You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

can not seem to reinstall os x el capitan to erased hard drive

I have a 2nd hand mac mini that I'm trying to salvage. The Macintosh HD is erased and it is trying to download and install OS X 10.11 El Capitan.

However, when I get to the sign in page for the app store, I'm told "This item is temporarily unavailable. Please try again."

I've searched the forums for solutions and nothing I've tried has worked.

I do not have another mac to access the app store so I'm not sure what my options are...


The box it came in does not match the model, so I don't have the correct specs.

Posted on Jul 1, 2019 1:19 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jul 1, 2019 7:03 PM

If you reboot while holding down the option/alt - command - R keys, that will boot you into Internet Recovery, and install the newest OS that is compatible with your computer. The boot into Internet Recovery is very slow.

Similar questions

13 replies

Jul 1, 2019 1:37 PM in response to _light_guy_

Boot from Recovery. Regular or Internet, depending on the specific Mac mini. Follow the directions to wipe and format as GPT and re-install.


Or use another local Mac to build a bootable installer, and follow the directions there to boot and use that. You'll want to download El Capitan (10.11)—but that may not be in your previous purchases—or High Sierra (10.13), or Mojave (10.14).


I wouldn't bother with something as far back as El Capitan, unless that's the newest OS X supported by this Mac mini.


How to know which model? Flip the Mac mini over and check the model number on the bottom. Or post that.


Or fetch the MacTracker app from either the Mac or iOS App Stores, and look up the model number yourself. (There can sometimes be a couple of related Macs sharing the same model number, but it'll get you in the right range then.)


Or fetch the serial number off the bottom of the Mac, and enter that into the Apple warranty coverage site. Don't post the serial number here, though.


Jul 8, 2019 2:19 PM in response to _light_guy_

_light_guy_ wrote:

Reading through the how-to-create-boot-installer has me concerned as it prompts for an admin password.
As I said above, this device is second hand...


Or use another local Mac... The admin password required here is that of another Mac. The second Mac is the one that builds the installer. Your internal storage is already erased, so you don't have that Mac available to perform this sequence. Then transfer this to the problem Mac, and boot and use it per the information in that Apple build-bootable-media article.

Jul 8, 2019 12:38 PM in response to Eric Root

Here are the results:


This prompts the Install OS X window.

OS X El Capitan 10.11 - continue


Eligibility will be verified - continue


Read and Agree - agree


Select the disk where you want to install OS X

2 options:

Macintosh HD

Recovery HD, which is locked.

Choose Macintosh SD - Install


Sign in prompt - sign in


"This item is temporarily unavailable. Try again later." - OK


And that's it. I assume I'm going to have to build a boot disk?


can not seem to reinstall os x el capitan to erased hard drive

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.