Needing help with OS X reinstall

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Alright, first off, I'm new to the Mac family.. I don't know a lot about them, but I am trying to learn.. I'd much rather fix my toys myself then take them somewhere else.. >.<

I bought a used MacBook Pro and I'm wanting to do a new OS install to make sure it's clean and their data is gone.. I put the disk in, tell it to install, it asks me to restart, I do, and nothing.. I hear the drive spinning but all that happens is the screen flashes gray for a few seconds then flashes black.. I've let it run and flash for 10+ mins and then I give up, pop the disk out and it just loads normally..

If someone could help me, that would be great.. I've done searches and I just can't seem to find anyone having the same issue or how to solve it..
 

chscag

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Welcome to the Mac Forums.

In order to boot from the DVD it either has to be the one that originally came with the MBP or a retail version of OS X.

But first, how about telling us which MBP you have - year and model, and also what version of OS X it's running. You can find that information by clicking on the Apple icon in the upper left of the screen and selecting "About This Mac".
 
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I'm not sure if the disks are the ones that came with this machine or another one, but they are the OS disks for a MBPro.. I'm currently running 10.6.8(after updates) where the disks are 10.4.9.. I did read something that said you can't go from a new version to an older, so maybe this has something to do with it..?

It's a late 2008
Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro5,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.8 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 6 MB
Memory: 4 GB
 

chscag

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That's a late 2008 MacBook Pro which came with Leopard pre-installed. (OS X 10.5.X) Those disks (10.4.9) you have will not work. You need to buy a Snow Leopard retail install DVD. You can purchase one at either an Apple Store or Best Buy for $29. You might wish instead to wait for Lion (OS X 10.7.X) which will be released in July.
 
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You need Snow Leopard to intall Lion. It's obligatory according to everything Steve Jobs and Apple have said recently.
 
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You have Tiger.

First, reboot and stick the disk in there, and hold down the 'C' key before the chime as you start up. I'd be surprised if ANY Mac OS X installation DVD doesn't work. I've had an old MacBook and put a previous version on there. You're starting fresh, ignoring what's on the hard disk. This saves paying for Snow. I hope the disk is not damaged.

As it loads, before installing, if you really want to erase the hard disk, use Utilities --> Disk Utility first, and scrub the disk, choosing HFS+ (journaled) unless you have a preference.

If I was you, I'd just use the system you have already. No need to fix, if it's not broken. You can remove any junk you don't like.
 
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You have Tiger.

Yes they do but bc they have a late 2008 MBP the latest OS to go on to it is 10.5.x as chscag stated in a earlier post so the Tiger disc's wont work.

Cheers
 

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