Reinstalling Mac OS X - NO Idea where to start?!

Okay so I'm trying to reinstall my MacBook Pro, here are the basic specs if anybody needs them:

MacBook Pro OS X
Version: 10.6.7
Processor 2.53 GHz Intel Core i5
Memory: 4GB 1067 MHz DDR3

Any else, ask.


The whole thing has been running slow, and I'm not sure what that is in relation to. Either way, I want to reinstall the OS.
I installed bootcamp ages ago, but I was never able to get rid of it normally. I formatted it to something and erased it and now it's gone, not shown anywhere, nor on start up when i hit the 'alt' key, so I'm hoping that's good.

Now, when I insert the disk and try to install it while the whole laptop is running, it says 'Mac cannot be installed on this computer', i've searched for answers and a lot of them have said to boot the cd from start and wipe it clean. While I do this, It stays on the white apple screen when i press the 'C' key, and it does not move. To be sure it's not the C key, I hit 'alt' and two choices come up. Mactintosh HD and the CD i'm using. I enter the CD, and same result.

I have verified disk perimissions, repaired them, and all was fine. I have had all externalities disconnected from my MacBook, even the powercord.

I have also reste PRAM settings 4-5 times. No luck.

A few have said for me to wipe my HD clean using Disk Utility, and just do Erase. This cannot be done, the areas are greyed out, and the only option for erase, is 'Erase free space.' The Mac HD is formatted as 'Mac OS Extended (Journaled) I cannot do any changes to it.

I have tried to erase the Main HD which is titled '500.11 GB TOSHIBA MK5055GSXF Media' again, no luck.


Can anybody help me reinstall my mac please?!

Thanks in advance,
Nick

1. You need the disc that came with your Mac, not the one that came with another Mac. Those discs are system type specific.

2. No, you can't erase the drive while you're booted up into the OS. You're asking it to delete itself. To do that you need to boot from the disc. However, wouldn't suggest you do that with someone else's disc, since it's not going to install even after you erase it.

3. A clean install is rarely required on a Mac. It would be better to troubleshoot your issue. What is your issue? Just running slow? How much free space do you have on the drive? Have you run a utility like Onyx to do a little house cleaning? Have you reset your browsers?

If you want to do and erase/re-install, try this. Put the Disk in that came with the Mac while the machine is on. Go to the Apple Logo on the top left, click on it, and then on System Preferences. Then click on "Startup Disk."

See if the Disk that you inserted shows up in the window as a choice. If it does, highlight it, then click on Restart. After the machine has restarted, click on Utilities, then Disk Utility, then it should allow you to erase the Disk. Then re-install.

Yeah I'm just trying to get a clean reinstall.

The disk I'm using, does not work. Everytime I boot from the CD, or I believe I do anyway, *Using cd as startup disk* it loads for hours and hours on end and no result?
No Utilities show up, no options, nothing?!

Sounds like your optical drive is faulty. This is a big problem with laptops and iMacs generally.

TheDarkCalling said:

Yeah I'm just trying to get a clean reinstall.

The disk I'm using, does not work. Everytime I boot from the CD, or I believe I do anyway, *Using cd as startup disk* it loads for hours and hours on end and no result?
No Utilities show up, no options, nothing?!

Click to expand...

As bobtomay said, a reinstall is rarely - if ever - required on a UNIX-based system. It's not like Windows where it will build up crud or suffer registry rot. Before you do anything, I'd recommend having a look at this article:

Mac-Forums Blog » Mac Hardware » Basic Mac Troubleshooting

Okay so I just had a look at my disk utility for the nth time now..and only now I see on my harddrive, 500.11 GB TOSHIBA MK5055GSXF Media - my S.M.A.R.T Status is failing? What does this mean? Could it be a reason why my Mac is running unbelievably slow?

It sounds like you have a pretty new MBP.....Did you purchased the Apple Care Protection Plan? Either way, even if you didn't, if your MBP is still under Hardware Warranty, and the Optical Drive may have gone bad, I would contact Apple and tell them what's going on. If they feel the Drive is bad, they should replace it. If that is the issue.

Alright, thank you for the help guys, much appreciated.

When you talk to them mention the message that you got about the S.M.A.R.T status failing. That is an indication that the hard drive may be going bad.

SmartStatus never fibs so be ready for a replacement hard drive.