Leopard to Snow Leopard cannot install!

I get the "Mac OS X cannot be installed on this computer" error message when trying to install Snow Leopard with a CD (that originally came with another computer) on a Macbook Pro running Leopard.
I want to install Snow Leopard to ultimately jump to Mountain Lion.
It's a mid-2009 Macbook Pro. (model 5,1) with 2 GB ram.

It's been pulled from the online store & Apple Stores, so you have to call Apple to buy it, last I heard.
Call Apple Sales...in the US: 1-800-MY-APPLE.

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I have a hdd from late 2009 that I upgraded from leopard to snow leopard to lion to mountain lion. I want to upgrade the hdd to ssd. Do I need to buy a new copy of mountain lion to install on the ssd? If not, then what is the procedure to transfer?

I have a hdd from a late 2009 mbp. I upgraded from leopard to snow leopard to lion to mountain lion. Now I want to upgrade to a ssd. Do I need to purchase a new copy of mountain lion to go on my new ssd? If I don't, then what is the procedure to transfer mountain lion with my 4 user accounts onto the new ssd from the hdd?
I'm confused on if I can use the recovery hd on a thumb drive to install mountain lion on my ssd. Will it be pheasible with so many OS X upgrades? And then how do I get my user accounts onto the ssd from the hdd. Do I use migration assistant? Do I need to make a time machine backup first? Should I use something called Carbon Clone or something like that?
Thanks for reading

If you have a cable that connects and external HDD to the MBP, it will do. If it is something like this, an enclosure will not be needed for the swap:
An enclosure allows you to use your old HDD for storage or backup purposes. The cable will not.
Here are instructions as to how the swap can be performed using DISK UTITY. Substitute You cable for the enclosure in same:
INSTALLING A NEW HDD IN A MBP
1. Make certain that you have backed up all of your important data.
2. You will need a HDD enclosure. One with a USB connection will do. A 9 pin Firewire is better.
3. Install your new drive in the enclosure and connect it to your MBP.
4. Open DISK UTILITY>ERASE. From the left hand column drag the new drive into the 'Name' field. Make sure that the format is 'Mac OS Extended (Journaled)'. Click on the 'Erase' button.
5. Click on the 'Restore' button (on top). Drag the old drive into the 'Source' field and the new drive into the 'Destination' field. Click on the 'Restore' button on the bottom right hand corner.
Depending upon the amount of data you are transferring, this may take a couple hours or more. A Firewire will speed up the transfer. This will result in both drives having identical information on them.
6. After the data transfer has completed, you may swap the drives. Start the MBP and you have finished the installation. The initial boot may take a bit longer than you are accustomed to, but that is normal.
7. When you are satisfied that the new hard drive if functioning properly, you can erase the old drive and use it for any needs that you may have.
If there is any confusion on your part, post back.
Ciao.

Re-Installing Leopard from Snow Leopard HELP!!!

Hey guys, I'm sure this is a duplicate post, but i have looked for ages.
Basically, i need to re-insall Leopard from Snow Leopard on my new 17 MBP.
I have the 10.5 DVD, but when i try to run it, the computer restarts and then just sticks in a loop of restarting pretty much straight after the startup chime. I really need to go back to leopard due to software reasons until 10.6 is fixed. I also dont have a time machine backup
Please help!
Thanks a lot.
Alex

I assume that you are trying to start from the DVD, right. Does the disk show up and run if you start up to your internal? If so, then you could at least do and Archive and Install (A&I) back to Leo.
A&I is a good play, under your current circumstances, given that you are not currently able to do an erase and install. Note that Apple doesn't recommend going backwards this far (i.e., going back beyond the current major version, say, 10.6.2.x back to 10.6.1.x) via A&I. But, regardless it is a way to get back to Leo and to pave the way for doing an E&I of Leo in the future assuming your E&I fails to produce an acceptable installation.
Note that if you go backwards, then you will not be able to preserve user and network settings--which may be a good thing. Fortunately, there is a way to extract anything needed from a prior user home folder. [Here is the explanation|http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2196].
Even though you don't want Sno any more, you need to have a bootable clone of your Sno installation on an external for fail save purposes and data backup. Also, I would repair disk and permissions before archiving and installing and unplug all peripherals during installation, but not your Ethernet connection if you have one.
Message was edited by: donv (The Ghost)

Everyone keeps talking about an upgrade from Leopard to Snow Leopard for $29 but I cannot find it anywhere-any suggestions?

Everyone keeps talking about an upgrade from Leopard to Snow Leopard for $29 but I cannot find it anywhere-any suggestions?

Good news for current buyers ... single user SL is down to $19, 5-user family-pack is down to $29 ... I would buy the 5-user license to avoid need ing to buy it again after Apple stops selling it.

Install Leopard and Snow Leopard from an external drive?

Hey guys,
I have a 120GB ext drive and was curious as to if its possible to install Leopard and Snow Leopard from it if I have the DMG's. I guess my main question is how would I setup formatting in Disk Utility?
Thanks!

Set up two 10GB partitions and a third partition for the rest of the drive on the external drive, use Disk Utility to "Restore" the mounted installer DVD to a 10GB partition on the drive.
Plug the drive into a Mac and hold the option key down during boot. Select the installer you wish to use.

HT1338 i upgraded from leopard to snow leopard ( i know i am really behind) but now iTunes won't recognize my iPhone. and the updates keep crashing when they are trying to install...help!

I upgraded from leopard to snow leopard. now iTunes won't recognize my iphone, and the upgrading the software keeps crashing.. help!!

Mountain Lion is OS X 10.8
10.6 was called Snow Leopard.
To use iTunes 10.7 the following is required:
Macintosh System Requirements
Mac computer with an Intel Core processor and 512MB of RAM
OS X version 10.6.8 or later
Safari 4.0.3 or later
400MB of available disk space
Broadband Internet connection to use the iTunes Store
Do you use iTunes Match?
That way all of your songs would be matched with the master song on the iTunes servers independently of iTunes on your Mac or PC...
Look here for further information: http://www.apple.com/itunes/itunes-match/

Upgrade leopard to snow leopard with preexisiting snow leopard time machine backup

I was using an old desktop Mac that had been upgraded to snow leopard from leopard a few years ago. Disk utility said I needed to repair my hard drive using the installation discs. I didn't have the snow leopard installation disc but still had the leopard installation disc which I used. When the computer re-installed leopard onto my hard drive, it created a partition: one with my hard drive running snow leopard, and then a new one with the space left over, running leopard. I got my replacement snow leopard installation discs and would like to delete the leopard partition, and go back to what I had before with the snow leopard drive. I do have a time machine backup (somewhat incomplete) and am making a copy of the physical snow leopard drive. I cannot access the most recent time machine backup since I'm back to running leopard and the time machine backup was made under snow leopard. I'm not sure how to proceed from here to upgrade to snow leopard. When I try to upgrade to snow leopard, I'm asked which destination drive to use. I don't want to use the snow leopard drive, since it would get deleted. So, would the leopard drive be the answer in this case? And what would happen to the contents of my old snow leopard drive? Would I end up with two partitions, both with snow leopard, but one being current (nothing on it) and the other being my old drive? Would I be able to get rid of the current drive and then use only my old drive? Thanks in advance for any help.

First of all, it's unclear to me why you cannot select the old Snow Leopard partition.
I also think you should have been able to repair hard disk using the leopard CD disk without actually installing leopard OSX by using the Utilities only.
Also, Why is your Time Machine backup incomplete? Is that under Leopard or Snow Leopard?
Now you have two partitions with two different OSX (Leopard and Snow Leopard). Your goal is to get back to Snow Leopard.
I going to assume that the original Snow Leopard partition is inoperable (this is also question?) I would upgrade the Leopard partition to Snow Leopard. Afetrwards, use the Migration Assistant to bring in your data, documents, app, and settings. Once complete, you should be able to see your Time Machine backups. If all is ok then you can delete the original Snow Leopard partition.
This is a somewhat complicated situation, so I am issuing a caveat that is my opinion only. Wait until another expert provides input regarding your situation to determine the best course of action.

Backing Up w/ Time Machine (Leopard to Snow Leopard)

Hi
Srry if this question has been answered somewhere but I couldn't locate any posts. I wish to jump over to snow leopard from leopard on my 08 blackbook. Will all my programs etc be backed up? How do I perform the restore? Thanks for any help!

Do the following:
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.
If all is well proceed to install Snow Leopard. This will upgrade your Leopard system.
I recommend you be sure you have a current backup of your current system before proceeding with the above. Also, your computer must meet the minimum requirements to install Snow Leopard.
Snow Leopard General requirements
Mac computer with an Intel processor
1GB of memory
5GB of available disk space
DVD drive for installation
Some features require a compatible Internet service provider; fees may apply.
Some features require Apple’s MobileMe service; fees and terms apply.

How do you get from OS X v 10.3.9 to Tiger to Leopard? Snow Leopard?

How do you go from 10.3.9 to Leopard on a G5 iMac?
Do you first install 10.4 (Tiger) then 10.5 (Leopard)? Or can you go straight from 10.3.9 to 10.5? Is it true that you cannot go from Leopard to Snow Leopard after that since the G5 is not Intel based?

"Or can you go straight from 10.3.9 to 10.5?"
Yes
"Is it true that you cannot go from Leopard to Snow Leopard after that since the G5 is not Intel based?"
Yup!

I have tried to update from Leopard to Snow Leopard using disk. New OS wouldn't load and now laptop won't start at all

I have tried to update from Leopard to Snow Leopard using disk. New OS wouldn't load and now laptop won't start at all. Simply get the Apple logo and the clock below and then after about 10 mins the laptop switched itself off. The Snow Leopard disk is a brand new family edition. Error message when attempting to install was that "this software cannot be installed on this disk".

Thanks Fred, but I've tried '''ALL''' that already.
I '''THINK''' I might have found the problem - the Profiles folder has been locked by inherited properties from the levels above. I have had to go all the way up to my User folder and reset ALL the properties from there down to be unlocked so that I could remove the prefs.js file so that it could be recreated on the next launch of FF. Exactly why my User folder is locked in such a way as to stop me/FF making changes when I have been able to alter preferences at will in the past, I don't know ...
So far, so good. I have since done a complete shutdown and when I restarted this morning, FF seems to be behaving itself ...
flashfletch

In limbo between Leopard and Snow Leopard - stupidly didn't back up

I've got an old-school black MacBook, about four years old now. I never cared enough to upgrade it to Snow Leopard, but now I want Lion. So, I borrowed my parents' five-license Snow Leopard install disc and started off on the journey to upgrade to Snow Leopard, download the App Store update, then download and install Lion. I didn't get far.
First, let me say that I didn't back up my hard drive. Like an idiot. Yes, I know it was stupid, so there's no need to say anything. My previous installs (a few clean re-installs) have gone without a hitch, so I figured I'd trust Apple and just run the installation without backing up. Dumb.
The Snow Leopard installation started fine, but was interrupted when the installer said the install failed. Restart, try again. Booting from the install DVD, things seemed to be going fine a second time around -- picked my language, got to the install set-up screen, picked Macintosh HD as my installation drive. And then things stopped working. The installer said my HD could not be written to and that it needed repair. So I went to Disk Utility to try that. Repair Disk wasn't available, so I clicked Verify Disk. That got interrupted when it said the disk needed to be repaired, after which the Repair Disk button was clickable. Tried to repair, but apparently my HD is screwed beyond the capabilities of Disk Utility.
I tried to reboot the MacBook from the HD, which Disk Utility said still had Leopard running on it. The computer wouldn't boot up. Safe Boot didn't work. So, without any other real options, I thought I'd try my luck by just trying the install again. Booted up from the install DVD, and ran into the same issues. Didn't magically fix itself, of course. So my MacBook is stuck in limbo between Leopard and Snow Leopard, won't boot from the HD and won't let me repair the disk when booted from the DVD. What do I do?
I plan to try a couple third-party disk-utility programs tomorrow (8/25/11) to recover the files on my HD. There's not much I care about on there (just some iPhone photos and my resume, really), so doing a clean wipe of the HD and installing Snow Leopard is an option. But I'd of course rather be able to recover my personal files. Is this possible at this point?
Another question I have regarding a clean wipe: If I end up having to clean off the HD and lose all my data, I'll lose the iTunes configuration for my iPhone. Will iTunes be able to import my apps and settings from my phone if I plug it in?
Thank you very much.

For a hard drive try Newegg.com http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=380&name=Laptop-Hard-Dr ives&Order=PRICE
Or OWC http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/hard-drives/2.5-Notebook/
Here's instructions on replacing the hard drive http://creativemac.digitalmedianet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=45088
Here's a cheap SATA external hard drive case on eBay http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-2-5-SATA-HDD-HARD-DRIVE-EXTERNAL-ENCLOSURE-CASE-BOX-/120 636286623?pt=PCC_Drives_Storage_Internal&hash=item1c167ba69f

I've read similar questions and answers, but I am still terrified to upgrade from leopard to snow leopard. The only reason I want to is because I received an iPad which requires an updated system. I have an external hard drive. I have the disks to upgrade

I've read similar questions and have studied the answers, but I am still terrified to upgrade from leopard to snow leopard on my macbook pro. The only reason for doing it is in order to sync my macbook pro with my iPad. I do have an external drive which automatically backs up every hour. BUT.......I am techno-ignorant as well as techno-paranoid. I have the disks to update to snow leopard but knowing doing so may likely change/alter/lose/obliterate my current set-up, it actually makes me feel sick to think of it.
Years ago when updating via Apple Protection Plan tech support, my screen actually went blank, everything gone! The tech told me not to worry, that "we" would be able to restore things, but several hours later I was still looking at a primitive looking screen that wasn't anything like what I had before. His language was too technical, in that there was an assumption I understood things I had zero understanding of. Example: partition my external drive.
Anyway, living hundreds of miles from an Apple service provider, and no Apple techs in my community, I had to wait for a trip to an Apple Store where one of the wonderful guys at the genius bar spent a ton of time getting things back to normal and actually explaining it enough that I had a vague understanding.
So now I am in the predicament again and won't know what to do after installing the new disks and finding a likely mess or absence of documents etc. on my computer. I don't know how to access the external drive, and even if I did I wouldn't know how to move stuff from that to my computer.
Anyone have any suggestions?

I'm in the same boat as you, I've used Mac's since day one and neglected my Windows education and now it has come to haunt me as I have to learn it like a school kid.
Nearly 99% of all businesses and nearly 95% of everyone use Windows, Steve Jobs declared "The desktop wars are over, Microsoft won" a long time ago.
By 2015 tablets are going to be selling to consumers more than traditional computers, your living proof, you got a iPad.
Apple has already discontinued the Xserver, the Xraid, the MacBooks and the 17" Macbook Pro.
Apple has introduced BootCamp in OS X 10.6 and up, this allows a partition and drivers so one can install Windows on a Mac.
https://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/
Why do you think they named it "BootCamp"
You can't run a older OS X version longterm like you have with 10.5 anymore, Mac's are being targeted for attacks and older OS X versions are dropped for security updates.
In fact your Mac might still be part of the 750,000 Mac strong Flashback botnet or infected.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_BackDoor.Flashback
http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/04/how-to-check-forand-get-rid-ofa-mac-flashba ck-infection/
See here, Apple has no security updates for 10.5 users and soon 10.6 is going to be ignored next.
https://support.apple.com/kb/ht1222
1-1.5 years is the OS X upgrade cycle. Change everytime like it or not.
So I'm thinking about your long term future and how you obviously don't like change, need local assistance like it appears you first claimed.
So buy a new Mac and upgrade your OS X version whenever Apple shows it in AppStore.
When your machine can no longer upgrade to the newest OS X version, then you've got about another 2 more years of security updates before you have to buy a new machine or risk running a insecure one.
Learn here how to go about fixing your own machine and creating backups/bootable clones this way your not having to drive several hundred miles for a software or boot drive repair. Simply reverse clone your troubles away.
Most commonly used backup methods
https://discussions.apple.com/community/notebooks/macbook_pro?view=documents
I'm of the maturity and experience that I know a Mac isn't always the best solution for everyone and even Apple doesn't provide the proper hardware, support or features for everyone. Why only store locations in high traffic ritzy areas?
Our SteveJobs fan here is under 18 years old with good eyes, he's not older like we are with bad or failing eyesight.
The new Mac's have hard to see glossy screens and the type/UI can't be scaled up easily to accomadate our older eyes, however a Windows 7 machine does allow up to 150% scale of the UI, type etc., and also there are anti-glare screen PC's and just about no more anti-glare screen Mac's.
I wrote this User tip in case you have trouble seeing the screen, at least you can scale the web browsing up
Web browsing for hard of seeing users
Apple might still be selling the anti-glare 15" non-retina on their online store, it's the "high resolution/anti-glare model"
But I can get a 17" 1080i HD anti-glare Windows 7 laptop at Sager for a lot more performance and screen size for the price than a Mac.
https://www.sagernotebook.com/index.php?page=category_browse&selected_cat=2
Screen size is important as the UI and text can be scaled up for easier reading.
Of course you do now have the option of having Windows pre-installed alongside OS X to begin your transition to the dark side.
Just call and they will accomondate, hold the option/alt key at boot time to swtich operating systems.
http://www.macmall.com/
Windows 7 looks just as good as OS X, the secret is having a good monitor with most PC's come with don't.
Good Luck and I hope I've given you a lot to think about.

Tiger 10.4 to Leopard or Snow Leopard

I have a macmini that I use strictly for ITunes and IPhoto with my TV and sound system.
I upgraded the memory to 1GB so I have the minimum requirements to upgrade even to Lion when it comes out. Do I have to get a full version (not upgrade) of Leopard or Snow Leopard to upgrade the macmini OS? Don't think the Snow Lion upgrade will work with Tiger 10.4 - will it??

So we know more about it...
At the Apple Icon at top left>About this Mac, then click on More Info, then click on Hardware> and report this upto but not including the Serial#...
Hardware Overview:
Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier: iMac7,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.4 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 4 MB
Memory: 6 GB
Bus Speed: 800 MHz
Boot ROM Version: IM71.007A.B03
SMC Version (system): 1.21f4
For Macs that can install/use 10.6/Snow Leopard, the $29 Install Disc works fine from Tiger if you don't need/want iLife & iWork.

Updated from Leopard to Snow Leopard, then upgraded to Lion, now my system is freezing on startup. Can anyone help?

Updated from Leopard to Snow Leopard, then upgraded to Lion, now my system is freezing on startup. Can anyone help?

Try a Safe Boot: Restart holding down the shift key until you (hopefully) see a grey progress bar. Once booted restart as normal from the Apple menu. Any change?
How much RAM do you have installed?

HT1444 how do i upgrade my 10.5.8 to leopard or snow leopard?

How do I upgrade 10.5.8 to leopard or snow leopard?

To get information about your Mac click the apple (screen top left) and select About this Mac. This will give you your OS number. Then click More Info to see which Processor you have. If it says PowerPC you cannot upgrade to Snow Leopard and above as they are Intel only. You can discover more about various Macs at: http://www.apple-history.com/
The OS numbers and names are:
OS X 10.4.x - Tiger
OS X 10.5.x - Leopard
OS X 10.6.x - Snow Leopard
OS X 10.7.x - Lion
OS X 10.8.x - Mountain Lion
If you have an Intel Mac it is well worth upgrading to Snow Leopard now and then considering other options after that.
You can buy Snow Leopard here:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A
For details about upgrading this to Lion or Mountain Lion see:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD256Z/A
In each case check that your Mac complies with the requirements.
If you are not in the US you should use the Change Country link at the bottom of the page.

Running Leopard and Snow Leopard

Hey guys and gals... I recently bought a new macbook pro with snow leopard installed. This is all great, but the program that I use the most (pro tools) only works on leopard (unless of course I want to pay 150 dollars to upgrade my pro tools, which I do not). Is there any way to run leopard and snow leopard just as some people run windows and osx? I would also like to not have to restart my computer every single time I wanted to switch back and forth. ANY help is greatly appreciated!
Justin C

Is there any way to run leopard and snow leopard just as some people run windows and osx?
Basically, not if the computer was released after Mac OS X 10.6.
I would also like to not have to restart my computer every single time I wanted to switch back and forth.
This function requires Mac OS X Server.
(50521)

Leopard to Snow Leopard cannot install!

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