Installing snow leopard over lion

I just bought a MBP two days ago with Lion preinstalled and i want to install snow leopard.
i have the retail dvd of SL but after it starts booting from DVD it appears the "You need to restart your computer. Hold Down the Power button for several seconds or press the Restart button"
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/7792/pict0017lo8.jpg
the dvd works ok in another older MBP 2008.
how can i install SL?

Two things,
First Mac's can't c or option boot off install disks that the OS isnt' designed for it or doesn't have the hardware drivers required on the disk.
Second the grey disks are machine model specific, meaning you can only use them with another exact model machiine.
Thrid Apple restricts booting off of earlier OS X install disks in the firmware, but if the OS gets on the drive and it works for the hardware, it will run. But not well on all machines, but yours is likely going to be fine.
So you want to get 10.6 on a factory 10.7 Mac, it's possible if Apple hasn't done any changes lately, your likely going to need another Mac that can boot off the 10.6.3 disks and apply the 10.6.8 combo update together so the drivers are together, then imaged to a wiped hard drive or partition using Firewire Target Disk Mode and another Mac.
"The Proceedure" is here and there are links to discussions and updates all over the web.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3264421?start=0&tstart=0
You also may need to read my post about restoring Lion before you erase the disk, you need to copy the Lion Recovery Partiton first with the Lion Disk Assistant. Cloning will also help a LOT.
https://discussions.apple.com/message/16276201#16276201

Similar Messages

Can I install Snow Leopard over Lion to install old software after hard drive crashed?

My hard drive crashed and I lost everything. I have a new hard drive, but when the repair shop installed my operating system, they installed Lion and I no longer have my prior updates. My computer had been updated a few times. I have a lot of software that only can be installed up to 10.7 such as Adobe Photoshop Elements 10, Office Mac 2011, etc. I was wondering if I installed Snow Leopard over Lion, would I lose Lion? Should I install Snow Leopard and then Lion again? I don't want to damage my like new computer and I don't want to have to go out and buy all new software. Is there a solution? Thanks in advance!

Sounds complicated! If I repartition the drive and install Snow Leopard onto the blank volume, will Lion still be there? Or, will the computer basically have two operating systems that I have to go back and forth from. Is this something a novice like myself can do?

I accidentally downloaded lion. I did a timemachine back-up and tried to reload snow leopard. It will not accept. How do I re-install snow leopard over lion?

I accidently installed lion on my mac book pro. I did a time machine back-up. When i try to re-install snow leopard, it won't take. Any suggestions on how to install snow leopard over lion?

Accidentally, eh? How, might I ask?
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.

Trying to re-install Snow Leopard over Lion and Macbook Pro is beeping like a memory failure

I installed Lion on my work 15" MacBook Pro i7 to give it a go, and it's not working with the system we use for Active Directory login, so I need to roll back to Snow Leopard.
I don't have a Time Machine backup, but I have pulled all the data I need from the machine, and have wiped the hard disk ready to reinstall Snow Leopard.
I have a retail copy of Snow Leopard that I've recently used successfully for fresh installs on other machines, but now once I insert the DVD into this machine that's had Lion on it, it's not responding and just making alarming BEEP BEEP BEEP noises.
I googled that and it might be bad RAM (possible, but unlikely? the machine has been running very well up until now)
I've wiped the PRAM, but the instructions for wiping the SMC are a bit cryptic for these machines ...
Does anyone have any clues as to what might be causing this? A firmware issue of some sort?
Maybe the hidden EFI partition on the drive won't let you install Snow Leopard over a disk that's had Lion?

Might be some useful info here:
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1175934
" I used target disk mode to install Snow Leopard on its partition. I used a friends Macbook Pro, but I put my machine into target disk mode and ran the installer from his user account and optical drive. From a couple things I read online, it seems that Apple recommends putting the other machine in target disk mode and doing it the other way around. I guess some critical files might not have been installed? I also used a retail copy of Snow Leopard instead of my grey recovery disk, so that might be it too. "
"Your machine is newer than the retail copy of Snow Leopard. Use the restore disks it came with.
The installation will need to be done from your machine. You may need to do a net install, so look at "Remote Install Mac OS X" in Utilities."
I'm currently installing from the macbook firewired to the other machine as recommended so hopefully that might help

I have Leopard 10.5.8. How can i download and install Snow Leopard or Lion? Thanks.

Currently, I have Leopard 10.5.8. How can i download and install Snow Leopard or Lion? Thanks for your help.

You need to *call* Apple at 1-800-MY-APPLE, as Ralph already said.
But "since one week" sounds like a direct translation of French "il y a". You should call your local country's Apple suuport and ask.
Here is Amazon, from a "snow leopard buy" Google search: http://www.amazon.com/Mac-version-10-6-3-Snow-Leopard/dp/B001AMHWP8

How to install Snow leopard over mavericks?

I bought an old computer in the fall, and tried to install MAvericks on it. It allowed me to do it, but now an error message always comes up saying that there is a compatibility issue. I read that I could buy and install Snow Leopard and then move on to mavericks once that was installed. I have purchased that, but now I am not able to install Snow leopard. I get an error message that says I cannot install snow leopard over mavricks.
My question is: how do i get rid of mavericks so that I can install snow leopard (and then eventually move on to mavericks).
Thanks

First, you installed Mavericks (10.9.x) so YOU DON'T NEED TO BUY OR INSTALL Snow Leopard (10.6.x)
That its for people whith older systems (10.5.x as example) in order to download and install Mavericks.
As you could download and install Mavericks your system was already 10.6, 10.7 or 10.8.
Second, you have installed an application that its not compatible with Mavericks, so you need to rip that only app.
That app its Quay Menu in the web, you can download the new compatible version, or manually uninstall it in order to stop that errors:
If you're upgrading to Mac OS X 10.9 (Mavericks), you must update Quay to version 1.1.5 first!
If you've upgraded without uninstalling, you'll see a repeated error popup. To stop this, first paste this line into the Terminal:
launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/net.brockerhoff.QuayMenu.plist
and then trash the file "/Library/Application Support/Quay.quay".

How to partition to install Snow Leopard and Lion on one computer

My first posting:
My iMac came with Leopard. I upgraded to Lion, 3 months ago. I found out that Appleworks doesn't work anymore... very displeased because I always used Mac Strong points (for the past 30 years), which is drawing, like McDraw, McDraw 11, Clarisworks, Appleworks, etc. Apple could have have included a software in iworks to open the numerous works I have done over the years in drawing. Now iDVD doesn't come with Lion anymore. Another blow from Apple!! And iDVD 7.1.2 (after upgrade from Leopard's iDVD) doesn't work too well in Lion... quite a few things are wrong.
Consequently, I want to install Leopard in an external HD, where I could use Appleworks and iDVD.
I have a 1 tera WD Firewire as an external HD. I have tried a few ways to install Leopard on my external HD with no succes.
I have tried "partionning" the external HD, but when it came to "Scan disc image" of Leopard, I had the message: Unable to scan "Install" (Resource busy)
I have tried to install with original Leopard DVD, but after pushing restart (to chose my external HD), then my computer keeps asking me to push restart.
Can anymore can tell me how to properly install Leopard on my external HD?
MartinR says:
Connect your WD Firewire drive. Open Disk Utility and check to make sure that it is partitioned as GUID partition scheme (assuming you have an Intel iMac) and is formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled). If not, you will need to repartition and reformat the drive - note that this will erase everything that is on the drive.
Notes:
-If you have an Intel Mac you cannot install OS X to a drive that is partitioned as Apple Partition Map; it must be GUID Partition Scheme.
-Mac OS Extended (Journaled) is the same as the "HFS+" as previously mentioned.
-For the disk to be bootable it must be formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) not plain Mac OS Extended.
Next, insert your Leopard install DVD in your iMac. If the installer opens, just exit/close the installer window. Do not remove the Leopard install DVD from the drive.
Shut down your Mac. Then restart it by holding down the "C" key while it starts. This will make your iMac start from the Leopard install disk that is in the CD/DVD drive. You should then be able to select your external WD drive and install Leopard there.
My response to MartinR (I appreciate the dedication of the helpers)
I tried MartinR solution but it doesn't work. When I restart and keep "C" depressed, after a while, a kind of gray drape closes the screen and tells me I have to restart my computer par pressing "restart" for a few seconds. Then when the computer reboots, it tells me there was a problem and had to restart the computer with a report to Apple window.
I wonder if my computer is not defective? In 30 years, this is the only Apple computer that broke down on me (Always been faitful to Apple computers in spite of the fact they had little apps then), and twice on top of that. The first repair was done by Apple in Wellington Mall, Florida (hard drive had to be replaced); the second time was Northstar Computer in Sudbury, Ontario (optical drive had to replaced). Maybe that tells us something? Were replacement parts up to par? My computer seems to be working OK. I verified my HD with Disk Utility, and everything was OK.
My computer is an Intel Core 2 Duo, 3.06 GHz and 4 GB of ram.
My WD external drive is formatted as GUID Partition Table, and Mac OS Extended (Journaled).

baltwo wrote:
Can't recall which I used to do the dynamic repartitioning.
I'm betting that it was originally Partitioned with Snow Leopard.
As a test I just added a second Partition with Mountain Lion to a FireWire HD and it would not let me Install Snow Leopard from my System or Retail Disc into the Partition.

How do I install Snow Leopard over 10.5.8

I have just recently acquired a MacBookPro from a friend of mine who's father has passed away. I am able to access the computer without a password but the admin is still set to his father and he doesn't know the password. I have the Snow Leopard OS and want to do a clean install like it came from the factory with no personalization. This is the first time I have owned a MacBookPro so I am unsure how to do a clean install of Snow Leopard over the exiting OS 10.5.8 and if I have to delete that OS first. How do I do that?

Insert a retail DVD, restart with the C key held down, use the Disk Utility to erase the internal drive, and install Snow Leopard.
While the retail DVD can be used to create a fully functional OS, it can’t perform a true factory restore; it won’t install any of the iLife applications.
(111513)

Since installing Snow Leopard and Lion two weeks ago, my iTunes program opens seemingly at will. It usually starts playing music, too. What is causing this?

Since installing Snow Leopard and then Lion on my Intel-based iMac two weeks ago, my iTunes program seems to open at will whenever the computer is on. It often begins playing music, as well. What is causing this and how do I make it stop?

There are ways to minimize, mitigate, and help avoid a lot of problems.
Bootable backups.
Zeroing a drive twice before using, and format it with SL DVD Apple Disk Utility for sure.
Even a clean install should import old apps without having to reauthorize.
If you must do an upgrade, do it from the SL DVD, after repairing the drive and be sure to use the SL version of Alsoft Disk Warrior (4.2).
Wait six months before jumping on a new OS.
10% is still too many. Yes, it is more sensitive to RAM and hard drive errors, doesn't like some controllers; most ext hdd cases; and enough software to make for test-only status. And it only IDs some known incompatible applications, drivers, extensions, etc and does not remove even those always in best manner.
Plus, there are problems with the new Rosetta and the cache files it now uses. So some apps and plug-ins will cause more trouble. Not all are ready. Good reason to hold off for the months it takes.
Other devices act different as far as on/off behavior.
(Migrating from G5s to Mac Pro can cause all kinds of problems, weird behavior, sluggish system, and why anyone that went down that road was strongly recommended to NOT use Migration Assistant for any of their applications, and to ONLY do clean/fresh installs of any apps. If you skipped that day, didn't read the Guide to M.A., or didn't want to do fresh installs then, your system could have been on borrowed time. If you did do clean install of applications, great.
Installing SL can result in a corrupt directory - I think and it "seems" to be happening, but no real proof, just gut feeling and instinct (underlying file system problem? weak sectors that pre-existed waiting to happen?).
Remember all the "there just aren't a lot of 64-bit drivers" for Vista and XP? it's come home to roost.
... my guess is not enough incense and offerings. To hop into TimeMachine and SuperDuper backup images and pull the 1TB for another day (week, month, year).

IMac i7 need to install snow leopard NOT Lion - Will it allow the install of 10.6?

I have a bit of a quirk to deal with, a client has a Snow Leopard Network but just recently had a replacement iMac i7 delivered for a previous box from earlier in the year. The IT Contractor is stating that the machine can only take Lion and will not install Snow Leopard. The problem is there is some FileMaker issues that have come up with some deep level custom functions that have exposed a critical problem and the machine needs to run Snow Leopard. This would be until the work around is developed for the software solution or FMI comes out with the next version of FileMaker resolving the issue.
Is the IT Contract full of it ? If not is there a way to force the iMac i7 to accept a Snow Leopard installation ?

For years Macs have not be able to run earlier versions of OS X than they originally shipped with so this is nothing new. It also makes a lot of sense when you think of it, one of the reasons Mac's run so well is the software and hardware are optimized to run well together. Attempting to install an earlier version of OS X than what the machine was designed for is technically possible but it also comes with significant risks because you're then dealing with a system that wasn't designed to run well together...in other words you're emulating the MS Windows world. While there can be some temporary inconvenience as you're experiencing in this case Apple makes these decisions for a reason. While not always obvious to we end users but there are good reasons none the less.

Installing Snow Leopard over Mavericks

I messed up my Mavericks installation by using CleanMyMac, and cannot user software update, download from the App Store, use Preview or a number of different apps. System Restore does not work for some reason, maybe CMM messed that up too.
I am going to reinstall Snow Leopard, then redownload Mavericks. And never use CleanMyMac again!!!
I cannot erase my hard drive, the button is grayed out. Can I just reinstall Snow Leopard over Mavericks - I don't care about backing up any data.
Thanks

If you have the Snow Leopard install disks you can proceed as described above. It makes no difference that the Mac came with Leopard (you just can't install a system older than the one the Mac came with). However you will need to erase the disk: you can't install an older system over a newer one.

Re-install snow leopard from lion

I want to return to snow leopard as Lion has disabeled many of my programs. Can I just reinstall from the snow leopard disc?

Niel wrote:
1. Copy out the entire iTunes folder, not just the iTunes Music.
The pathnames to the music are in the itunes library etc files. the playlists etc won't work, the user will have to match their exact user name as before, then if they overwrite their itunes playlist that will have to be rebuilt, another problem we will ahve to deal with.
2. Copy the entire iPhoto library. It shouldn't be copied piecemeal unless absolutely necessary, and then should be reassembled before use.
True, but Apple doesn't expect users to revert to earlier versions of it's OS, it's not uncommon for them to include changes in newer iLife programs.
If the user goes and replaces their iPhoto Library completely, then it replaces the older version one, then it's another problem.
6. Zeroing the entire drive isn't necessary, and leaving the Lion recovery partition won't hurt anything.
Zeroing isn't necessary, but it prevents a lot of bad sectors failing later and data issues in OS X etc which are hard to resolve after the fact. So let the software Zero and take in a movie or have the hassle of reinstalling something later or rebuilding the entire drive.
Also if the user goes to Bootcamp or DU and partitions, for some reason DU hangs on bad sectors. Mapping off those bad sectors ahead of time prevents a lot of issues with hard drives. IMO.
...leaving the Lion recovery partition won't hurt anything.
We don't know that, and Apple doesn't expect it to be there with Snow Leopard install, it can potentially cause problems later.
I'm more of the mind that keep things the way Apple expects them to be, rather than take a chance.
The OP can install 10.7 again from MAS by simply option clicking on Purchases and redownloading and running the installer, which will recreate the Lion Recovery Partition again.
But what if the LR is already there and they go try to install Lion again only to have it hose up on a pre-existing LR?
That's what I'm thinking along the lines of, trying to prevent issues from occurring later on and for the next tech or adviser who can't tell the LR is there or not.

Reinstall of Snow Leopard over Lion

Alright. So I'm currently using a mid-2010 MacBook Pro 13inch. I was initially using Snow Leopard which came bundled with the system, and shortly after upgraded to Lion through the upgrade path instead of a clean install. After a variety of issues, I partitioned my MacBook Pro into 2 partitions, the 1st partition being the main OS and the 2nd partition being a simple storage area for music, movies, etc. During a recent trip, my MacBook basically crashed and would not start properly.
I'm now stuck with a major problem. As I only have the Snow Leopard DVD, I only made a notable version of the Snow Leopard OS on a USB, and I did not ever bother to make a Recovery USB drive with Lion. After attempting to access the hard drive from the bootable USB, I've discovered that the computer cannot seem to connect to the internet, meaning that the online recovery mode is not an option, and neither is the Recovery USB, as it will only work if my machine created it.
So now, I'm left with a few major questions, I'm aware that Snow Leopard had an archive & install feature built-into the install process. Is this still preserved in Lion? If I manage to find some way to re-install Lion onto Partition 1, will the user data be preserved? What are the chances that my photos, music, etc (user data) will be erased or lost?
For those curious as to why I am not simply giving this in to Apple Support, in my current residence (Singapore), there is no official apple store or support center, it seems to be made of third-party contractors authorized by Apple. There have already been cases of tech support abuse here, so I would rather not put my data in their hands.
UPDATE: I am currently attempting to restore a Lion InstallEMD.dmg image from one USB onto another. I plan to do this through DiskUtility while booting into the Snow Leopard Install DVD I currently still possess. Hopefully, I will have a USB capable of installing Mac Lion on other computers (Apparently, some users have been able to get this method to work). I will update this thread with my results in a couple of days. In the meantime, I would appreciate any input! Also, if any users out there have a spare Mac to test these methods, could you try and share your results?

Note that Snow Leopard does not have an Erase and Install option.
Downgrade Lion/Mountain 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.
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.
Make Your Own Mountain/Lion Installer
1. After downloading Mountain/Lion you must first save the Install Mac OS X Mountain/
    Lion application. After Mountain/Lion downloads DO NOT click on the Install button.
    Go to your Applications folder and make a copy of the Mountain/Lion 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:
a. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
b. After DU loads select your flash drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left
      side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
c. 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.
d. 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.
e. 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.
f. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to an hour depending upon the flash
     drive size.
3. Locate the saved Mountain/Lion installer in your Downloads folder. CTRL- or RIGHT-click on the installer and select Show Package Contents from the contextual menu. Double-click on the Contents folder to open it. Double-click on the SharedSupport folder. In this folder you will see a disc image named InstallESD.dmg.
4. Plug in your freshly prepared USB flash drive. You are going to clone the content of the InstallESD.dmg disc image to the flash drive as follows:
a. Double-click on the InstallESD.dmg file to mount it on your Desktop.
b. Open Disk Utility.
c. Select the USB flash drive from the left side list.
d. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
e. Select the USB flash drive volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
f. Drag the mounted disc icon from the Desktop into the Source entry field.
g. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
When the clone is completed you have a fully bootable installer that you can use without having to re-download Mountain/Lion.
Note: The term Mountain/Lion used above means Lion or Mountain Lion.
As an alternative to the above (you still have to do your own download of Lion/Mountain Lion) you can try using Lion DiskMaker 2.0 that automates the process of Steps 2 through 4.

Can't install Snow Leopard over Ethernet

Hello,
I'm trying to install Snow Leopard remotely on my Macbook Air. I don't have a wireless connection, but was told I could do it using the Ethernet connection. I've connected my MacBook Air to my wife's MacBook using an ethernet cord and the apple USB-ethernet adaptor, but unfortunately when I boot the MBA using ALT it doesn't recognize the disk on the other computer.
Any suggestions?
-Grey

DId you turn off wifi on your wife's computer. ( to force the ethernet connection )
did you open the remote install app on the wife's macbook?
was there a pulldown menu at the EFI boot screen?
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2129

Cannot install Snow Leopard over 10.5.8 because "can't boot from" boot disk

I closed all my apps.
I ran the installer.
I agreed the terms.
I am ask where to install Snow Leopard.
Only one disk is available - my boot disk.
It has a yellow triangle on it.
Selecting the disk tells me "Mac OS X cannot be installed on "Macintosh HD", because this disk cannot be used to start up your computer.".
Rebooting and attempting an install direct from CD yields the same results.
My machine is a six month old aluminium MacBook, and the only difference between it in the shop and today is that it has a customer-installed 500GB hard drive and ditto 4GB RAM in it.
Help.
Neil.

Hi Mike,
Sorry you're having the same problem. It's very frustrating! I'm making some noise about it because as a consequence of being in the software biz for years, I keep machines as vanilla and default as possible whilst serving my purposes as best I can - so I hopefully tread a very well worn QA path. That I am suffering problems probably means a great many more are doing the same.
Unfortunately your solution isn't a good one for me - I simply don't have 400GB of space anywhere nearby. I do have Time Machine backup to a Time Capsule so maybe a solution is to do a vanilla install and clean disk and then a restore. I don't fancy this much though.
I can't help feeling that this is a simple defect in the installer disk detection though, that it uses some custom code rather than systemwide routine to detect bootability.
Neil.

Installing snow leopard over lion

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