How to install OSX on MB with broken DVD drive?

I’ve just inherited a battered MacBook Pro, 15”, 2.2GHz Intel variety. 2008 I think. Trouble is, the previous owner completely wiped the hard disk. And the DVD drive is bust, so I can’t install the OS.

I’ve tried booting from an external USB DVD drive, but it won’t happen – it comes up with a logo on the screen which seems to be telling me to insert the OSX DVD – which I've done. The external drive is known good.

I’ve searched through all sorts of posts etc, but the consensus seems to be that you can't install from scratch from a USB DVD – do you concur?

If so, I don’t really want to splash out on a new internal DVD drive, as I’ll probably never use it again after installing the OS.

Is there anything I can do? I’m using a Leopard Retail disk, which again is known good – I believe it can be used on most Macs?

As a last resort, is the internal DVD drive a standard SATA fitting? I have one or two laptop SATA DVD drives, but they’re the kind with a sliding drawer so I can’t fit them – but maybe I could hook one up temporarily just to install the OS?

All help very gratefully received!

Buy this (Mac OS 10.7 on a USB stick for $69):

OS X Lion USB Thumb Drive - Apple Store (U.S.)

This is the only way for you to install an OS on your MacBook Pro's HD...if the internal optical drive is not working, and an external USB DVD drive is not working either.

As you said...you just "inherited" this "battered" MacBook Pro. Maybe it has logic board issues (why the external USB DVD drive won't work).

Of course if the USB ports have problems (the external DVD drive not working)...then the OS on USB stick may not work either.

Another option is to:

- remove the HD from the computer
- install it into another Macintosh computer (or an external HD case).
- install an OS on it (using a 2nd Mac)
- reinstall into the original computer

These are pretty much your options.

- Nick

Heh – OK, I’ll come clean. I took a chance on it on eBay. Didn’t want to look foolish. I’ve bought several Windows laptops from the charity outfit who were selling it, and they’re very reputable, but their description of this one was a bit thin.

It’s had a knock leaving a decent dent on the screen housing, but the screen is fine. The body is undented, so I’m hoping no internal damage – but as I say, I took a chance, as I want to learn more about these machines.

The external USB DVD seems to work fine in either USB port, as it will boot the machine from a Leopard “CPU Drop-In DVD” that I have – but then it won't proceed, as I haven’t got an existing O/S installed.

I don’t know enough about Macs yet, which is why I bought this one without having to spend too much, but I thought I'd be able to use my Leopard Retail Disk to install from the external drive – but, unlike the Drop In disk, it won't boot.

These are both original disks, by the way – don’t know if that matters though.

So given that the USB ports and external drive seem OK, is it still ture that you simply can't do it this way with a Mac?

Thanks again

hogweed said:

The external USB DVD seems to work fine in either USB port, as it will boot the machine from a Leopard “CPU Drop-In DVD” that I have – but then it won't proceed, as I haven’t got an existing O/S installed.

I don’t know enough about Macs yet, which is why I bought this one without having to spend too much, but I thought I'd be able to use my Leopard Retail Disk to install from the externak drive – but, unlike the Drop In disk, it won't boot.

These are both original disks, by the way – don’t know if that matters though.

So given that the USB ports and external drive seem OK, is it still ture that you simply can't do it this way with a Mac?

Thanks again

Click to expand...

You cannot install Leopard (OS 10.5) with that "Drop-In DVD". With that disk you need a previous OS version installed on the HD.

That full retail Leopard DVD (black disk) should work fine...unless there is some other issue with the computer...or if the disk is damaged or scratched.

You could also try installing Snow Leopard (OS 10.6) on the computer ($29 from the Apple online store). But if the computer has "issues"...then this won't work either.

- Nick

Yeah, the Retail disk seems in pretty poor shape actually – I haven’t used it for nearly 4 years, guess it’s worse than I remembered. Well, I suppose it proves that you can, in principle, install the O/S from an external drive, which contradicts many posts on forums.

All I need now is a new disk…

I’m interested in your suggestion about putting my hard disk in another Mac, installing OSX on it, then moving it to my machine. Only trouble is, I don’t know anyone with this model. My daughter has one of the little white MacBooks though… can OSX reconfigure itself to new hardware if moved to a different machine, like Windows can?

Or won’t it matter, as I’ll just be booting from the drop-in disk, which hopefully will detect OSX on the HDD, and install successfully over it, with the appropriate drivers etc?

hogweed said:

I’m interested in your suggestion about putting my hard disk in another Mac, installing OSX on it, then moving it to my machine. Only trouble is, I don’t know anyone with this model. My daughter has one of the little white MacBooks though… can OSX reconfigure itself to new hardware if moved to a different machine, like Windows can?

Click to expand...

I've done it. It probably helps if the two computers are close in age & model type. But the OS installer may install more of a "universal" OS...so as long as both computers can run OS 10.5...then you should be ok.

hogweed said:

Or won’t it matter, as I’ll just be booting from the drop-in disk, which hopefully will detect OSX on the HDD, and install successfully over it, with the appropriate drivers etc?

Click to expand...

I think that there may be some confusion here...and you may be backtracking too far in this thread (before you said that the retail 10.5 disk you have may be damaged, or in rough shape).

When I said that you could use a 2nd Mac to install 10.5 on the HD from the computer with the bad DVD drive...this was assuming your retail 10.5 DVD was good, and the external USB DVD drive wasn't working with the MacBook Pro you have.

If this was true...then you would be installing 10.5 from that 10.5 retail DVD (using the 2nd computer)...and you would never need to boot from the 10.5 drop in disk (there's no need to boot from the 10.5 drop in disk...if OS 10.5 is already installed on the HD). Also...the 10.5 drop in disk only works if an OLDER OS version is installed.

- Nick

p.s. If the external USB DVD drive is working fine...and the 10.5 retail DVD is the issue (rough shape)...just order yourself a $29 Snow Leopard OS DVD from the Apple online store. You're really making this a lot more complicated than it needs to be!

take it to apple store and let the genius bar handle it, you will not be charged for testing the macbook, the worst case scenario will be let them test your unit and buy the osx if they advise otherwise walk out of the store you have nothing to lose.

Sorry Nick, all is confusion – you wouldn't believe how clever I am with Windows PC’s, but trying to learn about a different type from scratch is a humbling experience. I think my Retail disk is knackered – in fact I think it's cracked! So I’d have to put my HDD in my daughter’s 13” white Macbook, install from her original 2 setup disks, THEN replace the HDD in my MB Pro.

pigoo3 said:

If this was true...then you would be installing 10.5 from that 10.5 retail DVD (using the 2nd computer)...and you would never need to boot from the 10.5 drop in disk (there's no need to boot from the 10.5 drop in disk...if OS 10.5 is already installed on the HD). Also...the 10.5 drop in disk only works if an OLDER OS version is installed.

Click to expand...

Right, but presumably, as with all O/S’s, OSX will configure itself to the hardware it finds, ie Macbook 13”, 2GHz. When I then put the HDD in my MB Pro, 2.2GHz etc, and it boots, it will find all sorts of hardware it wasn't expecting, and minus the hardware it WAS expecting. When Windoze encounters this situation, it goes through all the devices and installs new drivers etc for them – otherwise the display etc wouldn't work properly. I don’t know if OSX does the same?

pigoo3 said:

p.s. If the external USB DVD drive is working fine...and the 10.5 retail DVD is the issue (rough shape)...just order yourself a $29 Snow Leopard OS DVD from the Apple online store. You're really making this a lot more complicated than it needs to be!

Click to expand...

$29? Ah, if only. I live in what we used to call Tony Blair’s Rip-Off Britain (now it's less clear whose rip-off Britain it is…). Here it costs $42 + P&P. And it's not at all clear if this is an upgrade (requiring Leopard already installed) or a stand-alone install. Here’s the one advertised on the UK site:

“Upgrade from Mac OS X Leopard with Snow Leopard, a simpler, more powerful, and more refined version of Mac OS X. It delivers a wide range of enhancements, next-generation technologies, out-of-the-box support for Microsoft Exchange Server, and new accessibility features. It's the world's most advanced operating system, finely tuned from installation to shutdown.”

So I’m not sure…

PS and making things complicated is how I learn

Right, this is good… I managed to borrow someone’s Leopard Retail disk (it’s his backup copy – he didn’t fancy me having the original).

I put it in the same external drive I always used, and booted my daughter’s white 13” Macbook from it. So I put the same drive and disk on the MB Pro; it wouldn’t boot. I replaced the DVD with my original Drop-In Leopard DVD, and it booted from it.

The above should mean that the DVD drive is working fine (I use it all the time anyway, for all sorts of things, and have never had any problems with it); and that the copied Retail Leopard DVD is OK, yes?

So why would the MB Pro boot off the Drop in disk, but not the Retail? Seems really weird… could it be a logic board problem, as suggested above?

hogweed said:

$29? Ah, if only. I live in what we used to call Tony Blair’s Rip-Off Britain (now it's less clear whose rip-off Britain it is…). Here it costs $42 + P&P. And it's not at all clear if this is an upgrade (requiring Leopard already installed) or a stand-alone install. Here’s the one advertised on the UK site:

“Upgrade from Mac OS X Leopard with Snow Leopard, a simpler, more powerful, and more refined version of Mac OS X. It delivers a wide range of enhancements, next-generation technologies, out-of-the-box support for Microsoft Exchange Server, and new accessibility features. It's the world's most advanced operating system, finely tuned from installation to shutdown.”

So I’m not sure…

PS and making things complicated is how I learn

Click to expand...

The retail version of Snow Leopard has and will always be a complete installation discs. Drop-in discs only happen when an OS upgrade occurs. Computers already sent out from the factory with the previous OS get a drop-in disc when they leave the store after the OS upgrade. The drop-in discs are the only ones that require a OS already installed on the machine to work.

hogweed said:

I put it in the same external drive I always used, and booted my daughter’s white 13” Macbook from it. So I put the same drive and disk on the MB Pro; it wouldn’t boot. I replaced the DVD with my original Drop-In Leopard DVD, and it booted from it.

The above should mean that the DVD drive is working fine (I use it all the time anyway, for all sorts of things, and have never had any problems with it); and that the copied Retail Leopard DVD is OK, yes?

So why would the MB Pro boot off the Drop in disk, but not the Retail? Seems really weird… could it be a logic board problem, as suggested above?

Click to expand...

Please tell us exactly what model MacBook Pro you have. If you're not 100% sure...remove the battery...and in the battery bay I believe there is a label with the original shipping configuration of the MBP...and hopefully a model #(post all the info you find there).

Thanks,

- Nick