with an explanation of how to download the High Sierra Installer. I now realize Apple may have made some recent changes that may require additional modifications to my answer. However, I will not be able to make any modifications unless you first comment on any problems you find with my answer. – David Anderson Jan 11 '22 at 22:42
  • The file I get when from the last page shown in your answer is macOSUpdCombo10.13.6.dmg, which according to @Tetsugin is of no use whatsoever. So what do I do? – Al Lelopath Jan 15 '22 at 02:57
  • and to follow that. so I think I need to install the base OS, i,e. 10.13.0, before using an update like macOSUpdCombo10.13.6, which makes sense, but I don't see where to get 10.13.0. – Al Lelopath Jan 15 '22 at 22:19
  • Al, I can not help you. Your responses to my instructions are completely different from what I am getting when testing. If you can post a response which coincides with one of the responses I have received, then maybe we can proceed. – David Anderson Jan 15 '22 at 23:29
  • Are you saying you are able to download 10.13.0? or that you can install 10.13.6 on top of 10.10.5 (i.e. High Sierra update on top of Yosemite)? – Al Lelopath Jan 16 '22 at 16:23
  • If I had to make a guess about your Mac, I would guess you should first download El Capitan, then make an El Capitan flash drive installer. Use the flash drive to upgrade or do a clean install of El Capitan. Afterwards, make sure all updates for El Capitan have been downloaded and installed. When finished, then proceed to High Sierra. As I said, this is just a guess. Other better paths may exist. – David Anderson Jan 16 '22 at 17:13
  • Please see addition to the question – Al Lelopath Jan 17 '22 at 00:10
  • Try renaming the Install macOS High Sierra application to Install macOS High Sierra Bad, then try to downloading the Install macOS High Sierra application from the App Store. – David Anderson Jan 17 '22 at 02:13
  • Renaming this file was not sufficient, I still got the same error. However I then moved it to trash and emptied trash and then I was able to install High Sierra. Phew. – Al Lelopath Jan 17 '22 at 17:12
  • Can I assume the version of High Sierra you installed is macOS 10.13.6? Did you upgrade to reach High Sierra without erasing the volume before installing? I ask this because in your question you stated "I want erase all existing data and accounts on the machine." – David Anderson Jan 17 '22 at 19:17
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Given the age of this machine, consider dropping in a SATA-based SSD rather than the spinning drive it likely still has. Doesn't have to be be new - I put a 64 GB SSD in a 2007 imac successfully.

This will give you a completely blank disk to start from, and it will be a virgin install by definition. Also, its a decent speed boost and also helps with virtual memory speed.

Later you can connect your old drive via a USB-SATA adapter and read in any files you still want, then format it.

Criggie
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  • Hmmm..that's a possibility. I've added more info to the question about the hard disk. You can see it is a 1TB drive, so I should probably go up to 2TB. What would you recommend that will fit? – Al Lelopath Jan 11 '22 at 00:08
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    @AlLelopath a SSD would be more for increased speed than capacity. It likely needs a 3.5" SATA drive, so a 2.5" in an adapter should work, make less heat, and work faster. I'd not spend a lot of money on an 11 year old machine. – Criggie Jan 11 '22 at 02:15
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    I understand that speed is the reason for the SSD but while I'm at it, I figure I might as well go for 2TB. So this is a 2.5 SATA SSD, This will work, yes? What is the adapter that you speak of? – Al Lelopath Jan 11 '22 at 03:53
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    By adapter, I mean a cheap metal bracket that can screw to the outside of the 2.5" drive to give the dimensions of a 3.5" drive. Something like https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/ADPKIN2439105/Kingston-SNA-BR235-25-SSD-to-35-standard-bay-Mount and it should cost very little. Its just folded metal or plastic, with some screw holes. A separate question is whether your mac can see and use a 2TB drive, and whether it can boot off a 2 TB drive (two related but different questions) – Criggie Jan 11 '22 at 08:07
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    Note that both 2007 and 2009 iMacs only have a 3 Gb/s SATA interface. To get full use in terms of speed from a SATA SSD, the interface needs to be 6 Gb/s, which did not occur for iMacs until the 2011 model year. See this everymac website for a storage interface listing by iMac model. – David Anderson Jan 11 '22 at 08:27
  • I'd concentrate on the OP's actual issue before going down this route. As such, this is not an answer to the question as asked. – Tetsujin Jan 11 '22 at 09:10
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    @Tetsujin: What you say is true, but I am nonetheless appreciative of this "answer" and may end up going this route. – Al Lelopath Jan 11 '22 at 14:42
  • @Criggie: This is my computer. https://everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/specs/imac-core-i7-2.8-27-inch-aluminum-late-2009-specs.html How do I tell what the max size drive it can handle is? – Al Lelopath Jan 17 '22 at 00:51
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    @AlLelopath Googling doesn't give an answer. Some info at https://everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/imac-aluminum-faq/imac-intel-21.5-inch-27-inch-aluminum-how-to-upgrade-hard-drive.html This thread also suggests that the limit is somewhere north of 2TB without stating a limit https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7706832 – Criggie Jan 17 '22 at 01:10