Bit of a pickle

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Rob Beattie

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Aug 4, 2020, 5:42:14 AM8/4/20
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I was trying to do a clean install of El Capitan on an old MacBook and have run into some bother. 

Having erased the hard disk and then used Cmd+R to get at OSX Utilities, it's saying that it can't re-install OSX- "no packages were eligible for install. contact the software manufacturer for assistance. Quit the installer to restart your computer and try again."

I've done that several times to no avail.

I have located the El Capitan package (https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT206886) and downloaded it onto another Mac. I can presumably then copy this onto an external USB drive and then plug that into my old MacBook.

BUT, given my old Macbook won't boot up (so I can't see or use the Finder etc.) how do I get it to understand that I have this El Capitan (it's a dmg file) on the external drive and then access it so I can carry out the re-install?

Any advice really appreciated!

Rob
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Rob Beattie
Freelance writer and book author
www.robbeattie.com
07769 902820
Twitter: @robbeattie

Jason Davies

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Aug 4, 2020, 6:05:02 AM8/4/20
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Have you tried reinstalling over the internet?

Option/Alt + Command + R

needs internet though...

The other way is to install it onto a USB drive, then start from that and install onto internal drive.

Good luck,
J

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Cheers,

Jason

Jason Davies

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Aug 4, 2020, 6:09:53 AM8/4/20
to 'Jason Davies' via Sussex Mac User Group

Sorry, that was a bit hasty. 'Reinstalling over the internet' means start up holding down those keys.

Also, your newer mac may not run El Capitan and will therefore refuse to start up from it (though usually it wouldn't have let you download it if that was the case). The third, fiddly, option is to create a bootable installer (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372)

I'd go for reinstall over the net - takes a little while to download but much less hassle and should work.

Cheers,
J

Cheers,

Jason

Sam - MacAmbulance

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Aug 4, 2020, 6:20:20 AM8/4/20
to 'Jason Davies' via Sussex Mac User Group
Try making a bootable USB installer from the El Capitan version you downloaded. The eligible packages error is I think because the certificates used to authenticate the installer have expired. Apple could renew them and reissue the installer but they want everyone to use Catalina so like to make it difficult.

Do you have a spare USB drive with 16GB or greater capacity that you wouldn’t mind wiping?
_

Regards
Sam Mullen

+44 (0)7747778022
in...@macambulance.com
www.macambulance.com

MacAmbulance

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Rob Beattie

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Aug 4, 2020, 6:44:44 AM8/4/20
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Thanks. Installing over the Net is the option that doesn't work. I'm quite happy to use the dmg file and I have a spare USB disk but I'm not sure of the process or quite how to search for it. 

Is there an easy guide somewhere?
-----------------
Rob Beattie
Freelance writer and book author
www.robbeattie.com
07769 902820
Twitter: @robbeattie

To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/smug/37885546-5277-45EE-B594-97D400DFD5EF%40macambulance.com.

Sam - MacAmbulance

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Aug 4, 2020, 7:17:34 AM8/4/20
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Plug in your USB drive, I’ll assume it’s called usbdrive when it shows on the desktop

Open Terminal and type in :

sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/usbdrive --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app

Type your password in and confirm deleting the USB drive, then it should copy the files over. You can then boot the Mac up holding down alt on the keyboard and choose the USB installer.
_

Regards
Sam Mullen

+44 (0)7747778022
in...@macambulance.com
www.macambulance.com

MacAmbulance

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Providing Affordable Mac/PC Support and Web Development

MacAmbulance Ltd. is a registered company in England & Wales, registration number 8466597

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Rob Beattie

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Aug 4, 2020, 8:44:26 AM8/4/20
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I don't think I've explained this very well. 

When I plug the USB drive into the old MacBook, nothing shows on the desktop because I can't display the desktop. I see the Apple logo, then the progress bar underneath and then I'm dropped into OS X Utilities.

On the external USB disk I have the DMG file for El Cap. My understanding is that I need to somehow run this to create the PKG and then run that to create the .APP which will actually allow me to re-install El Cap. Sooo....that's my issue. How do I run a file when I can't 'see' it?

Thanks

Rob
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Rob Beattie
Freelance writer and book author
www.robbeattie.com
07769 902820
Twitter: @robbeattie

To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/smug/6FB295B6-218E-48BA-8220-BAB3E715B5B9%40macambulance.com.

Jason Davies

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Aug 4, 2020, 9:09:14 AM8/4/20
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Hi Rob,

You mentioned downloading it on another machine - I think we meant use that machine to create the bootable image. Then unplug it from the working machine and plug into the Macbook. Start up holding down alt and boot from the USB drive.

cheers,
Jason

Rob Beattie

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Aug 4, 2020, 9:40:09 AM8/4/20
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Aha. The mists clear a little. And this would do no harm to the other machine that I'm using to create the bootable image?

Rob
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Rob Beattie
Freelance writer and book author
www.robbeattie.com
07769 902820
Twitter: @robbeattie

To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/smug/91798A94-B197-4BB8-B33A-02E1F1E7988A%40me.com.

Sam - MacAmbulance

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Aug 4, 2020, 9:49:36 AM8/4/20
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It won’t affect the working machine at all

On the MacBook, can you use cmd+space or ctrl+space then search for and open Terminal?


_

Regards
Sam Mullen

+44 (0)7747778022
in...@macambulance.com
www.macambulance.com

MacAmbulance

MacAmbulance Ltd.

Providing Affordable Mac/PC Support and Web Development

MacAmbulance Ltd. is a registered company in England & Wales, registration number 8466597

This email is intended solely for the addressed recipients and may contain privileged or confidential information.

If you have received this email in error please notify the sender and delete the email immediately.



On 4 Aug 2020, at 14:41, Rob Beattie <rob.b...@gmail.com> wrote:



Rob Beattie

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Aug 4, 2020, 10:12:17 AM8/4/20
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Yes I can do that. Just finishing up some work and then will try later this pm and report back!

Many thanks

Rob
-----------------
Rob Beattie
Freelance writer and book author
www.robbeattie.com
07769 902820
Twitter: @robbeattie

To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/smug/5B375D19-E6C1-4BAB-A43C-1452F4F1A5A4%40macambulance.com.

Rob Beattie

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Aug 4, 2020, 12:49:29 PM8/4/20
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Many, many thanks. Worked like a charm and I now have a brand 'new' installation of El Capitan. 

Rob
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Rob Beattie
Freelance writer and book author
www.robbeattie.com
07769 902820
Twitter: @robbeattie

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