Won't boot from Snow Leopard USB Thumb drive

I have a 2.4 ghz Quad Core Mac Pro with 14 GB of memory... I have created two thumb drives, one is a bootable image of the installation disk for 10.6.. the other has the 10.6 installed..
The start up menu recognizes them both and says i can start from either but when I try I get no further the the Grey Start Up Apple.... any suggestions would be apprecoated

They are both GUID but since they were from an Snow Leopard Install Disk.. I believe tey are at 10.6.3
I will try upodating the Drive with the full system.. but if that is the case then I am sort of uo thw water way with oiut a propulsion device for the Install Disk version

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C55-A won't boot from DVD or USB thumb drive.

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Not sure where to go from here, any advice would be much appreciated.

Try this.
In the UEFI, go to the Advanced tab, enter "System Configuration" and set the Boot Mode to "CSM Boot."
Always tell us which Satellite C55-A you have when you post here. There is a label on the bottom.
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Why can't brand new MacBookPro9,1 (OEM Mountain-Lion) boot from Snow Leopard on external drive, or internal partition?

Why can't brand new MacBookPro9,1 (OEM Mountain-Lion) boot from Snow Leopard on external drive, or internal partition?
Is this because of hardware changes? Or firmware changes? Or is it just and Apple Inc. administrative fiat?

@Steve Holton: Sorry Steve, but you're wrong about that one . I'm using 10.8 (purchased and downloaded) on the internal HD of this MBP8,3 (2.2 GHz, 17"), and I am also able to boot into 10.7.4 and 10.6.8 from external FW800 partitions.
However, I DO have problems with my MBP9,1. It came with 10.7.4 installed and ran fine. Then I purchased and installed 10.8. It ran fine but could no longer boot from 10.7.4 on an external partition. I then reinstalled 10.7.4 on the internal HD and discovered that it is still unable to boot (even 10.7.4) from an external FW800 partition.
One of Apple's Senior Support Advisors has done some remote troubleshooting but the case is still open and unresolved. An earlier Apple Support case suggested that when, I installed the downloaded copy of 10.8, there had been a "firmware update" (behind the scenes) that is now causing the problems with booting from my external partition(s). This apparently is "a bug": it is not what is supposed to happen.
So - I believe - "the problem" really has nothing to do with hardware capability. It is strictly about Apple's strategy for "managing its future customer base". If you don't like it - use something else - I am seriously considering Ubuntu as an alternative.
If there's a hidden caveat in all this it's probably "Read Appple's Licence Agreement VERY Carefully".

If I upgrade my Mac mini to Lion, can I still boot from Snow Leopard on another drive/partition?

If I upgrade my Mac mini to Lion, can I still boot from Snow Leopard if it is on another partition/drive?

Yes

Can't boot from snow leopard bootable hard drive on my new 27 imac

Hey guys
I have just bought a new 27in Imac with all possible upgrades.
I have an old 2.2 MBP running snow leopard. I used carbon copy clone to make a bootable clone.
It will boot from the hard drive on my MBP ( the one I cloned it from) but it will not boot on my Imac.
I can select it from the boot screen ( holding down alt) but after I select it I just get the apple logo and nothing happens.
Can anyone shed some light on this for me? I have looked through tones of forums but can't seem to fine the answer.
Will the new mountain lion not boot snow leopard? If it can boot windows I don't see why it wouldn't boot my clone.
Thanks in advance peeps

I don't think it is fixable. Your new Mac has come installed with Mountain Lion. My understanding, from what I've learned on these boards, is that a Mac cannot boot from an OS earlier than the one that was installed at point of manufacture. I believe it is to do with the firmware that is on later models.
It also means that you cannot install an OS earlier than the one the machine came with (apparently this can be worked around by installing an earlier OS in a Virtual Machine, like some people install Windows on their Macs. This is not something I've done, but a regualr poster on here MichaelLAX, I think, has described how it's possible).
If you're wanting to just erase and start afresh with the MBP surely you can do that with the clone? You don't need the iMac to do that.

Replaced faulty hard drive now can't boot from Snow Leopard.

Hi there,
As it says I replaced my internal WD 250gb drive in my late 2006 2.16ghz imac . I followed the tutorials on the net to the tee yet upon trying to boot from Snow Leopard after firing it back up all I get is the Apple logo and the timer . I've tried holding C to no avail . I've held Alt to select the OSX disc yet it still won't boot to get me to Disc Utility . I've even put the old hard drive back in . When I hold Alt on start up it shows the drive and the disc but will boot from neither when selected . I've tried to get the Snow Leopard disc to eject so I can try my originals but it won't even do that . I'm convinced I haven't damaged anything but I'm at my wits end ! Does anybody have any ideas how to get the Leopard disc out so I can at least try from my originals ? The drive I've installed is compatible it's a 1tb WD . I also triple checked all the connections and they all seam sound . Really appreciate your help lads as I wanted to give the iMac to my daughter when we get a new one .

You will first need to prep the new drive using Disk Utility on the original 10.4 Disc or Retail upgrade 10.6 DVD. It needs to be Partition GUID Partition Table and Format it Mac OS Extented (Journaled) before you can install and run OS X on it.
1. Boot from your SL install DVD or Bootable Clone and open Disk Utility.
2. Highlight the new HD in the list of drives and select the Partition tab.
3. Under Volume Scheme select 1 Partition and click on the Options... button.
4. Select GUID Partition Table in the drop down window and click OK.
5. Set the Format to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and click the Apply button.
6. Once thats done, then you can do a clean Install, Restore from TM or a Bootable Clone.

Is snow leopard usb backup drive access much much quicker using firewire than with usb 2.0 ?

is snow leopard usb backup drive access much much quicker using firewire than with usb 2.0 ?

I migrated from a USB2 external hard drive (when it failed) to the Firewire 800 and have not looked back. I also sync from that primary drive to a secondary backup drive (still USB2). Everything I do with the firewire drive is significantly faster than USB2.

How to make OSX boot disk using a USB thumb drive? The final answer?

Well guys I am getting really conflicting information about possibility to use USB thumb drive for boot up drive for OSX! Some people say yes, some say no, some - not sure.
Here is the question formulated as straight as possible:
A Mac user wants to create OSX 10.6 boot-up disk on a USB thumb drive, so it can be used to start the Mac instead of using manufacturer’s CD. Also, (thumb drive’s size permitting) the Mac user must be able to install software on it, as it is done on the internal HD.
The computer is MacBookPro , Intel based , OSX 10.6
The USB thumb drive is 16 Gb brand new .
So,
what the EXACT steps will be, to properly Mac format the thumb drive with OSX disk utility and then install on it the OSX 10.6 from the manufacturer's grey CD that comes with the Mac?
Could someone, who has practical experience and is absolutely sure about the exact steps provide the final answer, please?
Thanks in advance to old hands & pro Mac Users willing to clarify this topic !

Hi
The instructions to make a bootable USB are [here|http://macs.about.com/od/diyguidesprojects/ss/usbflash.htm]
I have made a bootable USB following the above instruction and also had enough space to install a few utilities. It works fine for me.
I usually like to check disk health of my MBpro intel via disk utilities off the USB after booting from it. Not that this is a recommended way or anything, just that I like to do it that way.

27" iMac won't boot from anything BUT the main drive

Hi all,
My lovely 27" iMac is in perfect working condition, but I thought I'd try to install a OS on a large SD card to see if I would gain any speed.
In the process of doing that (cause I never got that far) I discover that the iMac won't boot from the original install DVD. It simply spits out the DVD when I try to insert into the drive. I'v managed to make an image of the DVD (in a different mac) onto the SD card in order to try an boot from that. No luck. I've tried to insert a original install DVD from my Mac Pro into the iMac, which it reads fine and well, and when I tap the restart button it restarts, but stop with a white screen doing boot up.
If I try to hold down the option key during startup, the iMac WILL let me choose which OS to boot from, but if I choose anything else than the OS already installed it freezes.
I've even tried to boot my Mac Pro from the iMac install DVD - no problems.
I've even run a hardware test on the iMac - no problems.
I am running out of options fast! Please help a devoted Mac-friend.
Take care.
Peter

I WAS using the DVD that came with the machine, but I fear Apple may have sent me the wrong one?
In trying to solve the issues I'd tried other OS disc's (A Mac Pro install DVD and a OS X Leopard DVD) - but none of them would even boot, nor install of my iMac. I always end up with a white screen during boot up.
As I described, the original iMac install DVD would indeed boot my Mac Pro, do the disc seems ok?

G5 won't boot from Install Disc or Hard Drive

After 2.5 years of perfect service my G5 2.0 suddenly won't boot from the HD or Install Disc that came with it. My G5 only shows the grey screen with the apple logo, the spinning gears and the circle with the line through it.
I haven't added any hardware since day one. I've done pram,nvram and smu resets. I've selected a start up disk by holding the option key, removed and re-seated the ram one by one.
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I think I have a hardware issue.
Is it worth it to get this model repaired if its something major?

I was having a similar problem, except I only saw the grey apple logo, no spinning. Finally got it figured out, ended up being one of my processors (dual 1.8) was bad, took the bad one out and it works fine now. Now Im working on getting processor replaced.

Can only boot into Windows 7. Can't even boot from Snow Leopard DVD.

I have no idea what prompted this. I don't recall installing any OS updates recently, other than some Windows Live apps in Windows 7.
I have an early 2009 Mac Mini with Snow Leopard, and have Windows 7 64-bit installed in a Boot Camp partition. When I installed Windows 7, I couldn't get the Boot Camp utility to install within Windows (I guess because it's 64-bit) so to switch back and forth between OSes, I just shut down the Mac and restart it with the Option key pressed, and select Mac OS X when I want to return to Mac. This has worked for about a month and a half now (ever since I got Windows 7). Suddenly I have problems.
I first had problems booting into Windows or Mac. I got to the grey screen with the Apple logo, with that spinning "progress" thing going for a while, then it would freeze up and get stuck on the grey screen with the Apple logo. I zapped the PRAM. No help. Then, after disconnecting all external drives (I have several) and extra USB devices, I was able to boot from the DVD install disk and reinstall Snow Leopard on my internal drive. Joy, or so I thought. Then I booted into Windows 7, and after some weirdness getting it to start, it did successfully start and ran just peachy.
Then I turned off the Mac and held down the option key (as usual) to return to Mac OS. But now all that happens is that I get a grey screen for a few seconds, then the Mac boots back into Windows 7, which seems to work fine. (I'm in Windows 7 right now.) I turned on one my external drives (Snow Leopard installed, connected via Firewire 800) in hopes that the Mac would boot into that, but same thing. Ignored and back to Windows 7.
Then I thought I'd boot from the install DVD again by putting it in the drive and holding down the C key as I restart, but the same thing--a grey screen for a few seconds, and then booting right into Windows 7. I can't seem to escape Windows 7! It's a bit disturbing when it won't even recognize the install DVD.
I tried to call Apple Care since I'm within my 90 day support window, but of course they are closed. I'm figuring that I'm going to have to take this into an Apple Store, but thought I'd see if anyone has any ideas. Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks.

According to Apple, Win 7 64bit is supported with Bootcamp 3.0. If bootcamp 3.0 is available; I could not find it anywhere on Apple's website. It appears the most recent version is 2.2. The only place I could find 3.0 is not on Apples website and it's a questionable source so I won't post it here.
It may just be a matter of time before Apple makes it available. I'm not suggesting you wait, however if the install disk can't be used, I'm not too sure where u could go from there. Calling Applecare might work.
If you do a simple google search using the terms 'download bootcamp drivers windows 7' u will see what I was referring too.
Here's what I found from Apple (It doesn't specifically mention 64bit however just win7): http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3920
This is not from Apple, but specifically addresses whether they support win7 64bit: http://www.macnn.com/articles/09/08/31/boot.camp.win.7.64.support/
Here is more info about bootcamp 3.0 and win7: http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/

Cant boot from snow leopard dvd and install crashes computer

Folks, hi, newbie to this forum but at wits end.
I have a MacBook Pro 17inch mid 2010 model. I added the OMG disk doubler and ditched the internal dvd, so I now have 2 X 500GB hard drives, one of which has the OSX. This disk in trouble and Disk Utility says that it needs repairing, but i need to repair after booting from an different disk.
So, I added a usb dvd drive and put in snow leopard. It would not boot via holding down 'c' and the option key only saw the current drive. No problems I thought, I will install onto the second hard drive and boot from that. The process got a fair way though (20 mins) and the computer crashed. I checked that it is GUID, tried again, and ditto. So, I made a new partition that was nice and clean -- and ditto. Stuck about now, I tried to format a usb hard drive -- ditto. Hmm, didnt want to, but out came the second drive and in went the old dvd drive -- same issue -- could not boot using c button and the option key did not recognise the snow leopard install. Out came the drive and I went to the apple store -- they told me that the Snow Leopard I had brought was an upgrade and that I needed a Box Set. $169 later and - you guessed it -- the dvd is the same, no start on c, not recognised on option, and the computer crashes if I try and install to the second hard drive or an external drive.
Help anyone??

when i go to system prefs- startup, the dvd does not show up in the list of startup drives. The apple salesman said that the OSX install disk I purchased was not a start up disk / full install but rather an upgrade only disk. That is why he said to use the box set as a 'full install' - but both appear to not start up or be able to do a clean install. I just end up with a set of files call Mac OSX install files.

Late 2008 mbp - installed new ssd - trying to boot from snow leopard iso on flash drive - says 'cannot install mac os on this computer'

Hello -
I just installed a new M500 Crucial ssd in my late 2008 mbp - everything was working fine on old hard drive (running snow leopard) but was getting slow and wanted to upgrade - i lost my snow leopard disk when moving from hawaii so i found an iso online - using a flash drive i partitioned the disk and made the bootable image on flash drive - formatted as extended/journaled - switched out the hard drives - plugged in the flash drive - started the comp - held option - install begins to boot - choose language - all is fine - choose english - next step window pops up saying 'cannot install os on this computer' - click on utility but all options are greyed out - disk util is greyed out - only options it gives is to start from backup or restart - real confused here - all help appreciated - thanks in advance and happy new year!

Snow Leopard comes in discs only. The USB drive may be a counterfeit and/or corrupt. There are two options for you:
Get replacement original OSX installation disks from Apple customer service. Have your MBP serial number ready and there is a charge.
Or two, purchase a Snow Leopard disk from the Apple online store:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard
Ciao.

IMac will not boot from Snow Leopard DVD or original Leopard disc!

Hey,
I am going mad! I am trying to update my iMac (with original Leopard installed) to Snow Leopard. Here is what I have tried:
Using the Snow Leopard DVD:
- A standard install: the disc ejects after about 15 minutes.
- Put another working DVD in and verified it in Disk Utility, all ok.
- Verified the internal hard drive in Disk Utility, all ok.
- Verfied the SL DVD, all ok.
- Decided to try a clean install, so backed up everything.
- Tried to boot from SL DVD by using the Utilities option, it ejects the disc at restart.
- Tried to force it to boot to the DVD by restarting and holding the C key, it ejects.
- Restart holding the Option key, it ejects.
- Restart holding the Ctrl, Alt and Option keys, ejects.
- Everytime it ejects and starts up normally.
- So I cleaned the disc, updated all the firmware, reset the NVRAM/PRAM via holding keys when restarting, and repaired disc permissions.
- Tried to force it to boot again, ejects.
- Tried to put the disc back in straight after it ejects with all the steps, still starts up normally.
- Changed the start up disc in System Preferences to the SL DVD, restart, it ejects.
By now I am readying the noose...
- Dug out the original Leopard installation CDs.
- Repeated all the forced boot restarts (C key, Option key, Ctrl, Alt, Option keys), same story.
- Repeated changing the start up disc in System Prefs, same story again.
- Call Apple Support, they told me to try everything I have tried and that the DVD drive is dodgy, well it works with everyhting else! Burning and reading! I really don't want to have to go to an Apple Store- it's miles away (a costly journey) and I just do not have the time for all of this.
RAWR! Does anyone know what to do? Please? S.O.S.?

Possible scenarios:
1: The 10.6.3 SL retail disk is bad, it happens.
2: Your not using the 10.6.3 SL retail disk but one from another machine which doesn't have the drivers for that machine.
3: Your optical drive is funky or some other hardware issues.
4: Your trying to install 10.6 onto a PowerPC based Mac, no can do.
5: Your not using a wired keyboard for boot key commands, have some other hardware conflicts.
Possible solutions.
1: Copy the SL 10.6.3 disk using Disk Utility to another DVD, the error checking may resolve the original disk's issue.
http://www.brokenhomeboy.co.uk/pierow/blog/2011/10/make-a-bootable-backup-snow-l eopard-install-disc/
2: Make a SL bootable USB
http://www.maciverse.com/install-os-x-snow-leopard-from-usb-flash-drive.html
3: Call Apple for a new 10.6.3 disk (and make copies for backup before Apple discontinues selling it)
If your upgrading to 10.6 to get to 10.6.8 to upgrade to 10.7, be warned of this:
1: Your 10.5 software will not work in 10.7, no more Rosetta or PPC based code.
2: Your hardware will not qualify if it's a 32 bit Intel Core Duo, also you may experience slowdowns in performance over 10.6 (10.6 is the fastest OS X version for Intel Macs) in older Intel hardware (I suggest Early 2011 Mac's and later only for Lion)
3: Mountain Lion 10.8 is reportingly coming out this summer and will not run on a lot of older Intel based Mac's because of heftier graphics requirements.
4: 10.6 has the widest range of current avaialble software and drivers for third party hardware.
My advice, stick with 10.6.8 and stay there, buy a new Mountain Lion machine after this summer. Skip Lion completely.

My Macpro Intel Core Duo-running OS 10.6.8 has been crashing pretty much with everything I try to open. I find the last resort will be to boot from Snow Leopard system disc. Has anyone experienced this? I can only run Google Chrome.

In the last few days, it seems that my computer has all of a sudden caught a virus. I have never had that happened to a computer, but I have surely heard about it. I can't think of any other reason it is behaving like this. I know that Macs have been pretty much impervious to viruses, but that was before they were the majority of users.
Anyway, what is happening is, my computer keeps crashing whenever I try to open a program, app, document, folder, file, etc. I tried to boot from Drive Genius to establish the problem, but Drive Genius crashed too. I know the last ditch effort (after cleaning and maintenance of disc verification and permissions and repairs, is to reboot from the system disc.
Before I go there I was hoping someone in the community would have a suggestion to help me avoid that ultimate last resort. The tech support guy at Drive Genius told me that probably would have to be the way to go (as in reboot) and if that doesn't clear it up, it's repair time.
Thank you for your consideration in advance;
Lorain R

In the last few days, it seems that my computer has all of a sudden caught a virus.
As others have pointed out, this isn't malware. That should not be your first (or even fifty-first) thought when your Mac starts misbehaving. For more on this topic, see my Mac Malware Guide.
I know the last ditch effort (after cleaning and maintenance of disc verification and permissions and repairs, is to reboot from the system disc.
You mention "cleaning and maintenance." Have you been running utilities claiming to do those things? If so, you may be the victim of an overly-zealous cleaning job, which has removed important files and damaged your system.
If I'm understanding correctly, you're unable to open any applications at all... is that right? Do you have any backups? If you don't have backups, you're in a sticky situation, as it will be difficult to make backups in your current state, but you shouldn't try any kind of repairs without them. (Actually, you shouldn't do anything with your computer without backups, but this is especially important when something is going badly wrong.)
If you have backups, reboot from your Snow Leopard install disc. From there, first, repair the hard drive with Disk Utility. Once that is done, assuming repairs were successful, reinstall the system. You can simply reinstall it on top of your current system, and it will replace any damaged or lost system files with new copies. (You'll also need to update the system via Software Update after reinstalling.)
If you don't have backups, or if Disk Utility can't repair damage, or if the problem continues even after a reinstall, post back with those details.

Won't boot from Snow Leopard USB Thumb drive

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