I've been an idiot

[Maximus38]

Bought a cheaper version of Leopard on ebay, was warned by the buyer that it might not work on all IMacs but went ahead and bought it anyway.

Okay, hands up, I know that was a foolish thing to do, and I'm not arguing the toss about it. However, what I want to know is, what the hell did I buy?? It's a bona fide Apple iMac OSX 10.5.2 disk, but when I tried to install it, it simply said that it would not install on this system, end of story. Any suggestions?

My iMac is a 1.83 Core Duo 17" bought in 2006

 

[bartelby]

You bought a machine specific disk, one that comes with a computer.

 

[robbieduncan]

How can I put this? It's not a bona-fide OSX Install Disk. It's a bona-fide System Restore Disk for a specific Mac. It is against the EULA to install that copy of OSX on any machine other than the one it shipped with. It is locked to the precise generation of iMac it shipped with.

 

[pagansoul]

Did the disc come with it's box or did you just get a blank sleeve? What is the writing on the disc, picture of an X with leopard spots or is it simply green or gray? Remember when you buy a new machine it comes with a copy (often 2 disc set) to re-install your system should something go wrong...it is not to used to install OSX on another machine.

 

[r0k]

I suggest you return the disk, or sell it but clearly identify it as a restore disk.

You can get the restore disk for your system directly from Apple for much less than the retail cost of OS X because your license to run Leopard is tied to your hardware. Go to about this mac and click the version a few times until your serial number appears and make a note of it.

Call Applecare (it doesn't matter if you purchased applecare).

Tell them you want to buy a restore disk and give them your serial number.

This lets them know you aren't trying to get a disk for hackintosh or some other spurious purpose and they should be willing to sell it to you.

Don't lose it this time.

 

[Maximus38]

Thanks fpr your suggestions guys. I'm returning the disk and the seller has agreed to give my money back. I may try out that Restore disk idea, on the other hand I might just go to the Apple store, buy the product and pay a few extra pounds just for the peace of mind....