Reinstalling snow leopard on a machine that has mountain lion

Having trouble reinstalling Snow Leopard on a Macbook Pro (aluminum 17", 2008 or so) that is currently running Mountain Lion... advice?

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.

Similar Messages

Reinstalling Snow Leopard on an HD that has a Windows Partition?

It is required that I reinstall OS X but how do I do this seeing as how I have a boot camp partition? I'd like to wipe and start fresh but can I just wipe the mac part and install SL over that and still keep the windows half untouched?
Thanks in advance, and I hope I haven't left out any details.

Wow! Thanks for your prompt reply! I was just worried it wouldn't work, but I guess it will. I don't really wanna lose games off the windows side.. heheh.... I have Time Machine backups so thats all good. Thanks again!

I have a canon multifunction printer that used to work with snow leopard but since I updated to mountain lion my printer stop working, How do I make it work again?

I have a canon multifunction printer that used to work with snow leopard but since I updated to mountain lion it stoped working. How do I make it work again?

This problem is not unheard of when upgrading from Snow Leopard. It is usually solved by completely deleting the existing printer in System Preferences > Print & Scan, and adding it again.

I have Logic Pro 8 on my Snow leopard macbook.Can I upgrade to Mountain Lion?

i have Logic Pro 8 on my Snow leopard macbook.Can I upgrade to Mountain Lion?

octopi wrote:
It's not a bug. Although Logic 8 will run under 10.7.x and 10.8.x the installer contains PPC code which simply does not run in 10.7.x, 10.8.x and 10.9. The app is fine, the installer is the issue.
Some research on this issue has led me to the conclusion that the commonly held conception that the installer has PPC code is flatly incorrect.
That misconception is due to the fact that the PowerPC dialog box is triggered by any attempt to launch the installer app.
The "bug" I reference triggers this dialog box; not PPC code within the Logic Pro 8 app.
At the end of the day, the result is the same: the installer app will NOT work in Mt. Lion without modification. I have been given a tip on how to make a modification that will allow an analogous program's installer app work in Mt. Lion, but since I do not have access to a copy of Logic Pro 8, I cannot test this theory.
So, yes, the best approach is to be sure it is fully installed before the upgrade!

HT1338 I am now running on OS X Snow Leopard. If I upgrade to Mountain Lion, will all my files and data and bought programs disappear?

I am now running on OS X Snow Leopard. If I upgrade to Mountain Lion, will all my files and data and bought programs disappear?

As Austin Kinsella1 says, it's a good idea to check your program versions.
I have found this site really helpful with that:
http://roaringapps.com/apps:table

Is it really necessary to upgrade to maverick on a new macbook pro that has mountain lion?

Is it necessary to upgrade to Maverick on a brand new mac book pro? This download is taking FOREVER..I have never had any problems with any of my other computers taking so long to download anything. Can I cancel the download once it has started and if I do cancel it, will I still be able to download Pages on my new computer that has Mountain Lion?
Sorry to keep bugging you folks but I am really getting frustrated....really appriciate any advice you can give me
thanks
Cori

You can upgrade if you want. It's an upgrade and not an update, so there's no reason to think that it will provide you improvements. Moreover, it may make that some apps stop working, so be very careful before upgrading and check that everything is in order: the hard drive is working correctly, you have got a backup, you have got the most recent version of your apps, etc.
You can cancel the download easily. To do it, open the Launchpad, hold the Option (Alt) key and press the X button above the Mavericks installer. If you are not sure about upgrading, the worst thing you can do is to upgrade.
Respecting to Pages, this is a different thing, because the Pages version available in the Mac App Store needs OS X Mavericks, so you won't be able to download it if you stay with OS X Mountain Lion. You can look for another application like LibreOffice or you can purchase iWork '09 on a DVD

I still have snow leopard, can i switch over to mountain lion or i need to have lion first?

i still have snow leopard, can i switch over to mountain lion or i need to have lion first?

If your system meets the Mountain Lion specs, http://www.apple.com/osx/specs you can go directly to ML from Snow Leopard.

I own osx mountain lion with messages.When i go to create a new message i dont undrestand why you can send it to their email.also is it possible to send a message from my mac to another mac that has mountain lion. MacBook, OS X Mountain Lion, help me

I own osx mountain lion with messages.When i go to create a new message i dont undrestand why you can send it to their email.also is it possible to send a message from my mac to another mac that has mountain lion.
MacBook, OS X Mountain Lion, help me

The recipient needs to have Messages set up with the e-mail. Check the image below:
Hope it heps.
JP

I mac is snow leopard I bought for 19.99 mountain lion online an my computer has gray screen with the spinning wheel and don't work help me z

My computer I Mac is 10.6.5 I think but the issue was when I update it ask me for version 10.8.5 that was mountain lion wich I bought it for 19.99 Iand know is not working it had a gray screen with spinning wheel I have snow leopard on my iMac I bought mountin lion know the screen I grey I can't do nothing I reboots don't work I inserted the cd for my I Mac don't work can't do nothing I can't remove the cd can someone help me .

To get the CD to eject, hold down the mouse, or if you use it, trackpad, button while you reboot ... keep holding the button down until it ejects. If that doesn't work, this Apple note has some other steps.
See this Apple note on steps to take to deal with the grey screen.
Your iMac needs to be mid-2007 or newer with 2GB minimum memory (4GB+ is recommended) and 8GB or more of available disk space. You also should be at OS X 10.6.8 Snow Leopard to access the App store and install OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion.

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.

Using snow leopard on external hard drive w/Mountain Lion OS Mac

I need to use Snow Leopard in order to use some expensive software that will not work in Lion or Mountain Lion. All of our computers have been upgraded to Mountain Lion, whcih doesn't support Rosetta. I was able to install Snow Leopard on an external hard drive and it boots up fine from another computer (that is not mine) that has Snow Leopard as its OS.
But when I boot up from my MacBook Pro (running Mountain Lion) and from my Macbook Air (also running Mountain Lion), I can't seem to do it. I hold the "option" key when starting and I get the option to start from the computer's HD or from the external firewire Snow Leopard drive. When I choose the Snow Leopard drive, it crashes and gives me that black screen with the kernel (?) message in several languages that I need to hold down the Power key to turn off the computer and reboot.
How can I get my MacBook Pro or my MacBook Air to boot up from the Snow Leopard external hard drive? (Once again, it DOES work with a Mac that has Snow Leopard as its OS).

Richard Signes2 wrote:
The question is: How do I start up my MacBook Air (or MacBook Pro) from an external FireWire Bootable hard drive with Snow Leopard on it? When I start up either one with the "option" key pressed, I get the option to start up with the external Snow Leopard hard drive, but when I select it, it crashes, as described above.
You can't if the Mac is a Late 2011 and later, perhaps if it's a Early 2011 (as some came with 10.6 and some with 10.7) and it should be possible for all Intel Mac's earlier than Early 2011.
Also, like what has occurred in the past, Apple does eventually issues a firmware update in later OS X versions so that earlier OS X versions, despite the Mac previously being able to boot from them, won't any longer. However far as I know Apple hasn't done this quite yet, but will one day.
Baring those issues, if you installed 10.6 on a external drive using a machine specific black/gray disk from another Mac, it has hardware drivers for that model/year of Mac only.
If you used the 10.6 white retail disks from Apple, it only has hardware drivers for all previous Intel Mac's that came originally with 10.6.2 or earlier from the factory. Mac's with 10.6.3 or later on the drive from the factory have different hardware drivers, thus not on the 10.6.3 white retail disk.
To find out what OS X version came on your machines, use the free MacTracker and use your model indentifier in the Apple menu More > Info (aka System Profiler)
So for those Mac's that originally came with 10.6.3 or later, machine specific disks must be gotten from Apple, or if your really talented, it's possible to create a univeral 10.6-10.6.8 install disk by combing the 10.6.3 image with the 10.6.8 combo update which will boot on any Intel Mac if the firmware permits and the hardware drivers are compable.
There is a method to bypass the firmware and install on Mac's that are Early 2011/Late 2011 via Target Disk Mode, or via taking the drive out of the machine as some Late 2011's use the same hardware drivers as the Early 2011 machines (only a processor bump basically)
How to revert your Mac to Snow Leopard
For the MacAir, you can install 10.6 via a USB thumb drive, of course provided it has the hardware drivers.
http://www.maciverse.com/install-os-x-snow-leopard-from-usb-flash-drive.html
So in your case you likely should be rather looking at running Snow Leopard in a virtual machine program in Mountain Lion, which MichealLax over at MacRumors has perfected a technique.
Windows in BootCamp or Virtual Machine?
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1365439

My school computer shows version 10.6.8 is this snow leopard, other students claim it is mountain lion

my school computer shows version 10.6.8 is this snow leopard, other students claim it is mountain lion

The students are incorrect, 10.6.8 was the last version of Snow Leopard released before v10.7 Lion. Mountain Lion starts at 10.8.
Hope that helps!

Do I have to reinstall Snow Leopard on an iMac that is currently running Mavericks that I wish to sell?

Hello,
I am about to sell my late 2009 iMac 27". It came with Snow Leopard, but I recently upgraded to Mavericks.
I understand it is good practice to reinstall the OS which originally came with the machine, however I cannot boot from the grey installer disc that came with the machine. (It looks like it may be slightly marked).
I have erased the drive and come to the OSX Utilities screen, where I have the option of reinstalling Mavericks. I just wanted to know, if I leave it like this can a potential new owner use the machine? Can they enter their own Apple ID to continue with the installation?
I have trawled forums looking for an answer but just need someone to tell me if this possible.
Many thanks in advance!

You need to install a legal copy of Snow Leopard or the version of OS X that was originally installed on the computer. See the following for the correct procedure. What you have already done is incorrect.
Clean Install of Snow Leopard
     1. Boot the computer using the Snow Leopard Installer Disc or the Disc 1 that came
         with your computer. Insert the disc into the optical drive and restart the computer.
         After the chime press and hold down the "C" key. Release the key when you see
         a small spinning gear appear below the dark gray Apple logo.
     2. 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.
     3. 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.
     4. When the installation has completed your computer will Restart into the Setup
         Assistant. Be sure you configure your initial admin account with the exact same
         username and password that you used on your old drive. 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.
Download and install Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.
At Step 3 you may want to re-Erase the volume using the Write Zeros security option. A single pass is sufficient to prevent any recovery of your private information from the drive.
Be sure to include all your original discs that came with the computer as well as the Snow Leopard DVD if you used the retail disc.

Reinstall Lion onto computer that has Mountain Lion

I'm selling my iMac 2011 model so I wiped the hard drive and now I'm trying to reinstall the OS. The last OS on the computer was Mountain Lion and when I try and install it it asks for an Apple ID that has purchased Mountain Lion, which I don't have, so I'm wondering if there's a way to reinstall Lion which came preinstalled on my computer when I purchased it. I do not have any installations CDs at all.

Yes. After you have installed Lion do not let the computer restart. Instead just shut it down.
Before you do all this be sure you do the following:
          1. De-authorize the computer in iTunes! De-authorize both iTunes and Audible accounts.
          2, Remove any Open Firmware passwords or Firmware passwords.
          3. Turn the brightness full up and volume nearly so.
          4. Turn off File Vault, if enabled.
          5. Disable iCloud, if enabled: See.What to do with iCloud before selling your computer
Install Mavericks, Lion/Mountain Lion Using Internet Recovery
Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard drive.
Boot to the Internet Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND-OPTION- R keys until a globe appears on the screen. Wait patiently - 15-20 minutes - until the Recovery main menu appears.
Partition and Format the hard drive:
1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
2. After DU loads select your external hard 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.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed. Quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion. Mavericks: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion, Mavericks and click on the Install button. Be sure to select the correct drive to use if you have more than one.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

So, to be able to use my new cameras with Aperture on my iMac with Snow Leopard I have to upgrade to Mountain Lion just to be able to read the RAW files?

Must I upgrade to Mountain Lion just to be able to use Aperture on my new cameras? I am using Snow Leopard now and have upgraded to Lion but didn't like it and didn't like that I was required to upgrade a couple of my other programs (Power PC stuff). Seems a bit of a rip off to me. I've just gotten a Canon 6D and have a Fuji X Pro 1, neither of which RAW files are readable by Aperture.

The RAW converter Aperture uses is part of OS X (and is, therefore, system-wide). Updates to the RAW converter are, effectively, OS updates. If that update is not available for your OS, then you cannot use it.
Darthfeeble wrote:
Must I upgrade to Mountain Lion just to be able to use Aperture on my new cameras?
Depends on your camera, but it is certainly possible.
The Fuji X-Pro1 sensor does not use a Bayer array. Afaik, there has never been a non-Bayer-array sensor camera supported by Apple.

Reinstalling snow leopard on a machine that has mountain lion

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for