Boot from optical

Question

I am trying to boot from a disc (snow leopard) for a 2011 MacBook Pro. Upon startup, I hold down the option key which gives me the disc to choose to boot from on the display. I choose this option and the disc runs.. then a few minutes later, it stops and the computer just sits on the white screen with the grey apple. There is no progress indicator and nothing else happens. How Do I get my computer to actually boot from the disc in the drive?

Answer 1

That DVD will not boot your model which requires a proprietary version that came on discs with the computer when it was new. Contact Apple about purchasing replacements if you don't have them.
You may be able to restore using Internet Recovery. Please review this to see if your computer can be updated: Computers that can be upgraded to use OS X Internet Recovery. When you can do Internet Recovery this is how:
Install OS X Using Internet Recovery
Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard drive.
Boot to the Internet Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND-OPTION- R keys until a globe appears on the screen. Wait patiently - 15-20 minutes - until the Recovery main menu appears.
Partition and Format the hard drive:
Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
After DU loads select your newly installed hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
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. Quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall OS X: Select Reinstall OS X and click on the Install button. Be sure to select the correct drive to use if you have more than one.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.