Help installing Yosemite on new HDD, only offering Lion!?

[davidg4781]

I recently picked up a new (to me) mini. I wiped the HDD and I'm trying to install Yosemite using Internet Recovery but the only option I'm given is to install Lion.

Do I need to do that then go through the update to Yosemite?

Also, for some reason, there's no sound coming from it. I"m not sure why yet but I'm not hearing the boot chime, so maybe I'm missing something.

 

[hallux]

Do you have a spare 8+ GB flash drive and another Mac? If so, you can download the Yosemite installer and create a bootable drive to install Yosemite directly on the Mini.

 

[davidg4781]

I do, is that the only option? I guess that's better than downloading Lion then Yosemite.

I don't remember having this issue when I wiped the drive on my MBP. Is this how it always is with older hardware or if I go through the updates it'll let me do Internet Recovery from Yosemite?

 

[hallux]

See this Apple Support article on Internet Recovery. Specifically, this part:

Which version of OS X is installed by OS X Recovery?

• If you use the Recovery System stored on your startup drive to reinstall OS X, it installs the most recent version of OS X previously installed on this computer.
• If you use Internet Recovery to reinstall OS X, it installs the version of OS X that originally came with your computer. After installation is finished, use the Mac App Store to install related updates or later versions of OS X that you have previously purchased.

 

[davidg4781]

Ahhh, thanks! I tried searching Google but I guess I wasn't using the right terms. Everything came up about how to downgrade to Mavericks.

 

[CoastalOR]

I recently picked up a new (to me) mini.

Also, for some reason, there's no sound coming from it. I"m not sure why yet but I'm not hearing the boot chime, so maybe I'm missing something.

My Mac Mini does not make a boot chime also, but all sounds work perfectly after boot up. That seems to be normal for Minis.

 

[davidg4781]

Uh oh. I was planning on using the speakers in the LED Cinema Display but I'm not sure if I'm going to keep it. They don't sound that good.

 

[chrfr]

My Mac Mini does not make a boot chime also, but all sounds work perfectly after boot up. That seems to be normal for Minis.

No, that definitely is not normal for Minis, or any Mac. They should definitely make a startup chime, but may not if the sound was set to mute the last time it was booted.

 

[CoastalOR]

No, that definitely is not normal for Minis, or any Mac. They should definitely make a startup chime, but may not if the sound was set to mute the last time it was booted.

Thank you chrfr for the information. I bought a new Mac Mini March 2015 for my wife and it never made a start up chime, which was not a big deal to me, so my experience was that the Mini does not make a boot chime. I guess I better contact Apple.

UPDATE: I did a PRAM reset and the boot chime now works.

 

[hatuko]

Do you have a spare 8+ GB flash drive and another Mac? If so, you can download the Yosemite installer and create a bootable drive to install Yosemite directly on the Mini.

Hi, is there any difference between bootable USB disk made this way and a disk made with DiskMaker?

 

[Weaselboy]

Hi, is there any difference between bootable USB disk made this way and a disk made with DiskMaker?

Nope... same end result.

 

[hallux]

Hi, is there any difference between bootable USB disk made this way and a disk made with DiskMaker?

They SHOULD be the same but if you have a need for the recovery partition some have found the command line to be more reliable. I've been using the command line tool since Mavericks came out.

 

[hatuko]

Nope... same end result.

They SHOULD be the same but if you have a need for the recovery partition some have found the command line to be more reliable. I've been using the command line tool since Mavericks came out.

Thanks