I'm preparing an iMac for sale and went to remove it from iCloud and accidentally started an erase process on it. The iMac has a lock on it and a passcode prompt. When I enter the code, it doesn't take it. It is possible that it is busy erasing the SSD and won't let me in. Has anyone done this and a recovery pin before? If so, do I just wait or can I fix it from iCloud?
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How to recover from Erasing iMac?
- Thread starter pshufd
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Got to Internet Recovery. I've never gone through this process before. Major screwup on my part. It doesn't look like there's any damage. It appears to be downloading macOS or something now.
I've done hundreds of macOS installations but from local installers. Never did Internet recovery before. What's odd is that it installs from the OS that it shipped with, which, in this case, is Yosemite. I will have to download and upgrade it to Catalina (the requested OS from the buyer). It's good to go through the process in case I have to do it again.
Other macOS installation options
When you install macOS from Recovery, you get the current version of the most recently installed macOS, with some exceptions:- On an Intel-based Mac, if you use Shift-Option-Command-R during startup, you might be offered the macOS that came with your Mac, or the closest version still available.
- On an Intel-based Mac, if you use Option-Command-R during startup, you might be offered the latest macOS that is compatible with your Mac.
- If you just erased your entire startup disk, you might be offered an earlier compatible version of macOS.
- If the Mac logic board was just replaced, you might be offered the latest macOS that is compatible with your Mac.
How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support
You can use macOS Recovery, your computer's built-in recovery system, to reinstall the Mac operating system. Reinstalling macOS doesn't remove your personal data.
BTW most do it via the Internet using macOS Recovery
Other macOS installation options
When you install macOS from Recovery, you get the current version of the most recently installed macOS, with some exceptions:
reference
- On an Intel-based Mac, if you use Shift-Option-Command-R during startup, you might be offered the macOS that came with your Mac, or the closest version still available.
- On an Intel-based Mac, if you use Option-Command-R during startup, you might be offered the latest macOS that is compatible with your Mac.
- If you just erased your entire startup disk, you might be offered an earlier compatible version of macOS.
- If the Mac logic board was just replaced, you might be offered the latest macOS that is compatible with your Mac.
How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support
You can use macOS Recovery, your computer's built-in recovery system, to reinstall the Mac operating system. Reinstalling macOS doesn't remove your personal data.support.apple.com
BTW most do it via the Internet using macOS Recovery
I have most installer kits on an SSD and usually just create a bootable flash drive which is a bit of a pain but I think that it's faster over the internet as my flash drives are really slow. I wasn't able to get Catalina without logging into my App Store account which I didn't want to do so I'm doing a direct download of Big Sur and will upgrade to that.
One thing about installing Yosemite is that it doesn't offer APFS so I had to install on Journaled so I'll reformat to APFS when installing Big Sur.
I don't expect this to happen but the buyer could come over and decline the system which would mean a wasted couple of hours erasing the system. I think that I priced it right though. 26 days for sale with one lowball offer and someone who seems pretty interested. If it's priced too low, it sells in a few hours. Too high and it may never sell without lowering the price. One month seems about right.
I have three other Macs to sell so this is good practice.
My history is with PCs. I remember they too had an image of the OS on the disk for recovery purposes. Glad it’s all working for you
That's the recovery partition. I keep Windows 10 Intel and Windows 11 ARM kits as well as I have a couple of Windows desktops and like to run Windows Virtual Machines on MacBooks. I take it for granted in being able to do this stuff as it's a handy skill to have. It's nice to have the huge experience base here too.