MacBook Pro will not boot from disc

[abhinav777]

I have a 13" MacBook Pro that used to be fully functional running Snow Leopard. The HDD crashed and was replaced. Now the system will not boot to disc. The system does recognize that there is the Mac OS X Install disc in the drive and I was also able to boot from a friends Mac via firewire.

I am wondering if there is a way to flash the firmware or something of that sort in order to make it work. But any relevant solution is more than welcome.

I am new to Macs but am a computer technician for Windows based systems, so if there is a solution out there thatrequires some skill, I am up for it.

Thanks in advance!

UPDATE: When attempting to boot from disc, it changes from the flashing folder to the Apple logo, the spinning circle comes up, it sits there for an extended period of time and then tells me I need to force reboot the system.

UPDATE2: I have reset the PRAM and NVRAM. Also, I think I may have reset the SMC by accident but I do not remember, I was trying a lot of different key strokes and I remember reading about the SMC.

 

[JediMeister]

Does your 10.6 DVD have a gray label, or the picture of a snow leopard? More to the point, is this the disc your Mac came with?

 

[abhinav777]

The disc I used is actually the original disc that came with the friend's Mac. I am a college student and didn't think to bring the disc to my dorm...

But it has the snow leopard and was supplied with the Mac.

 

[JediMeister]

Therein lies the problem. The gray labeled discs are system specific. If your friend's Mac is a MacBook, the disc will not start up yours. You will need to wait until you have access to your own disc, order a replacement from Apple, or take it to an Apple Store to get your computer up and running with a freshly installed operating system.

 

[abhinav777]

Hmm. But we both have MacBook Pro systems and the disc had a snow leopard on it.

If I were to buy the Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Software from Apple (which costs $29.00 from the Apple store) would it be the right disc?

 

[blow45]

if you can boot from your friend via firewire you could also copy an image of said friend's drive with superduper or carbon copy cloner (free) on your own, excluding user files, and that will sort it out...if I understand what your problem is correctly that is.

 

[abhinav777]

Hmm, I may try out Carbon Copy Cloner, I like the way it looks and functions. Thanks for the tip. I'll get back to you on the turnout.

 

[blow45]

sure, and get back to us if you need anything, although with your windows expertise and the simplicity of the process I don't think you will.

 

[abhinav777]

Other than the fact that the friend forgot their admin password and it's taking forever to boot to his install disc to reset it, I think I will be okay. I think.

 

[abhinav777]

Thank you for the help!

I used Carbon Copy Cloner to clone my room mate's MBP and then just deleted his personal effects.