PLEASE HELP!!! Upgrade OS X 10.5.8 to 10.6.7

[AaronDank]

Hey everyone, thanks for taking time to read this.
So I have a MacBook Pro purchased in 2007 running OS X 10.5.8.
I have resisted upgrading for many years in fear of slowing down an already "aging" machine; however, I need to upgrade my OS in order to install software required by my graduate school.
I am attempting to upgrade from OS X 10.5.8 directly to OS X 10.6.7
Note: My CD/DVD drive is busted!

I was able to get an OS X 10.6.7 disc formatted properly onto a USB drive to install on my MacBook Pro.
I insert the USB key, reboot my computer, hold ALT/option, and select the option to boot the OS X install disk from my USB drive.
The following occurs:

- Select Language: (English)
Preparing Installaton ...
After 5 seconds or less, a small error message pops-up:
Mac OS X can't be installed on this computer.
If you want to restore your system from a Time Machine backup click "Restore from backup." (Restore from backup) / (Restart)
...
I've researched allover and cannot find any answers to my problem. I suppose I could have a "bad install," but I am nearly positive everything was transferred/formatted properly and the error message itself seems to indicate the matter is with the computer.

According to my research, my laptop meets all the system requirements for Snow Leopard, so I really don't know what to do. If anyone has any suggestions on how to troubleshoot this I would sincerely appreciate it!

Thanks,
Aaron

Oh, and my system specs are as follows:
MacBook Pro 15" : Model A1226 (Purchased new in 2007)
Current Version: OS X 10.5.8
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number of Cores: 2
Memory: 2gb

Chipset Model: GeForce 8600M GT
VRAM (Total): 128 mb

 

[chrfr]

Hey everyone, thanks for taking time to read this.
So I have a MacBook Pro purchased in 2007 running OS X 10.5.8.
I have resisted upgrading for many years in fear of slowing down an already "aging" machine; however, I need to upgrade my OS in order to install software required by my graduate school.
I am attempting to upgrade from OS X 10.5.8 directly to OS X 10.6.7
Note: My CD/DVD drive is busted!

I was able to get an OS X 10.6.7 disc formatted properly onto a USB drive to install on my MacBook Pro.

You'd need to start with a 10.6.3 DVD. The 10.6.7 installer is model-specific and won't work on your computer. The 10.6.3 version is the one available at retail and is not model-specific.

 

[AaronDank]

AHHHH Thank you so much! I will report back once I get everything together.

 

[AaronDank]

You'd need to start with a 10.6.3 DVD. The 10.6.7 installer is model-specific and won't work on your computer. The 10.6.3 version is the one available at retail and is not model-specific.

GREAT SUCCESS!!!! IT WORKED!!!!!

Thank you so much man. I installed OS X 10.6.3, it immediately downloaded updates, rebooted, updated once again (automatically), and now I am running OS X 10.6.8!!! I can't tell you how excited I am, I had been putting this off for literally, years.

The best part is my computer actually seems to be functioning/processing even better/faster than before!

Would you suggest upgrading all the way to Mavericks, or might that begin to place a strain on my hardware and slow my performance?

Does anyone have any suggestions with regard to the optimal version of OS X given my hardware?

Thanks chrfr for saving the day, and thanks to anyone else in advanced for any/all help and suggestions!

Peace.

Current Machine/Hardware:

MacBook Pro 15" : Model A1226 (Purchased new in 2007)
Current Version: OS X 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard)
Processor Name: 2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number of Cores: 2
Memory: 2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
Internal Storage: 120 GB (37 GB FREE, remaining)
External Storage: 1 TB USB hard drive

Chipset Model: GeForce 8600M GT
VRAM (Total): 128 mb
------------
Would upgrading my 2gb of memory to 4gb have any significant improvement on my computer's performance, particularly SPEED?

 

[Fishrrman]

OP asks:
[[ Would you suggest upgrading all the way to Mavericks, or might that begin to place a strain on my hardware and slow my performance? ]]

I've been criticized in this forum before for saying this, but I would recommend that you NOT upgrade to Mavericks on that machine.

Without an internal SSD and at least 4gb of RAM, you will probably be very disappointed in the overall slowdowns that result from it.

If you feel the need to "go further" from where you are now, I'd recommend Mountain Lion (10.8.5) as the best option. But you'll probably want more RAM for that.

Suggestion: if you are happy with 10.6.8 (I still use it as the primary OS on my 2010 MacBook Pro), stay "where you are". It's a smooth, fast, capable OS...