Re-install Snow Leopard in MBP 17?

I was told by an Apple store "genius" that I should re-install SL in my MBP 17 i7 because it was doing some goofy things before I spent money needlessly. The original install discs are missing and I asked in a post if I could use the install discs from my Mac Pro and was told no they wouldn't work. I was also told that the gray install discs only work with the machine they shipped with.
I assumed that there might be a different SL version for the MBP because the processor is different. I went to Best Buy to see if they had the correct discs for the MBP re-install and found they only had 1 version of SL. Their "Geek Squad" guy said the discs worked with all intel models including the MBP.
Can someone please help me understand what the reality is here? Why do some Mac install discs only work with the machine they were shipped with ? Does the MBP have a distinct set of discs apart from the Mac Pro? What the heck does gray have to do with it?
I'd also be happy as a clam to read it, if a kind soul would tell me where 'cause I've worn down 2 fingers looking for it in the mac KB.
I'm not refuting anything, but if I have to purchase new discs a local purchase would be a whole quicker than ordering something from Apple. What am I missing?
Ken
Message was edited by: kenackr

The _grey recovery disks_ that come with every Mac are _model specific._ That's why you cannot take a set of grey recovery disks from a MacPro and use them on a MacBook Pro. You probably also cannot use the recovery disks from one MacBook Pro on another one unless it is the +exact same model.+ The disks include OS X and iLife.
The _retail Snow Leopard disks_ that you saw at Best Buy can be used to install Snow Leopard on any Intel Mac. The disc only contains OS X Snow Leopard.
An i7 MBP would still be under warranty at this time, and you should contact Apple to request a replacement set of the recovery disks. +You were already told this in two other threads. Please don't keep posting the same question.+

Similar Messages

Can't install Snow Leopard on MBP

Hi Community! Struggling with installing SL on my old MBP. I have family license and have installed SL on my iMac, no problem. I am now trying to install on my MBP. Initially the install disk loaded fine and but I didn't have enough memory. I did some housekeeping and tried again and all seemed to go well. I left the MBP installing but came back to find the disk spat out but it hadn't installed. I tried again but found that the aborted install had used up quite a bit of memory- more housekeeping! Tried again but the disk wouldn't load at all, after some spinning, it ejects. I have used Disk Utility to repair permissions, again no go.
Thinking there may be some corruption (don't actually know what I'm talking about), I thought I would do an archive and install of Leopard to give a clean sheet. This worked OK and I deleted previous systems to give required space. Tried SL install again, no go. It would not boot up off the SL install disk (restart whilst pressing C) the disk just spits out again (I restarted whilst it was spinning). I verified the install disk on my iMac, came out OK. I have repaired permissions from Leopard install disk Not sure what to do next. I have back ups on external drive, up to date. All precious stuff has been copied away.
Just as an aside, the MBP never worked with Time Machine, it "couldn't mount the disk image", this seemed odd (was hoping SL would sort that out...) but what do I know. Any suggestions gratefully received. Cheers!

First, note that memory means RAM. Storage is what you apparently were using up during your failed installs.
Apple issued many bad Sno disks; you may have one of them. Apple will exchange the disk for your. Note that sometimes they are bad only in the sense that they won't run properly on only some machines, but not on others.
Given your circumstances, and without exchanging the Disk, if you have access to a properly equipped second Mac (or PC in one case) that can read the install DVD, then you still have these install possibilities:
1. Use [firewire target disk mode|http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661].
2. Use the [remote install method|http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.6/en/21219.html].
3. Clone the installer DVD to an external drive; attach it to your machine; and install using the clone.
4. Borrow someone else's upgrade disk; it might work on your machine (no EULA problem since you have the right to install even on a borrowed disk under the circumstances).

Is it possible to install Snow Leopard on MBP?

About the power usage on MBP, I wondered if you could swap OS systems, say reinstall Snow Leopard on the MBP?

About the power usage on MBP, I wondered if you could swap OS systems, say reinstall Snow Leopard on the MBP?

MBP 17" mid 2010 Snow Leopard Native: why not possible to install Snow Leopard in some new Hard disk?It appears "impossibile 'cause you have Mac OS X" 23.1.1."

Guys, I want to install SL in some hard disk. It's the native OS, the one came with the MBP. But after having installed Lion, my MBP doesn't allow me to install from the original dvd of Snow Leopard, telling me "impossible because you have Mac OS X” 23.1.1. istaller".
Someone can help me?

hey thank you for your answers. I've written that I want to install snow leopard in a new hard disk, not over the lion. In other words, I want a hard disk with the faster snow leopard, that was the native OSX of my MBP mid 2010. But using the last procedure you suggested me, the dvd doesn't appear. I repeat, there's something changed in the firmware that blocks snow leopard.
the comunication that appears when I insert the original dvd of SL is something like "impossible to install snow leopard because you have Mac OS X” 23.1.1. istaller".

Installing Snow Leopard onto early 2011 MBP SSD

I want to install a Crucial M500 480GB into my early 2011 MacBook Pro. First, two questions:
Performance and speed-wise, which OS should I install? Snow Leopard, Mountain Lion, or Mavericks?
Say I decide to install Snow Leopard onto the SSD (fresh install). How would I do that? Given that:
my model will not boot up from the retail Snow Leopard disk (I had to clone a drive from an early 2008 Mac Pro containing 10.6.8 to my MBP's drive)
the early 2008 Mac Pro only has 3.5" bays and SATA II connectors (the SSD I want is SATA III)
What I have in mind is this (feel free to improve/correct if anything is wrong or could be done better):
Use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone my current MBP HD (which includes a Bootcamp partition) to an empty drive on my Mac Pro.
Install the SSD into the MBP.
Boot into Target Disk Mode so the SSD mounts on the MP. Then use the MP's Disk Utility to format SSD to correct settings.
Clone drive containing 10.6.8 from MP to MBP's SSD.
Boot into Target Disk Mode (the other way) so MP's drives mount onto MBP. Move wanted files from old HD to new SSD.
Thanks for taking the time to help out!

I purchased a USB 3 enclosure from OWC and inserted my new SSD. Plugged it into my 2011 MBP with SL and used Disk Utility to Restore my internal MBP HDD over to my SSD. Afterwards I tested the SSD to be sure I could boot from it. Last, I installed it into my MBP and it booted up with no issue. Everything went smooth.

MBP: DVD reader (or workaround) to install Snow Leopard?

Hello. I have a MacBook Pro and I am looking for a way to upgrade to Snow Leopard. A little background...I'm having an issue with not being able to restart my computer without the concern that it won't turn back on. If I'm lucky the computer will turn on immediately, other times it may turn on after being completely shut off for 30 minutes. Then there are times when it may take a few days or weeks to turn on after multiple attempts. My warranty has expired and after speaking to an associate at Best Buy they suggested I install Snow Leopard to resolve the issue. So of course, I purchased Snow Leopard because I need the OS for other programs as well. When I tried to install it I realized that my disc drive is for CDs and not DVDs. I have googled an external DVD reader for Macs but the results are showing for DVD burners. Is there a way to install Snow Leopard externally or a way around this? Please help! Thank you.
Model Name: MacBook Pro 15"
Model Identifier: MacBookPro2,2
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.16 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache (per processor): 4 MB
Memory: 4 GB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz
Boot ROM Version: MBP22.00A5.B07
SMC Version: 1.12f5

Also DVD burners that are built-in to the Mac also have built-in DVD reading capability. Very few external DVD burners don't have DVD boot capability. A few are very old, and need a firmware update, or to have their lense cleaned before they can boot a DVD disc. 'C' key booting is not always successful regardless of the health of the drive, and you may need to do Option key booting with the startup manager:
http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n106178
Before you go that path though, we need the answer to the first two questions to troubleshoot your Mac.

Can't install Snow Leopard on MacBook Pro - DVD won't mount

I am unable to install Snow Leopard on my MacBook Pro as the DVD won't mount. This is an early 2008 vintage MacBook Pro, intel core duo...
I'm using a OS X Snow Leopard install DVD (family licensed). This DVD has been used to install 3 other Macs in my house without a problem (about a year ago), but cannot be used to upgrade my MBP. Actually, this disk mounted on the MBP exactly once - inserted with system up, the disk mounted. Upon running the installed (a year ago), the computer restarted but hung in boot. After getting the disk ejected and the computer restarted, the disk would never mount again. I've defered upgrade for a year but at this point need to upgrade my MBP at least to Snow Leopard and possibly Lion.
The problem doesn't seem to be with the DVD, since it continues to mount fine in other computers, and in fact a borrowed Snow Leopard DVD also will not mount on the MBP.
BUT ... the problem also does not seem to be with the optical drive in my computer, as it can read & mount the install/restore disks that came with the computer as well as other CDs and DVD ROMs. Only the Snow Leopard install DVDs fail to mount.
I've also tried mounting the 10.6 install DVD on my Mac Pro desktop, making it available over the network (ethernet) with DVD/CD sharing. I can mount the remote disk from my MBP that way, but when I launch the installer, the application launches (its own menus are displayed, I can quit from menu, for example) but does nothing -- no windows open, nothing.
I've also tried "Remote Install" (again with the DVD made available with the Remote Install MacOS X application on my desktop), but when I boot the MBP with option held down, the remote disk is not available as a startup disk.
Zapping the PRAM did not help.
Am off to the store to get an optical drive cleaning kit and a blank DVD big enough to burn a new disk image, but would appreciate any further ideas at this point....

Solution that worked: Copy the Install DVD to a USB flash drive and boot from that.
http://www.maciverse.com/install-os-x-snow-leopard-from-usb-flash-drive.html
Up and running with Snow Leopard now and working on the updates.

I have installed snow leopard 10.6.8 on my macbook, i got a problem that every time i want to save or put something on desktop it, says you dont have permisson why is this, also my dock want stay the same everytime i start up it defaults back?

i have installed snow leopard 10.6.3 on to my macbook which was currently 10.4.11, i wanted to do this so i can run Final Cut Pro 10 which needs 10.6.8 or higher. so i updated the snow leopard to 10.6.8 installed final cut pro ok. the problem i got is else where i cant save on put anything on desktop, it says i dont have permisson, and when i try and click on my documents same again. also i adjusted my dock to smaller added a few applications onto it, but every time i restart the laptop it defaults back why is this?!! so annoying. i had a look at my disk utilites and i have still got 10.4.11 on my Macintosh i can switch too? i installed the snow leopard 10.6.3 on my Data Disk. can anyone help me out why i am getting these problems and what i need to do to solve it?

disk0s2: I/O error.
disk0s2: I/O error.
The MBP's disk is damaged and requires replacement.
Genius Bar Reservations: http://www.apple.com/retail/geniusbar/

How do I install Snow Leopard as a partition with Yosemite on a 2001 Mac Mini?

I have owned Mac's on and off since the 80's. I currently own (myself and my kids) a 2008 MBP, iPhone 4 and 4s, 2 old iPhone 3's, just purchased a 2011 Mac Mini and iPhone 6, and my work-from-home computer is a 4 month old MBP.
Several years ago, I upgraded the 2008 MBP to Mountain Lion. Then the one and only game that I have played since around 2001, Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds, wouldn't work on Mountain Lion so I successfully added a 50GB partition and reinstalled Snow Leopard and the game has worked great ever since.
Recently, I gave my son that 2008 MBP, so I purchased the Mac Mini (i5 dual, 8GB memory, 750 HDD) and immediately upgraded it to Yosemite. I proceeded to carve out a 50GB partition and have tried several times to install Snow Leopard to no avail.
After creating the 50GB partition, I rebooted, and held down the option key so I could then have the option install the Snow Leopard onto that 50GB partition - but it just keeps freezes up on me. I even went so far as to try to copy the 50GB off the 2008 MBP onto the Mac Mini and that (understandably) didn't work either.
While I know enough to cause trouble, I am completely flummoxed with this. I've run many searches and haven't been able to find a solution.
Can someone please walk me through the steps to make this work? When I do restart, I don't even see that 50GB drive like I do when I restart the 2008 MBP so I suspect something may be wrong from the get go. In Disk Utility, it shows the 2 partitions just fine, but not on reboot/restart with the option key held down.
Thanks in advance for your help.

Thanks very much for the quick reply. I figured it would something that simple. Like I said, I only know enough to cause trouble. LOL
Thanks again, Guess I need to find a new game to play. LOL

Can I install Snow Leopard on the latest Macbook Pros? (the ones pre-loaded with Lion)

The problem and solution is pretty simple, I just want to know if anyone has tried this before. I have a brand new Macbook Pro that I bought more or less for the sole purpose of having a more powerful machine to run AVID Media Composer on. AVID is only compatible up to OS version 10.6.7 at the moment, and the machine I got was pre-loaded with Lion, 10.7....So I look at the support documentation Apple provides, and notice that in the nifty little chart they have, the latest line of Macbook Pros out there (early 2011) originally had version 10.6.6, so I'm assuming that's the previous version I can't downgrade past.
To revert back to Snow Leopard, however, I need to install it from the DVD which has version 10.6.3 on it, and then upgrade to any version between Snow Leopard 10.6.6 and Lion 10.7. In theory this could work, the only problem being that for a brief time between installing Snow Leopard and updating to the version of it that I need, the computer will have version 10.6.3 on it.
Now I'm pretty sure if the only thing I do on the computer is immediately update to a safe-to-use version, there will be no problems. However, if the machine's hardware is so terribly non-backwards compatible with the Snow Leopard OS, I may do all this backing up and reverting and not even be able to start the computer once I get the old install on it. Before I just go ahead and try this for myself, I was wondering if anyone else has, and more importantly, have you had any success?

Hi r,
EDIT: disregard my post. Waiting for that disc is a far better option.
I hope w won't mind if I add a thought here:
rmo348 wrote:
Now I don't mind if some drivers are messed up and resolution is all funky when I install 10.6.3 on it, I just need to know if it'll be functional to the point where I can run the 10.6.6 update dmg. Once I update to 10.6.6 everything should work fine.
Or could I install 10.6.3, have the 10.6.6 update burned to a disc, and boot straight from that? This is my first Mac so I'm not sure what little tricks work or not.
Your first idea may work; the only way to know for sure is to try it. If you do, make sure you download and run the Combo update for 10.6.7 or 10.6.8. There can be different versions of a point update, those which are available for download, and those which ship on Macs, so you want to install one beyond that which shipped with some of the new MBPs.
If the MBP won't boot to 10.6.3, something else to try is installing it to an external HD, then installing the 10.6.7 update on it, clone it to the MPB's internal HD, and run the 10.6.7 or 10.6.8 Combo update on it.

How do I install Snow Leopard on a MacBook Pro currently running Lion?

A friend is having trouble running older apps in Lion on his new Macbook Pro and wants to revert to Snow Leopard. Any suggestions or cautionary tales appreciated. Thanks.

New MBPs require a version of Snow Leopard that you cannot purchase. If it did not come pre-installed on the computer then installing Snow Leopard is a bit of a chore.
First off he will need a computer that can boot from a retail Snow Leopard DVD (10.6.3.) Second off he will need a 16 GB USB flash drive or a free partition on a USB hard drive that is at least 16 GBs in size. The basic process is:
Using a computer that can boot from a retail Snow Leopard DVD you install 10.6.3 onto the spare drive. Download and install the 10.6.8 Combo update. Create a new partition on the MBP. Boot the MBP from the 10.6.8 USB drive then clone the system to the new partition on the MBP.
I will be glad to provide more detail if needed.

Installing snow leopard by target disk firewire

i am re installing snow leopard by target disk fire wire. the installer hangs after the first reboot. it leaves a folder called install data with loads of.pkg files. trying an external dvd drive but that's even slower. any ideas?
thanks
Dave

Can your iMac even startup from a Snow Leopard disc? In order to install Snow Leopard on your MBP you need to boot the iMac from the Snow Leopard installer DVD. The MBP is then started in TDM. Then follow this:
     1. 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 the hard drive entry from the left side list (mfgr.'s ID and drive
         size.) Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window. Set the number of
         partitions to one (1) from the Partitions drop down menu, click on Options button
         and select GUID, click on OK, then set the format type to MacOS Extended
         (Journaled, if supported), then click on the Apply button.
     2. When the formatting has completed quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed
         with the OS X installation and follow the directions included with the installer.
     3. When the installation has completed your computer will Restart into the Setup
         Assistant. After you finish Setup Assistant will complete the installation after which
         you will be running a fresh install of OS X. You can now begin the update process
         by opening Software Update and installing all recommended updates to bring your
         installation current.
When the installation is completed the MBP should restart into the Setup Assistant of Snow Leopard.
I should warn you that the above may not work because if your iMac came with Snow Leopard, then it came with a version that was exclusive to that model meaning it may not work on the MBP, and that may be why you couldn't boot it.
You can order replacement discs for the MBP from Apple:
Apple Store Customer Service at 1-800-676-2775 or visit online Help for more information.
To contact product and tech support: Contacting Apple for support and service - this includes
international calling numbers..

My 2006 iMac running Snow Leopard won't boot even after erasing and re-installing Snow Leopard (via my MacBookPro), either from the HD or DVD drive. Can't get it to run Hardware Test. Disk Utility says disk OK - files are there. What can I do?

My 2006 iMac running Snow Leopard won't boot even after erasing and re-installing Snow Leopard. I erased and re-installed by putting the iMac in Target Disk mode and usin my MacBookPro as the host. But after numerous attempts I still can't get it to boot either from the HD or DVD drive. I just get the white screen after the wheel stops spinning. I can't get it to run Hardware Test - just get the white screen. If I use Disk Utility via my MBP it says the disk appears OK. All the Snow Leopad files appear to have been installed. What can I do?

Hi-NRG Bwoy wrote:
I erased and re-installed by putting the iMac in Target Disk mode and using my MacBookPro as the host.
Reet the SMC and the PRAM
 Cheat sheet to help diagnose and fix your Mac
Perhaps you installed the wrong version OS X onto the iMac, you can't use the disk from another Mac.
clean the disk.
If it's not working then use this method to create a bootable 10.6 USB from the iMac machine specific 10.6 disk or the 10.6.3 retail disk on your other Mac, use it to boot the iMac with.
http://www.maciverse.com/install-os-x-snow-leopard-from-usb-flash-drive.html
How to erase and install Snow Leopard 10.6

How do I make a partition on my HD to install Snow Leopard (Lion is on my HD now)?

I have been an Apple fan since the first Mac in 1984 and have used every version of the OS since then. Until Lion, I thought each was an improvement on the previous. I have had so many random and annoying problems since installing Lion on my (early 2011) MBP with 8 GB of RAM that I thought I'd make a separate partition on my HD and install Snow Leopard there, gradually moving back to that version. I tried disk utilities first, but the mount point for that partition was /Volumes, not root (/). I then tried Boot Camp, and succeeded in making a partition that mounts at root, I reformatted it with disk utilities (to MacOS HFS with journaling), but the Snow Leopard install DVD cannot find this. Stuck!
Btw, the most recent Lion OOPS! was that Address Book refused to start on my user space. I tried from another user and it worked there, but not on my home user. After trying everything I could think of, I finally booted in safe mode, and then Address Book worked. When I rebooted normally, Address Book still worked. Go figure!

>
>
That's interesting...I guess I'd better go fix it!
>
I learn a lot from doing pro bono sites for friends...I guess you can tell
which part is the afterthought! Didn't actually plan for that collapsing
panel to fall down behind the Spry detail region!
>
Thanks, Nadia!
>
Beth
No problems

Installing Snow Leopard on macbook pro that came with Lion?

I recently bought a new MBP, model MC721LL/A, that was originally released with Snow Leopard. When I received it I found out that it had Lion installed. Can I install Snow Leopard on it? I have some software that is NOT Lion compatible and am waiting for an update, but till then wanted to stay with Snow Leopard.
Also, can I leave the Lion Restore partition on the hard drive for future use or will I need to do some kind of backup os the entire OS?

Mine did not include snow leopard disks.
I did try to startup from my Snow Leopard disk but it never finished the startup
Where did you get the Snow Leopard disc from if you did not originally have it? In either case, the one you have now did you get it from the previous owner? You need the system discs that originally came with the computer.
As to how to downgrade an os from Lion to Snow Leopard, you should post in the Mac OS X v10.7 Lion forum area.

Re-install Snow Leopard in MBP 17?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for