Upgrade from Yosemite to El Capitan - 'No Packages Available for Install'

I have a new-to-me early-2009 iMac. It came to me without any updates since early 2016 and I decided to update it from OSX Yosemite to El Capitan (the last version supported on this hardware.)

I downloaded the "app" from the Store on the iMac and restarted to begin the installation process. During the install I receive the following message:

OS X could not be installed on your computer

No packages were eligible for install. Contact the software manufacturer for assistance. Quit the installer to restart your computer and try again.

I hit restart and I end up in a boot-loop. When I try to use the Alt (Option) key to select a recovery boot it just restarts back into the installer without giving me an option to select a boot source.

When I search for information about this error, I found suggestions to use the Terminal date command to set the correct timestamp. This does not appear to be the issue though as when I run the date command it returns the correct date and time (although the wrong timezone - PDT instead of the correct MDT).

Further research suggests I may have to use a bootable USB with the OS X installer on it. I do not, however, have any other Macs in my home. I have tried using TransMac but the drive doesn't seem to be recognized as a bootable device by the iMac.

Are there any other steps that I can try to make this work and escape this boot loop?

Thanks!

Asclepiadae

Posted 2019-10-25T02:22:54.690

Reputation: 31

Google is your friend. "Create Bootable El Capitan USB Drive in Windows">>>>>>>http://jafty.com/blog/make-a-bootable-el-capitan-usb-drive-for-mac-from-windows-pc/

– Moab – 2019-10-25T02:26:43.350

@Moab I followed those instructions (I linked to the SuperUser post that I followed). When I hold down the Alt Key (I only have a Windows keyboard) and click restart it does not appear in the boot selector. – Asclepiadae – 2019-10-25T02:32:00.253

3You don't use date to set the correct date, you use it to set the date back to when the certificate was valid. sometime mid-2016 should be safe. Try that & tell us what happens. Alternatively, try Internet Recovery, Cmd/opt/R at the boot chimes. [Ah, I note that article was written in 2016, when its info was actually correct.] – Tetsujin – 2019-10-25T07:29:16.917

@Tetsujin that's the answer dude, post it in answeres not comments – Death Waltz – 2019-10-28T05:18:38.010

I wasn't aware of this new message, so it was a guess. I've got a far more comprehensive Q&A over on Ask Different, for reference, to which I've now added this error message: https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/309399/how-can-i-download-an-older-version-of-os-x-macos

– Tetsujin – 2019-10-28T10:52:25.590

Two notes: 1) Those direct downloads are for upgrades only. They will not install onto a blank disk with no version of macOS on it. 2) I just redownloaded the El Capitan installer (the real one, from the App Store) today and it still gave me the "No packages were eligible to install" error. I verified that the installer had a valid certificate. Changing the date to September 2019 fixed the problem.

– Calion – 2019-11-07T02:40:46.433

Fast forward to december 2019... Downloading El Capitan (from list of my previously downloaded apps in app store) actually required backdating the system clock to mid 2016(!) in order to complete the installation as @Tetsujin mentions. – Claudijo – 2019-12-18T08:46:16.847

Upgrade from Yosemite to El Capitan - 'No Packages Available for Install' - Create Bootable USB Drive in Windows

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