Tried to install Yosemite over 10.6.8, seemed to start fine for first several minutes, I left Mini and came back 15 min later had grey SOD. On retries install bar goes third of way and SOD again, any way to recover ? I'm not an experienced Mac user.
Failed Yosemite Install
- Thread starter Rogerdn
- Start date
Mac mini "Core i5" 2.5 (Mid-2011) 2.5 GHz Core i5 (I5-2520M)
Intro. July 20, 2011 Disc. October 23, 2012
Order MC816LL/A Model A1347 (EMC 2442)
Family Mid-2011 ID Macmini5,2
RAM 4 GB VRAM 256 MB
Storage 500 GB (5400 RPM) Optical None*
No I have no bkup, it's a music server, all files are on a NAS so was never concerned.
Intro. July 20, 2011 Disc. October 23, 2012
Order MC816LL/A Model A1347 (EMC 2442)
Family Mid-2011 ID Macmini5,2
RAM 4 GB VRAM 256 MB
Storage 500 GB (5400 RPM) Optical None*
No I have no bkup, it's a music server, all files are on a NAS so was never concerned.
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Your machine should have been able to handle the upgrade. But, maybe there is a problem with either software on the disk, or the disk itself (or both). Assuming you get things back working, make sure to start making backups often!
I also have a Mac Mini, but it is a later model. I actually replaced the slow, 5400 rpm 1 TB internal drive with a 256 gig SSD, and I had no issues upgrading from Mavericks to Yosemite.
In any event, your mini has a Firewire 800 port. If you have another Mac that has either a Firewire 800 port, or a Thunderbolt port (you would then need a Thunderbolt-to-Firewire 800 Adapter), you could boot your mini in Target Disk Mode, and use whatever disk repair software you have on the other "good" Mac to try and resolve your issue. If you don't have such another Mac, then your other option would be to attach a DVD drive to your mini, insert the OS 10.6.8 DVD into that drive (hopefully you still have it), and boot the mini from the DVD. You could then use Disk Utility on that DVD to try and "fix" the issue on your drive.
In terms of "fixing" things, if the OS "stuff" is problematic, hopefully you could recover the other files/folders on the drive, and copy them somewhere else. Then, you could erase the drive, format and partition it, and then do a direct installation of Yosemite. Also, the version of Yosemite is now up to 10.10.3. It would be best if you upgraded to that version, after getting 10.10 onto the mini.
I also have a Mac Mini, but it is a later model. I actually replaced the slow, 5400 rpm 1 TB internal drive with a 256 gig SSD, and I had no issues upgrading from Mavericks to Yosemite.
In any event, your mini has a Firewire 800 port. If you have another Mac that has either a Firewire 800 port, or a Thunderbolt port (you would then need a Thunderbolt-to-Firewire 800 Adapter), you could boot your mini in Target Disk Mode, and use whatever disk repair software you have on the other "good" Mac to try and resolve your issue. If you don't have such another Mac, then your other option would be to attach a DVD drive to your mini, insert the OS 10.6.8 DVD into that drive (hopefully you still have it), and boot the mini from the DVD. You could then use Disk Utility on that DVD to try and "fix" the issue on your drive.
In terms of "fixing" things, if the OS "stuff" is problematic, hopefully you could recover the other files/folders on the drive, and copy them somewhere else. Then, you could erase the drive, format and partition it, and then do a direct installation of Yosemite. Also, the version of Yosemite is now up to 10.10.3. It would be best if you upgraded to that version, after getting 10.10 onto the mini.
This is my only Mac so willhave to try the DVD. The SL is tweaked for better audio performance meaning some operations are turned off. I bought it this way don't know what they disabled but has run fine for 3 yrs, now want to upgrade to latest OS X, thks for the help honestone.
Roger
Roger
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OK, hopefully that will work. In case you do not know, after inserting the DVD into the drive, hold down the C key when you start up your machine. Don't expect a "fast" boot up process to follow, as it takes some time to boot from the DVD.
Once you get to Disk Utility on the DVD, have it perform the following tasks, in the following order:
1. Verify and Repair the disk at the Volume (top) level.
2. Verify and Repair Permissions, and Verify and Repair the disk, at the partition (next lowest) level.
I am not sure if this will completely "reverse out" the "stuff" from Yosemite. There could be two courses of action you could subsequently take if the above processes do not completely cure the problem:
1. Assuming you can at least "see" the files/folders you need to recover, you can copy them off to an external device/drive. You could then use Disk Utility to Erase, Format, and Partition the drive, install Yosemite (all the way to OS 10.10.3), then use Migration Assistant to "migrate" the stuff you backed up to the internal drive (you might need to subsequently upgrade some of the applications for Yosemite compatibility.
2. Again, assuming you can at least "see" the files/folders you need to recover, you can copy them off to an external device/drive. You could install(re-install) Snow Leopard "over" what is there already. (Not sure about this last choice).
Once you get to Disk Utility on the DVD, have it perform the following tasks, in the following order:
1. Verify and Repair the disk at the Volume (top) level.
2. Verify and Repair Permissions, and Verify and Repair the disk, at the partition (next lowest) level.
I am not sure if this will completely "reverse out" the "stuff" from Yosemite. There could be two courses of action you could subsequently take if the above processes do not completely cure the problem:
1. Assuming you can at least "see" the files/folders you need to recover, you can copy them off to an external device/drive. You could then use Disk Utility to Erase, Format, and Partition the drive, install Yosemite (all the way to OS 10.10.3), then use Migration Assistant to "migrate" the stuff you backed up to the internal drive (you might need to subsequently upgrade some of the applications for Yosemite compatibility.
2. Again, assuming you can at least "see" the files/folders you need to recover, you can copy them off to an external device/drive. You could install(re-install) Snow Leopard "over" what is there already. (Not sure about this last choice).
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So, I assume by NAS, you mean an external Network Storage Drive? OK, for your "data" files, that is fine. But, what about any non-Apple software that you run? If you use any, are those products on your internal drive, or on the NAS?
If you need nothing at all from your internal drive, then yes, you can use Disk Utility to Erase, Format, and Partition the drive, then install Yosemite. I assume you have the disk image for OS 10.10, the initial version of Yosemite. But, it is now up to version 10.10.3. You can get both the Combo Updater (to "initially" get to 10.10.3), and the Supplemental updater, from the following sites:
Combo Update: https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1804?locale=en_US
Supplemental Update: https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1807?locale=en_US
Once you download each of those, apply the Combo Updater first, then the Supplemental Updater.
If you need nothing at all from your internal drive, then yes, you can use Disk Utility to Erase, Format, and Partition the drive, then install Yosemite. I assume you have the disk image for OS 10.10, the initial version of Yosemite. But, it is now up to version 10.10.3. You can get both the Combo Updater (to "initially" get to 10.10.3), and the Supplemental updater, from the following sites:
Combo Update: https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1804?locale=en_US
Supplemental Update: https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1807?locale=en_US
Once you download each of those, apply the Combo Updater first, then the Supplemental Updater.