How do you erase Lion and reinstall Snow Leopard

I want to remove Lion and reinstall Snow Leopard.  I put the install disc in and clicked Install so that I could get to the disc utilities.  Got a reading that this version of OS X cannot be used on this computer.  I'm using a mid-2010 15" MacBook Pro.  I don't have any backups made, but I am not worried about that...I just want to go back to using Snow Leopard.  Lion has too many quirks I don't want to put up with.  Any suggestions?

Downgrade Lion to Snow Leopard
1.  Boot from your Snow Leopard 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. 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.
4. Quit DU and return to the installer. Install Snow Leopard.
This will erase the whole drive so be sure to backup your files if you don't have a backup already. If you have performed a TM backup using Lion be aware that you cannot restore from that backup in Snow Leopard (see below.) I suggest you make a separate backup using Carbon Copy Cloner 3.4.1.
If you have Snow Leopard Time Machine backups, do a full system restore per #14 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions.  If you have subsequent backups from Lion, you can restore newer items selectively, via the "Star Wars" display, per #15 there, but be careful; some Snow Leopard apps may not work with the Lion files.

Similar Messages

  • HELP! How do I remove Lion and reinstall Snow Leopard and my files

    HELP! How do I remove Lion and reinstall Snow Leopard & my files  BUT I just discovered my Apple Time Capsule which was using Time Machine DIED
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    (The Apple Store sent me there as they said they do not do data transfer)
    Now what do I do?
    ? ?  One Senior advisor said that I will have to drag and drop the data file or files? from the Time Capsule BAK drive back to my iMAC but will that include all           the Snow Leopard operating system ?
    ? ?  Another senior advisor said I will have to wipe my hard drive then install Snow Leopard then "drag and drop",  ?  ??
    All my business leases, database, spreadsheets. letters, mail merge files, and so on are not available with Lion -
    I AM VERY ANGRY AS I NEVER SAW THAT WRITTEN ANYWHERE !!!
    I am seriously confused and I AM SCARED TO MAKE A MISTAKE-HELP !!
    WHAT DO I DO ?  AND   IN WHAT ORDER? PLEASE HELP!

    Your post is confusing to read too.
    It sounds like you still have your files on your Mac. Why do you want to back track to Snow Leopard on your Mac? Why can't you read your files from your Mac? If your files are on your Mac, why are you taking them off your broken Time Capsule? You don't have to install Snow Leopard to transfer your files back to your Mac. Maybe step back a bit and explain your situation a little better with details.  For instance, what's a BAK drive? Suggest you explain what you are trying to do?
    Before you do anything, create a backup of your Mac to another disk drive.. suggest you use Carbon Copy Cloner to make another copy of your Mac.

  • HT3910 How do I erase Mountain Lion and reinstall Snow Leopard?

    Can anyone help me erase Mountain Lion and reinstall Snow Leopard. When I had installed Mountain Lion,I discovered that my music notation program, Overture was not working with Mountain Lion. Please help me, years of work is for now lost.

    Back up your data files.
    Use the Snow Leopard installer disc to completely erase your hard drive and everything on it.
    Re-install the SL operating system, then all your applications, then your data files.
    If you happened to make a bootable backup clone of your hard drive before installing Mountail Lion then you can just clone the backup back to your drive.

  • I have installed mountain lion on my macbook pro ,but it made my mac very slow. Would someone please tell me how  to uninstall this one and reinstall snow leopard?

    Hello,
    I have installed mountain lion on my macbook pro ,but it made my mac very slow. Would someone please tell me how  to uninstall this one and reinstall snow leopard? I tried to do it by my original CDs but macbook  pro didn't let me to do it.
    Thanks

    It would be easier to just fix whatever is making your machine slow.
    I wrote a little diagnostic program to help show what might be causing these problems. Download EtreCheck from http://www.etresoft.com/download/EtreCheck.zip, run it, and paste the results here.
    Disclaimer: Although EtreCheck is free, there are other links on my site that could give me some form of compensation, financial or otherwise.

  • How do I uninstall mountain lion and reinstall snow leopard

    If I had known that I would not be able to use my excel files I would not have purchased OSX Mountain Lion.  Is there a way to uninstall mountain lion and reinstall snow leopard?
    Thank you,

    To get more to the point the answer is the only way to go back to SnowLeopard is if you have a complete backup of your system from before the upgrade.
    If you do you would boot off your original SL DVD wipe the disk and install SL and then restore from your SL backups.
    Short of that here is no way to go back. But as the others have offered there are other less drastic means to deal with the problem.
    regards

  • How can I uninstall Maverick and reinstall snow leopard? My mac hasn't been the same since I upgrading to maverick. Runs slow, crashes, can't cope with normal functions.... Help, please help

    How can I uninstall Maverick and reinstall snow leopard?
    My mac hasn't been the same since I upgrading to maverick. Runs slow, crashes, can't cope with normal functions....
    I need to go back to leopard or buy a new MacBook Pro!
    Help, please help

    Revert to a Previous OS X
    Revert to former OS from Mavericks
    Revert to Snow Leopard

  • How to completely erase Lion and Reinstall SL

    I am trying to do just that, the only problem i am having is that when i try to boot form my SL disck, it give me an error, can not boot from disk. I see that Lion has mae a home on my HD, very small amount of info, my fear is that when i erase the HD, i will have fragments left that will corrupt the SL instalation. Also how many times can you erase your HD and not damage the Drive? This will be the 3rd time i have erased and started over.

    Downgrade Lion to Snow Leopard
    1.  Boot from your Snow Leopard 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. 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.
    4. Quit DU and return to the installer. Install Snow Leopard.
    This will erase the whole drive so be sure to backup your files if you don't have a backup already. If you have performed a TM backup using Lion be aware that you cannot restore from that backup in Snow Leopard (see below.) I suggest you make a separate backup using Carbon Copy Cloner 3.4.1.
    If you have Snow Leopard Time Machine backups, do a full system restore per #14 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions.  If you have subsequent backups from Lion, you can restore newer items selectively, via the "Star Wars" display, per #15 there, but be careful; some Snow Leopard apps may not work with the Lion files.

  • Anyone know how to uninstall Lion and reinstall snow leopard without having to pay the $29?

    Ever since I purchased and downloaded Lion I have been having problems (applications not running properly or not at all and the computer locks up like every 10 minutes resulting in me having to restart) and want to go back to snow leopard until I feel comfortable that Lion is ready to go.

    Thanks Roscoe . . . .
    I came back to this forum to share my experience. I'm working with a 2007/08 - 17" MB Pro. With the LEOPARD OS, not Snow Leopard. I used my original discs and reformatted, reinstalled Leopard. I was able to open Time Machine and restore the files saved on on an external drive. I used this time to make changes to my Apps, and having just doubled my RAM prior to the 'Lion Upgrade', had no issues of slowing or freezing as others are apparently having. Like you, this was relatively painless, though it did take some time to transfer all of my files.
    I hesitated performing this process for nearly a month, but kept checking my back-ups to ensure that I had still some saved from the Leopard days. Unfortunately, I was unable to do much of anything. I'm a graphic designer and sell items online, EVERYTHING came to a complete stop with Lion. I couldn't communicate with my printer at all, no fax, no copies, no prints, no scans. I couldn't download images from my camera. Some of my Apps, stopped working, I hated the missing 'Save As' feature. My image viewer and browsers crashed constantly, and my home network 'LOST' me! I couldn't take another day of NO productivity!
    My advice to anyone changing or upgrading ANY O.S., whether Mac or PC, always; ALWAYS back up your drive first! We should be backing up often anyway, but it is certainly important to ensure the security of all of your files and program downloads or installations by copying everything prior to making any hardware or software changes. For a small investment of $50 to $100, you can get an external drive. Having the capability of restoring all of your data is  . . . priceless!
    Thanks everyone for sharing. Good luck to those experiences these problems. Have Faith, Apple will fix it's issues, and the other manufacturers WILL catch up on the driver codes. We all just need to be patient, until then;  keep on 'backing up'!
    *** JJ; were you able to restore an earlier back up? Did that fix your issue? I found a great deal on RAM from Crucial, sometimes this will help increase our speed and performance . . . . just a thought.
    Christi

  • I have a mid 2010 Macbook Pro running Snow Leopard and foolishly upgraded to Yosemite.  Is it possible to go back in time with Time Machine and reinstall Snow Leopard.  Then upgrade to Lion or Mavericks?  Any other ideas on how I can exit Yosemite?

    I have a mid 2010 Macbook Pro running Snow Leopard and foolishly upgraded to Yosemite. Now have numerous problems.  Is it possible to go back in time with Time Machine and reinstall Snow Leopard?  Then upgrade to Lion or Mavericks?  Any other ideas on how I can exit Yosemite?

    Once you get yourself back to Snow Leopard, if you still want to upgrade somewhat, I would suggest the following:
    1. Get an external hard drive that you can use for experiments with new OS versions. You could partition it into 2 or 3 partitions. You could then clone your existing Snow Leopard system to one partition using Carbon Copy Cloner (well worth $40) or SuperDuper ($25).
    2. Buy OS X Mountain Lion for $20, through the Apple online store (I don't think it's available through the App Store). Apple has decided to make it very difficult for anyone to get Mavericks unless they have already downloaded it.
    You will receive two e-mails from Apple, one containing a PDF with a redemption code, and one with the password you will need to unlock the PDF. Using the code, you will download Mountain Lion from the App Store, where it will appear among your Purchased items.
    After ML finishes downloading, its installer app will launch itself. When you see this launch screen, QUIT the install app immediately! Go to your applications folder, find the Install OS X Mountain Lion app, and copy it to a safe location outside of your Applications folder. Keeping one or more copies will allow you to reinstall without unnecessary aggravation if you later need or want to do that. At this point, you can re-launch the Installer in the Applications folder and let it run. You can install it on a clean partition on your external HD, or you can allow it to upgrade the Snow Leopard clone you created on your external drive, or you can do both. This should allow you to test how everything works for as long as you like.
    3. If you left yourself a free partition on your test drive, try a clean install of Yosemite and set everything up from scratch (do not migrate anything). This will allow you to see whether your problems with it were related to something in your Snow Leopard system.

  • Can I back up computer with time machine on lion then reinstall snow leopard and restore from backup safely

    Can I back up computer with time machine on lion then reinstall snow leopard and restore from backup safely?

    If your machine came with Snow Leopard or earlier and you have your install disks, yes, you can reinstall SL. However, you will need to erase the entire hard drive so you will lose all your files. Also note that there are some apps (such as Mail) which can't be downgraded "automatically" such as with a restore from Time Machine. Here is some info on TM:
    http://pondini.org/TM/14.html

  • I want to clear out my MacBook and reinstall snow leopard. How

    I want to clear out my MacBook and reinstall snow leopard. I have disc. How do I do this

    Insert it, restart with the C key held down, use the Disk Utility to erase the drive, and install the OS. If you're going to be selling or giving away the computer, securely delete all the files which may contain sensitive data first, and include the disk with it.
    (102845)

  • I have a iMac 6,1 that I want to reformat the hard drive and reinstall Snow Leopard version 10.6.3 . I don't know how to reformat

    I have a iMac 6,1 that I need to reformat the hard drive and reinstall Snow Leopard version 10.6.3 . How do I reformat ?

    Boot the ssystem from the OS DVD. Once it is booted run Disk Utiltiy. Select OS Extrended (Journled)
    See http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3910?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

  • A Kernel Task runs at 700% processor power between every 5 minutes to 1 hour. I have tried Onyx, zapped the PRAM and reinstalled Snow Leopard.

    A Kernel Task runs at 700% processor power between every 5 minutes to 1 hour, slowing down everything I do. I have tried Onyx, zapped the PRAM and reinstalled Snow Leopard. Any suggestions?

    pan did you solve it? i have the same issue. i see people writing 'oh no kernel on 200-300%... well my kernel runs up to 600-800% anytime. i'm running os 10.6.8, i have 2010 2GHz intel core i7, with 16gb ram and... go figure. even ssd drive, thinking i have the fastest possible hardware installed to ease up on any task i'm about to do. but when it gets slow then safari just 'quits' on me, mouse cursor gets so sloppy slow (that's how i always realize that kernel is knocking on the door again). but... i do use screen, 24 apple LED and i have the laptop still open, so dual screen. i think it happens way less when the laptop is closed and i use just the big screen... but i refuse, this is not a calculator, its god **** macbook pro, so if one extra screen kills my workflow then i have to... idont know what. help apple, wth! and your safari ***** so much it's not even nice, it's so buggy but i'm the crazy one, because i keep using it. that's all

  • Can I delete maverick and reinstall snow leopard?

    Can I delete os maverick on MacBook Pro  and reinstall snow leopard?

    Yes you can. But in doing so you will need to wipe out the complete drive so you should first manually backup your user files to an external drive. That is copy all your personal files over to an external drive and not with Time Machine.

  • How can i download maverick and keep snow leopard,i am not very tech savy

    how can i download maverick and keep snow leopard,i am not very tech savy

    You'll be given the option to change the target after the download is complete and before the actual installation begins. The process is otherwise the same as normal.
    (91555)

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