Help reinstalling Leopard

Hi,
I have a macbook air (Late 2008) that came with Leopard. Recently it had some problem and now doesn't boot properly. I need to reinstall Leopard but I really don't know how to do it.
I don't own any other Mac. Also I have lost the original Leopard DVDs. I've been reading about different ways to reinstall Leopard without DVD but I'm not still sure what to do.
What's the best (easiest / cheapest) way to reinstal OS X? All ideas will be appretiated.
Thanks in advance,
Terry.

Terrycp wrote:
Hi,
I have a macbook air (Late 2008) that came with Leopard. Recently it had some problem and now doesn't boot properly. I need to reinstall Leopard but I really don't know how to do it.
I don't own any other Mac. Also I have lost the original Leopard DVDs. I've been reading about different ways to reinstall Leopard without DVD but I'm not still sure what to do.
What's the best (easiest / cheapest) way to reinstal OS X? All ideas will be appretiated.
Thanks in advance,
Terry.
Call Apple at 1-800-MYAPPLE they will sell them to you. You can also check eBay.

Similar Messages

My programs don't work anymore with Lion!!!! Help me! Should I wait for patches or reinstall Leopard????

My programs don't work anymore with Lion!!!! Help me! Should I wait for patches or reinstall Leopard????

Which programs? If they are very old (PowerPC) applications they will never work on Lion.

Reinstalled leopard, need help getting time machine to recover old document

Hey,
I reinstalled leopard with completely deleting everything and reinstalling. I was planning to use time machine to restore my computer. Anyways, when I finally got to the point where it was done reinstalling and leopard was working, it asked me do you want to load from time machine, so I clicked it and it failed. But it said there was a way I could do this at another time. Does anyone know how I go about doing this so I can get all the stuff I backed up on time machine back onto my newly reformatted mac?

Thank you for asking. I solved my problem last night. I reloaded the system using the "erase and restore" option this time. Then, once I reached the Time Machine level, TM could see the old files. I did have to restore the files one area at a time. I could not launch a general system restore.

URGENT Trying to wipe and reinstall Leopard 10.5 on my 2008 imac8,1 from the disk but my hard drive doesn't show up

So to give a little big of a background on my computer. I got it January 2009 as a graduation gift, because I was going to get a degree in Graphic Design and Animation. I only worked on it [mostly brousing the web, and itunes] for about 6 months because I was taking all of my general courses for college. I then met my boyfriend [late 2009] and moved in with him, my boyfriend has a macbook so I left my mac at my parents house. I was only Using it every now and then and it would be idle/ or shut off the rest of the time.
Fast forward to fall 2011. Me and my boyfriend live in a condo so I brought my computer over because I am now taking graphic design courses and need my computer. I installed a free 30 day trial of adobe cs5.5. It made my computer kind of slow and it froze alot even though I still have over 250gb's of memory in it. After the trial ended I kind of stoped using my computer again, rather installing the free trials of cs5.5 on my mom and my boyfriends macs until I had enought money saved up to buy it.
Here's where it gets tricky.
So now its March 2012 and I tried uninstalling the trial of cs5.5 on my computer since it was just taking up un needed space. I had to uninstall all of the programs one at a time other wise it would freeze up. I have had to hold the power button down to get it to turn off because i couldn't even move the mouse even after waiting a while. Anyhow I get to the last program and it keeps freezing, I tried shutting down my computer via<apple< shut down. But when I start it up again I got a file with a question mark flashing on my screen. So I looked up how to fix that and had to locate where to start up [I selected my hard drive] then I was able to get on to my computer.
So then I go to disk utilitys and do a repair on my internal hard drive to fix if there were any messed up files. After the files are repaired I figure I'll restart it and let everything get up to date. When I do I get the gray screen with the apple and the spinning wheel. This happens OVER and OVER. I tried soft reseting it, manually turning off the computer, you name it. But it still keeps happening. So I figure I'll just wipe it clean and reinstall the whole thing. [I have it backed up on an external drive]
I try to reinstall leopard 10.5 from the disk that came with my computer, all goes well until I gets to the 3rd screen where you select where to save it to, my hard drive doesn't show up. But if I connect my external hard drive it shows up right away. I try seeing if it pops up on disk utility, and it doesn't show up there either.
Is it possible that my hard drive is shot? I haven't really used my computer that much. Its pretty much sat at my parents house for 2 of the 3 years I've had it. So its not like I used it a whole lot.
Help! I'm a college student who needs her mac now more than ever for my design classes!

The battery alone is a $5 to $15 part. Hard drives vary in cost, and depending on the iMac, they may or may not be able to install a third party hard drive, or one resold through Apple.    The resold through Apple drives tend to cost more. This article discusses the varying successes of third party drives on iMacs:
http://blog.macsales.com/10146-apple-further-restricts-upgrade-options-on-new-im acs
The labor costs depend on the store as well as the time to get the parts in stock.    Call around.

Problem with ichat, need help reinstalling.

Hey guys, I'm new to mac so I need a little help.
I did something last night to my comp and I'm not sure what it was. But when I click on the iChat icon it just comes up with a ? I search in spotlight and it's not there. I must have deleted it while getting rid of some other things. I don't have time machine and I need some help reinstalling. When I bought the mac it had Tiger and I still have those disc, but right now I have upgraded to Leopard. Where can I find iChat to reinstall? I looked on the iLife section of the Tiger discs but I couldn't find it. Any info will help.
Thanks

update
I downloaded pacifist and got ichat to reinstall from my Tiger 10.4.9 disc, however, now when I try to open iChat it says, You cannot use the application “iChat” with this version of Mac OS X. I have leopard 10.5.2. Does anyone know how to update the version I have? I use the mac updater but it doesn't find anything.

Reinstalling Leopard and cleaning hard but can't reload operating system.

In preparation for sale, i'm cleaning off all my data from my G5 and reinstalling Leopard OS.
Every time I insert the original OS Leopard install CD and try and re-boot the computer gos into the start up screen (Apple logo displayed) but just freezes then the CPU fans slowly start to blow harder and harder until my mac sounds like jet aircraft on afterburn. After 20minutes I have to force crash and restart. Without the start-up CD the mac boots up fine and run perfectly.
Any idea what I can launch the start-up OS to reinstall and wipe the HD?
thanks
Ed

If you have been trying to get it to boot from the installer DVD by holding
the C key down on startup, with the disc in the optical drive, perhaps it
may work to use the Option key held down on start up with disc in drive.
+{The original system disc may be able to cope with the firmware setup+
+on the computer, even though it may have been updated over time.+
+So, that machine-specific install-restore disc may be the key.}+
Another way may be to see if the installed system's own Startup Disk
control pane in System Preferences can select the inserted DVD as a
boot volume and then choose to start the G5 from that DVD, then.
There may also be some other issue behind this problematic situation;
and perhaps to reset the PRAM/NVRAM may do something voodoo to
help it get a move on. However, this topic has come up in the forums
and has affected a few different models under odd circumstances. So
some topic like it should exist in the Discussions, and be searchable.
There is also an Open Firmware reset that involves starting in single
user mode to enter command line text and so on, to reset NVRAM:
• reset the NVRAM (non volitile RAM)
Here is how to do it (from OWC):
To boot into Open Firmware, shut down your Mac, then start it up while holding down the
Command, Option, O and F keys. At the prompt, enter the following commands (you may
want to write them down on a piece of paper before beginning this process), pressing the
return key after each:
reset-nvram
set-defaults
reset-all
After which your Mac will restart.
Edit: Actually, on a re-read, (confirm before trying) there are a few mis-steps in the
above; so check that out. I have seen where this path is more likely, along with above...
+as soon as you turn on your machine and you here the chime, hold down command S,+
+this will take to the terminal.+
+then type:+
/sbin/fsck -fy
If it tells you *** FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED ***, type the above again, until it says:
** The volume (nameofvolume) appears to be OK * (where name is probably Macintosh_HD)
When that is done, type reboot and you should be good.
Other +general symptom matches+ - with some degree of results, may appear in a search using the words:
• *power mac G5 won't boot from disc* - google search:
http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&q=powermac+g5+won%27t+boot+fromdisc&aq=2&aqi=g3g-o1&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&pbx=1&fp=83f87efc6f926f13
• Apple - Support - PowerMac G5:
http://www.apple.com/support/powermac/
Not sure if that will help, but it's beyond sleeptime here.
Good luck & happy computing!
+{ edited to add voodoo words }+

Can't REinstall leopard, and I'm losing my patience

Here's the thing. My computer has been having kernel panics and has been running way too slow. So, what I wanted to do was to erase everything and reinstall Leopard. So, I tried doing it with a copy of the original Leopard DVD that I have. I selected delete and install on my Macintosh HD partition. I let the machine verify de DVD (took half an hour I think) and the process started. Not even One third through I got a message that the media source had an error or something like that. So, everything was erased from my Macintosh HD, but nothing installed. So, I tried again, same error. After about three tries, I gave up and went to my office and brought the original Leopard DVD I have. I tried reinstalling with it and I got the same error twice so I gave up with that.
So, I partitioned an external USB Hard drive, and in a 10 GB partition I restored an image of the original Leopard DVD. To my surprise, I got the same error message, "media source error" etc. So, I restored to a time machine backup date from my external firewire HD. My plan was to partition my firewire HD and do the same thing I did with my usb HD, but only this time it will be a firewire drive and it may work. So, the restore went fine, and I partitioned my HD (all my time machine backups were erased in order to partition the HD), so I told time machine to make a back up now. When time machine was backing up my drive, I got an error, and the drive couldn't be backed up. So, I tried again, and the same error appeared. I don't remember if it said anything about the error (because it was very late last night), but I think it only said that time machine couldn't complete the backup because there was an internal error, something like that.
So now, what should I do? I can't try to install leopard again because I have nothing to restore from, and I can't backup my drive because Time machine encounters errors when it tries. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks.

Resolving kernel panics:
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/kernelpanics.html
http://www.macmaps.com/kernelpanic.html
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106227

Lost Disk space after Reinstalling Leopard

I upgraded my Mac OS v.10.4.9 to Leopard v.10.5.1 in May and after Leopard was installed I had about 13 GB HD space left. It was lightning quick too. The new OS was v.10.5.1
Since then I've been downloading regular Security updates as they were prompted until the OS reached v.10.5.5 but the whole thing was gradually getting slower too so I figured I would reinstall Leopard and take it back to v.10.5.1 to see if it was back to the high speed it had when I originally installed Leopard v.10.5.1.
After I re-installed Leopard last week and it was back to v.10.5.1 it went back to running superfast again, but yesterday I started getting a notice that said I was running low on Startup disk space and I needed to delete some stuff to gain space.
When I checked available space I have less than 1 GB, about 300MB.
It seems that by re-installing Leopard it has been written adjacent to the 10.5.5 instead of on top of it, which I thought it would do automatically.
I found a file named 'Previous systems' on the HD and deleted that but it screwed it up so I had to restore that and now it's back to normal but I've still got less than 1 GB disk space.
Can anyone tell me how to delete my old operating systems (both the 10.5.5 and the 10.4.9 that I presume is still on there, which I originally upgraded to Leopard.)
I'm a conservative user of disk space and I deleted all my photos and only gained about 20 MB of new space so I'm pretty sure the problem is the OS's are written adjacent to each other instead of on top of each other.

Barry,
Thank you for your help.
When I deleted the Previous Systems file it was about 7 months after the Leopard installation.
You are right, I did do an Archive and Install in order to maintain all my info from v10.4.9.
The problem I encountered after I deleted the Previous Systems file was I then did a Secure Empty Trash and as it was emptying it was showing over 200,000 items and still upticking and that worried me that I had done the wrong thing by deleting the Previous Systems file.
So I stopped the Emptying process, and did a restart, thinking my HD space may be restored if the file was indeed possible to be deleted.
When it restarted that time, instead of the usual boot up process, there was a small flashing square box in the centre of a grey background, the small box had a blue earth in it and that went on flashing for maybe 20 minutes.
It eventually booted up and so I went to the trash, where the now presumably slightly diminished Previous Systems file was, and I dragged that file back into the HD and re-started the machine.
The world sign again flashed on, but this time for maybe only 10 minutes before it booted OK.
I checked and I was back to v.10.5.1 bit still with only about 300MB Disk space.
That's when I deleted all my photos but that only gave me about 20MB so now I'm up to about 320 MB - but as you say that is nowhere near enough.
But I do notice a definite increase in speed using 10.5.1 compared to 10.5.5. Those Security Updates have dragged it down badly.
Now that you have explained that the Previous Systems file may be safely deleted then I will try that again and let it run its course this time.
I'll let you know what happens.
Thanks again,
ann

Reinstall leopard with problems

Hello there, I really need your help.
I'm trying to reinstall Mac OS (leopard) but every time that I turn on the Mac and I click "alt" I get the little menu that says Mac OS Install DVD so I click over there, after like 30 seconds I get the error that says: "you need to restart your computer hold down the power button" so basically I can't reinstall leopard again, what I can do?
Thenks a lot

You are getting kernel panics when the computer tells you to restart with the power button. Since you are no longer able to boot your Mac, my suggestion would be to take to Apple and have them fix it.
|___________________
Allan

Reinstall Leopard from Terminal

What is the process in order to reinstall Leopard from Terminal? When I start up my computer, I get the frozen blue screen. When I start in safe mode, I'm able to insert the install DVD and click re-start, but when I re-start, it winds up back at the frozen blue screen. I'm thinking that the way to get around this is to try to start the computer in Terminal, type in the command prompt to reinstall and, well... hopefully Bob's yer uncle. Can anyone help with this? Am I deluded? Anybody got any better ideas?

Before you trash your old iMac G5 because of the bad capacitors, take a gander at this website:
http://jimwarholic.com/2008/07/how-to-repair-apple-imac-g5.php
My wife's G5 iMac had similar problems and replacing the capacitors on the motherboard with Jim Warholic's capacitor kit actually fixed the problem. I was as surprised as anyone that it worked, but it did.
Now, six months later I started having power supply problems and sure enough there were some iffy capacitors on the power supply board. But my luck wasn't so good trying to fix that problem, so I ended up buying a new power supply.
Just a thought.
Dan

Boot Camp partition after reinstalling Leopard?

If I reinstall Leopard (erase and install), will it leave the Boot Camp partition intact? I don't want to reinstall Windows. Please help.

If I reinstall Leopard (erase and install), will it leave the Boot Camp partition intact?
Yes.
(33946)

I just restarted my mac then suddenly when it boots,disk utility came and says different option like repair disk, get help, reinstall OSX and I tried to click disk repair but it says that I am um able to repair the disk

i just restarted my mac then suddenly when it boots,disk utility came and says different option like repair disk, get help, reinstall OSX and I tried to click disk repair but it says that I am um able to repair the disk

It sounds like your hard drive either has a software problem that Disk Utility cannot fix or that the HD has failed (mechanically).
Your Mac may have booted either to your recovery partition or to internet recovery in an attempt to repair the drive- I can't tell from your post.
I'll assume that it was the recovery partition.
Try to boot into internet recovery (hold down option command R at restart), and see if you can repair your HD with Disk Utility. You should also repair permissions while you're there.
If that doesn't work, try to boot into single user mode (restart, hold down ⌘S until you see a black screen with white text) and repair your hard drive. Here's a reference with directions: Repair Your Hard Disk in Single User Mode | Everything Macintosh
If that doesn't work you have a few options:
If your mac originally came with installation disks, you can try to boot from the installation disk and then see if you can repair the HD.
There is a small chance that Techtool Pro 7 will be able to repair your HD if Disk Utility can't.
If none of that works then your HD has probably failed and will need to be replaced, which is not too difficult to do yourself if you can use a screwdriver.

Time machine back-up and reinstalling Leopard

Hi there,
I love my mac but don't know the nitty gritty... I have backed up my files using time machine on my external hard drive but I want to reinstall Leopard going the "erase everything and start over" route. That being said, I don't want to lose all my pictures, music, etc.... If all of that is backed up in time machine and I reinstall Leopard, will I be able to access it all or will it not recognize the new install? Also, I just want my external hard drive to go back to how it was before it was formatted for time machine. How do I do that?

Hi there jobe74,
You may want to try resetting the SMC and PRAM on your computer as an initial troubleshooting step. Take a look at the articles below for more information.
Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964
About NVRAM and PRAM
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1379
-Griff W.

Reinstalling Leopard without removing or changing windows partition

I am giving my mom my iMac and I would like to remove all my files and applications, I think the best way to do this is to reinstall Leopard but I need to keep the windows partition intact. The problem is that I no longer have the Windows install disc (I do have the serial number though).
How do I reinstall Leopard?

Ok, thanks Niel. I also found an answer here http://www.brighthub.com/computing/mac-platform/articles/48174.aspx except I held option instead of c

How can I get help reinstalling photoshop

How can I get help reinstalling photoshop

Welcome to the forum.
First, a few questions, please:
What version of Ps are you needing to reinstall?
What OS version are you using?
Are you reinstalling from physical media, or from a download?
Did you De-Activate the originally installed version, if CS, or later?
Do you get any error messages?
If so, what do they say?
Good luck, and let us know a bit more please.
Hunt

Help reinstalling Leopard

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for