How to restore snow leopard without disk.

Hi I have a macbook with snow leopard on it, and I recently tried to restore it with the disk until the superdrive litterally carved grooves into the disk. So I know I can purcahse replacement disks, but the disk drive doesn't work, so what do I do now? Is there any way I can do it without the disk, or will I have to drop 100 dollars into a disc drive and a new replacement disk? I would really prefer not to so any help is appreciated.

You can get a fairly cheap external CD/DVD burner/player at Newegg.com http://www.newegg.com/External-CD-DVD-Blu-Ray-Drives/SubCategory/ID-420?Order=PR ICE

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Tiger to Snow Leopard without disk

Hello everyone,
The hard drive on my 2.16 ghz white MacBook just gave up the ghost. Luckily, my computer fit the specs to have Apple replace it for free.
Earlier this year, I upgraded to Snow Leopard. I am currently living in Germany and didn't bring my Snow Leopard disk with me (obviously didn't think I would need it). I didn't think it would be a big deal, but when I got my computer back I realized many of the programs, including Adobe, don't run on 10.4.
So I was wondering if there was any way to upgrade to Snow Leopard without having to buy another disk. The disks that I've found over here are more than in the US and I can't shell out the money for that right now (poor student budget).
I would really love any tips that you could offer. Thank you!

Why Apple does what it does is something only Apple knows for sure, but consider that:
• To provide for what you suggest, there would have to be a unique serial or registration number or some similar way to prove that you did buy Snow Leopard, & it would have to be provided with every sale. This would be a hassle for Apple, for resellers, & for users.
• A disk failure is a rare event. Installing or upgrading to Snow Leopard is not. It is even rarer for users to have a disk failure & no access to their Snow Leopard installer disc.
• The OS installer still has to be obtained. Even if you could use a registration number (if you had that with you) to gain access to a secure site to download an image of the installer disc, you would still have to have access to a working Mac (with a functional copy of the Mac OS on it) to use the image file. Plus, you are looking at over 5 GB of installer data, a very large download.
• Your system discs are an essential part of your computer. They not only allow you to format & reinstall the OS but also are the only source for reinstalling bundled applications like iLife (which do not come with retail copies of Snow Leopard or Leopard) & for running the Apple Hardware Test.
• The Apple software license already allows you to maintain one backup copy of each of your Apple installer discs. If you travel, it is a good idea to take a backup copy of the essential discs with you. Not much help for you now I know, but something to remember for the future.

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.

Restore snow leopard without removing files/preferences

I installed Lion when it first came out but i want to go back to snow leopard to be able to use Pro tools 9 software. However, i dont want to lose some files and settings. How can i do this? i do have a time machine disk which was used atleast once with Snow leopard. Thanks

Backup first. Then,
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.

How to restore Snow Leopard Mail with Time Machine?

Is there a place that shows how to restore e-mail? Maybe to get an old e-mail and then to come back to the present - or to merge yesterday's e-mail and today's?

That's exactly what I am saying. You do it just as I described in my first message.
I am assuming you have Time Machine in your Dock or in the Menu Bar (or both). With Mail as the active application -- It says "Mail" in the Menu Bar next to the Apple menu -- and a Mail message list visible as the front window, click Time Machine. You should get message lists going back in time. Step back in time until you find whatever it was you want to recover.

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 install snow leopard without using the dvd drive?

Is it possible to install snowleopard without using the dvd ? i have a macbook and i have unfortunatly broken the cd and dvd player..

Yes you can.
How to use Migration Assistant:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4889?viewlocale=en_US
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4413?viewlocale=en_US
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1963

How can i do a factory reset in snow leopard without the disk to start off new without losing my other programs

how can i do a factory reset on snow leopard without the disk to start off new without losing my programs?

You can't. You will need a Snow Leopard disc. You can purchase replacements for your computer from Apple:
Apple Store Customer Service at 1-800-676-2775 or visit online Help for more information.
To contact product and tech support: Apple - Support - Contact Apple Support.
A "factory reset" means you erase the drive securely. All of your files will be removed permanently. I suggest you make a backup:
Clone using Restore Option of Disk Utility
1. Open Disk Utility in the Utilities folder.
2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
3. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
4. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag
it to the Destination entry field.
5. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to
the Source entry field.
6. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the external backup drive. Source means the internal startup drive.

Restore Snow Leopard From time Machine without an Optical drive

I have a couple of year old Macbook with a bad optical drive.
I want to pull the hard drive out of the Macbook and replace it with the original drive that came with the machine. The problem is that the original drive has OSX Leopard and I would like to get snow leopard on it. I have a good time machine backup that i could use, but i do not know how to restore the entire disk without using the OSX install DVD.
Is there anyway that i can do a time machine recovery without using the optical drive.
Thanks.

In order to restore Snow Leopard to that drive, it will need to be formatted using Disk Utility and I can't think of a way to do that without the optical drive unless you use a different Mac or an external optical drive.

How can I create a disk image of snow leopard installer disk from my Imac which runs it?

how can I create a disk image of snow leopard installer disk from my Imac which runs it? It came without DVD installer, and I want to make a copy of it's OS installer but can't find out how.

You need to have the disc in order to create disk image of snow leopard installer disc. What did your machine ship with? If something later than SL, then why? If earlier, then you can buy the SL installer disc and make the disk image.

How do I erase my hard drive? My initial operating system was Snow Leopard but I have upgraded to Mavericks OS. My Snow Leopard install disk ejects when I try and use it.

How do I erase my hard drive? My initial operating system was Snow Leopard but I have upgraded to Mavericks OS. My Snow Leopard install disk ejects when I try and use it.

Do a backup, preferable 2 separate ones on 2 drives. Boot to the Recovery Volume (command - R on a restart or hold down the option/alt key during a restart and select Recovery Volume). Run Disk Utility Verify/Repair and Repair Permissions until you get no errors. Reformat the drive using Disk Utility/Erase Mac OS Extended (Journaled), then click the Option button and select GUID. Then re-install the OS.
OS X Recovery
OS X Recovery (2)
When you reboot, use Setup Assistant to restore your data.

My MACBOOK Pro turned out to be Snow Leopard, and later upgraded to LION. And update the EFI, I would like to replace the Snow Leopard, EFI can not boot, how do? How to use the Snow Leopard install disk to reduce EFI?

My MACBOOK Pro turned out to be Snow Leopard, and later upgraded toLION. And update the EFI, I would like to replace the Snow Leopard, EFIcan not boot, how do? How to use the Snow Leopard install disk to reduce EFI?

Do you mean some of your software does not work in Lion? Do you want to return to using Snow Leopard? If so, then do this:
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.

Can I install Lion over Snow Leopard without erasing and restoring hard drive?

Been reading a lot about downloading Lion. Recommended to back up hard drive to ext. drive, erase hard drive, install Lion and then re-install apps and files from ext. drive. Can I just install Lion over Snow Leopard without erasing all apps and files on hard drive?

If you do an upgrade install then be sure to do this first:
1. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
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. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
2. Make a bootable backup just in case. Clone using Restore Option of Disk Utility
Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
Select the destination volume from the left side list.
Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
Check the box labeled Erase destination.
Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the external backup drive. Source means the internal startup drive.

Before I install snow leopard, I tried to move tiger into the external harddrive. My mac says it can't do because it is the OS X. So I installed snow leopard without removing tiger. After that, my computer often freezes. How can I remove tiger?

Before I install snow leopard, I tried to move tiger into the external harddrive. My mac says it can't do because it is the OS X. So I installed snow leopard without removing tiger. After that, my computer often freezes. How can I remove tiger? Or How can I prevent my mac from freezing?

McHagihara wrote:
Before I install snow leopard, I tried to move tiger into the external harddrive. My mac says it can't do because it is the OS X. So I installed snow leopard without removing tiger. After that, my computer often freezes. How can I remove tiger? Or How can I prevent my mac from freezing?
When you installed Snow Leopard, Tiger was replaced, leaving your programs and files intact.
What is causing your freezing problem is unknown, you can take Kappy's advice and remove everything, but you lose your files and free iLife programs that came with Tiger/new machine.
The 10.6.3 disk you "upgraded" with has the full 10.6.3 on it, but no free iLife suit, so a erase and install will remove what you already have installed.
You can try to locate your problem without the erase and install method by running through this list of fixes.
Step by Step to fix your Mac
But before you do anything, backup your personal data off the machine to a extenal drive and disconnect.
Most commonly used backup methods
Because if you have to follow Kappy's advice and wipe and install 10.6 fresh, it will cure your problem in nearly 99% of cases, but you have to rebuild everything. All programs and files.
How to erase and install Snow Leopard 10.6
If this is all too much for you, then STOP and call a local PC/Mac service or competant friend to assist you.
Yuo might need to install more RAM into the machine to make 10.6 run better as well.

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.

How to restore snow leopard without disk.

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