Help with Reinstalling OS X

[Aroh]

I bought a used early 2011 Macbook from eBay. The seller did not wipe anything on the system. Me, being new to Macs, erased the hard drive without knowing about not being able to reinstall the OS without the original Apple ID. The OS after erasing the disk was Yosemite. I partitioned it to get to the original OS figuring it would be Snow Leopard, but in Internet Recovery it has Lion listed. Now of course I can't install Lion either without the Apple ID used to purchase it and I can't access the Mac App store to do so because I don't have a Mac nor does anyone I know. I ordered a copy of the Snow Leopard installation CD that should be in tomorrow.

Will I be able to install Snow Leopard or will I have to buy a thumb drive of Lion instead? I'd love to go to the Apple Store to sort it out but there aren't any near me

 

[ApfelKuchen]

The Early 2011 MacBook Pros (there were no Early 2011 MacBooks) originally shipped with Snow Leopard (Lion didn't come out until July 2011), so you should be OK with that disk (even if it turns out that particular machine shipped with Lion installed). Once you have Snow Leopard installed, do the Software Updates to bring it up to 10.6.8. Then you'll have the Mac App Store. You can create your Apple ID account, and upgrade your OS X.

Internet Recovery was introduced in Lion, so if the Mac shipped with Snow Leopard, Internet Recovery would have been added later via an EFI update. https://support.apple.com/HT202313 According to https://support.apple.com/HT201314, Internet Recovery is supposed to restore the original OS that came with the machine... but that's probably not possible if the machine originally came with Snow Leopard (maybe that should be clarified in the support doc?).

 

[Weaselboy]

Will I be able to install Snow Leopard or will I have to buy a thumb drive of Lion instead? I'd love to go to the Apple Store to sort it out but there aren't any near me

I don't believe that Snow Leopard disk you ordered will work either. That Macbook came with Snow Leopard 10.6.6 and the retail DVD you ordered is 10.6.3, so it won't have the drivers needed to run on that Macbook. If you can't somehow get access to another Mac, I think your best bet is to buy the Lion USB key like you mentioned.

 

[chscag]

I don't believe that Snow Leopard disk you ordered will work either. That Macbook came with Snow Leopard 10.6.6 and the retail DVD you ordered is 10.6.3, so it won't have the drivers needed to run on that Macbook. If you can't somehow get access to another Mac, I think your best bet is to buy the Lion USB key like you mentioned.

I agree. I've run into this several times before and like Weaselboy mentioned the retail DVD from Apple is 10.6.3 and will not work. Save your $19.95 and instead use it to buy the Lion key as he recommended.

 

[ApfelKuchen]

Hmm. Even if it'd shipped with 10.6.6, afaik it would have still come with the 10.6.3 disk for recovery purposes (as that was the most recent version made, afaik). If time isn't of the essence, I'd try the disk before ordering the Lion key - it's not going to break anything.

 

[Weaselboy]

Hmm. Even if it'd shipped with 10.6.6, afaik it would have still come with the 10.6.3 disk for recovery purposes (as that was the most recent version made, afaik). If time isn't of the essence, I'd try the disk before ordering the Lion key - it's not going to break anything.

Nope... they shipped with those grey OEM installer disks that would have had 10.6.6 on them. It is just the retail version that was never updated beyond 10.6.3 for some dumb reason.

 

[Aroh]

The Early 2011 MacBook Pros (there were no Early 2011 MacBooks) originally shipped with Snow Leopard (Lion didn't come out until July 2011), so you should be OK with that disk (even if it turns out that particular machine shipped with Lion installed). Once you have Snow Leopard installed, do the Software Updates to bring it up to 10.6.8. Then you'll have the Mac App Store. You can create your Apple ID account, and upgrade your OS X.

Internet Recovery was introduced in Lion, so if the Mac shipped with Snow Leopard, Internet Recovery would have been added later via an EFI update. https://support.apple.com/HT202313 According to https://support.apple.com/HT201314, Internet Recovery is supposed to restore the original OS that came with the machine... but that's probably not possible if the machine originally came with Snow Leopard (maybe that should be clarified in the support doc?).

Macbook Pro right, that's what I meant haha. I will give I a try with the disk tomorrowm if it doesn't work I'll have to go with the Lion USB. Thanks for the help!
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I don't believe that Snow Leopard disk you ordered will work either. That Macbook came with Snow Leopard 10.6.6 and the retail DVD you ordered is 10.6.3, so it won't have the drivers needed to run on that Macbook. If you can't somehow get access to another Mac, I think your best bet is to buy the Lion USB key like you mentioned.

Wonderful haha. I will figure it out. I was hoping to have it up and running sooner rather than later but I guess I'll just have to wait for the USB to come in if I need to go that route. Thanks!