Early 2008 Model - Installing Yosemite on Bootable USB

[Williamc64]

Hello everyone. I really hope someone can help me get my Macbook pro up and running. I purchased a second hand Yosemite Early 2008 model from a yard sale. Trouble is I can't get passed the installation process when I boot it up. The hard drive had been wiped by the previous owner and when I turned it on I clicked on the reinstall OS tab that appears and I got as far as entering my Apple account name and password (had to create one on Windows as I've never used Apple before with any device), but the Mac installation paused and said "This item is temporarily unavailable" when I tried to sign in and I can't complete the installation process. I did a google search and it seems the only way around it was to download the Mac OS X installation file on Windows and transfer the file to a bootable USB device and run the installation on the boot menu. Problem is I followed the steps needed using Windows config and TransMAC to place the file onto a Mac readable USB, but when I turn on the Macbook pro holding the option key the USB bootable device does not appear, and I'm back at square one again. Tried a different USB device and the same issue occurs. I've heard that the early 2008 models might not recognize bootable USBs. I've also heard about using Terminal to get it to run or detect it, but I have no idea how that works. Can anyone help me complete the installation. Thank you for any advice.

Cheers.

William

 

[Fishrrman]

A 2008 can't do "internet recovery".

Generally, another Mac is the best way to "build" a bootable USB flash drive. I've heard that it can be done using a PC, but doing it that way is a difficult process.

Another option:
- Go on ebay and buy a bootable USB flashdrive with the OS of your choice pre-installed and ready to go. Cost will be about $20.

 

[Williamc64]

A 2008 can't do "internet recovery".

Generally, another Mac is the best way to "build" a bootable USB flash drive. I've heard that it can be done using a PC, but doing it that way is a difficult process.

Another option:
- Go on ebay and buy a bootable USB flashdrive with the OS of your choice pre-installed and ready to go. Cost will be about $20.

Thank you for responding. I found a number of USB flash drives on ebay but they all required a 2012 model or newer. My mac is early 2008. I had purchased a USB flash drive and did the steps on Windows (seen on youtube) to create a mac installer and I transferred it onto a USB flash drive by following the correct steps but my Mac does not detect it when I turn it on and hold the option key at start-up. I've heard that older models require the use of the terminal but I have no clue how to use terminal to run the installer on the USB.

A friend has offered me their Windows laptop. I guess in the meantime I will switch back to Windows. More familiar with it. First computer was a Windows 95 Packard Bell. Those were the days. 😊

 

[davigarma]

A 2008 can't do "internet recovery".

Generally, another Mac is the best way to "build" a bootable USB flash drive. I've heard that it can be done using a PC, but doing it that way is a difficult process.

Another option:
- Go on ebay and buy a bootable USB flashdrive with the OS of your choice pre-installed and ready to go. Cost will be about $20.

I have a 2008 (early) and of course it can make the internet recovery. As long as it is the operating system with which it was purchased. When a different one is installed, it is when it gives the answer it has received, which is not available for that model.

If that model has a usb reader and does not read the usb disk then the machine has an anomaly. It is easy to create an installation disc with the explanations that Apple gives on its website (createinstalmedia)

 

[Amethyst1]

I have a 2008 (early) and of course it can make the internet recovery.

Nope. Yes, you can boot from the local recovery partition and reinstall OS X, which will then download an installer but you cannot boot the machine into Internet Recovery when the hard drive or SSD is completely empty.

 

[davigarma]

Nope. Yes, you can boot from the local recovery partition and reinstall OS X, which will then download an installer but you cannot boot the machine into Internet Recovery when the hard drive or SSD is completely empty.

I had not thought about it, I have never needed it. Generally, I install everything on an empty disk before putting it inside. But I have ever used the Apple HD Recovery and it has downloaded the Apple OS without problems. I still think that Mac is messed up. Yosemite can still be downloaded from Apple's website

 

[almostinsane]

Nope. Yes, you can boot from the local recovery partition and reinstall OS X, which will then download an installer but you cannot boot the machine into Internet Recovery when the hard drive or SSD is completely empty.

I have a 2009 iMac and it has internet recovery (which works with a totally blank HD) so maybe 2009 was when this was first introduced?

 

[Amethyst1]

I have a 2009 iMac and it has internet recovery (which works with a totally blank HD) so maybe 2009 was when this was first introduced?

That's interesting. Internet Recovery was first introduced with Lion (2011) but some 2010 Macs can be upgraded to support it.

 

[bobesch]

Hello everyone. I really hope someone can help me get my Macbook pro up and running. I purchased a second hand Yosemite Early 2008 model from a yard sale. Trouble is I can't get passed the installation process when I boot it up. The hard drive had been wiped by the previous owner and when I turned it on I clicked on the reinstall OS tab that appears and I got as far as entering my Apple account name and password (had to create one on Windows as I've never used Apple before with any device), but the Mac installation paused and said "This item is temporarily unavailable" when I tried to sign in and I can't complete the installation process. I did a google search and it seems the only way around it was to download the Mac OS X installation file on Windows and transfer the file to a bootable USB device and run the installation on the boot menu. Problem is I followed the steps needed using Windows config and TransMAC to place the file onto a Mac readable USB, but when I turn on the Macbook pro holding the option key the USB bootable device does not appear, and I'm back at square one again. Tried a different USB device and the same issue occurs. I've heard that the early 2008 models might not recognize bootable USBs. I've also heard about using Terminal to get it to run or detect it, but I have no idea how that works. Can anyone help me complete the installation. Thank you for any advice.

Cheers.

William

Hi William,
internet recovery of ElCapitan on an early-2008 MBP never worked for me either.
Made all my ElCap-installations by CCC-FW-copies from one to another machine.
If you don't mind to go a few steps further and install a patched version of Sierra/HighSierra/Mojave, the most convenient option is to prepare a 16GB USB-BootStick with @dosdude1 's Patcher and install one of the "non-supported" macOS-versions. But You'll need another Mac to run @dosdude1's Patchers.
You may alternatively create a small 12GB partition on Your 2008-MBP's hard drive's end to hold the patched installer, so it may also serve as a rescue partition for any re-installation/re-patching.
But for Sierra/HighSierra/Mojave an SSD and 4GB RAM is kind of mandatory, while Yosemite might work well for a patient user.
Good luck!

 

[Amethyst1]

while Yosemite might work well for a patient user.

In my experience, El Capitan is faster than Yosemite though.

 

[bobesch]

In my experience, El Capitan is faster than Yosemite though.

I have one early-2008 MBP with spinning-drive, that runs ElCapitan just for the purpose of VPN/RPD.
Aaah, life's too short ...

 

[almostinsane]

That's interesting. Internet Recovery was first introduced with Lion (2011) but some 2010 Macs can be upgraded to support it.

Shoot, I could be wrong. But I think I remember first using internet recovery to load an OS onto a blank SSD a few months ago and then realizing that it was 3 OS’s old. Then I went down the path of creating a bootable USB for it with whatever the last OS supported on it is.