Question about installing Snow Leopard.

[Daddy Mac]

Hi,

I have a macbook from 2008 that is currently running OS 10.5. I just bought a new macbook and I was wondering if I can use that CD that came with the new macbook to install Snow Leopard on my old macbook. Thanks

 

[miles01110]

No. Grey restore discs only work on the exact model they came with.

 

[saxon48]

no

 

[Daddy Mac]

No. Grey restore discs only work on the exact model they came with.

Thank you miles01110

 

[neonblue2]

You can but only if you have a FireWire cable.

 

[Mal]

You can but only if you have a FireWire cable.

Actually, chances are that won’t work either (and you shouldn’t really post suggestions that are quite so vague, because the people you’re trying to give the suggestions to won’t understand them).

You generally cannot install an earlier version of OS X on any computer than what it came installed with. The exception is of course when they change OS’s during the model’s lifespan, but in this case, the current model MacBook Pro’s likely cannot run 10.5, because they originally shipped with 10.6.x. I haven’t tested all possibilities, but it’s a good general rule.

jW

 

[mlts22]

This is what I'd do: I'd just plunk down the 29 bones and go for a copy of SL. I would be concerned that the hardware-specific OS X media might be missing a driver or something which may be valuable. For the cost of the media, it is definitely worth it because the time spent dealing with possible intermittent problems, or driver issues would easily cost more in time than the OS X upgrade media.

Plus, unless you buy iHome and other items, OS X 10.6 doesn't ship with that. So, it doesn't hurt to install the original 10.5 media on a clean slate, install the applications, then migrate to 10.6, so you have the additional applications, even though they might be a year or two out of date.

 

[Duff-Man]

Duff-Man says....for the hundred-millionth time...(sheesh this question gets asked a lot!)...in addition to the other response about restore disks being model-specific - you are not licensed to install that copy of the OS on more than one computer. Please take a moment and read license agreements - too many people think that having a disk entitles them to install wherever and however many times they please and that is simply not the case.

If you want to upgrade your other computer to 10.6 just spend the $29 - yeah, it is that inexpensive - and get a proper disk....oh yeah!

 

[SuperCompu2]

Plus, unless you buy iHome and other items, OS X 10.6 doesn't ship with that. So, it doesn't hurt to install the original 10.5 media on a clean slate, install the applications, then migrate to 10.6, so you have the additional applications, even though they might be a year or two out of date.

A lot of apps that work in 10.5 work just fine in 10.6, so doing a preliminary install really doesn't make sense. And besides, the upgrade would break the older apps anyway.

Duff-Man says....for the hundred-millionth time...you are not licensed to install that copy of the OS on more than one computer...too many people think that having a disk entitles them to install wherever and however many times they please and that is simply not the case.

While this is technically right, I would still be interested to see if a FireWire install would work for the older MacBook. It can definitely run 10.6, that's for sure. I've done some crazy software installs in my day (including swapping internal HDDs in a laptop mid-install 😱 ), so this kind of thing piques my interest! The cost of a retail disc is kind of built into the cost of the computer, so it's really his license to do what he pleases with. And besides, if he bought the retail disc, it's likely he'd use it for both of these units eventually anyway.

*cue the righteous software police rants*