Snow Leopard install issues since HD crash - 2006 Macbook

I have a late 2006 1.83 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Macbook that came with Tiger 10.4.11.
In the past I have upgraded the OS successfully to 10.6.3, but since my HD has recently crashed I am unable to upgrade to Snow Leopard again.

I think the issue is that I have 2 x 2GB of RAM installed. But I no longer own the original 2 x 512MB RAM sticks that came with my Mac, so I'm hoping someone knows a work around.

I wrote down the error message awhile ago, but I can't remember exactly the wording. Something about 'can't find necessary files'.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! 10.4.11 is almost comical how outdated it is.

mittensocks said:

I have a late 2006 1.83 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Macbook that came with Tiger 10.4.11.
In the past I have upgraded the OS successfully to 10.6.3, but since my HD has recently crashed I am unable to upgrade to Snow Leopard again.

Click to expand...

One question...how did you upgrade this MacBook to 10.6.3 "Snow Leopard" in the past?

Secondly...of course you cannot upgrade your current MacBook's HD to Snow Leopard...since as you mentioned...your hard drive has "crashed". My definition of "crashed" is the hard drive is dead...and needs to be replaced. Unless you mean something else by the term "crashed".

mittensocks said:

I think the issue is that I have 2 x 2GB of RAM installed. But I no longer own the original 2 x 512MB RAM sticks that came with my Mac, so I'm hoping someone knows a work around.

Click to expand...

The ram really shouldn't be an issue. But I think that first we need to clear up what the current state of this HD is...totally dead...or just not being "cooperative".

- Nick

In the past I updated the OS off a snow leopard disc I purchased.

Sorry, to clarify, I have a new HD which I have partitioned and installed Tiger on to from the install discs that were included when I originally purchased my mac in 2006.

Unfortunately I can't upgrade to Snow Leopard this time, as there is an error. Reading around it sounds like it does in fact has to do with having extra RAM installed, but no real solutions.

I'll run the install again right now and write down exactly what the error is.

"Install Failed. Mac OS X could not be installed on your computer.
The installer could not copy the necessary support files.
Click restart to restart your computer and try installing again."

mittensocks said:

"Install Failed. Mac OS X could not be installed on your computer.
The installer could not copy the necessary support files.
Click restart to restart your computer and try installing again."

Click to expand...

So you're saying that you were able to install Tiger on this new HD...but not Snow Leopard...is this right? If so...if you can install Tiger...you should be able to install Snow Leopard (and the whole ram theory shouldn't matter).

What does your Snow Leopard look like...mostly white with a picture of a Snow Leopard on it...or is it a gray/silver colored disk?

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

So you're saying that you were able to install Tiger on this new HD...but not Snow Leopard...is this right? If so...if you can install Tiger...you should be able to install Snow Leopard (and the whole ram theory shouldn't matter).

What does your Snow Leopard look like...mostly white with a picture of a Snow Leopard on it...or is it a gray/silver colored disk?

- Nick

Click to expand...

Thanks for your help Nick.

Yes exactly. Tiger installed on this HD but not Snow Leopard. Tiger is off a gray/silver disc just called install disc 1 and install disc 2, which was included when I purchased the Mac.

The snow leopard disc is mostly white with a picture of a snow leopard.
'Mac OS X Snow Leopard'
'Install DVD Version 10.6.3'

mittensocks said:

Yes exactly. Tiger installed on this HD but not Snow Leopard. Tiger is off a gray/silver disc just called install disc 1 and install disc 2, which was included when I purchased the Mac.

The snow leopard disc is mostly white with a picture of a snow leopard.
'Mac OS X Snow Leopard'
'Install DVD Version 10.6.3'

Click to expand...

The first thing I would try is:

- boot the computer from the Snow Leopard disk (don't start any sort of install)
- once booted...open "Disk Utility" and reformat the new HD
- quit Disk Utility
- proceed with the Snow Leopard install...and hopefully everything goes well.

- Nick

p.s. I also wanted to confirm...you have successfully installed Snow Leopard from this disk you have previously (on your old HD for this computer)...is this correct?

Awesome, I will give that a shot tomorrow after I get home from work. For now I must head to bed though.

Yes, I was able to install Snow Leopard successfully from this DVD install disc to my old HD on this computer. This was prior to installing my new RAM though.

Thanks again, hopefully by this time tomorrow it will be smooth sailing with Snow Leopard.

Like Nick said, the RAM probably has nothing at all to do with your install issue. Try what Nick suggested and if you get the same error, report back. It could be damage on the Snow Leopard DVD. Look at the surface and look for any smudges or scratches.

pigoo3 said:

The first thing I would try is:

- boot the computer from the Snow Leopard disk (don't start any sort of install)
- once booted...open "Disk Utility" and reformat the new HD
- quit Disk Utility
- proceed with the Snow Leopard install...and hopefully everything goes well.

- Nick

p.s. I also wanted to confirm...you have successfully installed Snow Leopard from this disk you have previously (on your old HD for this computer)...is this correct?

Click to expand...

Is reformatting as simple as Erasing and Partitioning the drive again? There is no 'reformat' option.
Is "Don't Erase Data" option enough, or do I have to select a higher option such as "Zero out Data."

mittensocks said:

Is reformatting as simple as Erasing and Partitioning the drive again? There is no 'reformat' option.
Is "Don't Erase Data" option enough, or do I have to select a higher option such as "Zero out Data."

Click to expand...

- Click on the "Erase" tab in the Disk Utility window
- Select "Mac OS Extended (Journaled) from the drop-down menu next to "Format:" (this may be the default option)
- Then click on the "Erase" button
- Quit "Disk Utility"
- Procede with the OS install
- Keep your fingers crossed!

- Nick

Bam! We are back in business!
So I followed your steps Nick but unfortunately still had the same problem.

Booked an appointment a Genius Bar guy and he figured there was an issue with the disc. It looked fine to me but he loaded Snow Leopard from their network in-store and I was out the door in 15 minutes! I was apprehensive about booking with them as was unsure if they might charge me an arm and a leg. Nope, no charge. Really nice guy to deal with.

Thanks for the help Nick and Travis.

mittensocks said:

Bam! We are back in business!
So I followed your steps Nick but unfortunately still had the same problem.

Booked an appointment a Genius Bar guy and he figured there was an issue with the disc. It looked fine to me but he loaded Snow Leopard from their network in-store and I was out the door in 15 minutes! I was apprehensive about booking with them as was unsure if they might charge me an arm and a leg. Nope, no charge. Really nice guy to deal with.

Thanks for the help Nick and Travis.

Click to expand...

Congrats on getting things working!!! Yeah...no problems (usually) with the Apple Store & "Genius" appointments. I was at my local Apple Store twice two weekends ago...and they didn't charge me anything for the help I received. BUT...I'm pretty sure the same help via the Apple "800" phone number would have cost some $$$. So having a local Apple Store comes in VERY handy.

Yeah...a bad install disk (which Dennis (dtravis7)) suggested above can certainly cause issues. If you intend on continuing to run Snow Leopard (and your disk is bad)...it might be a good idea to purchase another Snow Leopard install disk (just a thought).

Congrats again,

- Nick