Installed new hard drive, can't install OSX - help!

I just installed a new 500GB hard drive in my 2008 late model unibody MacBook (not pro). I inserted the original OSX install disk (snow leopard, I think), but the disk isn't recognized. The screens white, with a blinking gray folder icon with a question mark on it. And now I can't get it to eject the disk either. Help! What do I do?

As Snow Leopard wasn't released until August 28, 2009, you must use the white Snow Leopard retail disc with the image of a Snow Leopard as shown on this tip, and it does not say Upgrade, Dropin, or OEM, or a Mac model on if you are going to use it on the MacBook. Note: That installer disc only contains iTunes and no other components of iLife. For iLife, you must find the original 10.5 installer disc that came with the machine, or a retail physical copy of iLife, or update the machine to 10.6.6 and buy iLife from the App Store. iLife from the App Store does not contain iDVD.
The installer once booted will give you Utilities you can use from the installer menus, including Disk Utility to format and partition (see bottom of tip to determine which Disk Utility instructions pertain to you) the hard drive HFS+ GUID (this erases the drive). If you need Boot Camp, request help from this forum.
Upgrading to 10.7 or later, be aware Rosetta no longer exists, and what that means.

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After installing a new hard drive can I install snow leopard directly from snow leopard disc

After installing a new hard drive can I install snow leopard directly from snow leopard disc. Or do I have to install previous versions first. iMac 7.1 (2007) 2.8ghz

You can install directly, assuming the disk is newer than your computer and not designed for a different Mac, but doing so won't install iLife.
(64305)

If I install new hard drive can I still restore from time machine?

I'm planning on updating the hard drive in my macbook to a 320gb drive. I currently have a drive with around 120gb of space. I know there are programs available to back up the entire hard drive. But, I've been having issue with my computer lately and I would rather just start over and just back up microsoft office because I don't have the key anymore and my iTunes library. Can I do all this from just my Time Machine back-ups and reinstall everything else? Or is the best way to make a bootable back up to my new drive and then install the hardware in my mac book.
Message was edited by: dsheppard20

I did this just a few weeks ago. I replaced my 80g hd with a 320g hd. I used time machine to backup my computer. All I had to do was swap hard drives. Use the install dvd to start computer. i then used disk utility to properly format the new hard drive (mac journaled). Then I used the restore option. That was all I had to do. Everything from my old hard drive was put on my new one in about one hour. Time Machine backs up your entire hard drive unless you excluded anything. So you can have a clean install of everything just the way it was on your old hard drive just by using Time Machine.

New Hard drive - Can't install OS X

Hi
I have a fairly old macbook (unsure what make etc) I bought it as a restored one in 2012.
Recently I got the grey screen of death with the folder and flashing question mark. I took the macbook into apple where i was told that the harddrive was dead, the kind gentleman told me I needed to order a new one - which I did - The HDD Scorpio BLU 500GB 2.5 SATA 6Gbs 8MB.
I fitted the new hard drive fairly easily - however i still got the flashing ? in the folder. Again I went back into Apple and they said I needed to reinstall OS X onto the new drive. Now as I don't have the disk I managed to borrow it from a friend - it takes about 5 minutes but finally gets to the select a language screen which i do and then it goes to "Install Mac OSX" and the title below it says "Select the disk where you want to install Mac OS X" only there's no disk to select!?
Is this because I've bought the wrong hard drive? Not fitted it properly (somehow!?) Am installing the wrong operating system or is the machine just dead?
I have another appointment with apple next week but wondered if anyone could offer any advice?
Thanks

How is it formatted?
In order to install OS X, it must be formatted as Mac OS Extended and GUID partition mapping.

New hard drive, can't install OS

I had a new hard drive installed for my iMac and am now trying to install my OS so I can restore from a backup.
I tried verifying the HD and repairing the HD but messages I get in the disk utility are "Error: Filesystem verify or repair failed" both times.
Any ideas?
The hard drive was installed by a certified repair technician so the hard drive is compatible for the machine.

You will need to reset both the Partition Map Scheme (to GUID) and Format (to Mac OS Extended) before you can install OS X and use it to boot an Intel iMac.
1. Boot from your install DVD or Bootable Clone and open Disk Utility.
2. Highlight the new HD in the list of drives and select the Partition tab.
3. Under Volume Scheme select 1 Partition and click on the Options... button.
4. Select GUID Partition Table in the drop down window and click OK.
5. Set the Format to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and click the Apply button.
6. Once thats done then you can do a clean Install, Restore from TM or a Bootable Clone.
At this point it is unnecessary and safe to stop the current Erase job so that you can Partition and Format the new drive.

Installed new hard drive, mail re-install not working properly...

Hi - I replaced the hard drive in my laptop. Before doing that, I backed up my mail folder and my mail preferences folder to a DVD. Now, after installing OSX on the new hard drive, I've copied the file / folder onto the new drive, but mail isn't working properly. It keeps giving me the "welcome" screen instead of just starting up. It wants me to put in my email addresses, etc. Seems like there's a switch somewhere in the OS that tells it this is the first time its been run. If I go through the process, it still doesn't get my preferences right.
Anyone know what I'm doing wrong?
The files / folders I'm copying are:
- Home > Library > Mail
- Home > Library > Preferences > com.apple.mail.plist
thanks,
dave

Problem was not with mail but with Toast and the DVD I burned using it - arggh.

Blank new hard drive can't install OS

I replaced a hard drive in my 2010 Mac mini. The hard drive was formatted as a boot drive before I installed it. The drive had no operating system or files on it, I just used a formatting that allows it to be a bootable drive. I thought I would be able to boot from the installation DVD and install everything fresh without doing any pre-loading of existing software from my original set up. That was half of the point when installing a new drive, to have a fresh system in addition to going from a 7200rpm hard drive to a SSD.
When I turn on the computer I get a folder with a question mark. The install CD that came with the Mac mini is rejected no matter what I try. I cannot insert it before starting the computer and I cannot insert it once it is starting or has started without the disc being spit back out. The only keyboard shortcut that does anything is Option which produces the Airport icon and a drop down menu of signals in the area.
The disc is for OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. It is the original computer-specific installation disc that came with this Mac mini.
I could put the original hard drive back in, write off the day as typical unexpected computer horse manure and try not to kill myself.
I am hoping there is a remedy that advances this situation forward towards a solution.
Any ideas?

The only remedy is to get a working optical drive so you can install OS X. The one in the computer has apparently gone south.
Clean Install of Snow Leopard
     1. Boot the computer using the Snow Leopard Installer Disc or the Disc 1 that came
         with your computer. Insert the disc into the optical drive and restart the computer.
         After the chime press and hold down the "C" key. Release the key when you see
         a small spinning gear appear below the dark gray Apple logo.
     2. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue
         button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
         After DU loads select the hard drive entry from the left side list (mfgr.'s ID and drive
         size.) Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window. Set the number of
         partitions to one (1) from the Partitions drop down menu, click on Options button
         and select GUID, click on OK, then set the format type to MacOS Extended
         (Journaled, if supported), then click on the Apply button.
     3. When the formatting has completed quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed
         with the OS X installation and follow the directions included with the installer.
     4. When the installation has completed your computer will Restart into the Setup
         Assistant. Be sure you configure your initial admin account with the exact same
         username and password that you used on your old drive. After you finish Setup
         Assistant will complete the installation after which you will be running a fresh
         install of OS X. You can now begin the update process by opening Software
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Download and install Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.

Installed new hard drive, can't update iPhoto

I had to replace my hard drive this past week (on my iMac). I was able to install my OS to Leopard like I had on it before the crash, but now my iPhoto version is stuck 4.0.3. I can't figure out how I can update to 6.0.6.
I've looked around for downloads, but all I see are fixes (i.e. 5.0.2, 5.0.3, etc), but not the big downloads 5.0.
Anyone have suggestions?
Thanks.

Hittlets: If you had a legitimate installation of iPhoto 5, 6 or 7 before you had to replace your drive, then you still have the installer for it on whatever CD or DVD you originally got it from — maybe one of the discs that came in the box with your computer, maybe an iLife installer that you bought separately. iLIfe is not included on any retail OS installer disc or set, which is why you don't find it on your Leopard installer. iLIfe installers are included on the install/restore discs that are shipped with every new Mac. Which version you got that way depends on when your computer was new.

Can't install OSX after I installed new hard drive

Okay so my 2009 MacBook pro would not start up, took it to the genius bar and they said I need a new hard drive. I installed a Western Digital blue Scorpio one from Best Buy and now when I turn on the computer I just get a flashing folder with a question mark. I've tried holding down c or option when rebooting, and rebooting with and without the OSX install DVD. I'm never given any options and it either starts up to a blank screen or to the question mark. What am I doing wrong?

You need to prep the drive first:
Drive Preparation and Installation
1. Boot from your OS X Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Security button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
7. Quit DU after formatting and return to the installer. Install Snow Leopard.
Booting From An OS X Installer Disc
1. Insert OS X Installer Disc into the optical drive.
2. Restart the computer.
3. Immediately after the chime press and hold down the "C" key.
4. Release the key when the spinning gear below the dark gray Apple logo appears.
5. Wait for installer to finish loading.

Just installed new hard drive in mac book pro 15", when trying to boot OSX from original disk I still get a folder with a question mark in it. How can I reinstall the OS?

Can't seem to get my mac book to boot from the CD after installing new hard drive.
I keep holding down "c" while restarting the machine with the disk in but it just keeps ejecting the disk and giving me a folder with a question mark.

If your on 10.5 with a Intel Mac, I think Apple has jinxed the firmware so you can't boot from the 10.5 disk anymore.
So far several people, myself included, can't boot from a 10.5 OS X disk on a Intel Mac.
Your going to have to buy a 10.6.3 Snow Leopard retail disk, it's wayyy better than 10.5 anyway, faster and most stable even better than Lion. Have to buy iLife though as it doesn't come on the 10.6.3 retail disks, only free with grey disks.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A
https://discussions.apple.com/message/16276201#16276201

MacBook Pro 2010: Flashing folder w/? on not responding to startup keys & I'm trying to install a new hard drive, can anyone help?

MacBook Pro 2010: Flashing folder w/? on not responding to startup keys & I'm trying to install a new hard drive, can anyone help?

Thanks. It started up com that disk but when I went to install it had an error message (didn't get to write out what it said). So I attempted to restore from time machine but it said there was no space, even though it's a new (replacement under warranty) HGST 1TB HD, so I did what I think was right and tried to partition the disk but it now says 'Partition faild...POSIX report...cannot allocate memory'. im not sure what to do, and I'm trying to remember how the previous hd was installed and formatted for use but that was over a year ago now. Should have erased the hd first or something?

Can I get my bookmarks back after installing new hard drive?

Can I get my bookmarks back after installing new hard drive?

http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Recovering+important+data+from+an+old+profile
Your old Profile is located here in Vista & Win7: <br />
''drive'':\Users\''Windows login user name''\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\''profile_name''

Help! Still get error message after installing new hard drive

The original problem is below and thought that it would help to include it to see the initial problem.
I went out and bought a new hard drive (500gb) and installed it in my laptop. I went to use the restore disks and I got the same exact error mentioned below. I used a set of disks that I copied from the original recovery disk and it still did the same. What is the error code and how can I fix this!!
Please help!!
I have a Satellite A215-S7444 laptop and everytime I go to restore the drive to it's factory settings using the Toshiba recovery wizard I get the following error: ERROR: 03-EEEE-000, AN ERROR HAS OCCURRED, PRESS [OK] TO TURN OFF COMPUTER.
Just a note, I have used my recovery disks to restore the factory settings before with no problems at all, now I get this message. All the files are accesible on the CD and I have no virus' on my computer.
Lastly, the image part of the drive (The one that is like 1.5 gb) which is usually visible is not any more and has not been for a bit when you should see it when you open "My computer". You can however see it when I go to "Administrative Tools-Computer Management." It states that the drive is Healthy (EISA Configuration), type is basic, and there is no file system associated with the drive and there is no drive letter for it either.

Thanks for your quick reply! I was wondering if anyone would reply!
I made the copies on a suggetion that the original may be scratched or something so I figured what the heck? I did format the hard drive though. It is a Seagate 500gb hard drive. I only formatted the whole drive and figured that the restore disks would make the additional partition.
Aside from that, it's the same error message that I had on the original drive. The original drive and OS works (Vista), but I wanted to restore it because I just wanted to wipe everything and start clean. What can be causing the error message, and what IS the error message?
Anymore suggestions or help would be great as I am in desperate need of getting my computer back to working.
Thanks again for replying!

Upgrade itunes install new hard drive

Hi there.
Long long time iTunes user here. A while back I switched off automatic upgrades and have been sitting on version 9.1.1.12 for some time. I've been meaning to update it ... and now I'd like to do that and more: upgrade my C hard drive and convert to 64 bit Windows 7 (currently on 32bit Win7).
As such, my objective is to add the new C hard drive, install Windows 7 64 bit, then download & install iTunes 10.6.1 while keeping my library intact (playlists, ratings, play counts, etc).
I understand the difference between the Media folder (where the songs are) and the Music folder (where the library is). Currently my Media folder is on a separate hard drive (G-Drive) while the Music folder is on the C-Drive. My choices are to continue using the G-Drive as the Media folder location, or I can move all songs over to a network share located on Windows Home Server (where the music folder can be backed up). I understand how to change the iTunes Media folder location in the advanced menu, and how to select "Consolidate Library" to complete the copying process.
Once I select which option is best for the Media folder, here's what I am planning to do:
1. Copy of the iTunes Music folder and all subfolders (C:\Users\Master\Music\iTunes) onto a zip drive or network share
2. Install the new hard drive
3. Install Windows 7 64 bit
4. Install iTunes 10.6.1.
5. Replace the iTunes Music folder with the copy I made
6. Change the Media folder to the correct location (either G-Drive or network share on WHS)
Does that sound correct?
Once I install iTunes, should I replace the iTunes Music folder with the copy I made *before* I actually start (open and run) iTunes?
Once I start iTunes, can I simply change the default Media folder location so that it's pointed to the current location of the songs (either G-Drive or network share on WHS)?
Lastly, is it better (less complex, lower risk, etc) to simply keep my Media folder on the G-Drive, or does it matter?
Thanks a million for your guidance ... usually I try to figure everything out myself and not ask for help, but after having dealt with broken links in the past I want to be sure I don't mess up the library/media structure (not to mention lose playlists and ratings). Again, a big THANK YOU.

Can anyone help? Not sure who else to ask. Really appreciate it.

Installing new hard drive and installing mac OS X again?

Hi I just ordered a new seagate 160gb hard drive along with 2gb corsair ram and im waiting for it to come in the mail.
Anyways I was wondering when I install the new hard drive in.... do I just put in the macbook os x installation disk or do I have to do something else.
Also when I install it will it ask for the serial number or anything like that? because I dont see the serial number anywhere on the disk or the laptop.
Basically what im asking is what are the steps that need to be done.

thanks a lot, when I put on the new hard drive can I
put on the tab on the old one and put it on the new
hard drive so when I want to take it out I can?
because should I want to sell the laptop one day i
would want to put on the original parts.
Yes, follow this video.
http://eshop.macsales.com/tech_center/index.cfm?page=Video/macbook/macbook/high. html
-Bmer
Mac Owners Support Group
Join Us @ MacOSG.com
ITMS: MacOSG Podcast
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Installed new hard drive, can't install OSX - help!

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