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Ten Mac Pro's - Unique install DVD for each?

phalewhale

phalewhale

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 10, 2007
666
0
Hi, I have a genuine question I hope someone could answer.
I have 10 Mac Pro's. Can I use any one of the installation disks in any of the Mac Pro's if I need to erase and re-install or is each disk specific to the machine it came with? Basically, do I need to keep all 10 discs, or can I just keep one and a backup and destroy the rest?

Ideally I would like Apple to clear this one up for me but I've tried Geniuses and Applecare and they seemed pretty unsure...

Any help appreciated!
 
System Restore discs are not machine-specific. They are model-specific. Just because you have 10 Mac Pro's doesn't mean that you have 10 computers of the same model. You will have to determine which, if any, of your computers are the same model.
 
MisterMe said:
System Restore discs are not machine-specific. They are model-specific. Just because you have 10 Mac Pro's doesn't mean that you have 10 computers of the same model. You will have to determine which, if any, of your computers are the same model.
Click to expand...

Continuation: If all of them are the same model, you can keep one disk around for all of them. If you have some 2006 and some 2008, you'll need to keep two disks around and take care not to mix them up between computers.
 
Thanks guys. Also wanted to make sure I wasn't contraveining any licence agreement too.
Thanks for the advice!
 
Oh, and one final thing...

For machines and discs that are now mixed, does anyone have any idea how I will go about finding which disk goes with which machine?
 
What about iMac's too Unfortunately I am inheriting a bit of a disorganised system and don't want to be hunting around for a specific disk in the event of a problem
 
Tallest Skil said:
They're machine and revision specific. There is no way on Earth that a Mac Pro restore disk will work in an iMac.
Click to expand...

Yeah I know - sorry I might not have been clear. I don't have the original purchase orders or anything like that and I have a big bundle of disks, each one simply says "For Mac Computers Mac OS X Install Disk 1" and "Mac OS X Install Disk 2"

Every Mac I've had at home has normally referred to the model, e.g. For iMac or MBP, etc.

Howevwer, the Disks I have don't state if they are for MP's, or iMacs whatever. :(
 
To find which machine a disc is for:

1. Get an external drive, make a HFS+ partition
2. Plug it in to machine X
3. Use the disc to install OSX. The install will work.
4. On first boot, after the user setup, OSX will show an error message if the disc you used is not for machine X

You only need to do this for different models. So, you'd need an iMac disc, a Mac Pro disc, MacBook Pro disc...etc. The discs are mass-produced for each model, so each disc is unique to each model, not each machine (all 2008 Mac Pros can install off the same disc, all 2008 iMacs can install off another disc).
 
One other thought on this: You may want to keep all the restore disks, in the event that you want to sell any of the systems down the road. Any buyer would want the restore disk that came with the system they buy.
 
Ok... so if the model identifier (in profiler) is the same on all iMacs, is it safe to assume that one disc should work for them all? It is simply not practical for me to reinstall OSX on each machine
 
phakebrill said:
Thanks guys. Also wanted to make sure I wasn't contraveining any licence agreement too.
Thanks for the advice!
Click to expand...

Just one more note about that- you would only be in violation of the license issues if you did not retain the disks that came with each machine- in other words if you chose to eBay the others then technically you would be in violation of the EULA that accompanies the software.

Just using one set on a bunch of identical models for simplicity would not breach that.
 
sickmacdoc said:
Just one more note about that- you would only be in violation of the license issues if you did not retain the disks that came with each machine- in other words if you chose to eBay the others then technically you would be in violation of the EULA that accompanies the software.

Just using one set on a bunch of identical models for simplicity would not breach that.
Click to expand...

Not planning on doing that! The CD shredder will be their final destination...
But, one more thing, as I asked before, if the model identifier (in profiler) is the same on all iMacs, is it safe to assume that one disc should work for them all?
 
phakebrill said:
Not planning on doing that! The CD shredder will be their final destination...
But, one more thing, as I asked before, if the model identifier (in profiler) is the same on all iMacs, is it safe to assume that one disc should work for them all?
Click to expand...

Yes, that should be a safe assumption.

I would recommend not shredding all of the extra disk sets, btw. Save them somewhere out of the way, or at least one or two of each, just in case your one copy gets scratched or lost or something. They're not easy to find replacements for.

jW
 
Cheers Mal, good advice.

You're right, I will probably save a few for backup purposes.
Thanks to everyone else too!
 
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