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Cannot reach Recovery mode to switch from External boot up drive to internal boot up drive

I have a 2009 iMac running El Capitan. The current hard drive running the OS is external. I want to switch back to the internal drive. Disk Utility has allowed me to mount, erase, and repair the internal drive. It appears to be ready for use. Since the internal drive is mounted I thought I could use Recovery mode to switch to the internal drive and give instruction to restore the OS and all other files from my time machine backup. I have been trying to get to Recovery mode by restarting and holding Command + R as well as Command + R + option but instead of Recovery mode the computer brings me back to the user sign in screen. Am I going about this wrong? Is there another way? The Apple Community has been a great resource in the past and any help would be much appreciated.

iMac, OS X 10.11

Posted on May 3, 2022 2:38 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on May 3, 2022 2:45 PM

Welcome to Apple Support Community!


To install OS X El Capitan back on your internal drive, the best way is to download a new copy of the installer, and point the installation location to the internal disk.


Link: How to get old versions of macOS - Apple Support. Be sure to select OS X El Capitan 10.11.


After you download the file, open the DMG, and run the installer. A new OS X El Capitan installer app will be installed located in your "Applications" folder (also accessible from Launchpad). After it's installed, open it, and when it asks where the OS X install destination should be, select "Show All Disks".


Jack

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3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

May 3, 2022 2:45 PM in response to Sideshowdad

Welcome to Apple Support Community!


To install OS X El Capitan back on your internal drive, the best way is to download a new copy of the installer, and point the installation location to the internal disk.


Link: How to get old versions of macOS - Apple Support. Be sure to select OS X El Capitan 10.11.


After you download the file, open the DMG, and run the installer. A new OS X El Capitan installer app will be installed located in your "Applications" folder (also accessible from Launchpad). After it's installed, open it, and when it asks where the OS X install destination should be, select "Show All Disks".


Jack

Cannot reach Recovery mode to switch from External boot up drive to internal boot up drive

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