how to upgrade 10.5.8 to 10.6(have disk)on MB Pro with bad optical drive

[dbwalch]

i want to instal snow leopard on my Mac Book Pro but my optical drive just tries to read the disk and after a minute ejects it out and of tried many different disk and drive cleaners and compressed air and using a computer vacuum and still does the same thing. I have my copy of the upgrade that I bought from Apple on line the day it was released so I'm assuming since its never been used its still okay to use it.I'm not tech savy and looking for the easiest way to do this I have access to my neighbors Mac Book a 13 inch laptop 2009 model already running snow leopard and has a working optical drive. I tried to do this myself using his optical drive but with all the warnings about service being cut off having something to do with the network connection and the isp having an issue I figured id better fully understand how to set up and execute this before i mess something up through my own lack of knowledge on the subject any help or if theres an easier way to do this please advise and thank you!

Below is the specs for the machine i want to do the upgrade on with a bad optical drive

Hardware Overview:

Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro4,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.4 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 3 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 800 MHz
Boot ROM Version: MBP41.00C1.B00
SMC Version (system): 1.27f3
Serial Number (system): W88084XHYJX
Hardware UUID: 8693FC2B-591C-50BC-974B-B178B7787BCC
Sudden Motion Sensor:
State: Enabled

 

[Kyffin]

i want to instal snow leopard on my Mac Book Pro but my optical drive just tries to read the disk and after a minute ejects it out and of tried many different disk and drive cleaners and compressed air and using a computer vacuum and still does the same thing. I have my copy of the upgrade that I bought from Apple on line the day it was released so I'm assuming since its never been used its still okay to use it.I'm not tech savy and looking for the easiest way to do this I have access to my neighbors Mac Book a 13 inch laptop 2009 model already running snow leopard and has a working optical drive. I tried to do this myself using his optical drive but with all the warnings about service being cut off having something to do with the network connection and the isp having an issue I figured id better fully understand how to set up and execute this before i mess something up through my own lack of knowledge on the subject any help or if theres an easier way to do this please advise and thank you!

Your optical disk and wi-fi sound a bit dicey- personally I'd steer well clear rather than risk a corrupted OS install. The very easiest way to go about this that I can think of is to get a dirt cheap USB external optical drive and do it from there. I did have a look to see whether restarting your mate's MBP in target disk mode would let you use his MBP as an external optical drive; unfortunately I think thats out. Best of luck tho

Hardware Overview:

Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro4,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.4 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 3 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 800 MHz
Boot ROM Version: MBP41.00C1.B00
SMC Version (system): 1.27f3
Serial Number (system): W88084XHYJX
Hardware UUID: 8693FC2B-591C-50BC-974B-B178B7787BCC
Sudden Motion Sensor:
State: Enabled

Sounds a bit dicey on the wi-fi front/internal optical drive front. Unfortunately I don't think you'll be able to use your mate's MBP in target disk mode as an external optical disk, but they are pretty cheap for a basic one and it would be the very easiest way to go with a cheap USB one. Good luck!

 

[ShinyDren]

If you do not have an external dvd drive as Kyffin suggested, then another option that might work for you is to use the "Remote Install Mac OS X" application (/Applications/Utilities). Connect both computers to the same local network and run that app from your friends computer. It should walk you through the steps needed.

The ISP should not care about it as the traffic is all local and does not pass through them.

 

[dbwalch]

I guess I wasn't too clear on what i need help with. In the manual that I got off of the snow leopard disk when my friend installed his upgrade there is a section on using another computers optical drive to instal the upgrade for computers that do not have an optical drive which I am assuming would include one that doesnt have a working optical drive as well.
In fact below is the section from the manual and my question should have been unless theres an easier way that doesnt require any aditional purchases to do it then doing it this way i just need some help as to how to get my friends computer and mine on the same network,his isp is comcast ethernet connection and my isp is att ethernet connection i tried using the network set up assistant and may have to do with the fact i dont really know how to go about getting the two computers on the same network and i wasnt successful doing so. HELP PLEASE!



System requirements
To upgrade to Snow Leopard or install Snow Leopard for the first time, you must have
a Mac with:
An Intel processor

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An internal or external DVD drive, or DVD or CD Sharing

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At least 1 GB of RAM (additional RAM is recommended)

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A built-in display or a display connected to an Apple-supplied video card supported

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by your computer
At least 5 GB of disk space available, or 7 GB of disk space if you install the developer

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Upgrading using another computer’s optical drive
You can use DVD or CD Sharing to upgrade Mac OS X (or to reinstall your iLife
applications) on a Mac without an optical drive using another computer’s optical drive.
The other computer must have Mac OS X 10.4.10 or later, or Microsoft Windows XP or
Windows Vista.
Note: You don’t need to use Remote Install Mac OS X to upgrade Mac OS X on a Mac
without an optical drive. However, if you need to restore your Mac to factory settings,
then you need to use Remote Install Mac OS X.
1 Make sure both computers are on the same network (wired or wireless).
2 Make sure you have installed DVD or CD Sharing on the computer whose optical drive
you’re using. If the computer is a Mac with Mac OS X 10.5.3 or later, DVD or CD Sharing
is installed.
To install DVD or CD Sharing on a Mac with Mac OS X 10.4.10-10.5.2, see:

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http://support.apple.com/downloads/DVD_or_CD_Sharing_Setup_Update_for_Mac
On a Windows computer, see: http://support.apple.com/downloads/DVD_or_CD_

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Sharing_Update_1_0_for_Windows
3 Make sure you have turned on DVD or CD Sharing on the computer whose optical
drive you’re using.
To turn on DVD or CD Sharing on a Mac, select the “DVD or CD Sharing” checkbox in

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Sharing preferences.
On a Windows computer, select “Enable Remote DVD or CD” in the DVD or CD

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Sharing control panel.
4 Insert the installation disc into the computer’s optical drive.
5 On the computer where you’re installing Mac OS X (or iLife applications), select the
Remote Disc under Devices in a Finder window sidebar.
If you see the “Ask to use” button, click it. On the computer with the installation disc,
click Accept.
6 Select the disc, open the Installer, and then follow the onscreen instructions.

 

[BittenApple]

Have you tried opening the optical drive and cleaning out the dust from the laser? Worked for me.