Upgrading to Leopard, won't start from Install disk?? Even with 'C' held

Hello, I'm trying to upgrade to Leopard and then Snow Leopard. My DVD drive works, as in I can read DVDs, burn discs etc. When I insert the Leopard upgrade disk (genuine, bought from Apple and already exchanged once) it asks me to restart to get to the Installer - so far so good.
But it just won't get to the Installer stage, I only get the circle wheel, no matter how long I leave it on for. The DVD makes some noise, it is being read but it doesn't boot. I have tried holding the 'C' key and selecting the disk as startup via system preferences, to no avail. I exchanged the disk at the Apple store just in case it was faulty, but I'm still having the same problem.
Is this a hardware problem? Is there any way I could get round it?
Thanks i advance!
Julie

Do you know of a way to 'bypass' the restart to get straight to the Installer?
Do you have a second Mac around? You can "borrow" the optical drive in another Mac by starting it in Firewire Target Disk mode.
There are other ways, but they are pretty involved and require a bootable hard drive you are willing to erase.
And I heard that I'd have to erase my hard drive to upgrade to snow leopard directly, is this right?
No, you do not have to erase the drive.
The only thing I can think it perhaps your optical drive is going bad. I believe that drives have to meet more stringent requirements when called upon to boot from a disc than when just playing a DVD when they can skip minor errors.

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OK, so let us suppose that you have the correct disk, the possibilities are:
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• the disk itself is the issue. It could the wrong disk, but let us assume it is not. It could be damaged so that it is no longer bootable, or it could dirty. I would begin by giving the disk a good buffing and see if that will encourage it to boot the computer.
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We have a multi mac household and I'm pretty sure (but not positive) the 10.5.4 install disk belongs to this computer (MacBook Pro). I really need to use Disk Tools but when I try to start with the DVD I grinds for a couple minutes then just sits there with a gray screen (no apple logo). I've tried:
Inserting the disk normally, clicking on install and clicking the restart button as required.
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While the media issues get sorted out, I can offer a workaround to completing the disk repairs, sans Install DVD (BTW, that's why the latter day media came only one to the box; they rolled everything together into a single dual-layer DVD). Normal disk repairs require booting from alternate media because the OS is doing multitasking, that is, accessing the boot media thru various concurrent processes. If multitasking is disabled, the issue disappears.
So, since you're in the Leopard world, I offer two choices. Best would be you download and install the latest release of the AppleJack utility ( http://applejack.sourceforge.net/ ), this is the premier power-user disk repair utility, which we Lion users miss dearly. AJ comes with a quick and easy installer that simplifies the process of getting it ready. Else you will have to do some command-line stuff by hand.
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If you did not install AppleJack, type the following command exactly as written, followed by the return key: fsck -fy Wait until the # prompt reappears (may take awhile), repeat if any errors are indicated, then type reboot and the return key to restart the Mac. Not as thorough as AppleJack, but this will fix your HDD.
There, you will have now gone deep into the belly of the Unix beast running on your Mac. This is the non-graphics, non-fancy version of Disk Utility, just like computers were done before graphical GUIs.Since only a single process (fsck) runs in Single User mode, it is able to fix the disk without the multitasking issues. Of course, if you can't get a clean and error-free fsck run, the HDD has problems it can't fix (just like it may happen with DU) and you will need more help. BTW, fsck is the Unix geekcode for File System ChecK.

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just a silly question - because I've done this.
Is it the right disk? The one that came with your intel?
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The installers are machine-series specific. And the Intel disc won't work
in the PPC Mac, additionally. If you have the correct disc for that iBook,
then you can boot the computer with the disc inside the optical drive
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{ edited 2x }

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Hi! I've looked to find the answer elsewhere, but no luck... apologies if this has already been answered.
I have a Powerbook G3 Pismo which I now need to use to run Hypercard. (Yes!)
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Using OS X Disk Utility, I erased the Pismo drive.
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I disconnected the Firewire and shut down.
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I tried to boot from the AppleCare Protection Plan's TechTool Deluxe.
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My new PRAM battery has been installed. I reset PRAM by doing a command-option-P-R.
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When I start up with the original Software Restore disk, the blank gray screen blinks, turns a different shade of gray, the cursor arrow shows up in the upper left-hand corner, and it hangs. The cursor arrow doesn't respond to the trackpad; it's frozen.
When I start with the original Software Install disk, the same sequence takes place, but there is no cursor arrow that shows up. It just has the gray screen, a blink with a slightly different shade of gray, then it hangs.
The behavior is exactly the same for all 3 disks (respectively) when I use the MacBook Pro to start up:
Insert Pismo or Tiger disk into MacBook Pro (counterintuitively).
Start up the Pro in Target mode. Connect to Pismo using Firewire cable.
Start up Pismo. Pismo takes awhile to notice the Firewire disk, but eventually does.
Then it tries to use the disk in the Pro, but ends up acting case-by-case as it did when each disk was in the Pismo's drive (kernel panic hanging, gray screen with arrow, gray screen without arrow).
Helllllp!
My last chance will be to take a hard drive from a defunct ice iBook (dual USB) and use it to replace the factory-supplied Pismo drive. That iBook was a G4; the Pismo is a G3 (I believe). If there has developed a deep, difficult problem with the Pismo's hard drive, hopefully this will solve it:
I will try to boot from the iBook-drive-in-the-Pismo. I doubt this will work. If it does, great! If not...
I will try to boot from the Tiger installation disk, and if that works, try to install the Tiger software on it.
If that doesn't work, I will try to boot from the Software Restore and the Software Install disks.
If that doesn't work, I give up!!!! Unless someone here has a better idea.

PB G$ 1.67 won't start, lost install disks, can I install via FW(T) mode?

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Can I use firewire mode on the PB and install from the Mac Pro somehow?
No. Since the PowerPC installer disks won't install on an Intel Mac, or vice versa that's impossible.
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http://www.apple.com/contact/phone_contacts.html
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Message was edited by: jomimata
Message was edited by: jomimata

Unfortunately, it sounds like you have a hardware problem beyond the hard drive. Even if there was no hard drive installed at all, you should still be able to startup from the the original install disk. Do you hear a "chime" at startup? If not, then you definitely have a hardware problem. You should take your MacBook into a local Apple store and make an appointment with the Mac Genius (or another local Apple Authorized Service provider). If you can't startup from the original install disk by holding down on the "c" key or holding down on the "option" key and then selecting the install disk, you have a hardware problem that can't be resolved with troubleshooting here.
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Can't repair disk/Won't boot from install disk

Apologies in advance for how not-tech savvy I am.
I was trying to create a partition using bootcamp but the partition failed and it told me to repair disk using disk utility.
When I try to boot from the install dvd by holding down C the computer just gets stuck in a loop. It turns on, chimes, makes a whurring noise and then restarts again. I can select the install disk by holding down the option key but it does the same thing. If I try to safe boot it comes up with a flashing folder and a question mark.
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Message was edited by: lizrd91

You would have to be booting from either a newer version retail OS X 10 install DVD
than whatever your computer shipped with, or that original specific disc set it first had.
No other computer's model/build specific restore-install disc set can do this job, since
it would not be correct and can't boot the computer. The wrong software set is on it.
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• Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1417
• OSXFAQ - Technical stuff for OS X: how to use 'fsck'
http://www.osxfaq.com/dailytips/07-2002/07-31.ws
There are odd instances where users have applied incorrect use of Boot Camp
to install a Windows version in their Mac, and in so doing, erased or damaged
the OS X partition on their computer's hard disk drive. This is why it is a great
idea to perform maintenance and also keep a complete bootable OS X clone
on an externally enclosed hard disk drive, of the Mac's system & apps.
If you had a current version of DiskWarrior on its own disc media, that may be
able to help fix or restore some file system issues in a hard disk drive.
Perhaps there is more you can do, but frankly if I wanted Windows, there are
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Good luck & happy computing!
+{PS: Hi there in the down-under ... from here, in the up-over!}+

Macbook won't boot from install disks

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Error when trying to start from install disk OS X 10.4

Hi,
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I get the a really long error message, below are snippets:
panic(cpu 0 caller 0x002E0BF4): Unable to find driver for this platform: "PowerBook6,7"
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panic: We are hanging here.
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More RAM will likely help, but not awfully likely it'll be 50%.
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Notebook won't start(kw831ua#aba)cnf81347bp even with recovery disks

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I installed snow leopard which I now realise that it was the wrong one because it came out before my laptop and now it won't changed from the grey screen with the apple on it how do I fix it ???

I installed snow leopard which I now realise that it was the wrong one because it came out before my laptop and now it won't changed from the grey screen with the apple on it how do I fix it ???

MacBook Pro
Apple - Support - MacBook Pro
Mac OS Version builds
When did yours come out? what does the above show as model and minimum build?
You should have yoru OEM OS X DVD, not one from another Mac, or retail, though the last retail OS X DVD was a year ago 10.6.3.
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What you need to do is repair your boot drive or restore from backup.

Upgrading to Leopard, won't start from Install disk?? Even with 'C' held

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