Wipe and restore

[gow75]

Hello, need some assistance with recovery for newly acquired iMAC 2006 model qp6501b5vuw - I bought it at a thrift store and then bought a generic knock off keyboard and mouse and USB for it. there was no software with. how can i recover and reimage the OS without the software. I looked for the image for either tiger or lion OS dmg image and i can create a bootable usb. what am i missing is their a tutorial around that can assist. thank you!!

 

[rpmurray]

Could you provide a little more info on the model? I don't believe that is the model number, most likely it it the serial number. Usually the model information is on the bottom of the foot, although it may be hard to read since Apple uses dark gray printing on a grey background.

Is it the 17 inch or the 20 inch? I believe it will only run OS X 10.4.4 (intel Tiger) through 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard). It should have a CD slot on the side so you could get a copy of the OS off of eBay. I'm not sure if this download or this is legit but you really have nothing to lose if you want to try.

Instructions to convert ISO to USB bootable.

 

[rm5]

The 2006 iMacs are tricky, because they don't support Internet Recovery. The other tricky thing is that the createinstallmedia script is not in any macOS installer pre-Yosemite. I've had balenaEtcher work fine for flashing USB drives for those old macOS versions on my 2006 2,1 MacBook, too.

 

[DeltaMac]

The serial number shows that OP has an iMac5,1 - Late 2006, 20-inch iMac.
Native support for Lion (Mac OS X 10.7.5)

 

[gow75]

so would i have to buy a propertary imac disk from ebay ?

 

[gow75]

it is a 20 inch thats what she said.

The serial number shows that OP has an iMac5,1 - Late 2006, 20-inch iMac.
Native support for Lion (Mac OS X 10.7.5)

ok and what can i do to restore it and remove previous users ?

 

[DeltaMac]

You could get an installer DVD (maybe). You don't have to look for a proprietary DVD, just the normal system installer.
Tiger might be a problem, as you actually would need a specific DVD. The intel version is not easy to find. Newer systems, Leopard, Snow Leopard, or Lion, any of those would be less challenging. I would go for Lion (Lion can always be on a USB flash drive, and you can make your own for that. The system installer can be downloaded from Apple (for free), and you just follow a couple of simple steps to make a USB installer. Boot to that, then erase the drive, and install Lion on the erased drive. Then you will know what you have. If you try to just remove the existing user, you still don't know if the system is correctly installed. Starting from a wiped drive is much better, IMHO.
Finally, you might find that your nearly-twenty-year old optical drive may or may not work to install a system.
USB bootable installer might be more likely to actually install a system.

 

[Fishrrman]

Assuming that the DVD drive still works...

Go on ebay and look for a UNIVERSAL Snow Leopard install DVD.

 

[gow75]

You could get an installer DVD (maybe). You don't have to look for a proprietary DVD, just the normal system installer.
Tiger might be a problem, as you actually would need a specific DVD. The intel version is not easy to find. Newer systems, Leopard, Snow Leopard, or Lion, any of those would be less challenging. I would go for Lion (Lion can always be on a USB flash drive, and you can make your own for that. The system installer can be downloaded from Apple (for free), and you just follow a couple of simple steps to make a USB installer. Boot to that, then erase the drive, and install Lion on the erased drive. Then you will know what you have. If you try to just remove the existing user, you still don't know if the system is correctly installed. Starting from a wiped drive is much better, IMHO.
Finally, you might find that your nearly-twenty-year old optical drive may or may not work to install a system.
USB bootable installer might be more likely to actually install a system.

ty for this info do you have a link for the site? also im pretty sure the drive works this device is in great condition.

 

[gow75]

Assuming that the DVD drive still works...

Go on ebay and look for a UNIVERSAL Snow Leopard install DVD.

do you think this would work? https://archive.org/details/snow-leopard-install_202112

 

[DeltaMac]

Yes, that Snow Leopard installer would work for you. Keep in mind that the link that you posted does NOT get you a DVD. It will download an ISO (made from the actual DVD) that you would use to burn a DVD. Or, you can also use that ISO to make a USB installer, maybe on a thumb drive, or, as I have been doing, making a bootable partition for whatever OS X installer you want to use, on an external USB SSD.

Or, you can also find actual original DVD for Snow Leopard, if that's what you want.

Apple X Snow Leopard 10.6.3 (Retail (License Only)) (1 User/s) - Full Version for Mac MC573Z/A for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Apple X Snow Leopard 10.6.3 (Retail (License Only)) (1 User/s) - Full Version for Mac MC573Z/A at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[Fishrrman]

If you have another Mac and a DVD burner... like DeltaMac says above... try downloading the ISO file first.

If that isn't working, then you could buy a Snow Leopard DVD online.
BUT -- it must be a "universal" installer.

 

[DeltaMac]

I don't think you will find something called a "universal" installer for Snow Leopard.
But, get one that is actually the retail DVD. (The system-specific DVDs were never sold in a retail box)
That will be the "universal" installer that you want.
The link that I offered says that the DVD is a retail version, which is what you want to find.

 

[gow75]

Yes, that Snow Leopard installer would work for you. Keep in mind that the link that you posted does NOT get you a DVD. It will download an ISO (made from the actual DVD) that you would use to burn a DVD. Or, you can also use that ISO to make a USB installer, maybe on a thumb drive, or, as I have been doing, making a bootable partition for whatever OS X installer you want to use, on an external USB SSD.

Or, you can also find actual original DVD for Snow Leopard, if that's what you want.

Apple X Snow Leopard 10.6.3 (Retail (License Only)) (1 User/s) - Full Version for Mac MC573Z/A for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Apple X Snow Leopard 10.6.3 (Retail (License Only)) (1 User/s) - Full Version for Mac MC573Z/A at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

thanks i understand what an ISO is and how to use it however when it comes to makes File system kind of new to it.. how and what do i use to burn to DVD program wise?
I have windows 10 , DVD burner x3 and plenty of hard drive space

 

[gow75]

I don't think you will find something called a "universal" installer for Snow Leopard.
But, get one that is actually the retail DVD. (The system-specific DVDs were never sold in a retail box)
That will be the "universal" installer that you want.
The link that I offered says that the DVD is a retail version, which is what you want to find.

Do you know of a TUT to burn the iso to DVD also the size is almost 8gb that will not fit on a standard DVD disk.

 

[Amethyst1]

[...] the size is almost 8gb that will not fit on a standard DVD disk.

You need a 9.4 GB dual-layer DVD to burn it.

 

[DeltaMac]

Agree - a dual-layer DVD will do it. Snow Leopard needs 7.2GB space.

 

[gow75]

You need a 9.4 GB dual-layer DVD to burn it.

dual layer ugh havent had those type disks in long time lol - how about a 16gb san disk cruzer usb ?

 

[DeltaMac]

If you will be making a bootable USB on Windows, and the results will be used on a Mac, you will have better results if you use an app that knows how to interact with a Mac volume from Windows, such as MacDrive

 

[gow75]

If you will be making a bootable USB on Windows, and the results will be used on a Mac, you will have better results if you use an app that knows how to interact with a Mac volume from Windows, such as MacDrive

ok why would i need to be able to access the usb drive within windows? can we just image to the usb and then go straight to the imac and boot from it? How do i get the imac to boot to the usb anyways is there a keystroke?

 

[gow75]

Also that application Macdrive is trial only i do not want to pay to use an app at this time. please assist. thanks

 

[Amethyst1]

ok why would i need to be able to access the usb drive within windows? can we just image to the usb and then go straight to the imac and boot from it

You can try writing the iso to the USB drive using e.g. balenaEtcher. But if that doesn’t work, you’ll have better luck using Disk Utility on a Mac — or a tool on Windows that can deal with Mac disk images.

How do i get the imac to boot to the usb anyways is there a keystroke?

By holding Alt/Option after powering on and selecting the USB drive in the boot picker.

 

[gow75]

You can try writing the iso to the USB drive using e.g. balenaEtcher. But if that doesn’t work, you’ll have better luck using Disk Utility on a Mac — or a tool on Windows that can deal with Mac disk images.


By holding Alt/Option after powering on and selecting the USB drive in the boot picker.

ok thank you, will try that for now.. wish me luck.

 

[AL2TEACH]

wish me luck.

Luck If you are still having trouble just post. Just a few days ago, I went through the process of putting Yosemite on a 2009 iMac to give to a buddy. After a few failed tries, I found a program, Disk Maker X (free) that did it all with a few clicks. I also got the .dmg from the same site as you.
I hope the way you're going works.
I just seen you have windows. Is there a way you can get to use a Mac?
This is all a just in case stuff.

 

[gow75]

Luck If you are still having trouble just post. Just a few days ago, I went through the process of putting Yosemite on a 2009 iMac to give to a buddy. After a few failed tries, I found a program, Disk Maker X (free) that did it all with a few clicks. I also got the .dmg from the same site as you.
I hope the way you're going works.
I just seen you have windows. Is there a way you can get to use a Mac?
This is all a just in case stuff.

I just seen you have windows. Is there a way you can get to use a Mac? - no other MAC only an ipad..

I was able to get the USB to work on the first try and Voila.. changed the admin password. Disk drive works too.

and yes there is such as luck.. lucky luc.