"What OS Disk Do I Need?" A Brief Overview

Status
Not open for further replies.

RavingMac

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jan 7, 2008
Messages
8,303
Reaction score
242
Points
63
Location
In Denial
Your Mac's Specs
16Gb Mac Mini 2018, 15" MacBook Pro 2012 1 TB SSD
We get an enormous number of posts asking these, or similar questions:

1) I lost or never received the OS Disks for my Mac and now I need to reinstall the OS. What OS can I use?

2) I want to upgrade my Mac, what is the latest OS version I can run?

3) My Mac came with OS X 10.2, how can I upgrade to 10.7 Lion?

4) I just bought a new Mac. Can I use the OS Disk to upgrade my old Mac?

Rather than attempt to directly answer these and all the different variations of the above we see, I want to provide some basic background on the subject.

OS X Release History and Requirements Table
OSXVersions.jpg


The important things to note from this table are:
1) Tiger is the FIRST OS version to support Intel CPUs
2) Leopard is the LAST OS version to support PowerPC CPUs (G3. G4 & G5)
3) Only Snow Leopard and Lion are currently available for new retail purchase (as of this original posting date 1/1/2012)
4) Lion (OS X 10.7) is ONLY available on USB FlashDrive or as an Electronic Download through the Mac APP Store. Note: the Mac APP Store requires Snow Leopard OS X 10.6.8 as a minimum


RETAIL vs MACHINE SPECIFIC OS DISKS

These are Machine Specific Disks
MachineSpecificOSDisks.jpg




These are Retail Disks
mac-os-x-discs-Retail.png


As the name implies, Machine Specific Disks (the gray to silver gray disks) will only install and run on the Mac model they originally shipped with.

Retail Disks, on the other hand, will install and run on any Mac that meets the minimum system requirements.

PLEASE DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY BUYING MACHINE SPECIFIC OS DISKS ON eBAY!
They will almost certainly not work (unless you get extremely lucky).

As you can see from the photo above, Retail Disks (and their boxes) are either Black or White, not Gray.

I may add more to this post later, if warranted. Hopefully this will help.
 
Joined
Sep 5, 2009
Messages
136
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Location
Dover
Your Mac's Specs
2012 Mac Mini
This is great information for newbies and very clearly laid out. I could have used this chart a couple months ago. Thanks!
 

pigoo3

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
May 20, 2008
Messages
44,210
Reaction score
1,418
Points
113
Location
U.S.
Your Mac's Specs
2017 15" MBP, 16gig ram, 1TB SSD, OS 10.15
Razormac...you must have had some spare time today!!!;) Great job...I especially like the photos of all the OS install disks!:)

- Nick

p.s. The tough part is getting folks asking the questions to read these threads first!;) But certainly a GREAT thread to direct folks to.:):)
 

vansmith

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2008
Messages
19,924
Reaction score
559
Points
113
Location
Queensland
Your Mac's Specs
Mini (2014, 2018, 2020), MBA (2020), iPad Pro (2018), iPhone 13 Pro Max, Watch (S6)
Well done. A fine post highlighting the differences between machine specific and retail discs.
 
OP
RavingMac

RavingMac

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jan 7, 2008
Messages
8,303
Reaction score
242
Points
63
Location
In Denial
Your Mac's Specs
16Gb Mac Mini 2018, 15" MacBook Pro 2012 1 TB SSD
Thanks! I appreciate the comments.

And, yes, Nick. I did have some free time on my hands.
 
Joined
Jul 30, 2009
Messages
7,295
Reaction score
301
Points
83
Location
Wisconsin
Your Mac's Specs
Mac Mini (Late 2014) 2.6GHz Intel Core i5 Memory: 8GB 1600MHz DDR3
And it's not "pinned" yet, because... ?
 
Joined
Nov 28, 2007
Messages
25,564
Reaction score
486
Points
83
Location
Blue Mountains NSW Australia
Your Mac's Specs
Silver M1 iMac 512/16/8/8 macOS 11.6
+1 rep and it is a must to be pinned!
 

Slydude

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Nov 15, 2009
Messages
17,596
Reaction score
1,072
Points
113
Location
North Louisiana, USA
Your Mac's Specs
M1 MacMini 16 GB - Ventura, iPhone 14 Pro Max, 2015 iMac 16 GB Monterey
Joined
Mar 9, 2011
Messages
751
Reaction score
4
Points
18
Your Mac's Specs
mbp 15 2009, mbp 13 2010
Great job. Your post should avoid a lot of head scratching. Keep up the good work.
 

dtravis7


Retired Staff
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
30,133
Reaction score
703
Points
113
Location
Modesto, Ca.
Your Mac's Specs
MacMini M-1 MacOS Monterey, iMac 2010 27"Quad I7 , MBPLate2011, iPad Pro10.5", iPhoneSE
Funny I missed this thread! VERY good job Razor! Very helpful.
 
Joined
Jan 24, 2012
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Points
1
leopard compatability

cheers, razormac...
i'll give it a whirl. Apple say the no longer stock the leopard 10.5 and said to get it from a third party stokist any idea where i can purchase it cheaply...as its still expensive on amazon?
 
OP
RavingMac

RavingMac

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jan 7, 2008
Messages
8,303
Reaction score
242
Points
63
Location
In Denial
Your Mac's Specs
16Gb Mac Mini 2018, 15" MacBook Pro 2012 1 TB SSD
cheers, razormac...
i'll give it a whirl. Apple say the no longer stock the leopard 10.5 and said to get it from a third party stokist any idea where i can purchase it cheaply...as its still expensive on amazon?

Unfortunately it isn't cheap anywhere. eBay may be your cheapest unless you get lucky and you'll probably have to pay around $100 USD for a retail disk
 
Joined
Sep 10, 2011
Messages
1,823
Reaction score
51
Points
48
Location
Lancashire
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook Air M1 2020 Ventura 13.4.1 500Gb 8Gb. iPhone12, Watch 5, HomePods.
Just came across this and thought I'd drop you a line to say excellent info.
 
Joined
Mar 1, 2012
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Points
1
What a great chart. You saved me from asking the dumb (asked and answered 1,000,000,000 times already) question. I just bought a used Mac Mini G5 and was wondering what the newest version I could run would be. Thank you for your time.:Cool::Cool:
 
Joined
Feb 15, 2012
Messages
8
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
Mass
Your Mac's Specs
13'' mid 2009 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 6 GB Ram Samsung V4 256 GB
thanks for this posting, was just looking for this very information due to purchasing an old IMac G5
 
Joined
Apr 12, 2012
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Thanks for the info

Thanks for this info..I am new to mac and now trying to start work on iphone apps..So I was looking why I am unable to get editors from apple site for my mac..and was looking for under which category my mac comes..finally got it..version-10.5.8 comes under leopard..thanks again for info..

We get an enormous number of posts asking these, or similar questions:

1) I lost or never received the OS Disks for my Mac and now I need to reinstall the OS. What OS can I use?

2) I want to upgrade my Mac, what is the latest OS version I can run?

3) My Mac came with OS X 10.2, how can I upgrade to 10.7 Lion?

4) I just bought a new Mac. Can I use the OS Disk to upgrade my old Mac?

Rather than attempt to directly answer these and all the different variations of the above we see, I want to provide some basic background on the subject.

OS X Release History and Requirements Table
OSXVersions.jpg


The important things to note from this table are:
1) Tiger is the FIRST OS version to support Intel CPUs
2) Leopard is the LAST OS version to support PowerPC CPUs (G3. G4 & G5)
3) Only Snow Leopard and Lion are currently available for new retail purchase (as of this original posting date 1/1/2012)
4) Lion (OS X 10.7) is ONLY available on USB FlashDrive or as an Electronic Download through the Mac APP Store. Note: the Mac APP Store requires Snow Leopard OS X 10.6.8 as a minimum


RETAIL vs MACHINE SPECIFIC OS DISKS

These are Machine Specific Disks
MachineSpecificOSDisks.jpg




These are Retail Disks
mac-os-x-discs-Retail.png


As the name implies, Machine Specific Disks (the gray to silver gray disks) will only install and run on the Mac model they originally shipped with.

Retail Disks, on the other hand, will install and run on any Mac that meets the minimum system requirements.

PLEASE DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY BUYING MACHINE SPECIFIC OS DISKS ON eBAY!
They will almost certainly not work (unless you get extremely lucky).

As you can see from the photo above, Retail Disks (and their boxes) are either Black or White, not Gray.

I may add more to this post later, if warranted. Hopefully this will help.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top