My Mac Mini won't acknowledge Snow Leopard disk to upgrade OS. DVD drive works fine.

Purchased my Mini January 2009 with 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor w/ 2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM. Trying a long-overdue upgrade from OS 10.5.8 to Snow Leopard, the computer won't acknowledge the disk, and the DVD drive runs other disks.
According to other links here, I should be able to upgrade through OS 10.7 without problem, correct? (FYI, I have four USB ports on this thing.) Also, I noticed my Snow Leopard disk - purchased from Apple, not bootleg - is 10.6.3, which is what they shipped when I said OS 10.5.8 is in here. Am I missing an earlier version than 10.6.3? In any case, the disk just grinds awhile, then spits out. Nothing ever shows on the display.
I have 59 gigs of internal hard drive space available.
I'm not really tech savvy, so any thoughts?

Thanks for your response, and good call! I discovered the Mini will acknowledge other DVDs that I know have content, but displays them as blank; otherwise, it won't open/run anything. It's more than I knew before.
Looks like I'm heading to the Apple shop.

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My husband has a Mac mini, vintage 2009, running Snow Leopard. All other computers and devices in the house are able to connect to our wireless network, but since I upgraded his computer to Snow Leaopard it won't connect. What is the problem?

What am I missing here. I'm sure it is some kind of sitting that is not right.
Thanks Pat

Sounds familiar:
lllaassJan 6, 2015 2:12 PM Re: My husband has a Mac mini, vintage 2009, running Snow Leopard. All other computers and devices in the house are able to connect to our wireless network, but since I upgraded his computer to Snow Leaopard it won't connect. What is the problem?
Re: My husband has a Mac mini, vintage 2009, running Snow Leopard. All other computers and devices in the house are able to connect to our wireless network, but since I upgraded his computer to Snow Leaopard it won't connect. What is the problem?in response to Patricia Isaac1
Power off and then back on the router
What happens when you enter the network's PW?
Try forgetting/deleting the network if necessary. To do that go to System Preferences>Network>wifi>Advanced and select the network and click on the minus sign
Csound1 wrote:
Turn off the modem and the router, wait 60 seconds. Turn on the modem, wait 60 seconds, turn on the router.

I have an older IMac 5. I installed snow Leopard on. Now my DVD drive is not working. Discs go in but it dosn't boot up or show in finder. Then disc won't eject unless i shut down and restart. HELP !

I have an older IMac 5. I installed snow Leopard on. Now my DVD drive is not working. Discs go in but it dosn't boot up or show in finder. Then disc won't eject unless i shut down and restart. HELP !

Snow Leopard cannot run on a PPC G5 Mac as it requires an Intel processor. Please confirm what Mac you have.

I have a mac book pro with ocx snow leopard I wont upgrade to what?

I have a mac book pro with osx snow leopard I wont upgrade to what?

OS X Mountain Lion system requirements
To install Mountain Lion, you need one of these Macs:
iMac (Mid 2007 or newer)
MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer)
MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer)
MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer)
Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer)
Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)
Xserve (Early 2009)
Your Mac needs:
OS X v10.6.8 or OS X Lion already installed
2 GB or more of memory
8 GB or more of available space

I used my snow leopard disk to erase my hard drive. Now I want to eject the snow leopard disk to clean install from the lion boot disk I made. How do I eject the snow leopard disk?

I used my snow leopard disk to erase my hard drive. Now I want to eject the snow leopard disk to clean install from the lion boot disk I made. How do I eject the snow leopard disk? It is the start up disk and I can't figure out how to get it out of the computer so I can put my lion boot disk in. Thanks

turn the mac all the way off. turn the mac on by pressing the power button. as soon as the apple logo appears, pres and hold your mouse button(trackpad mouse clicker etc...) until the CD comes out.

Mac Mail refusing password on one computer but fine on the other - one running Snow Leopard and the other Lion but been working fine until today

Mac Mail is fine on Lion but on the Snow Leopard computer its rejecting the password - been absolutley fine up until today?
Any ideas?
Steve

You have been using MobileMe's email settings, which sometimes continue to work for a time after migration but then get turned off. iCloud's mail server settings are different. Strictly speaking Lion 10.7.2 is required for iCloud, and on that Mail is set up automatically.
Snow Leopard cannot access most of iCloud's facilities, however you can set Mail up manually to access your email. The method is described here:
http://www.wilmut.webspace.virginmedia.com/notes/icloudmail.html
The situation with iCloud and Snow Leopard is described in detail here:
http://www.wilmut.webspace.virginmedia.com/notes/icloudSL.html

Mac Mini will read from but not write to external CD/DVD drive

My new Mac Mini won't write CDs or DVDs to my LaCie DVDRW external drive, either in iTunes or through the finder. The computer appears to be writing the disc and then there's an error message right at the end of the process that says it can't access the drive (error code 0x80020020). In reading the help materials, I came across something that said iTunes would only write to an internal drive or a Mac superdrive. That's really no help to me since the Mini did not come with an internal drive. Surely Apple can't be saying I have to go out an buy a new drive for this machine. Has anyone else had this problem?

You did not answer the question of whether or not the drive works when connected to another Mac or a PC? This is a critical question.

Caught in a conundrum while trying to upgrade a Mac Mini (mid 2010) from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion

Hi gang,
I am in a very frustrating position as I try to upgrade my Mac Mini (mid 2010) from OS X 10.6.8 Snow Leopard to whatever the latest version of Mountain lion is. The reason I am doing this is because the original hard drive died and the Mini sat there for 6 months before we decided to get a new hard drive and revive it.
I installed a new 500GB 7200rpm SATA drive and the problems began.
First I couldn't get Mountain Lion installed as a fresh OS installation (using both a USB drive and a DVD to no avail). It just wouldn't go. The grey Apple logo/loading screen would come up and just sit there doing nothing while the loading icon spun.
I then tried installing Snow Leopard (the OS that the Mini came with when it was new). After some messing around, that got done.
However, a peculiar thing happens when the Mini boots. Everything loads up into Snow Leopard, but although the mouse curser moves, I cannot click on anything or use the keyboard for 4-5 minutes. Then it just work (I am typing this on the Mini). This happens every time.
Now, when I updated to 10.6.8, I was able to load up the App Store and download the Mountain Lion install app. I clicked it and went through the initial copying of files and then the restart, but after the reboot, the grey loading screen would not progress. I rebooted again and held down the Option key to check out the available boot volumes, and all I saw was the installation DVD I had in there for Snow Leopard and a hard disk volume called "Mac OS X Installer."
So I booted into the Snow Leopard install DVD and opened Disk Utility to check things out. I did a verify disk and a permissions repair. Interestingly, the first repair I did gave me the message that the ACL was missing from Volumes and that is was fixed. I read something somewhere which talked about the Access Control List and mouse/keyboard issues. But who knows. When I boot back into the Mini as normal I am returned to the fully-functioning Snow Leopard installation, like nothing happened.
And now here is the kicker: it appears that the Firewire bus is hooped. In the Profiler, when I view the FireWire settings I get the message, "Warning: Unable to list FireWire devices." So I am pretty sure the one thing I cannot do is boot the Mini into target disk mode attached to my Mac Pro and installed Mountain Lion that way.
So to recap: I can't finish the Mountain Lion installation because the install won't continue after rebooting because there is something wrong with the underlying base system, which might be hardware (FW bus) related. I think.
Some things I have tried:
Resetting the SMC
Resetting the PRAM
Reparing permissions
Booting into Safe Mode (doesn't work)
Booting into Verbose Mode to observe what happens (I get the "Can't load the Bootcache.playlist" error, which I suspect is related to the screwed up FW bus)
Trying to boot using Internet Recovery (doesn't work)
Booting into Single User Mode and attempting the "fsck -y" etc. sequence to try and repair the ACL that way
So I am stuck.
I guess the question is, should I get an external HD enclosure and install Mountain Lion onto the hard drive that way and hope it works when I put it back into the Mini?
Any other ideas? I have spent a couple days ******* around with this is am running out of ideas...
Any advice would be appreciated!

Addendum: I read on a post here (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=420169) about removing some kext files in order to trick OSX into thinking that there were no FireWire ports.
I followed the instructions and removed from /System/Library/Extensions/ the following files:
IOFireWireSerialBusProtocolTransport.kext
IOFireWireAVC.kext
IOFireWireFamily.kext
IOFireWireIP.kext
IOFireWireSBP2.kext
I restarted and BAM...Snow Leopard booted crazy fast and the mouse and keyboard worked instantly.
The System Profiler says "No FireWire ports were found."
So this tells me that the FW port is probably the culprit and is messing up the installation.
So how do I hack the Mountain Lion installer and tell it to ignore the FW port, which is obviously quite dead? Or is there something I can do to the Base system that is similar?

Latest version that will work with Mac mini Core SOLO under Snow Leopard?

Latest Flash Player 11 versions will work with Snow Leopard, but they say they require a Core Duo or newer processor. What is the last stable version of FP that will work on my mom's Mac mini 1.5Ghz Intel Core Solo (running OS X 10.6.8)?
Have searched archives and web for this and still draw a blank. Thanks!

Fixed it!
I mounted it in target mode again and manually applied the 10.5.4 combo updater ad it now boots again.

Se puede instalar en una mac mini mid 2011 el snow leopard, Help..!!!

Acabo de adquiir una mac mini mid 2011 pero viene con el lion y necesito cambiar de sistema operativo a snow leopard, de que manera de puede hacer, ya intente con muchos discos de instalación originales y con ninguno se puede

Hola,
Depends ehich MBP a bit...
MacBook Pro "Core i7" 2.5 27" Late 2011... Geekbench: 10706/11699
Mac mini "Core i7" 2.6 (Late 2012)... Geekbench: 11367/12807
iMac "Core i7" 3.4 27-Inch (Mid-2011)... Geekbench: 11648/12651
iMac "Core i5" 2.7 21.5-Inch (Late 2012)... Geekbench: 8068/9145
Mac mini "Core i7" 2.3 (Late 2012)... Geekbench: 10626/11825
iMac "Core i7" 3.1 21.5-Inch (Late 2012)... Geekbench: 12490/14143
iMac "Core i7" 3.4 27-Inch (Mid-2011)... Geekbench: 11648/12651... Geekbench: 12857/13772
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

Mac mini's memory and snow leopard?

Alright so I have a mac mini. Runs on tiger. Well a friend bought me the sims 3 for my birthday but comes to found out i need os 10.5 and higher. Well I went out and bought snow leopard since it was cheap and THEN come to find out i need 1 gb ram.
To be honest i know nothing of computers.
so i check the memory and it says 512 mb
is that my ram?
if so are there tiny pieces of ram floating around my computer or do i need to buy another ram card?
really i might take it to the apple store to get it done but i don't feel like spending money on an analysis
thanks in advance

is that my ram?
Yes.
if so are there tiny pieces of ram floating around my computer or do i need to buy another ram card?
Yes to both.
A CoreDuo has a fairly weak graphics chip, so it may or may not be able to run the Sims 3 depending on the version it has. Read the specs on the graphics card on the software package's exterior. If it says Core2Duo or higher required, you can't run it on a CoreDuo machine. If it says ATI or nVidia required, you probably can't run it on a Mac Mini of that age.

Why can't I reinstall my iLife suite of apps on my Mac Mini after having reinstalled Snow Leopard OSX?

Unfortunately my Mac Mini I use for audio production work and web design got slower and slower until one day it just gave up! I blame the internet for this, as before I started using the internet on this computer it was fine, nice and fast without any problems.
I tried reinstalling just the OSX but that didn't work, so I ended up erasing the disk with a full 35-pass option which failed itself after the eleventh pass, but it had still done what I wanted and completely erased the hardisk, so I wasn't bothered. However, now in Utilities, it wasn't finding any hardisk!!! I powered off and thankfully this time the disk was showing and so I tried installing the OSX again and this time it worked!
Next it was time to reinstall iLife that had come with the Mac Mini. No chance! Same error message every time to contact the software manufacturer!!! I've read on the communities that after 2012 this version of iLife apparently doesn't work. Is this true? If so then Apple is ripping customers off. Why should we have to keep upgrading all the time? As the old saying goes, "if it ain't broken, don't fix it!" If this is true that iLife won't work after 2012 then basically Apple is saying that its products are so crap that they won't work after a few years!! Surely not. I've also read in the communities that one person had to pay another $18 out for an iLife suite that works, what crap! Whatever came with the computer should work with the computer and not be limited to just a few years life and we shouldn't have to pay out for another disc when the original has be kept securely in its original packaging! I have an old Windows XP PC which is still going strong today and up until a year ago I had an old Windows 3.1 PC which was still working 22 years after purchase and I still had occasional tasks to carry out on it at DOS level!!
So I'm beginning to wonder whether I should go back to PCs if Apple computers have such a limited lifespan.
I look forward to your comments.

Processor = 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Within seconds of selecting the disk and clicking on the install button the following error message comes up:
The installation failed.
An unknown installation error occurred.
The Installer encountered an error that caused the installation to fail. Contact the software manufacturer for assistance.

Mac Mini won't boot with install disk

tried booting with install disc in and pushing "c" on keyboard and doesn't work. Using a apple wireless keyboard. Also used the keyboard that came with Mac Pro but didn't work nor did a wired logitech.
any ideas?
Thanks!

+What is the source of the idea that the mac aluminum keyboard won't work with the mini?+
Dozens of reports in this forum over the past year.
Keep in mind that by "not working" what was meant was that the startup keys wouldn't work. The Alu keyboard otherwise works fine with the Mini.
It has also been reported that the Alu Keyboard does work for startup keys if it is plugged into a hub with an external power supply.

Mac Mini won't Boot after Target Disk Mode

We just bought a new iMac and used target disk mode via firewire from our older Mac Mini running OSX 10.4 to transfer data. Now when we go to restart the mini, the grey screen appears with apple logo and it seems to try to boot up but after a long time alway just ends up with a blue screen. I don't think I "ejected" the mini properly from the imac after the target disk mode transfer. Could the mini be stuck in target disk mode? I've tried to restart in different modes eg. safe mode, pram by holding down keys on start up but doesnt make a difference at all almost as if the keyboard isn't registering (and its a wired keyboard). Any ideas???
Thanks

Try starting up from the Recovery Partition holding the Option (Alt) key and see if you can Repair your Macintosh HD, as per > OS X: About OS X Recovery

Mac mini won't boot into target disk mode

Hi
I just bought a Mac mini on eBay. I'm not sure of the spec but I think its a G4.
When it arrived I plugged it in and switched on to find the question mark folder appear.
I put in a 10.5 disk but it would not boot from it. [this was a disk I got with another s/h machine though so may not be bootable]
As I could not install from the disk I figured my best bet would be to target disk in and install osx from a powerbook I have here.
However I can't get target disk to work.
The keyboard is definitely working as it allows me to boot into OF and zap the PRAM
I've also tried pressing what I believe to be the SMU button just behind the connector board to the HD and DVD drive but no luck.
Anybody got any ideas as to whats going on?
Cheers

Ok, I can probably get a copy of OSX
The problem is I think the DVD drive is faulty as it wouldn't give me my disk back I tried "eject cd" in OF but it didn't work and I had to open it up with a screw driver and take it out.
If the disk is corrupted is there a way to erase it without putting it in another machine. ie can it be done from OF?
Thanks for your help btw

My Mac Mini won't acknowledge Snow Leopard disk to upgrade OS. DVD drive works fine.

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