Snow leopard install fails on 17" MacBook Pro

I left the install disk running then came back to see the Apple logo screen - the machine will not boot into OS X of any number. On second try, the installer ran into an error and reported that MacOS cannot be installed on this disk!
I used disk utility to repair disk - it was ok except for a mention that SUID file "system/libray/coreServices/remoteManagement/ARAAgent.app/Contents/MacOS/ARDAAg ent" has been mdodified and will not be repaired. As well, the boot support sections would be made as required.
I then repaired the permissions - there was nothing too out of place there.
I am now making a disk image of my drive incase anything worse happens.
Sure hope I don't have the pain of recovering all my email and setting, passwords and junk from my disk image - should I have to erase to do a "clean install"
I read that Apple recommended installing Snow Leopard over the existing OS .. and cleaned-up detrius from previous installs.
Soundl like I have some trojan in my remote management - or some system fault is interfering with the install.

No, it sounds like you either have corrupted files or a problem with the hard drive.
The SUID message is irrelevant. Unless you are maintaining Windows systems from a Mac you are not even using Apple Remote management. However, the error is not reported by Disk Repair. It would be reported by Permissions Repair. You need to do both:
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your OS X 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 Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger and Leopard.) 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. Now restart normally.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior (4.0 for Tiger, and 4.1 for Leopard) and/or TechTool Pro (4.6.1 for Leopard) 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.
After you backup I would erase your drive and install Snow from scratch. I would reinstall your third-party software from scratch but avoid third-party add-ons such as contextual menu items, preference panes, startup items, login items, Internet plug-ins, input managers, and the like as some may or are not compatible with Snow.

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CS6 install fails on Retina Macbook Pro

CS6 install fails on Retina Macbook Pro (10.8.2)
I downloaded the CS6 Design and Web Premium trial and attempted to install. It downloaded fine and I can open the .dmg file, but the instant I click the Install application I get the error message "Installer failed to initialize. Please download Adobe Support Advisor to detect the problem." I did as it said but it detected nothing. I deleted the trial and downloaded the Master Collection CS6 trial to see if the result was any different.... it wasn't. Got the same error message. I looked though other forums and tried their methods to fix this but I have had no luck. Time is kind of, of the essence. Start school in a few days and a Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator class is difficult without Photoshop, InDesign or Illustrator.
Anybody know what to do?
-Dylan

I did try a new account and it failed.
I seem to have found a workaround. I used the application manager linked HERE and my issues have been resolved. I was able to install all of the CS6 programs with that Manager. Must have been giving me corrupt files or the manager itself was corrupt.
Everything downloaded, installed, and updated perfectly. All I did was make sure I had every trace of previous attempts deleted off my computer then downloaded the app manager.
Very weird fix but I'm happy it worked. Thanks.
http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/thankyou.jsp?ftpID=4774&fileID=4438

Does Snow Leopard work on the newest MacBook Pros?

Does Snow Leopard work on the newest MacBook Pros?

Older versions of Mac OS than what comes with your computer

Installing Snow Leopard on New Lion formatted macbook pro

I just purchased a new 15" macbook pro and it came with lion. I need to revert back to snow leopard for a couple of my programs because they aren't currently supported. When I try to boot from the snow leopard disc to add a partition to my hard drive, my laptop beats and will not boot. I installed snow leopard on a different hard drive and swapped it out for the lion formatted one, same result when I try to start, it beeps. When I try to install snow leopard on an external drive I get this error "You can't use this version of the application Install Mac OS X with this version of Mac OS X. You have Install Mac OS X 23.1.1" Any ideas of how I can get snow leopard installed? Thanks!

Sure! A picture is worth a thousand words:
Start up the Target Mac (the one you want to install Snow Leopard on) while holding T. Plug it into another "Helper" Mac using a FireWire cable. Insert the Snow Leopard installer DVD into the Helper Mac, then restart and hold C.
Now you should be able to go through the Snow Leopard installer as normal, but make sure to choose the Target Mac volume as the install destination.
Immediately after installing, download the Mac OS X 10.6.8 combo updater on the Helper Mac and install it to the Target Mac while it's still connected via Firewire. Once that's done, restart the Target Mac on its own, and it should be ready to go!

Macbook Snow Leopard Install Fails

I have been trying to install Snow Leopard on my cousin's macbook for like 2 weeks. I boot up to the install DVD and run the installation. It goes through the entire process all the way to the end and then I get a message that the installation failed with a restart button under it. I have tried doing disk repair and permission repair with disk utility and then running the installation but it still fails. I am at my wits end, I don't know what else to do. I wanted to do this because my cousin's computer was having issues booting. I couldn't even boot the Leopard 10.5 CD that came with her computer. But when I did the snow leopard dvd it boots up perfectly, it just won't install. She needs a computer and I need to not have to share mine with her because hers is broken. I am the only one in the house with enough know how to fix the computers when the break, so that's why I am fixing her computer. I am about ready to throw her Macbook out the window because I am so frustrated. It is 2 years old and shipped with Mac OSX 10.5 Leopard installed on it. It is newer than mine, which I have had for 3 years. Mine is working perfectly still and it is one of the ones that shipped with Tiger installed. Then I upgraded to Leopard, and then to Snow Leopard. I haven't had a single problem with it. I don't understand why her 2 year old computer is having issues when my 3 year old one is not. Especially when they are both Macbook 13" White laptops and look identical when you don't get a close look at the keys. That is the only difference, her function keys are a bit different than mine, and have the buttons for controlling dvd's on them, like play, pause, and rewind. Mine are just like volume, brightness and stuff like that and just normal function keys. Mine is older, if any of them was going to break it should have been mine, but hers is the one with all the issues. I don't get it! This is her second laptop, her first was a Compaq PC laptop and it got a ton of viruses on it and crashed. I suggested that her parents get her a Macbook because they work better and get far fewer viruses (if any at all) than PC's do and for a wonder, they did. She is always the one with the computer problems. I guess it's because she's a teenager and doesn't always take very good care of her stuff. I just don't know. I do know that I have a huge problem with her laptop and need help!!

It doesn't. It just starts up to the Macintosh Hard drive and doesn't do anything differently because I am holding the D key during start up.
For the D key to work one of two criteria must be met:
1. The HD has a hidden partition on it with the Apple Hardware Test (AHT) on it. Some recent Mac models come from Apple with this HD configuration, most older ones do not. Any drive that has been reformatted will not have the hidden partition.
2. An original grey system disc with the specific version of AHT for that Mac model must be in the optical drive. The disc itself will be marked to indicate that it has the AHT on it.
Retail OS installer discs (Leopard, Snow Leopard, whatever) do not have any version of the AHT on them. The AHT is not an application, it is a tiny operating system. Each version is designed only for specific models; they are not interchangeable.

HT201250 I use Snow Leopard and tried restore my Macbook pro using Time Machine.

After waiting a considerable time for Time Machine to restore my whole system, applications and files I had problems in that my Macbook Pro would not restart. The Apple logo appeared but then the screen scrolled down and a lot of letters, numbers and symbols appeared - not making any sense, and a box appeared telling me to restart holding down the on button. This I did. However it kept on repeating. In the end I had to reinstall the whole lot. Fortunately I had backed up all my files. I cannot use some of the programs I have because I cannot retrieve them. I do not have a disk with them on to reload because I downloaded them from the net and they are old progs and still did what I wanted. A lot of files I have saved do not open now without the old system and apps.Can anyone come up with an idea?

ds store wrote:
Ah that's good to hear, does this still work if TimeMachine updates to reflect the 10.7 drive?
There is no special update. After installing Lion, Time Machine will do a normal "incremental" backup, of the stuff that's new or changed. That will be relatively large and lengthy, of course, since OSX and the default Apple apps will all be backed-up.
But there's nothing else different about the TM drive. It stil contains all the past backups, including older versions of OSX.
In other words if a user upgrades to 10.7 and doesn't like it after a few days/weeks, has TM connected and it updated to relfect 10.7, can the user c boot off the 10.6 disk erase and restore 10.6 from the TM drive?
Yes, except you don't have to erase.
You just boot from the Snow Leopard Install disc and do a full system restore. That includes erasing the destination, so it doesn't matter what's on it. Then everything on the backup is restored, including OSX, apps, users, data, settings, etc., just as it was at the time of the backup selected.
See Time Machine - Frequently Asked Question #14, especially step (g). The sample is a bit fuzzy -- it's a photo, since you can't screenprint there, but note that the last two backups were made on Snow Leopard:
Once that's done, and the system restarts, you can use the "Star Wars" display to restore selected items from later (ie, Lion) backups, but of course in some cases (Mail for one), the Snow Leopard apps won't work with the Lion-formatted files.

Installing Mountain Lion from Snow Leopard, Install failed and HD write-locked

I recently downloaded the mountain lion installer from the App Store and I ran the installer. Stupid person as I am, I did not have any backups for my file and I naively assumed that an apple OS installer would be without flaws. Boy, was I wrong. I need every bytes of my data (or close to every bytes) but the installer failed.
Mid installation, the installer stopped and said that the installation failed and that I need to repair my disk. So I restarted the computer and I ran disk utilities (my start up disk was the OS installer and the installer allows me to run several programs, including terminal, disk utilities, and by the way, when I held option while starting up to see which start up disks I have, I only had the OS installer as the start up disk. Also, the installer allows me to run a program called "Startup Disk" when I click on the apple logo on the top left corner, but it doesn't allow me to startup my computer using Macintosh HD) and noticed that when I highlighted Macintosh HD, my "Repair Disk" button was grayed out. So first things first, I ran the "Verify Disk" button but after a minute or so, Disk Utilities said that verification failed and that Macintosh HD needs to be repaired. But the "repair disk" button is grayed out! So I went to the Mountain Lion installer again and ran it. Of course, it failed again so I restarted the computer.
So I tried to first back up all files in Macintosh HD to an external hard drive using Disk Utilities, and I used features such as "New Image" and "Restore" but they both ended up in "Input/Output error". I tried many methods with Disk Utilities but they resulted in errors.
After some research, I noticed that some people's computers worked after they reset their PRAM. So that's what I did. I held command+option+P+R when computer started up and I reset the PRAM. When the start up disk (which is the OS installer, not the normal operating system) loaded, I was greeted with choose languages option and then I was back in the Mountain Lion installer state. I again ran the installer again, hoping something would be different, but then it was different. But not in a good way. When I was told to choose where I would like to install Mountain Lion, I noticed that Macintosh HD was grayed out. Last time, I was at least able to run the installer but this time, Macintosh HD was grayed out. The installer said that my Macintosh HD was locked. After some research, I learned that apparently, the Mountain Lion installer write-locks Macintosh HD mid installation.
So now I am stuck and I am thinking of two things (plus some questions)
1. I am wondering if there is a way to unlock Macintosh HD. But even if I can unlock Macintosh HD, there is no guarantee that the installer will successfully install Mountain Lion, am I right?
a. so how can I un-write-lock Macintosh HD?
2. More realistically, I am thinking of borrowing someone else's macintosh computer and use it as the backup center. I have a firewire cable and a terrabyte external hard drive. So what I'm thinking is that I'll hook my computer in target mode to my friend's computer and I will also plug in my external hard drive to my friend's computer and then I can download and run Carbon Copy Cloner from my friend's computer to copy all data from my Macintosh HD to my external hard drive. And then I will erase my Macintosh HD, freshly install Mountain Lion onto it and then copy all data back from my external hard drive. But I am not sure about few things.
a. it looks like my Macintosh HD is write-locked. Can I still use Carbon Copy Cloner to copy all data from Macintosh HD (in target mode) to my external hard drive?
b. will my computer allow me to erase (or format) Macintosh HD?
c. will my erased/formatted Macintosh HD able to install + be installed Mountain Lion OS?
If you are here, then you have read my long long problem. Thank you very much and I would really really really appreciate your answers and opinions. Thanks

I'm not sure where you read that about the disk being "write-locked." That doesn't make much sense, given that the major task an installer like this must achieve is writing a whole bunch of files to the hard drive. I think your source was mistaken.
As to what happened, it sounds like your hard drive was badly corrupt to start with, or possibly was on the edge of failing and is now in the process of dying entirely. If you don't have backups of your data, that does not bode well for you, unfortunately. If you can manage to use target mode to copy your data, do that.
Once you're sure you've got all your data, you need to start up from your Snow Leopard install disk and repair the hard drive. (Since it sounds like the Mountain Lion installer didn't work, I wouldn't trust the recovery partition that Mountain Lion installs.) Or, even better, just erase the hard drive entirely and reinstall Snow Leopard. Then, once you're back up and running, with all your data back on the system and with Snow Leopard updated to the most recent version, try installing Mountain Lion again. If any of that fails again, the problem is likely to be a dying hard drive, and you'll need to replace it.

Will I need to buy Lion on a Lion preinstalled macbook air after transferring a snow leopard system from an old macbook pro

So will I need to buy Lion from the app store to upgrade, after I transfer my old snow leopard system to a new macbook air, that came with Lion?
Thanks!

Use Setup Assistant when your new Mac first starts up to transfer your stuff from the old Mac or it's backups.
If it comes with Lion, see Using Setup Assistant on Lion
If it comes with Snow Leopard, see the slightly-different Using Setup Assistant on Snow Leopard or Leopard, then upgrade to Lion.

Re-installing Snow Leopard onto an upgraded Lion Macbook Pro

I have made the decision to re-install Snow Leopard after upgrading Snow Leopard on my Macbook Pro to Lion the day it came out. I've just had too many issues with Lion since I upgraded and can't seem to get them fixed! Apps not working (i.e. Microsoft Oultook 2011 failing, Time Machine not working as per Snow Leopard, Circular timer on for up to 20 minutes before I can use the machine,etc)
Therefore I wondered if someone could give me the best way to re-install please? How do I format the hard drive completely and re-install? Also I have a Snow Leopard upgrade DVD and wanted to double check I could re-install the full OS with this? I think from looking at other forum entries that this disc does have the full install, but obviously don't want to blow everything away only to find that this DVD doesn't work!
cheers

See Kappy's going back to SL from Lion guide.

I have a macbook pro 10.5.8 how to I upgrade it to a 10.6.3? Do I install snow leopard?, I have a macbook pro 10.5.8 how to I upgrade it to a 10.6.3? Do I install snow leopard?

How do I upgrade my macbook pro 10.5.8 to a 10.6.3? Do I install snow leopard, if so which one and is this difficult? thanks kind of a newbie at doing this kind of stuff on my mac.

Buy a Snow Leopard installer DVD at an Apple store or reseller and follow the instructions that will come with it.

Cannot Install Snow Leopard 10.6 disc on Macbook Pro (will not boot disc)

Hi there,
I have a MacBook Pro 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 4GB of DDR2 SDRAM. It is currently running Mac osX 10.4.11.
I am trying to install a snow leopard disc 10.6 but when I click on the disc and hit install, it restarts the computer and tries to start it up with the install disc. This is where I get an apple logo with a spinning progress wheel that doesn't go away until I force the laptop to power down.
Can anyone tell me how I can resolve this issue?
Thank,
Caleb

Double check to make sure your computer meets all the qualifications for the Snow Leopard upgrade. Especially check out the "Upgrading from Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger" section in the right column - http://www.apple.com/macosx/specs.html
Your disc may be damaged. You can always take your computer and the disc back to the Apple Store. See if they can boot.
Message was edited by: CMCSK

Can i install OS X Snow Leopard on my Early 2011 MacBook Pro 13' ?

Hi guys , just wondering can i install on my Early 2011 MacBook Pro 13'' OS X Snow Leopard ? i dont like Lion at all . Many Thanks .

You may be able to install SL 10.6.8 (assuming there was no firmware update) if you follow these directions. Check with MacTracker http://mactracker.ca/ and download their free app detailing more info you ever thought you needed to know about Apple products.
- you can re partition partition the mac drive so that you can retain the pre-installed lion install
- or use an external drive
- attach your computer via firewire 800 to a Mac computer (capable of running 10.6.8 )
- boot the your computer holding down the T key to get it into target disk mode, it will appear on desktop as an external drive.
- install SLS v 10.6.3 Retail version from the DVD onto the new partition or external drive where you want Sl installed.
- install the 10.6.8 combo update.
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1399
- Install Thunderbolt Software Update (Snow Leopard) v1.0
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1452

Snow Leopard Install Failed

Tried installing Snow Leopard on MacBook Pro (Intel Core i5). Drive has been repartitioned, however install fails with message "Install Failed - Mac OS X could not be installed on your computer - The Installer could not copy the necessary support files".
Tried several times but same message each time. Can't even seem to eject disc to check it (although brand new so shouldn't be any problems). Help appreciated...

Restart, holding down the mouse key. That should eject the disc. You might have a faulty install disc. Call Apple.

How to downgrade from OSX 10.8.5 to Snow Leopard, on an Early 2011 MacBook Pro, without the original installer disk?

Hello! So here are the specs.
I have an Early 2011 MacBook Pro, which came with OSX 10.6.6 by default.
I've lost my installer disk so I though I'd buy a retail one from the online Apple Store, and version 10.6.3 is what they sent me.
Simply running the install OSX app won't work, I get a msg saying:
-- You can't use this version of the application "Install Mac OS X" with this version of OS X. You have "Install Mac OS X" 23.1.1. --
So, I've tried booting from the new disk hoping to erase my current drive and install Snow Leopard, but no can do, I get 3 beeps and have to force shutdown (not RAM related, see below). Laptop works fine when I spare it this maneuver.
After some research I understand 2 things:
1. Only the original installer disk will let me restore factory settings (and I don't have it).
2. I can only install the default OSX (10.6.6) or a later version (that 10.6.3 DVD may not have the correct drivers for my system).
Are these conclusions right? If so, would the Apple Store replace my disk for an updated 10.6.6. one? If not, then what are my options?
Thank you!
References:
http://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/1000/MA1172/en_US/Snow_Leopard_Installatio n_Instructions.pdf
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3910
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2186
https://discussions.apple.com/message/19444837#19444837
https://discussions.apple.com/message/18085179#18085179
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1163160

Phone AppleCare and order the computer's original disks.
(92307)

Just got snow leopard install failed now Mac will not boot up?

I got a iPad and snow leopard very excited to use them I try to install leopard and it fails so I turn on the comp to try it again and I get the apple logo then the spinning wheel then it just shuts off and that's all it will do now!
Glad I got the iPad so I could post this!
Anywho I've tried all the command option P+R stuff so any other suggestions would be great!
Thank you

Try inserting the instalation DVD provided by Apple and start the computer while holding the 'c' key down on the keyboard until you hear the DVD spin and some action in the DVD drive. If your mac doesn't start and show something meaningfull then, take it back to the shop it has a hardware problem, or your installation disc has.

Snow leopard install fails on 17" MacBook Pro

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