installing 10.5.2 on Mac mini

I've just acquired - legally - a copy of 10.5.2 to post on my mac mini. The mini meets all the system requirements, but the installer informs me that "this software cannot be installed on this system." The software is "mac common," ie, usable I'd guess by any mac.

Any ideas, suggestions, etc?

Thanks,

Ranger Don

How old is the Mac Mini? It's possible it was released well after 10.5.2, and as such, would be too advanced for that version to be installed.

One of the first

The mini is one of the first models. PPC G4. But it meets the specs for the software -- gig of ram, 1.42 gz processor, etc. Somewhere on the Forum I've read posts which say this model will load 10.5.2, but it's not loading.

All help appreciated.

Cheers,

Ranger Don

Only other thing I can think of. Where did you get the 10.5.2 DVD? Is it black and a Full Retail or White and a version that shipped with another Mac model? If the later, it will not install.

I own the full retail of 10.5.0 and it installed fine on my last generation 1.5Ghz G4 Mini. That was the model right after the 1.42Ghz G4 that apple never officially even mentioned on their site!

Grey....

Bought this from EBay, new, discs only. They are grey, came in clear plastic sleeve. I did consider that they were perhaps keyed to a particular machine, but on the label they're described as "common," which leads me to believe that they should work on any Mac model which meets the specs.

But you may well be correct, in that this version is keyed to a particular machine; in that case, they'll be paperweights.

Thanks,

Ranger Don

I am sure that is the issue. I will post a pic of the Leopard DVD you need in a few. Those are for another machine.

Here is my Lion Retail DVD.

rangerdon said:

But you may well be correct, in that this version is keyed to a particular machine; in that case, they'll be paperweights.

Click to expand...

Yes...they are "paper-weights". The grey/sliver disks are model specific...and almost all the grey/silver OS install disks do not say anything regarding what exact model they are for.

Folks all the time make the mistake of purchasing these grey/silver disks because they are so much less expensive than the full retail "black" OS 10.5 install disks. $20 bucks versus $100 can be pretty attractive to folks not familiar with these details. In fact...why would anyone pay $100 for the black disks...if the gray/silver ones only cost $20 and do the same thing...Hmmm (because the grey ones don't work).

Gotta get the black 10.5 disk.

- Nick

And eBay sellers knows this and market them under a myriad of names, system discs, upgrade, drop-ins etc to separate folks from their hard earned. Be aware Leopard will cost in excess of $100.00.

Thanks, and I'm back to 10.4

Figured that would be the case, but took a chance. Think I'll wait to upgrade the entire system, and live with 10.4 in the meantime.

Thanks for the help,

Cheers,

Ranger Don