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I installed El Capitan and my computer wouldn't boot
- Thread starter levmc
- Start date
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Did you have any issues prior to moving to El Capitan? Was it a clean install or updating existing boot drive?
Do you have a bootable back up or another Mac?
If you hold in alt/option at the chime, do you see your boot disk? Or does it just shut down?
Can you boot into recovery mode? Or internet recovery mode?
support.apple.com
Do you have a bootable back up or another Mac?
If you hold in alt/option at the chime, do you see your boot disk? Or does it just shut down?
Can you boot into recovery mode? Or internet recovery mode?
If you can't start up from macOS Recovery - Apple Support
Learn what to do if you can't get your Mac to start up from macOS Recovery.
Don't write over the existing OS!
Do you have an external drive to install the OS on? USB, TB, even a Thumb drive, or SD card would work.
That might be big enough just for trouble shooting. Most thumb drives can work, but some, at random it seems, don't.
Don't forget to format the Thumb Drive:
Use Disk Utility to erase an Intel-based Mac - Apple Support
How to erase (format) the built-in startup disk of an Intel-based Mac.
When you get to this step, choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and GUID Partition Map:
No, but you can reformat it from exFAT to Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Note: This erases the thumb drive.
I don't think you can install El Capitan on only 16GB. Should be good on 32GB, however.
Quick test on the drive: Boot to internet recovery (Option-Command-R), launch Disk Utility, and Select the internal drive. Run First Aid. Hopefully, that will pass with no problems.
Boot to the built-in hardware Diagnostics - https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202731
Quick test on the drive: Boot to internet recovery (Option-Command-R), launch Disk Utility, and Select the internal drive. Run First Aid. Hopefully, that will pass with no problems.
Boot to the built-in hardware Diagnostics - https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202731
According to Apple, only 8.8GB of space is needed for the installation of El Capitan. I think the OP's MBP has 16GB of RAM, so it will most likely not be doing any page swapping.
Of course more would be better, but for troubleshooting, 16GB should be fine.
The Diagnostics will either pass or fail.
Fail will report a trouble code.
You should see First Aid as a selection in your Disk Utility, which should be something that you would read in your language as a disk repair, or disk health, or something related to a drive test.
In the El Capitan Disk Utility -- left end icon in the title bar is First Aid. Click on YOUR drive to select it, then click on that left end icon. You should get a pop up window. Click the lower right icon to run First Aid on your drive. Runs a few seconds, and the bottom icon should change and highlight (meaning Done), click on that, or just press enter. That should remove the popup, and return to the normal Disk Utility window. Cmd-Q to quit.
If the drive appears to be OK for that First Aid test, I would expect that something happened during the OS X install for El Capitan, and I would just try that El Capitan install again. BEST WAY to do that is from a bootable USB installer on a thumb drive, or (as I do) a partition on an external drive that I use for just such a job. The install would be faster than using the download through the Recovery system.
Fail will report a trouble code.
You should see First Aid as a selection in your Disk Utility, which should be something that you would read in your language as a disk repair, or disk health, or something related to a drive test.
In the El Capitan Disk Utility -- left end icon in the title bar is First Aid. Click on YOUR drive to select it, then click on that left end icon. You should get a pop up window. Click the lower right icon to run First Aid on your drive. Runs a few seconds, and the bottom icon should change and highlight (meaning Done), click on that, or just press enter. That should remove the popup, and return to the normal Disk Utility window. Cmd-Q to quit.
If the drive appears to be OK for that First Aid test, I would expect that something happened during the OS X install for El Capitan, and I would just try that El Capitan install again. BEST WAY to do that is from a bootable USB installer on a thumb drive, or (as I do) a partition on an external drive that I use for just such a job. The install would be faster than using the download through the Recovery system.
You have to make that thumb drive bootable...
Follow the steps -- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372
El Capitan probably needs the most prep steps of any OS X system install. Specific steps for El Capitan in that support article, and you have to change your system clock before you begin the install of El Capitan. Boot to the Installer, at the menu screen, open the terminal, enter date 1116211618, then press enter. Quit the terminal, and continue with the OS X install.
That should work.
Follow the steps -- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372
El Capitan probably needs the most prep steps of any OS X system install. Specific steps for El Capitan in that support article, and you have to change your system clock before you begin the install of El Capitan. Boot to the Installer, at the menu screen, open the terminal, enter date 1116211618, then press enter. Quit the terminal, and continue with the OS X install.
That should work.
I copied this into Terminal: sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/usbdr --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app
("usbdr" is what I named my drive.)
But it says "command not found."
[automerge]1594395748[/automerge]
Could my problem happen if I didn't have enough space in my MBP in the first place? I think I might have had less than 16gb, I don't remember for sure, although it didn't say that I don't have enough space when I installed it.
("usbdr" is what I named my drive.)
But it says "command not found."
[automerge]1594395748[/automerge]
Could my problem happen if I didn't have enough space in my MBP in the first place? I think I might have had less than 16gb, I don't remember for sure, although it didn't say that I don't have enough space when I installed it.
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The command is probably the createinstallmedia command, and your terminal command may need to be different than the sample on the support page.
1. Right click on your El Capitan installer app, and choose Show Package Contents.
2. double-click on the Contents folder, then open the Resources folder.
Launch your Terminal.
Type sudo, then add one space.
Find the Createinstallmedia command in that Resources folder, and drag that into your terminal window
type --volume, and add one more space. Find the volume or drive that you want to use for the external installer, and drag THAT volume into your terminal window.
Now, type --applicationpath, and add one more space
Finally, drag your El Capitan installer app (that's the one that you left open for the createinstallmedia file) into your terminal window.
NOW, press enter. Type your password when asked, and press enter again. should be successful this time.
1. Right click on your El Capitan installer app, and choose Show Package Contents.
2. double-click on the Contents folder, then open the Resources folder.
Launch your Terminal.
Type sudo, then add one space.
Find the Createinstallmedia command in that Resources folder, and drag that into your terminal window
type --volume, and add one more space. Find the volume or drive that you want to use for the external installer, and drag THAT volume into your terminal window.
Now, type --applicationpath, and add one more space
Finally, drag your El Capitan installer app (that's the one that you left open for the createinstallmedia file) into your terminal window.
NOW, press enter. Type your password when asked, and press enter again. should be successful this time.
You are 2 or 3 steps too early
The .dmg file is NOT the installer app that you need. Mount that disk image by double-clicking.
That will then open, showing a file "InstallMacOSX.pkg". You're not there yet: double-click THAT .pkg, which will launch the installer. That installer does nothing more than expand and install your goal: "Install OS X El Capitan.app" in your Applications folder. It will be approximately 6.22 GB in size, so you know that you have the correct app. THAT app will right click to "show package contents", and that's where you will find the Contents/Resources/ then you will see the Createinstallmedia file, which is your ultimate prize!
(Apple doesn't really make this too simple, but at least they still offer the El Capitan installer for download. There's just a few "hoops" that you have to jump through to use it
)
The .dmg file is NOT the installer app that you need. Mount that disk image by double-clicking.
That will then open, showing a file "InstallMacOSX.pkg". You're not there yet: double-click THAT .pkg, which will launch the installer. That installer does nothing more than expand and install your goal: "Install OS X El Capitan.app" in your Applications folder. It will be approximately 6.22 GB in size, so you know that you have the correct app. THAT app will right click to "show package contents", and that's where you will find the Contents/Resources/ then you will see the Createinstallmedia file, which is your ultimate prize!
(Apple doesn't really make this too simple, but at least they still offer the El Capitan installer for download. There's just a few "hoops" that you have to jump through to use it
)Yes, you can't install OS X 10.11 (El Capitan) on a 2017 iMac.
The installer app won't even run, and can't boot your 2017 iMac. The hardware is too new!
But, you can install 10.11 on your 2014 Macbook Pro.
You can create the bootable installer on your 2017 iMac, if you need to do that.
Just follow the steps on the support page where you downloaded the El Capitan. Those steps will work, even on your 2017. You just can't run the installer app.
And, then that bootable installer will boot/install on your 2014 MacBook Pro.
Isn't that why you have been doing all this?
The installer app won't even run, and can't boot your 2017 iMac. The hardware is too new!
But, you can install 10.11 on your 2014 Macbook Pro.
You can create the bootable installer on your 2017 iMac, if you need to do that.
Just follow the steps on the support page where you downloaded the El Capitan. Those steps will work, even on your 2017. You just can't run the installer app.
And, then that bootable installer will boot/install on your 2014 MacBook Pro.
Isn't that why you have been doing all this?
"1. Right click on your El Capitan installer app, and choose Show Package Contents."
How do you turn the .dmg file into an installer app?
(I thought double clicking on it would lead the dmg file to the installer app so that I could right click for Show Package Contents.)
How do you turn the .dmg file into an installer app?
(I thought double clicking on it would lead the dmg file to the installer app so that I could right click for Show Package Contents.)
Read post #23, as that goes through the steps you need.
To make that clear, there's 2 steps involved:
Your download is "InstallMacOSX.dmg"
step 1: Open that to get a folder. Inside is "InstallMacOSX.pkg"
step 2: Open THAT to run the installer, which creates "Install OS X El Capitan.app". You will find that in your Applications folder.
And, that's your installer app, right click to Show Package Contents.
To make that clear, there's 2 steps involved:
Your download is "InstallMacOSX.dmg"
step 1: Open that to get a folder. Inside is "InstallMacOSX.pkg"
step 2: Open THAT to run the installer, which creates "Install OS X El Capitan.app". You will find that in your Applications folder.
And, that's your installer app, right click to Show Package Contents.