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Can Leopard w/new machine be copied to older MacBook?

DHart

DHart

macrumors 6502
Original poster
I'm planning on buying a new MacBook with Leopard.

Is it possible to use the Leopard install disks to install Leopard on my older MacBook and my older iMacs as well, or is the Leopard OS protected so you can't install it on other Macs besides the one it comes with?
 
So Leopard coming with a new MacBook won't run on a 1-year old MacBook 2GHz Intel Core Duo machine? Or on a 1 year old iMac 2GHz Intel Core Duo machine?
 
It might not if there's been a chip change, but again, even if it does, it's in total violation of the EULA. You may have no ethical issues with that, but it's also in violation of forum rules to discuss.... If you want Leopard on your other laptops, you should buy a family pack.
 
Didn't realize that this can't be discussed.

For the record, I've been a Mac user since 1984 and have bought well over a couple dozen new Macs over the years. Last year I bought three new Intel iMacs and a MacBook - all used in my home. Have been an Apple supporter in many ways for a very long time! I'm not looking for a way to cheat Apple, I'm just curious if I can use Tiger and Leopard interchangeably among my machines as necessitated by my applications.

Perhaps I should install Leopard on an external drive and use it with different Macs as I need to? That way it's only being used on one computer at a time? Is that possible? Legal?
 
You just have to be careful about discussing things in the forums that violate laws or EULAs. I don't think anyone generally cares, but particularly when debates get more heated, the threads tend to get closed and posters who are asking for advice on doing so can get warned or banned.

You can certainly install Leopard on an external FireWire drive and boot it, but I'm not sure you'd be able to swap that drive and boot it on multiple computer configurations. In fact I'd be pretty surprised if that worked flawlessly (or at all). Plus, I still don't think you could use the copy of Leopard that comes with the new MacBook without violating the EULA. And I don't think it'd work with the iMac anyway.

Do you have Tiger-only apps that you'd need to be able to dual-boot to Tiger for?
 
Honestly, I'm so new to considering Leopard that I really don't know. I think most of my apps may work fine. Certainly, my Apple apps should be fine (Safari, Mail, iTunes, iCal, iMovie HD).

As a professional photographer I also use on a daily basis:

Photoshop CS3
Photoshop Plug-ins (Portraiture, ShineOff, Lighting EFX, etc.)
Painter X
iViewMedia Pro
Excel for MAC v. X
Word for MAC v. X
QuickBooks Pro
Toast
Intaglio 2.6.2
Firefox
Dreamweaver 8
InDesign 2.0
MacJournal 4.0.5

I would like to not have to upgrade Dreamweaver, Excel, Word, InDesign to work with Leopard... not just yet anyway, so that's why I'm questioning the move to Leopard. Don't want to buy Leopard upgrades for all my computers only to find that I have problems with my apps which require additional upgrades.
 
Leo killed my Photoshop Elements 🙁 I bought it about 2 yrs ago and paid full retail, and Leo won't run it. I'm on a trial 30 day version of CS3 and in 20 days I'm going to be boned because I'm not buying photoshop AGAIN for another serial number to register it. 🙁
 
one1.... can you install Tiger on your machine for Photoshop?

I'm starting to get the impression that it might be a good idea for me to sit tight and enjoy the trouble free operation that I currently have with Tiger on all my Intel Macs. Things are working wonderfully at present and I really don't need to move to Leopard, especially if it is likely to introduce problems with the apps I rely on daily for my work and productivity. Like Photoshop & the many plug-in's I use.

As for the new Macbook I plan on buying... it'll be used to run iView Media Pro for presenting images to clients on a 61" Hi-Def theater screen during work hours and after-hours as a bedroom machine for web-surfing and e-mail. (I will be giving my existing Intel MacBook to my girlfriend - she loves it, since I've converted her from years of use with a Windoze machine, which is, thankfully, going bye-bye!).

If Leopard, as provided on the new MacBook, presents problems with my needed apps, can I install and successfully run Tiger on a new, current model MacBook???
 
I can tell you that Excel, Word and Firefox should be fine based on my experience. I believe Photoshop itself should be fine, but other parts of CS3 and plugins may not be depending on what you use (search the forums for details). I have Dreamweaver from having Studio 8, but I never use it and no longer have it installed even so I can't speak from personal experience on it.

You should have no problems downgrading the new MacBook to Tiger if you want, though you could also partition the drive (Leopard can do this non-destructively) and install Tiger on a separate partition and boot whichever you prefer as needed.
 
overanalyzer said:
You should have no problems downgrading the new MacBook to Tiger if you want, though you could also partition the drive (Leopard can do this non-destructively) and install Tiger on a separate partition and boot whichever you prefer as needed.
Click to expand...

Good to know... thank you for the info... I'll probably do just as you suggest with the partition. Will I need to re-install Leopard on the new MacBook (also re-initializing the drive) to create the partition?
 
DHart said:
Good to know... thank you for the info... I'll probably do just as you suggest with the partition. Will I need to re-install Leopard on the new MacBook (also re-initializing the drive) to create the partition?
Click to expand...

Nope. That's the beauty of non-destruction partitioning, one of the many new features of Leopard. You can resize partitions on the fly as needed. So on the new computer, you can just add a second partition and downsize the first, and then insert your Tiger disc and install it onto the second partition.
 
DHart said:
one1.... can you install Tiger on your machine for Photoshop?
Click to expand...

I am already running a dual boot on an 80g HD, no room for anything else. Besides, having 2 versions of OS X on the same HD seems redundant.
 
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