OS disks interchangeable?

Hi – I have an iMac and MacBook, and wonder if the OS X 10.5 setup disks are interchangeable? I haven’t got disks for either, and wonder if I can get away with one set… thanks.

nope, grey restore disks are model specific

louishen said:

nope, grey restore disks are model specific

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Thanks for the quick answer. Are they ALL model specific, ie will those from say, a MacBook Aluminum or MacBook Pro work with an ordinary MacBook? And say 20" iMac with 24" iMac?

Much appreciated

Roger

The discs will only work with the exact spec model it came with.
They are not generic for any MacBook, iMac, Mac Pro, etc.

D3v1L80Y said:

The discs will only work with the exact spec model it came with.
They are not generic for any MacBook, iMac, Mac Pro, etc.

Click to expand...

Thanks for helping a Mac novice - I really appreciate it!

I'll be an expert some day, you'll see...

The reason they are model specific is because Apple only puts the drivers needed for that model. It saves space and prevents you from installing your os on a bunch of computers after you buy a new one.

PowerBookG4 said:

The reason they are model specific is because Apple only puts the drivers needed for that model. It saves space and prevents you from installing your os on a bunch of computers after you buy a new one.

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Yeah... trouble is, I've now got several Macs to restore, and only 2 sets of disks - 1 x iMac 24" 2.8GHz, and 1 x MacBook 13" 2.4GHz. So it looks like I'm going to have to go and look for disks for MacBook 2.0GHz, and iMac 20"... heigh **.

Yeah I'm sorry. You are going to need those discs for those computers too.

You should be able to make do with one Leopard Family pack, provided:

1. Your Macs are all older than 10.5.6 (the current boxed version)
and
2. You don't need iLife (which is sold as a seperate Family Pack, if you do want it.)

technologist said:

You should be able to make do with one Leopard Family pack, provided:

1. Your Macs are all older than 10.5.6 (the current boxed version)
and
2. You don't need iLife (which is sold as a seperate Family Pack, if you do want it.)

Click to expand...

You can actually buy a box set of Leopard,iLife and iWork (Also available as a family pack) if you wish Mac Box Set - Apple Store (U.K.)

technologist said:

You should be able to make do with one Leopard Family pack, provided:

1. Your Macs are all older than 10.5.6 (the current boxed version)
and
2. You don't need iLife (which is sold as a seperate Family Pack, if you do want it.)

Click to expand...

Ummm... so they ARE interchangeable???

I'm confused now...

Everything I have is 10.5.2, as far as I know. At least that's the disks that came with the ones where I DO have them.

hogweed said:

Ummm...
I'm confused now...

Click to expand...

It's not so confusing.
Nothing is 'interchangeable'.

Discs that come with the computers are model specific and cannot be used with any other machine.

Retail OS discs that are purchased separately (like the family packs) will work with any Mac.

hogweed said:

Ummm... so they ARE interchangeable???

I'm confused now...

Everything I have is 10.5.2, as far as I know. At least that's the disks that came with the ones where I DO have them.

Click to expand...

The grey restore disks as you've been told are model specific and are not interchangeable. However, the boxed Leopard set will work for any Mac machine that meets the requirements for it. That's why you were advised to buy the family pack and\or combo pack. Leopard is licensed for installation on one machine only whereas the family pack contains 5 licenses.

See this Link.

Regards.