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danieljnolan

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 23, 2013
4
0
Hi,
After encountering problems with my mid-2007 Macbook 2,1 with Lion OS X (running slowly, applications crashing, fan over-working) I ran disk utility and discovered that the HDD had errors and DU was unable to repair.
I haven't had the Mac for long and didn't mind losing a little data so decided to erase the hard-drive.
Erase was successful and Macbook boots to the Utilities page with options to re-install, run Disk Utility etc. The disk now shows as having no problems when verified.
When I try to re-install Lion via my Apple ID, however, it fully downloads and appears to install the OS but when the progress bar completes the Macbook restarts and opens back up at the Utilities page.
I have tried resetting PRAM/NVRAM and re-erasing and formatting the disk but have encountered the same problem every time I leave it to re-install Lion.
Any advice on how to re-install Lion after these issues would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Dan
 

Intell

macrumors P6
Jan 24, 2010
18,955
509
Inside
Have you tried letting Lion finish installing then when it reboots, press and hold the Option key right after hearing the startup chime, and then selecting the newly installed Lion partition?
 

danieljnolan

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 23, 2013
4
0
Tried re-installing again to try your suggestion.
This time re-install completed with a full progress bar, then reset to about 33 minutes, ran down in true time and then changed to something like -2 million minutes remaining and took me back to the recovery screen without restarting.
Restarting manually and then pressing option after chime only gives me the choice of Recovery HD for boot.
 

danieljnolan

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 23, 2013
4
0
I don't have a physical install disk but might be able to borrow another Mac.
Would an Apple Store allow me to use a disk to install Snow Leopard as a halfway point to getting Lion back? Have Lion purchased on my App Store account but laptop was bought second-hand refurbished and came with Snow Leopard already installed.
 

danieljnolan

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 23, 2013
4
0
No luck at Apple Store, they don't carry Snow Leopard anymore.
Would have to make a Genius appt. and even then they might charge for the OS.

How would I fix it using another Mac?
 

Weaselboy

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 23, 2005
34,071
15,493
California
How would I fix it using another Mac?

You can boot to Target Disk Mode and if the other Mac's OS is compatible with your machine, you could use Disk Util to copy everything from that machine to yours.

You can also still buy Snow Leopard for $20 by calling 1800MYAPPLE and they will sell it to you.

It sounds like you are installing Lion correctly though. I suspect what is going on is your disk drive errors are manifesting during the OS reinstall and causing this issue. Could be your drive is headed for the graveyard.
 
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