New HD, OS X wont install.

[Enpallos]

Hey I recently replaced my HD in my girlfriends MBP(15-inch) due to the last one going haywire due to the laptop falling off the bed and hitting pretty hard on the ground. I installed the HD no problem but when I startup it just goes to the Apple logo and nothing happens, ive tried holding down C to make it boot from the CD/DVD Rom first and nothing. Also I forgot what command I used but I finally got the option to show up to Install Mac OS X but when I click on it the same thing happens, it just goes to the apple logo and nothing. Any help would be much appreciated! THANKS TO ALL IN ADVANCE!

Edit: Holding down Option during startup allows the option to install MAC OS X DVD but like I said clicking it just returns me to the white screen with the gray apple logo and nothing happens.

 

[bladerunner88]

Hi it sounds like your new HD needs to be "blessed" or formatted to run on a Mac OSX System. Use the Install DVD as your startup but instead of going ahead withe the System install choose Utilities from the menu at the top of the screen.Choose Disk Utility select your new Hard Drive and format it by selecting Erase from the tabs in Disk Utility you will then be given some options for formatting choose: Mac OS Extended (Journaled).

Once its finished your nu HD should be recognized by a System install DVD.

 

[Enpallos]

Hi it sounds like your new HD needs to be "blessed" or formatted to run on a Mac OSX System. Use the Install DVD as your startup but instead of going ahead withe the System install choose Utilities from the menu at the top of the screen.Choose Disk Utility select your new Hard Drive and format it by selecting Erase from the tabs in Disk Utility you will then be given some options for formatting choose: Mac OS Extended (Journaled).

Once its finished your nu HD should be recognized by a System install DVD.

I know the HD needs to be formatted I just cant get any further during the boot phase to get to the disk utility section... Ive tried tons of different Command keys aswell during boot to try and get to it but no luck.

 

[Mal]

Sounds like the Install disk either isn't working or isn't compatible. Is it the disk that came with that computer?

jW

 

[thefizzle657]

Hey I recently replaced my HD in my girlfriends MBP(15-inch) due to the last one going haywire due to the laptop falling off the bed and hitting pretty hard on the ground. I installed the HD no problem but when I startup it just goes to the Apple logo and nothing happens, ive tried holding down C to make it boot from the CD/DVD Rom first and nothing. Also I forgot what command I used but I finally got the option to show up to Install Mac OS X but when I click on it the same thing happens, it just goes to the apple logo and nothing. Any help would be much appreciated! THANKS TO ALL IN ADVANCE!

Edit: Holding down Option during startup allows the option to install MAC OS X DVD but like I said clicking it just returns me to the white screen with the gray apple logo and nothing happens.

Hmm, if it hit the ground pretty hard then maybe there is some sort of internal damage. Maybe you need to take it to an Apple Store and ask them to run diagnostics on it.

 

[AppleNewton]

Check the cable connections for the HDD & Optical Drive. if its not reading the Install DVD it sounds like when it fell something in the Optical Drive may have been damaged.

one thing you may be able to try is put the MBP in Target Disk mode.
Put the MBP with the new HDD in Target Disk Mode, and using your other Mac via FireWire put the install media in there and make sure it installs to the other MacBook Pros HDD and doesn't overwrite your current system.

Atleast at that point you'll have a functioning machine; theoretically if its not other internal damage; and then you can figure out whats going on with the optical drive.

 

[Enpallos]

Check the cable connections for the HDD & Optical Drive. if its not reading the Install DVD it sounds like when it fell something in the Optical Drive may have been damaged.

one thing you may be able to try is put the MBP in Target Disk mode.
Put the MBP with the new HDD in Target Disk Mode, and using your other Mac via FireWire put the install media in there and make sure it installs to the other MacBook Pros HDD and doesn't overwrite your current system.

Atleast at that point you'll have a functioning machine; theoretically if its not other internal damage; and then you can figure out whats going on with the optical drive.

Its not the optical drive, like I said I can get it to show up when I hold down option during boot. and its not the HD. It just pretty much locks up after I click install OS X DVD.

Im just oging to guess that its a macbook pro 15-inch and im trying to use a macbookpro 13-inch MAC OS X DVD setup disc is the issue. Tho the 13-inch is a newer ver then the one the 15-inch had.

 

[AppleNewton]

Its not the optical drive, like I said I can get it to show up when I hold down option during boot. and its not the HD. It just pretty much locks up after I click install OS X DVD.

Im just oging to guess that its a macbook pro 15-inch and im trying to use a macbookpro 13-inch MAC OS X DVD setup disc is the issue. Tho the 13-inch is a newer ver then the one the 15-inch had.

Oh that could be why, but was never mentioned in previous posts. Yeah you're gonna need the restore discs for that machine or a way to install lion.

 

[Enpallos]

Oh that could be why, but was never mentioned in previous posts. Yeah you're gonna need the restore discs for that machine or a way to install lion.

Yeah I was hoping it would be something else, how am I supposed to find the right MAC OS X DVD setup disc for my MBP tho if its quite dated (late 2009) Ive tried to find online but all i can manage to find is current versions going for like 300$

 

[thekev]

Ive tried to find online but all i can manage to find is current versions going for like 300$

That pricing is asinine. I just read through this stuff again. If it's locking up once you click on install from the dvd, and I mean really locking up, not just taking an excessive amount of time to work, you have a hardware issue. It could in theory be several things, but this isn't an issue of hard drive formatting.

Oh that could be why, but was never mentioned in previous posts. Yeah you're gonna need the restore discs for that machine or a way to install lion.

If it's locking up on him before he can even get to the disk utility function, which "is" included on both retail copies and your typical restore disks, he has a hardware problem. No lion installation method will fix that.

 

[blueroom]

If you can find it Snow Leopard for any Intel Mac is $30.

Since the OP put 300$ I doubt that's US dollars.

 

[Enpallos]

Perhaps the HD isnt compatible with the mac motherboard then? Its a seagate 320gb 2.5'' 5200 RPM. And the 300$ is just a high price I saw on amazon. I see 10.6.3 Snow Leopard going for 35$ however now im not certain its the OS but now the HD.

EDIT: scratch that its a WD but I have verified its compatible with the MBP's motherboard.