OS 10.6 on mac mini 2.1 (2009 model)

I have an installation disc for OSX v.10.6 (snow leopard) made specifically, as it says on the disc itself, for the mac mini. Currently, I have OSX v.10.5.8, a 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM memory. I have more than enough space on the hard drive to install OSX v.10.6, yet when I go to install it from the disc, I get the message "Mac OSX Snow Leopard cannot be installed on this computer". I cannot find any source of the problem. Do any of you have any suggestions?

attenuatedstrike wrote:
OS 10.6 on mac mini 2.1 (2009 model)
I have an installation disc for OSX v.10.6 (snow leopard) made specifically, as it says on the disc itself, for the mac mini. Currently, I have OSX v.10.5.8...I get the message "Mac OSX Snow Leopard cannot be installed on this computer"...
All gray OSX disks only work on the specific Mac they were intended for. Even though your disks may say Mac Mini on it, they would only work on the specific later model Mini, not yours. Likely those disks are for the 3,1 Mini, not your 2,1 Mini.
You need to get a retail copy of Snow Leopard. Those will work on your Mini.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A?fnode=MTY1NDAzOA

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How reliable is the Mac Mini or iMac (2009) models?

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Remember, Apple offers a 1 year hardware warranty and 90 days free software support, both of which can be extended to three years from date of computer's purchase. This means if you appear to have what is a technical issue with your machine off the bat, Apple will cover the lemon issue, if it is obvious it is not an issue you the user could have caused. Mind you, if issues appear much later during the ownership, it gets harder to justify that it is a manufacturer issue. As long as you don't upgrade the internal hardware, the hardware test CD that comes with the machine will be able to tell if there is a manufacturer issue with the machine. All bets are off, if you change the RAM, or hard drive beyond the specs of the machine. Apple publishes the specs of the machine on http://support.apple.com/
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http://www.macmaps.com/frayguide.html
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heathbm117 wrote:
Video card? I dont want to cange computer just upgrade.
Sorry, stuck with what you have in the near term. There
is rumor of folks working on video upgrades via the
Thunderbolt port but that is sometime off.
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I am pretty sure you can do overclocking when booted
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Message was edited by: Macfinger

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Model Name:
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"I tried Command R, and then Command+option+R and then Command+option+R after the Apple start-up chime."
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Thanks for reply.
I've tried this but problem persisted.
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No driver are required or available.
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Lars Hansen - Denmark

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Subsystem ID: 0x0093
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So I popped in the system install DVD and fired up System profiler and at that point I didn't even get an "ethernet cards" option in the left side pane. So this is leading me to believe that the hardware is not being recognized at all, so maybe it's damaged. I did replace the HDD with a bigger one and change the RAM modules to bigger ones but I don't think I could have damaged the hardware in these processes, also I don't see how this would affect the ethernet port as it's integrated to Motherboard and didn't messed with it at all (I was very careful, to say the least!).
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So, what's the recommendation? A field trip to an Apple Store? Closest one is like 3,000 km from where I am right now, so...
Well, thanks for any pointers, suggestions and help in general.

I do not have any answers for you. Yes it appears to be reading what should be an ethernet card as an AirPort card. Have you played around with trying to install another version of Mac OS X other than the version that shipped with the Mac mini? Apple has long told us that we should not install a version of Mac OS X that was older than the shipping version. With the Mid 2010 Mac mini, the Restore DVD has the only version of Snow Leopard that will work with this Mac mini's specific hardware. At least until Apple releases 10.6.5. If you have installed other versions of Mac OS X, then erasing the HDD and installing the OS from the Restore DVD(s) that shipped with the mini may get you back to the point you need to be.
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