How to do a Snow Leopard clean install?

I inherited an old white MacBook model 2.1 from my daughter. It's gotten very slow and I figure after all these years (2007) it would benefit from a clean install of Snow Leopard to get rid of all the accumulated garbage. I am very familiar with Microsoft OS licenses but not Mac licenses.

She gave me two old install disks from the original OS X operating system that came with the computer but neither have license keys. The Snow Leopard she said she bought herself but I see no license keys on the package that I may need for a reinstall. There are some numbers on the bottom of the package but they don't look like the 4 section numerical format for Microsoft that I'm used to. Maybe I have the key and don't know it. Does Mac software need the license keys? I'm afraid I will get half way into the install and it will ask me for keys I don't have. How can I do a clean install with the disks I have or can I? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

hy_tek said:

I inherited an old white MacBook model 2.1 from my daughter. It's gotten very slow and I figure after all these years (2007) it would benefit from a clean install of Snow Leopard to get rid of all the accumulated garbage. I am very familiar with Microsoft OS licenses but not Mac licenses.

Click to expand...

OS reinstalls are generally not needed on Macintosh computers...but sometimes it makes folks feel like they are starting "fresh"...if they get a "new to me" computer.

hy_tek said:

She gave me two old install disks from the original OS X operating system that came with the computer but neither have license keys. The Snow Leopard she said she bought herself but I see no license keys on the package that I may need for a reinstall.

Click to expand...

Mac OS install disks are not like Windows install disks...there are no serial numbers, licenses, COA's, etc. The rule is...one active install/set of disks. Basically it's the "honor system"!

I would also add...if this computer is from 2007...and the disks you have are gray-colored...the OS version on them will not be Snow Leopard (as indicated by the thread title). Snow Leopard is OS 10.6...and the version on those gray disks will be older. If you want to onstall OS 10.6 Snow Leopard...you need to buy a Snow Leopard install disk.

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

OS reinstalls are generally not needed on Macintosh computers...but sometimes it makes folks feel like they are starting "fresh"...if they get a "new to me" computer.



Mac OS install disks are not like Windows install disks...there are no serial numbers, licenses, COA's, etc. The rule is...one active install/set of disks. Basically it's the "honor system"!

I would also add...if this computer is from 2007...and the disks you have are gray-colored...the OS version on them will not be Snow Leopard (as indicated by the thread title). Snow Leopard is OS 10.6...and the version on those gray disks will be older. If you want to onstall OS 10.6 Snow Leopard...you need to buy a Snow Leopard install disk.

- Nick

Click to expand...

I have a retail copy of Snow Leopard that she purchased so I'm good to go. Basically I just want to clean out all the old programs she added and things and start over. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

Pop in the disk, reboot, hold down 'C' immediately after the chime.Leave Installer and gop to utilities > Disk Utility and run Erase. Format Mac OS Extended (Journaled), into Partition and select one single partition, under Options ensure GUID is selected. Back to Installer and run.

Then update to OS X.6.8.