Help with MacBook A1185 OS X recovery

[59LP]

Hi folks

I am new to Apple, having just bought a seconduser MacBook.
I found that the previous owner had loaded Windows XP Pro on it.

The Macbook is a 2ghz Core 2 Duo, with 1gb of ram and an 80 gig sata hard drive. (A1185?)
I received the Macbook boxed, with it's user guides and original OS X 10.4.6 CD set.


I would like to re-install OS X, but when I try to boot from OS X CD 1, I see 2 folder icons with a question mark, the laptop then proceeds to boot Windows XP.
I also tried a reboot holding down the option key, this got me to a screen showing icons for the hard drive (with XP) and the CD drive (with OS X CD 1)

If I choose OS X, the cd drive spins up, but after a few seconds the MacBook proceeds to boot XP again

Could anyone advise me what the problem might be?

I assume either the CD set is not for this Mac, or else the optical drive has a problem reading it?
The cd disc itself is in perfect order, no scratches or signs of damage.
Also, when in Windows XP, I checked the optical drive with various CD and DVD media, it seems to have no problem reading these.

Please go easy on me this is my first Apple. I just don't want XP on it! lol

Regards.
Den.

 

[bmcgonag]

Hi folks

I am new to Apple, having just bought a seconduser MacBook.
I found that the previous owner had loaded Windows XP Pro on it.

The Macbook is a 2ghz Core 2 Duo, with 1gb of ram and an 80 gig sata hard drive. (A1185?)
I received the Macbook boxed, with it's user guides and original OS X 10.4.6 CD set.


I would like to re-install OS X, but when I try to boot from OS X CD 1, I see 2 folder icons with a question mark, the laptop then proceeds to boot Windows XP.
I also tried a reboot holding down the option key, this got me to a screen showing icons for the hard drive (with XP) and the CD drive (with OS X CD 1)

If I choose OS X, the cd drive spins up, but after a few seconds the MacBook proceeds to boot XP again

Could anyone advise me what the problem might be?

I assume either the CD set is not for this Mac, or else the optical drive has a problem reading it?
The cd disc itself is in perfect order, no scratches or signs of damage.
Also, when in Windows XP, I checked the optical drive with various CD and DVD media, it seems to have no problem reading these.

Please go easy on me this is my first Apple. I just don't want XP on it! lol

Regards.
Den.

Try holding down the 'C' key when booting to force boot the CD. Make sure that it's CD1. If it's a CD then there will be more than one. If it's a DVD then only 1.

Here are some other boot up key press options for you

Command-S Boot into Single User Mode
Command-V Boot using "Verbose" mode (shows all kernel and startup console messages)
X Reset startup disk selection and boot into Mac OS X Server
Shift Boot into "Safe Boot" mode, which runs Disk First Aid. A reboot will be required afterward.
Option Boot into Open Firmware to select a boot device
Command-Option-Shift-Delete Bypass internal harddrive on boot
T Boot into Firewire target disk mode
C Boot from the internal optical drive
N Start from the Network (NetBoot)
Command-Option-P-R Reset Parameter RAM (PRAM) and non-volatile RAM (NVRAM)
(mouse button) Eject (internal) removable media

Also you might download DiskWarrior v. 4, burn the boot CD of Disk Warrior, and start-up into it. You can use it to format the HDD in HFS+ (Mac Format), then try and install.

 

[59LP]

Hi bmcgonag

Thanks for all those options, I will run through them and see how I get on

I have already tried the " press C" and " press D" options without result.
The Macbook ignores these button presses and proceeds to XP.
I've checked the keyboard in XP notepad and all keys are registering.

If it helps, my disc set is a 2 CD set with this information

Mac OS Version 10.4.6
AHT Version 3A104
Disc Version 1.0
2Z691-5788-A

Thanks again for your help, I'll report back soon.

Regards.
Den

 

[59LP]

Update on progress: Bad cds were the problem

Just thought I'd report on how I got on with the recovery, in case it helps someone in a similar postition.


Since my last post I bought another spares/repairs Macbook (2.1ghz model)
This one is in a pretty bad state, but did come with it's recovery cd set.
I found that this OSx cd set did boot my 2ghz Macbook, but I got a warning the set was not for this computer.

So it seems the original OSx cds I got with the first 2ghz Macbook are simply faulty and can't be read.

Rather than spend an age messing around, I then bought a full retail version of Snow Leopard and within a very short time I had my first working Macbook


Thanks again for your help bmcgonag

Regards.
Den.

 

[bmcgonag]

Not that I was much help, but still very glad you got it up and running.

 

[59LP]

Thanks, I'm glad myself giving the outlay on 2x Macbooks so far! lol

The info was useful in that it gave me enough options, to check it was the discs and not the Macbook.
Maybe someone else having the same problem will also benefit.

I'm sure I'll be back with more questions, this machine is a lot different to Windows, but that only makes it more interesting