Can't boot from Original Snow Leopard DVD

I have a late 2009 15" MacBook Pro. I can't boot my system and wish to restore a backup. Unfortunately, I have inserted the original system DVD that came with the machine and tried to boot holding down the "C" key, holding down the "option key" (that only gets me to a big padlock with a password box but won't accept my password), holding down the "Command" key, holding down the "Control" key, and holding down the "shift" key. None of them work. I always come to the apple logo with the spinning gear, and no further.
Obviously I need help ?

danielfromloudon wrote:
I'm heading out to Best Buy in a bit to pick up another drive and will pick up a cleaning disk also. Thanks for the advice. Any other thoughts?
It already appears that all bases were covered in possible solutions that the knowledgeable users provided. The ball is now in your court to try them all.

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Installing xcode from the snow leopard dvd

Hi all
i am a new mac user and want to learn as much as i can,i want to install xcode from the snow leopard dvd but want to make sure i do it correctly ( i know there are boxes to click and i dont want to make mistakes ).
i am hoping that someone can give me a step by step guide on how to do this.

See if this helps any:
http://thomas1111.wordpress.com/2010/01/18/installing-xcode-and-using-gcc-on-mac /

I am in the process of updating the os of my macbook pro and have installed from the snow leopard dvd and did the 10.6.8 combo v1.1 as well and wis to update further but i now cannot get preview so i am concerned about going forward. how to get prev

I am updating the OS on my MacBook Pro from 10.5.8. I have installed 10.6.8 and the 10.6.8 combo v1.1. I cannot open my older version of Preview and do not appear to have a newer version which i thought would be on the Snow Leopard dvd. How can I get the correct version of Preview and is it advisable to upgrade to OS7 andOS8?

It is always installed with whatever new version of OS X is installed or appropriate updates. Since you plan to go forward your choice depends on your model. I would urge you to perform a clean install instead of continuing the upgrade path which may interject incompatibilities.
Upgrading to Yosemite
You can upgrade to Yosemite from Lion or directly from Snow Leopard. Yosemite can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for FREE.
Upgrading to Yosemite
To upgrade to Yosemite you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or Lion installed. Download Yosemite from the App Store. Sign in using your Apple ID. Yosemite is free. The file is quite large, over 5 GBs, so allow some time to download. It would be preferable to use Ethernet because it is nearly four times faster than wireless.
    OS X Mavericks/Yosemite - System Requirements
    Macs that can be upgraded to OS X Yosemite
         1. iMac (Mid 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 7,1 or later
         2. MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 5,1 or later
         3. MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         4. MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 2,1 or later
         5. Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         6. Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         7. Xserve (Early 2009) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
To find the model identifier open System Profiler in the Utilities folder. It's displayed in the panel on the right.
     Are my applications compatible?
         See App Compatibility Table - RoaringApps.
Upgrading to Lion
If your computer does not meet the requirements to install Yosemite, it may still meet the requirements to install Lion.
You can purchase Lion at the Online Apple Store. The cost is $19.99 (as it was before) plus tax. It's a download. You will get an email containing a redemption code that you then use at the Mac App Store to download Lion. Save a copy of that installer to your Downloads folder because the installer deletes itself at the end of the installation.
     Lion System Requirements
       1. Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7,
           or Xeon processor
       2. 2GB of memory
       3. OS X v10.6.6 or later (v10.6.8 recommended)
       4. 7GB of available space
       5. Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.
Before attempting a clean install you want to first download the appropriate installer application from the App Store. It will download into your Applications folder. You need to make a copy of it in your Downloads folder so you can make a bootable USB flash drive:
Make Your Own Mavericks, Mountain/Lion Installer
After downloading the installer you must first save the Install Mac OS X application. After the installer downloads DO NOT click on the Install button. Go to your Applications folder and make a copy of the installer. Move the copy into your Downloads folder. Now you can click on the Install button. You must do this because the installer deletes itself automatically when it finishes installing.
   2. Get a USB flash drive that is at least 8 GBs. Prep this flash drive as follows:
Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
After DU loads select your flash drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the leftside list. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
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.
Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to an hour depending upon the flash drive size.
Use DiskMaker X to put your installer clone onto the USB flash drive.
Make your own Yosemite flash drive installer using the Yosemite tool:
You can also create a Yosemite flash drive installer via the Terminal. Yosemite has its own built-in installer maker you use via the Terminal:
How to Make an OS X Yosemite Boot Installer USB Drive

Booting from a Snow Leopard Retail dvd

I have a 2009 iMac that came with Leopard installed. I later purchase the retail Snow Leopard disc with I believe 10.6.3.
I want to reformat my iMac HD and reinstall a fresh copy of Snow Leopard so I can move my Mac Pro data over to it, but it doesn't load the Snow Leopard disc when I reboot and hold the Option key.
I've upgraded to 10.6.8 and was wondering if that was the problem. I have used the original Leopard Install discs to check the drive and corrected a few errors with one pass. Should the iMac be able to boot from the SL disc? Not being able to read the dvd, I can't even attempt a .dmg image to mount, even if I knew how. I've read numerous posts with other users not being able to boot from the SL retail disc.
Would I have the same issues if I purchase a new Snow Leopard Install dvd?

Unlike Windows, the DVD or CD versions of the Mac OS (Snow Leopard or earlier) have no serial number, or even keep track of how many times you've installed it. It's all on the honor system of following the license you have, which as mende1 noted, is either a single computer license, or five in one household (not shared with friends or relatives).
Lion and Mountain Lion are a bit different. Macs that came with either OS have a machine specific version (for the necessary hardware drivers) and cannot be shared, other than with a 100% identical Mac. The App Store versions are intended for Macs that were released before the respective OS's, and contain only the hardware drivers for the Mac models they are listed to support.

Problems with Booting from the Snow Leopard Install Disc

I need to do a reformat of my iMac drive and reinsall Snow Leopard. Then I want to run System Migration and move the contents of my Mac Pro (running Snow Leopard) over to the iMac.
I placed the retail Snow Leopard installation disc and held the "C" key down during restart. My optical drive make a bit of random noise and eventually ejects the SL disc. I've tried a CD, movie dvd and another software program installation disc and none of them seem to be able to be read. I've sold the Mac Pro and am in a bit of a bind as I need to get this done and shipped out. I'm also going to have to wipe the Mac Pro drives clean and do a reinstall of Snow Leopard.
Can anyone help?
Thanks,
John

Do you have the original install discs that came with the computer?
If you do, try powering up the mac pushing in the disc and hold the OPTION key, which will bring up the start up manager, select the insrall disc to boot from.
After booting, select the language, on the next page go to the menu bar and select Utilities/disk utilities, select your volume (default name is Macintosh HD, or what ever you ma have named it) First aid tab, run verify disk.
If it comes up with errors (they will be in red font) click repair disk. Rerun this till it it comes up with "this disk seems OK i(n green font)
Then quit the installer and eject the disk.
Try the Snow Leopard disk using the same proceedure (power up, push in disk, holding the OPTION key) to boot to the start up manager, and select the SL disk, and do a clean install.
Make sure that you have a retail install disk (white SL on it)
You can try this from the retail SL disc, if you do not have the Original disc(s) you should include all of them to the person you seel/give it to.
After install, follow these instructions.
http://www.thesafemac.com/how-to-prepare-your-mac-for-sale/
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5189?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US
Hope this helps

Impossible to boot on the Snow Leopard DVD install

Hello,
I have an iMac i5 3.6 GHz 27" - Beg of April 2011
I made too many tests / operations and so, now, I would like to delete evrything in order to have a "new" iMac.
So, I would like to "fully" re-install Snow Leopard from the Original DVD: Version 10.6.3 - 22691-6643-A
Unfortunately, I'm not able to boot on it, neither using the C (or c) key nor the Option key - I only have the "Blank Apple Screen" - Is it a DVD issue?
My keyboard is the Bluetooth one? Is it managed at the boot?
I have to use the Mouse Click to eject the DVD and to be able to connect to the System.
How can I fix this issue / How can I boot on the DVD?
Thanks for your help.
Regards.

Manuconf wrote:
So, my last question on this topic: As the DVD does not include the OS Files (Boot part) why my iMac does not start using the Hard Drive OS files?
1. The hard drive may not have a useable OS on it.
2. Some startup keyboard commands (like command + C) specifically tell the iMac to try to boot from the DVD.
3. The computer can do very little until the OS loads. In fact, it can't even understand how files are stored on the drive until the OS loads & runs. It's called "booting" because it is like 'pulling yourself up with your bootstraps' -- seemingly impossible, since the OS can't run until it is loaded but it can't load until is running.
4. The boot process gets around this by loading successively more capable software: first a tiny little program stored in firmware runs that loads the 'boot loader,' which must be stored in one of a few specific places on the boot drive or the firmware can't find it. The boot loader knows enough about file systems to find more capable software stored on the drive, loads that & transfer control to it. Eventually, the kernel (the most basic part of the OS) is loaded, the kernel extensions are loaded & the hardware is initialized, & the remainder of the OS loads & takes over control of the computer.
5. It is actually a lot more complicated than this, because there are provisions to load pre-configured kernel & extension configurations, to interrupt & modify the process (like with keyboard commands), & even to load entirely different OS's that require different drive schemes.

SL install seemed to fail - now my MBP can't boot from HD or SL DVD

H E L P. Just bought SL family edition - upgraded my iMac 24 - worked fine so then I tried to upgrade my MBP (2+years old). At first the MBP just ejected the SL DVD - found lots of similar issues on this board. I finally got it working by holding my MBP at an angle while inserting the DVD - the install commenced. Since it would take some time I left the room and came back some time later (< 1 hour) - the screen was blank so I thought it had finished and gone to sleep. I had a lot of trouble waking up my MBP but finally it started to re-boot. It ejected the SL DVD then (I presume) tried to boot from the HD - this failed - screen just showed a folder icon with a question mark in it. So I assumed that somehow the SL install had not run to completion and the Mac OS image on the HD was corrupted. So I tried to boot from the SL DVD - this seemed to start working - screen shows Apple logo and spinning wheel for about 45 seconds (just like any normal boot) but then the screen goes blank and nothing happens. By holding down the power button for 15 seconds or so - the boot restarts but the same thing happens.
So now the SL DVD is "stuck" in the player and I'm not sure what to do next. I was going to try my Leopard disk (thinking maybe the SL DVD was dodgy) but I'm not sure how to eject the SL disk. It's Sunday here so I can't call the Apple support center and the Genius Bar at my local Apple shop is booked out until next weekend.

Before anyone jumps in I have fixed the problem - found it in the Snow Leopard forum. Issue was screen was too dim to see anything. As a result I must have accidentally aborted the SL install which corrupted something so I had to re-install from the SL DVD but it looked like that was not working due to the dim screen. VERY irritating to say the least - lost many hours on this.

How many Installs Can I do from a Snow Leopard Retail Disk?

I have an old Snow Leopard Retail Disk (10.6.3) that I used a few years ago. Our Macs have mostly been upgraded to Lion since then, but we still have a 2007 iMac running Leopard and want to run some legacy third-party software. We need to upgrade that iMac from Leopard to Snow Leopard, then upgrade via system update to 10.6.8 in order to run the legacy software.
I know we used this Snow Leopard retail disk to upgrade one computer to Snow Leopard already, and we might have used the disk to install Snow Leopard on an external hard drive as well but I'm not sure as it was a few years ago and that hard drive may have been archived and placed in storage.
My question is, is there a limited number of installs that we can do with this disk? Do we need to first uninstall Snow Leopard from one computer before we can install it on another?

Unlike Windows, the DVD or CD versions of the Mac OS (Snow Leopard or earlier) have no serial number, or even keep track of how many times you've installed it. It's all on the honor system of following the license you have, which as mende1 noted, is either a single computer license, or five in one household (not shared with friends or relatives).
Lion and Mountain Lion are a bit different. Macs that came with either OS have a machine specific version (for the necessary hardware drivers) and cannot be shared, other than with a 100% identical Mac. The App Store versions are intended for Macs that were released before the respective OS's, and contain only the hardware drivers for the Mac models they are listed to support.

10.5.2 Update Failed - Computer No Longer Boots from HDD NOR Leopard DVD

Hi. I hope someone can help me. I have one of the new 24" iMacs that has been working perfectly in 10.5.1. I started downloading the 10.5.2 update last night. About 130MB in, it said it had lost internet connection and stopped. I ran Software Update again and it resumed where it had left off, then said it had to be restarted to install, and went on its way. Then I got a pop up that said it could not be installed, or the install failed.
Now when I boot, it spends a long time on the grey screen with the apple logo and spinning disc. Eventually it turns to the blank blue screen and just sits there. Then I tried booting from the Leopard DVD (i figured i would just restore from my latest Time Machine backup and try the whole process again), except when it gets to the part of verifying that Mac OSX is on my computer it pops up with a system log and says I can't do anything. I can restart, shutdown, or save log.
What can I do?

When you tried again in the morning did you have anything connected to the computer apart from your keyboard/mouse? If yes, then try again leaving the computer to "cool down" - you could even remove the power cord. When you come to try again, only the power cord and keyboard/mouse should be connected - and to go the shortest route, press the C key immediately after hitting the power button. Keep the key down until something happens ...if you get a black cursor, you're in business and can relax for as long as it takes to boot from the DVD. Try not to give up - I believe that constant powering down and troubled restarts stress the machine, perhaps causing it to overheat.
If you do give up, try one more time to boot with the T key held down (again with nothing else connected) and if you boot into the Firewire logo screen, then connect a firewire cable to your other Mac and hopefully you will be able to get in.
Simon

Can't boot from Windows XP Install DVD

A couple months ago I wanted to use Boot Camp for the first time to install Windows XP Professional (SP3) on my iMac8,1, but I ran into a lot of trouble. I got a lot of support from you guys but I ended up scratching the mission because of a problem that nobody could help me with at the time (I sought support on IRC, too). I will adduce the links to the threads regarding the issues that were more or less solved at the end of this post.
Today I decided to make a thread here and hope that this time somebody knows what to do, how to solve the weird problem that I'm having when I try to boot from the Windows XP Install DVD right after I partition the hard drive with Boot Camp Assistant.
So when the iMac restarts, after I have inserted the disc, and tries to boot from it, I randomly get one of the following three possibilities on the screen (and nothing happens after it):
http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/6725/p3201160.jpg
http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/105/p3201161.jpg
http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/2076/img0472zt.jpg
I burned the disc myself, so it's not the original disc from Microsoft. I did try re-burning the .iso file multiple times (both with Disk Utility and with the application called Burn), to no avail. The disc works fine with VirtualBox!
Please let me know if you have a possible solution and I will thank you for it greatly!
Related threads:
Weird Behavior After Multiple Failed Partitioning Attempts
I Can't Partition My Hard Drive (Files Can't Be Moved)
How should I go about this? (resetting my system with minimal losses?)

Only thing that comes to mind is did you try multiple types of burn media? Also, did you try burning at the slowest burn speed?
~Lyssa

Restoring iLife from the Snow Leopard DVD

Hi,
I deleted iMovie from my MB Pro a while back, and would like to restore it. I was wondering which .pkg file contains iMovie. I'm guessing iLife is bundled in one package, but I couldn't find it by the package names.
TIA,
z

You can only do this from the install disks which came with your computer: if your computer was originally Leopard and you subsequently bought the Snow Leopard disk this does not contain iLife.
Insert the install disk which came with your computer and you should see an option to install bundled software only.

Getting an error when I try to boot from my snow leopard disk

I want to install Snow Leopard on a partion on my new iMac. But when I try to boot from my old Snow Leopard-startup-disk all that happens is that I hear some beeping noise from the iMac.
Would apreciate any help.
Best Regards
Andreas.

If your machine shipped with Lion, most likely you cannot install SL, since it won't run on it. Details in Don't install a version of Mac OS X earlier than what came with your Mac

HP DV5 can't boot from hdd or dc/dvd

1.I have dv5 laptop , in this morning , i turn on my laptop , it only run to hp logo and then is the black screen....., i think my window is problem
2. I insert DVD install window on the CD-Rom but to : " press any key to boot from Cd/DVD" , the black screen still there
3. i take a hdd from same dv5 laptop working properties and put it to my laptop , but the black screen again one more thime
4. i go to my bios ( press F10 key ) , and i see hdd, cd/DVD
anybody can tell me what happen with my laptop and any way to fix it ,thanks all

I'm also having similar kind of problem can anyone help.
My problem is little different but the model is same Pavilion DV5-1235dx
http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Operating-Systems-and-Software/BIOS-doesn-t-show-HDD-CD-or-USB...
Thanks,
RP

Can't Boot from Snow Leopard Partition

I have a Macbook Pro from 2008. It previously just had one partition, with Lion on it.
I created a new partition for Snow Leopard
I installed Snow leopard from a retail disk on the second partition. The installation went fine, and I got the message at the end that the installation was successful, and to restart the computer.
When I restart it, it just goes to the gray Apple screen, with the spinning gear, and never gets farther than that. The gear is spinning.
I can still boot successfully into Lion. Once I booted into Lion, I chose the Snow Leopard partition as the Startup Disk, but the same thing happens - just the gray Apple screen and spinning gear. I've let the machine sit for half an hour in that state, but it still does nothing but the spinning gear.
Any ideas on why I can't boot successfully into Snow Leopard and how I can fix it?
Thanks.

I already knew that I'm free to follow my own course, but thanks for giving me your permission (???)
And would knowing the original OS of the machine make any difference in your "advice"? If it was originally Leopard, would that make it any different than if it was Tiger? Answer: No, because you don't understand the problem, and you don't know how to fix it.
Thanks.
If anyone ACTUALLY KNOWS anything about this problem, please post, as many others will benefit.
If you DON'T ACTUALLY KNOW anything about the problem, either DON'T POST HERE, or else qualify your information to indicate that you are guessing. I'm open to suggestions and speculation, but could you please CHECK YOUR EGO AT THE DOOR, and tell people that you are GUESSING what the problem might be. You don't need to act like you are some great authority and try to make your random guesswork look like an established fact.
If you were walking in New York City, and you ask someone how to get to Carnegie Hall, but the person doesn't even know where Carnegie Hall is, would you rather:
1) Have the person tell you a bunch of random wrong information that could cause you wander aimlessly for hours?
OR
2) Have the person politely tell you they don't know where Carnegie Hall is, and that you should ask someone else?
IF YOU DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER, THEN DON'T ANSWER.
OR IF YOU ARE GUESSING OR MAKING A SUGGESTION, THEN QUALIFY YOUR STATEMENTS SO PEOPLE KNOW YOUR LEVEL OF UNDERSTANDING.
YOU DON'T HELP BY GIVING WRONG INFORMATION. YOU DON'T HELP BY STATING YOUR GUESSWORK AS A FACT.
Why do people not have the slightest amount of common sense here? Are you getting paid to just post random wrong info here or something?

Upgraded MBPro hard drive, can't boot from hdd or dvd

Hey all,
I got my mid-2010 15" Macbook Pro back from the Apple store a few days ago (they had replaced a faulty logic board). As the repair forced me to back up my data, I decided it was a good time to upgrade the size of my hard drive.
I slapped a blank WD 1TB in there but when I went to boot off the Snow Leopard DVD, nothing happened--my computer froze on the gray screen with the Apple logo (curiously no spinning wheel populated). It was evident the DVD would eventually spin down as well. I then tried booting off a properly formatted 10.6.3 USB--same results (mind you, my iMac booted the USB with no problem).
After resetting the PRAM (nothing), I booted my MacBook into target disk mode and then used my iMac to install Snow Leopard on the (now initialized) 1TB drive. No issues. iMac was able to boot off my MacBook's hard drive just fine. But when I try booting my MacBook, it hangs at the same grey screen with the Apple logo (even if I hold Option to select the hdd).
To be sure, I cracked my MacBook open again then tried booting with the old 320GB drive--the machine's working just fine, thankfully I didn't seem to screw it up. In fact, I'm writing this from my MacBook that's booted off of my iMac's hard drive through target disk mode.
This is an odd problem if I've ever seen one. It's as if the mere presence of a foreign hard drive has thrown my laptop into a lockdown. I've effectively ruled out a defective hdd and a defective laptop, yet I can't get the two to play nice. The conspiracist inside of me wonders if the new logic board has any "safety" mechanisms to blame...
Thoughts? Ideas? Thanks in advance for your help.
Anthony

S.U. -- Thanks for your help!
I actually got to the bottom of the problem, and it was a much simpler fix than I anticipated. The Snow Leopard DVD I was using was an older version than the one that shipped with my MacBook. As I don't know where that DVD is, I used target disk mode to install Snow Leopard on my MacBook, updated it, and am typing on it right now.
DrBurke--I hope your problem is as simple to solve as mine was.

Can't boot from Original Snow Leopard DVD

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