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Install SL on new Mini from older fam.pack cd?`

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batistuta

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 15, 2008
128
12
I have the option of buying a new (mid 2010) Mini without the osx discs, but I have SL family pack, so I can install on five Macs. These discs are about a year old - will the install work??
I am thinking the discs don't have the appropriate drivers (i.e. the 320m graphics).
 
Unfortunately no, as the version of Mac OS X on those disk is older than the OS version the Mac mini came with.
You either need to get replacement disk or the Snow Leopard 10.6.3 Upgrade DVD or simply clone a working 10.6.3/4/5 Mac to that Mac mini in Target Disk Mode and run Software Update afterwards when booted from the Mac mini.
 
Sort of right, I think

simsaladimbamba said:
Unfortunately no, as the version of Mac OS X on those disk is older than the OS version the Mac mini came with.
You either need to get replacement disk or the Snow Leopard 10.6.3 Upgrade DVD or simply clone a working 10.6.3/4/5 Mac to that Mac mini in Target Disk Mode and run Software Update afterwards when booted from the Mac mini.
Click to expand...

I think that this is slightly misleading....... I don't think the POINT version is relevant. So long as the base OS is correct, i.e. in this case Snow Leopard, then on the first software update, any appropriate hardware updates will be performed. I have a 15" Unibody MacBook Pro, around 6 months old. I purchased it second hand, had SL on it, but put a 1TB internal HDD in it, so required a re-install. My Original Snow Leopard DVD (purchased on Launch day) installed the machine with no problems....... your mileage may vary, but as Apple with their OS's, unlike MS with Windows, do not have install codes, if it does not work (and I am sure it will), you will only have lost half an hour of your time !

Good luck, let me know how it goes.
 
davegoody said:
I think that this is slightly misleading....... I don't think the POINT version is relevant.
Click to expand...

Nope, you are wrong. The final point is critically important. Any machine that was first available after (for example) 10.6.3 needs the OS it came with (say 10.6.5) or later. There are no platform drivers for hardware that did not exist when the OS was released so it will not boot to install. This is why brand-new machines sometimes ship with special builds (different build numbers) of existing point releases of OSX. The platform drivers from that special version of OSX10.x.y are then added to y+1.
 
hm, quite contradicting replies!
Hoping for a few more replies to sway my decision.

I guess I could try with the older discs - worst case I have to go buy a new osx disc at 40$ (in Denmark that is).
 
Worth the try !

batistuta said:
hm, quite contradicting replies!
Hoping for a few more replies to sway my decision.

I guess I could try with the older discs - worst case I have to go buy a new osx disc at 40$ (in Denmark that is).
Click to expand...

As I said, your mileage may vary, it is just that, as I said, it worked perfectly for me, with an original SL DVD on a six-month old Unibody 15" MBP.

To be honest, if you already have the SL DVD then your time would probably be better spent trying it, than waiting to see who else comments one way or the other on MR. If it does not work for you, then at least you know for sure, and if I am wrong, then I stand corrected.
 
batistuta said:
hm, quite contradicting replies!
Hoping for a few more replies to sway my decision.

I guess I could try with the older discs - worst case I have to go buy a new osx disc at 40$ (in Denmark that is).
Click to expand...

AppleCare will normally ship you a set of restore DVDs (OSX and all bundled software) for a nominal cost. $25 usually I think...
 
robbieduncan said:
AppleCare will normally ship you a set of restore DVDs (OSX and all bundled software) for a nominal cost. $25 usually I think...
Click to expand...
I guess that requires you to have paid for Applecare?
And at 25% the price of a Mac Mini I find it way too expensive, especially since two year warranty is guaranteed by law here in Denmark...
 
@daveg - I haven't bought the machine (2nd hand) yet, otherwise I had just tried with the old discs.
 
robbieduncan said:
AppleCare will normally ship you a set of restore DVDs (OSX and all bundled software) for a nominal cost. $25 usually I think...
Click to expand...

batistuta said:
And at 25% the price of a Mac Mini I find it way too expensive
Click to expand...
You're getting a 2010 Mac Mini for US$100? That's truly a steal!

EDIT: Random thought. Given that you have a family pack does that mean you have other Macs around? Can you hook up the Mini in Target Disk Mode, install OS X to it and perform all the upgrades before you first boot to it?

EDIT 2: As far as I know replacement discs are handled by Apple Care, but do not require you to currently be under warranty. See for example: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1038568 No way the G5 is still under warranty.

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Last edited:
batistuta said:
I guess that requires you to have paid for Applecare?
And at 25% the price of a Mac Mini I find it way too expensive, especially since two year warranty is guaranteed by law here in Denmark...
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. If it's a 2010 Mac it's still covered anyway as all new machines have 1 year of AppleCare...
 
robbieduncan said:
Not necessarily. If it's a 2010 Mac it's still covered anyway as all new machines have 1 year of AppleCare...
Click to expand...

I think some of the confusion comes from the fact that Apple likes to call its customer service the same as its extended warranty program.

In this case you call customer service, in or out of warranty, and pay them a fee for replacement discs. The warranty status does not apply. Otherwise folks with old systems, like PPC based Macs, would have no recourse for system discs.

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I am not getting a Mini for 100$ - the 25% was refering to the cost of Apple Care on a new machine, which is around 230$ (the Mini being close to 1000$ here in Denmark).

I have a 2009 Mini with SL on, so I guess I could go for the target disk mode solution, when I have swapped the harddrive in the new Mini with a SSD.
 
batistuta said:
I am not getting a Mini for 100$ - the 25% was refering to the cost of Apple Care on a new machine, which is around 230$ (the Mini being close to 1000$ here in Denmark).
Click to expand...

I got that after the fact, but my confusion arose from the fact that to call customer service (AppleCare) for replacement disks you don't need to be under warranty (either complementary AppleCare or AppleCare Protection Plan). Being under warranty doesn't exempt you from the media replacement fees. (The warranty doesn't cover negligence, including misplacing the discs they told you to put away for safekeeping).

Let us know how the target disk mode install goes.

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