1- I'll reinstall a fresh copy of iOS on an old mac laptop that I happened to have
2- download from Microsoft .NET dev kit.
How old your macbook is? If its old with old IOS version 10.12 below electrum will not work properly.
Why would you install Microsoft .net it seems that you are following other guides related to windows 7?
Check this
"How to install Electrum in Mac OS x"