2009 iMac reformat issue

[ChrisTinaBruce]

Hi, I have a 2009 iMac I planned to give to my mom who only surfs internet and email. I had a old 250 GB SSD so no expense. I planned to use OpenCore Legacy Patcher but to do so need High Sierra. I started with Snow Leopard, then Moutain Lion, and now El Capitan but when trying to upgrade to High Sierra I get gray screen with a zero crossed out. I know people are using OCLP on 2009 iMac so how do I get High Sierra installed.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[Fishrrman]

If you're going to give this to your mom, I recommend that you DO NOT use OCLP.

I don't use it myself.
But from what I've read in this forum, it's a "high-maintenance" piece of software.

Unless you're willing to provide A LOT of "tech support" for your mom, better set her up with the last supported version of the OS. That will run better for her.

 

[Bigwaff]

I started with Snow Leopard, then Moutain Lion, and now El Capitan but when trying to upgrade to High Sierra I get gray screen with a zero crossed out.

Try update to Sierra then High Sierra. Also, which 2009 iMac model do you have?

 

[ChrisTinaBruce]

Try update to Sierra then High Sierra. Also, which 2009 iMac model do you have?

It's 2009 early 24" iMac

 

[ChrisTinaBruce]

If you're going to give this to your mom, I recommend that you DO NOT use OCLP.

I don't use it myself.
But from what I've read in this forum, it's a "high-maintenance" piece of software.

Unless you're willing to provide A LOT of "tech support" for your mom, better set her up with the last supported version of the OS. That will run better for her.

That's odd. I have OCLP on 2010 MBP & 2014 rMBP for over a year and the both have performed perfectly.

 

[ChrisTinaBruce]

Try update to Sierra then High Sierra. Also, which 2009 iMac model do you have?

I've tried. I get the same gray screen with zero crossed out.

 

[Bigwaff]

Boot from High Sierra USB installer, open Disk Utility, select menu View > Show All Devices, and post screenshot.

 

[JosephAW]

Hi, I have a 2009 iMac I planned to give to my mom who only surfs internet and email. I had a old 250 GB SSD so no expense. I planned to use OpenCore Legacy Patcher but to do so need High Sierra. I started with Snow Leopard, then Moutain Lion, and now El Capitan but when trying to upgrade to High Sierra I get gray screen with a zero crossed out. I know people are using OCLP on 2009 iMac so how do I get High Sierra installed.

Thanks,
Chris

Recently downloaded Ubuntu Desktop 24.04 and installed on a usb stick.
Had an old 2007 iMac 24” Intel Core 2 Duo iMac7,1 that was stuck on El Capitan and open core was not compatible because of an old CPU and was ready to retire it and didn’t want to run windows 10, well I stuck in that usb stick and to my surprise it booted up Ubuntu 24 LTS and was able to install it and now I have the latest Firefox and Libre office and more.
Also tried it on an old 1.3ghz Celeron laptop and sure enough it works too.
So there’s life for those old Macs and PCs.

 

[JosephAW]

Keep in mind that all browser support is ending or has ended for High Sierra this September.

 

[winxmac]

High Sierra supports iMac 2009 and later... Is upgrading to the latest macOS version the reason you want to use OCLP?

Why not create a bootable flash drive for Sierra then install Sierra, and once done, download High Sierra from the App Store and either create a bootable flash drive of High Sierra or just run the download to upgrade to High Sierra?

How to download and install macOS

How to create a bootable installer for macOS

 

[Snowlover]

Early 2009 does not support High Sierra. I would suggest going with dosdude's High Sierra or Mojave patcher - very easy to use/low maintenance.

dosdude1's Personal Web Server - Software

Then use chromium legacy or sealion browser.

Web browsers for early Intel Macs

Finding web browsers that are still usable on today’s web can be a chore for older versions of OS X. The following is a list of known, up-to-date (or relatively up-to-date) and maintained web browsers, e-mail clients, and FTP clients, for Intel Macs with at least Snow Leopard support, then Lion...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[Fishrrman]

I agree with Snowlover.

I'd suggest dosdude1's "Mojave patcher".
Yes, it's "a patch".
But... it's actually pretty stable once installed.

The "Mojave Patcher" utility even has the ability to download Mojave for you (look in the "tools" menu).

This will get you "a little farther along" in terms of overall compatibility with the up-to-date web on an older Mac.

 

[MBAir2010]

Hi, I have a 2009 iMac I planned to give to my mom who only surfs internet and email. I had a old 250 GB SSD so no expense. I planned to use OpenCore Legacy Patcher but to do so need High Sierra. I started with Snow Leopard, then Moutain Lion, and now El Capitan but when trying to upgrade to High Sierra I get gray screen with a zero crossed out. I know people are using OCLP on 2009 iMac so how do I get High Sierra installed.

Thanks,

here is the link to DosDude Mojave ohly patcher.
I went back to using only OSX mountain lion for ALL my computing needs including the internet last week,
im sure anyone else can use that as well.