Installing Snow Leopard on early 2008 Mac Book

[busi904]

Hello, I am trying to install Snow Leopard on early 2008 Mac Book, and i am getting "MAC OS X can not stat up from this disk" message. Since i erased all of MAC Book partitions, and i don't have a Time Machine backup nor the grey installation disks that came with the Mac Book, I can not go to "disk utility" program to format/partition the hard drive correctly. For this reason, I am using bootable GPARTED free ware to format/partition the hard drive to HFS+ / GPT (2 partitions, 1 big and 1 small), and i am getting the above error.

Anyone out there know how I can get the Snow Leopard to install on my Mac BooK? At present there is nothing to save off of my hard drive, so I am free to try anything.

Thanks in advance - Busi

 

[chscag]

Welcome to our forums.

What kind of Snow Leopard disk are you using? Only the White Snow Leopard disk (OS X 10.6.3) with a picture of the Snow Leopard on the label will work. Or if you have the original gray Leopard disk set that came with your 2008 MacBook - that will also work.

It sounds like you're using the wrong disk to boot and install Snow Leopard on your MacBook? Also, forget about using GParted as it usually does not work correctly. And you do not need two partitions.

 

[Rod]

Welcome to Mac Forums busi904. You will have to buy the retail version of the installation disk from Apple. I think that is about USD $25.00 But with respect, I cannot see why you would bother, unless, you have a specific use for this device. If it is as you say (and you have not supplied the model number so not 100% sure) the early 2008 Mac Book the maximum OSX you can install is OSX 10.7 (Lion). See; https://eshop.macsales.com/guides/Mac_OS_X_Compatibility

We are now up to macOS 10.12.4 Lion is no longer supported by Apple, will not receive any security updates, will not run 64bit apps and will not run a web browser that will be capable or safe to access many sites.

Having said that there are many people out there still using Snow Leopard and swear by it. They are enthusiasts, like vintage car owners who somehow manage to overcome the obstacles of running a "obsolete" device. I'm sure others on this forum may have something to say on that topic. Some may consider that at 64 I'm somewhat obsolete myself.

Personally I would not spend money or time on it but look for a refurbished model that suits both the current tech and your budget.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

Hello, I am trying to install Snow Leopard on early 2008 Mac Book, and i am getting "MAC OS X can not stat up from this disk"

Apple OS X installer programs downloaded prior to 02/16/2016 will now fail to install OS X.
This is because a certificate expired.

Even USB installers built from those installers will fail to work.

However, you can fix the problem by re-downloading the installation version of OS X that you need.

So, if you go to install a version of OS X, and it fails, this is likely the problem.

http://www.macissues.com/2016/03/04/certificate-expiration-breaks-older-os-x-installers/

 

[pigoo3]

Hello, I am trying to install Snow Leopard on early 2008 Mac Book, and i am getting "MAC OS X can not stat up from this disk" message.

As others have asked. We need to know what install method you are using...and if it is an install DVD...we need to know what disk it is & what it looks like (what color is it, what graphics are on it)?

- Nick

 

[chscag]

Apple OS X installer programs downloaded prior to 02/16/2016 will now fail to install OS X.
This is because a certificate expired.

Then why does Apple still sell the Snow Leopard DVD (10.6.3)? As far as I know, it still works to install Snow Leopard as we have had many members purchase the DVD and use it to install Snow Leopard and then upgrade from there.

 

[busi904]

Thank you all for responding to my inquiry so promptly. Model of my MacBook/specs are MB402LL/A, 2.1GHz, 4GB upgraded RAM, OS X v10.5 Leopard from Feb 2008. The disk I am trying to install is white Mac OS X Snow Leopard ver 10.6.3, bootable installation disk with snow leopard picture on it. None of the Mac commands during the boot process work to bring up the Mac Utilities menu. At present I can only experiment with anything bootable bec I destroyed the original Mac partition table. I understand that is not worth spending more time and money, but I read that it is still good and a solid performer under Snow Leopard for most tasks. My reason for going with Gparted software is bec it is free, bootable, and has HFS+ / GPT partitioning. If there is anything better, bootable software out there that is free to use, I would like to know.

- Busi

 

[pigoo3]

The disk I am trying to install is white Mac OS X Snow Leopard ver 10.6.3, bootable installation disk with snow leopard picture on it.

Thanks for clarifying. That sounds like the Snow Leopard retail Snow Leopard install disk. Is the disk dirty or seriously scratched up?

Also...do you have any other Mac OS install disks (such as OS 10.5)? Trying to figure out if the computer can boot from any OS install disk.

- Nick

 

[harryb2448]

Are you doing the boot and hold down 'C' to boot from the DVD? Maybe the slot loading optical drive is shot. Like me it is getting on in years.

 

[busi904]

Snow Leopard install disk is brand new, and I do not have any other Mac OS install disks to try. CD/DVD drive recognizes anything bootable. Holding down 'C' during the boot doesn't do anything different compared to normal boot. If there are any Mac disk utilities on that snow leopard installation disk, I couldn't get to. Installation process simply goes from language selection to software agreement terms to disk selection, and stops with the error.

-Busi

 

[harryb2448]

I think maybe the GParted software has screwed things up nicely. In order to erase and format the hard drive which needs to be done, you have to be booted from an external drive or a bootable DVD. You cannot erase the drive you are booted from.

 

[chscag]

Installation process simply goes from language selection to software agreement terms to disk selection, and stops with the error.

It's been a while since I installed Snow Leopard from that same DVD but I think you're missing a step. After the software agreement and language selection, you need to go to the top menu that should be showing and select "Utilities". After clicking on "Utilities", select "Disk Utility". From there you can partition, and format the hard disk. Actually there is no need to partition, just use the entire hard disk to install Snow Leopard to.

In other words, do not let the installation progress beyond the software agreement and language selection. You stop it by doing what I said above. Remember, you have to format that hard disk first in order to install OS X. If you still get an error, that means that GParted screwed up the disk and you will now have to erase it first. You can do that by using Disk Utility (see above).

 

[Randy B. Singer]

Then why does Apple still sell the Snow Leopard DVD (10.6.3)? As far as I know, it still works to install Snow Leopard as we have had many members purchase the DVD and use it to install Snow Leopard and then upgrade from there.

If you follow the link that I gave:

http://www.macissues.com/2016/03/04/certificate-expiration-breaks-older-os-x-installers/

you know essentially what I know about this.

I've heard from a bunch of users who have been unable to get older versions of OS X to install. The simple procedure for changing your computer's date outlined on the Web site has worked for some. Others have downloaded a more recent version of the OS X installer and that always works.

 

[busi904]

Thanks, and I will post the outcome when I am done. - Busi