How to Reinstall Snow Leopard

I bought an iMac, and they did not provide any installation DVD with it. Now, I tried to restart it by hitting Alt key, but any recovery partition did not seem to exist. Now, I want to erase the disk and re-install Snow Leopard. How can I do this? Is there a way to do this online? Or, if I upgrade OS to Lion, will I be able to erase the disk and re-install Lion anytime I want?
Regards,

You just bought an iMac new or used?
If your iMac you just bought is new and came with Lion, there won't be any installation DVD with it. To access the functions of the installation DVDs that were previously used, you reboot holding the command and R keys down. You will probably not be able to create a usable Snow Leopard disk. Do a search on these discussions to view others attempts.
If the system originally came with Snow Leopard, and you want to reinstall it, you can buy Snow Leopard for $29 from the Apple online store. In the US it's at http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A?fnode=MTY1NDAzOA . This won't have the iLife programs, however, they can be bought separately. You can also call Apple support and buy the original OS X disks that shipped with your system (assuming it originally came with Snow Leopard and not Lion). That would be good, as you'll also get the Apple hardware test which is only available on the OS X disks.
And yes, once you install Lion from the App Store, you can download anytime at additional charge.

Similar Messages

How to reinstall snow leopard without install disc

Hi guys,
I recently took my computer in to an authorised repairer (MyMac Flinders St., Melbourne Australia) to get my LCD screen replaced under warranty, as it had developed a yellow line running down the right hand side of the screen. Whilst it was in the shop I decided to have a new 1TB hard drive put in, and get the OS updated to Snow Leopard (they loaded it up, I did not get install disc). Since then, I have had massive problems with my computer. The computer sometimes would not turn on, turn off, or simply freeze. I took the computer back in and was told it was a software issue, so they did a format reinstall, and told me the problem was fixed. Within hours of getting the computer home, the same problem occurred. I took it back, was told the same thing, and with the same end result (computer not working). I then took it into the Apple store in Chadstone Melbourne, and was told it was the hard drive that was at fault, and not the software at all. I then tried to get the hard drive replaced through MyMac Flinders St., as I now thought it might be the hard drive that was the problem, and with great reluctance and many minutes on the phone they finally agreed. I had big problems getting this agreed to, because my computer was now out of warranty. So, I guess this is a two part question:
1. I've got the computer back now, with the new hard drive, and it seemed to be working fine, but i've since discovered my phone was not syncing up correctly, and was told by Apple support to check my iSync.. to which I was greeted with the error message "iSync can't be launched iSync Manager not available" to which Apple support gave me a step by step instruction download to fix:
In the Finder, choose Utilities from the Go menu.
Open Terminal.
In the Terminal window that opens, type or paste the following command on a single line:
/System/Library/Frameworks/SyncServices.framework/Versions/A/Resources/resetsync .pl full
Press Return.
When the operation is complete quit Terminal
The only problem being.. the Apple Terminal was missing. The program logo was there, but unable to launch. I figure my best bet will be to do a reinstall of Snow Leopard, but I am unsure of how to do this without the physical install disc. I have a backup on an external hard drive.
2. With my computer being now out of AppleCare warranty, I would like to know my options if this problem is unfixable, as my computer was fine before I took it into the authorised repairer, and also in warranty. I don't think I should wear the financial costs of replacing this computer.
Your help would be greatly appreciated.
Steve

I assumed it was normal to load up an OS without giving the disk..
Absolutely not.
Are you 100% sure they have acted outside the law here?
If you are absolutely sure that they didn't give you a disk, then yes, what they have done is essentially software piracy. Of course, it could simply be construed as a mistake. It is not unusual, however careless it might be, for repair folks to assume you were running SL when they reinstall your system.
However, if you specifically asked them to upgrade you to SL, as it sounds like you did, and they charged you a fee for that upgrade but didn't give you a disk, then that's theft pure and simple.
Oh, and that link you sent for AHT.. It's telling me I'd have to have the install disk to run the hardware test. Is there a way to do it without the disk?
It requires one of the gray disks that shipped with your machine, not the retail SL disk that you don't have. If you have misplaced those disks, then you're a bit hosed... Apple will replace the gray disks for a small fee, and that's the only way you're going to get AHT.
Newer machines apparently have a small hidden partition with the AHT boot system on it, but if your machine didn't ship with SL, I don't think it'll be one of those.

How to reinstall snow leopard without erasing any data

Hi, I have a mac running snow lepoard and want to reinstall the operarting sytem without erasing any data, can you tell me how to do that, thanks.

Just boot from the install DVD and install. This will give you the version as of the version on the DVD while preserving your third party software and users. Then update using Software Update. Better to do this with a backup in case anything goes wrong.
Why do you want to do this? I wonder if this is really needed.

How to reinstall Snow Leopard after installing MtLion

Hello - i have a slight (or major) problem.
I have just installed MtLion and now i am unable to open my Adobe CS because the new OS MtLion days that those applications are "no longer supported - because they are PowerPC applications". I also have the same message for my MicroSoft Word/Excell/Powerpoint programs. I tried to re-install the programs, but even when trying to launch the CD - it gives me the same message ! This is very fustrating ! ! ! And i need this for my work !
Can someone please tell me the safe way to revert back to SnowLeopard.
Or is there a way around this (other than re-purchasing the Adobe CS/MicroSoft apps.
Thx
(ps : Klaus1 was very helpful with my last problem, so if you get this message - i could use your advice again... unless you are out to lunch ! LOL !

However, do you know if there is a remote chance that those files can be accessd (via an IT profressional) and recovered?
Provided the data wasn't overwritten yet or encrypted, the files can still be recovered with Data Rescue installed on a external boot drive.
Create a data recovery/undelete external boot drive
I was reading in a forum that it is (or was) possible to 'split' my
partition to something called boot camp which is alwyes microsoft/adobe
programs to function on a mac platform. Do you know if this is possible
with OS MtLion?
Partitions are the sectioned split parts of a drive.
One of the partitions can be BootCamp and direct installed Windows and the Mac can boot into Windows.
If you have Wiundows versions of those softwares, then you can run them in BootCamp or in a virtual machine program in OS X.
If you have OS X versions of those programs, then they need to run on OS X on the MacintoshHD parittion.
OS X Mountian Lion will allow Windows 7 and 8 to install into Bootcamp, not sure about Vista, not XP.
Virtual Machine software you can install just about anything but there is a performance penalty.
Windows in BootCamp or Virtual Machine?
Install Windows or Linux into VirtualBox

How to reinstall Snow Leopard on a Mini with no Optical drive

I have a Mini running 10.9 that needs to be wiped./reloaded. I have a set of discs from another Mini, a few months older than the one in triage, but when I set up via remote disc, I get a box saying I have to use Installer 23.1.1. The version number the discs report is 23.1.1. There's no menu to do a reformat since the installer program won't load. What is plan-B?

You cannot use Remote Disk to install Mac OS X. Quoting from Apple's support article on Remote Disk (emphasis mine);
Note: These types of discs or activities are not supported by DVD or CD sharing:
DVD movies.
Audio CDs.
Copy protected discs such as game discs.
Install discs for an operating system such as Microsoft Windows (for use with Boot Camp), or Mac OS X.
Burn a CD or DVD
You'll need a USB optical drive, either an Apple SuperDrive or a third-party unit.
Regards.

Reinstalling Snow Leopard over Lion?

Few days back i hve downloaded mac lion "Mac OS X 10.7 (11A511)" from a torrent site.
But now when i m trying to reinstall snow leopard from the installation CD which i got along with my macbook then intallation does not begins.
Following error caution appears while intallation "You can't use this version of the application Install Mac OS X with this version of Mac OS X."
Plz tell me how to reinstall snow leopard and plz tell me teps too as it will help me a lot.

Boot up from your Snow Leopard DVD. Launch Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. Erase your hard drive. Then reinstall Snow Leopard. Restore your personal data from backups. Reinstall your apps from their original install discs, or from fresh downloads from trusted sources. No more torrent sites for you.

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.

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.

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

How do I reinstall Snow Leopard Server on a Mac Mini Server 2010?

How do I reinstall Snow Leopard Server on a Mac Mini Server 2010? I have already attached a Mac Superdrive and tried to download, but the buttons at the bottom of the dialog screen are greyed out.

Not sure where you're getting tangled here or how much you know about OS X Server 10.6, so...
AFAIK, Snow Leopard Server wasm't available as a download, it was a separate DVD distribution.
Unlike more recent versions of OS X Server, the 10.6 server distributions were usually standalone DVD disks, as well.
(There is a slight wrinkle if your Mac needs a newer version of 10.6 than your server distribution; there was a different streaming upgrade process for that. IIRC, the appropriate OS X client version was installed first, then you booted that client version and loaded the DVD and installed OS X Server.)
But if you have a Snow Leopard Server distribution that supports your particular Mac Mini model, then boot the DVD, use Disk Utility from the Utilities menu in the bootable DVD environment, wipe the disk, and then install OS X Server.
You'll need a 10.6 license key, if you don't already have that.
FWIW, here are the available manuals.

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)

How to get pass login after reinstalling snow leopard

I tried unsuccessfully to upgrade to maverick and got an error message stating that the Macintosh HD disk is damaged and to erase the disk and try to install again. I did erase the Macintosh HD disk, reinstalled snow leopard because I have a mid 2010-2011 iMac and reset my password. I was successful but a lot of the icons were missing and did a software update. I ran into problems when I downloaded some software updates and the computer re- booted and now I can't get pass the login screen. Every time I put in my password, the computer accepts the password and I think it is going to bring up the desktop but it just go back to the login screen. I really don't know how to solve this problem, so I'm hoping someone could tell me what to do.

Hello, I try to avoid Safari myself, but are you really on 10.5.6 & not 10.5.8 yet?
Does Software update show a newer Safari?

How can I reinstall Snow Leopard?

How can I reinstall Snow Leopard?

Jan,
You can use the Disk Utility "app" to partition your hard drive so that you can (clean) install Snow Leopard on the new partition. This leaves Mountain Lion intact on one partition. This worked great for me. I was becoming increasingly annoyed, seeing that Mountain Lion ***** due, as another poster said, to its "increasing iOSification".
With Disk Utility you can name the new partition "Macintosh HD 2". Be sure to use the exact same format as the original (Macintosh HD) partition. You can access all your files/apps on the old (ML) partition from the new (SL) partition, and vice versa.
However, know this:
I still have NOT found a way to transfer any my OS X Mail folders from Mountain Lion BACK TO Snow Leopard. Mountain Lion's Mail gives you the false impression you can export your Mail folders to Snow Leopard's Mail, but you cannot. From what I've read here, the newest version of OS X Mail is not compatible with earlier versions. This is a HUGE problem.
My short list (to date) of crappy Mountain Lion behavior; items marked with a double asterisk (**)represent the worst of Mountain Lion for me.
** No up/down arrows in scroll bar slider;
Expose` not as easy to navigate as in Snow Leopard;
Mail does not request passwords for either receive or send;
No "Save Draft" icon in Mail compose window;
"Save As" selection missing in most app menus;
No separate Search window in Safari (workaround: use Firefox or Opera);
** Can't export Mail from Mountain Lion into Snow Leopard if downgrading;
iWork 09 seems to have "circled the wagons" re compatibility with MS Office or LibreOffice (workaround: just use Libreoffice);
I truly regret "upgrading" to Apple's "Vista".

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
I had to go to MacMall and have the Time Capsule data transfered to a new BAK drive($300+$300)
(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.

How do I keep programs such as Word when I wipe my hard drive to reinstall Snow Leopard?

I am having serious issues with Lion. Even after the update, I lose WiFi, my mailbox crashes, Word crashes without saving a backup, and it has just been a very distasteful experience. I talked with Apple, and they couldn't help me resolve issues beyond telling me to bring it in or reinstall. I am choosing to reinstall Snow Leopard. I am going to wipe my hard drive clean and start over. Could someone tell me how to keep programs such as Office '11 though? I am currently at school and I didn't bring my Office software with me to reinstall, so how could I save it? I can't really do a time capsule since I am running Lion and I want to reinstall Snow Leopard.

If you are going to wipe the disk then you will have to reinstall the software.
You can't have your cake and eat it also.
Allan

How to Reinstall Snow Leopard

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