Trying to Install OSX on Macbook Air?

I connected an external drive, restarted using the Option key and selected the "Install disk" but nothing seems to be happening, the white screen is there with the apple icon and nothing seems to be happening either on the screen or on the disk in the drive, the owner told me he had deleted a partition on the mac, looking around the net I am seeing instructions stating I would need to "change the partition scheme for the disk by repartitioning it" but how is this done please?

What MBA?

What Install Disk?

sorry, Snow leopard

And which MBA is it? If it shipped with something later than 10.6, there is the possiblity 10.6 will not boot.

Sorry, I don't know what MBA means? The Apple disc I have is version 10.6.3

MBA = MacBook Air

Thanks. So if I understand correctly, you are saying that this MBA might have been shipped with an OSX which is newer than the one I am currently loading so I can't downgrade on a mac? I

I have a bootable disc with Lion on it, I just tried booting from it but after I selected the EFI BOOT upon restart, the next screen shows a circle with a slash in the middle then the unit shut itself down, any ideas please?

Have you tried booting it while holding "command" + "R" ?

You have no idea what MBA this is - year - anything?

No, you'll not be able to install an OS X version prior to the version a Mac ships with.

Have an idea that the owner left out some info about what has happened to it.

What options are available booting with the option key?

Owner says 2011, he said he deleted a partition and then tried to load the OS but couldn't. When I tried booting with command + R , options are Choose Network and there's a spinning Globe. With the Option key, Choose Network and EFI Boot.

Said you have a bootable Lion installer - tried that one?
If it won't boot to the Lion installer, I'd say it's time to have Apple do a diagnostics on it.

Starting to guess there were other problems prior to him deleting the partition.

The lion did not work [see post #9]. In windows whenever I want to rule out system problems, I would run a linux OS from a bootable disk to know if the hard drive may be at fault, is there Mac system to do the same?

I can see Mike's problem will be not having an Apple ID to access the App Store for operating systems and /or updates. Can you try booting with the Lion Disc in place, and holding down "C"? If you get it to boot leave the Installer and go to Utilities in the top bar, select the hard drive and erase and format Mac OS Extended and then run the Installer. Lion never came on a DVD so maybe the previous owner made his own copy and who knows how reliable it would be?

Sounds like the original owner deleted the Mac OS X partition for privacy reasons and alas the Lion operating system stays in his name forever.

With my lion disc, whenever I try to boot from it, all I see is a circle with a slash in it then unit shuts down by itself. I inserted my Snow Leopard disc and chose the network option and connected to my network, the mac installer showed and I clicked on it, the next screen only shows the Apple icon nothing else seems to be happening? I had thought connecting to my network would have give me some options? Also, how long does it normally take for the installer to start installing?

Have you tried using this Lion disc to boot another Mac? Does it work?

If it does, then based on your description of booting this machine with that same disc, this Mac has other hardware problems you're not going to solve by attempting to boot to an installation disc. It's time to take it to Apple for some hardware diagnostics.

If you can't boot to that disc on your functioning Mac, then that disc is no good.

If it boots to the Snow Leopard installer, have you gone into Disk Utility instead of starting the installer and tried a Verify and Repair on the drive? - and if no errors are reported, then partitioned the drive? - if there is no partition, then it's not going to install and could just sit there spinning looking for a partition.

bobtomay said:

If it boots to the Snow Leopard installer, have you gone into Disk Utility instead of starting the installer

Click to expand...

I don't have my personal mac here to test the lion disk. Regarding the above, I don't know how to go into the disk utility?

Instead of starting the installer - you click on Utility in the Menu bar and select Disk Utility.

With the Lion installer causing the machine to just shut down ("assuming" it is a functioning installer) and if the Snow Leopard disc is not loading up to the point where you have the Menu bar, then I am back to the suggestion of having Apple run diagnostics on this machine. (My personal first thought is liquid damage at some time in the past.)

Oh, yes, i know how to go into the disk utility from within the desktop, I thought you were saying there is a way to do in some other way using the Snow leopard disk. Guess I'll have to tell the owner to take it to apple.

mikehende said:

...I thought you were saying there is a way to do in some other way using the Snow leopard disk. ...

Click to expand...

That's exactly what I was saying - go into Disk Utility from the SL disc.
Edited - re-read my last post.


The drive has to be partitioned/formatted from the installer prior to being able to install the OS.

Then I am missing something here as I am not seeing a way to "go into the Disk Utility from the SL disk"? If you are referring to this which you wrote:

Instead of starting the installer - you click on Utility in the Menu bar and select Disk Utility.

I am not seeing a "menu bar", only 2 options which shows when the SL disk is in the drive are Choose Network and Install?