Q: is it possible to run two OS X on one macbook pro?

It may be possible to run the older OS, but this is not recommended as hardware changes for newer systems will not be supported on the older OS versions, and may result in system instability if used.

You cannot run Snow Leopard on a machine that was shipped with Lion.

It's possible to install Snow Leopard on the MBP, but the process to do so is a bit complicated. You will need access to a Mac that does run Snow Leopard.

The simplest solution is to clone a Snow Leopard 10.6.8 system to your MBP. First, add a new partition to your MBP:

Step One: Put the MBP into Target Disk Mode:

You need a Firewire cable to connect the two computers. Then follow these instructions: Transferring files between two computers using FireWire. You will boot the MBP into Target Disk Mode and boot the other computer normally.

Step Two: To resize the drive do the following:

1. Restart the MBP and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.

After the main menu appears select Disk Utility and click on the Continue button. Select the hard drive's main entry then click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.

2. You should see the graphical sizing window showing the existing partitions. A portion may appear as a blue rectangle representing the used space on a partition.

3. In the lower right corner of the sizing rectangle for each partition is a resizing gadget. Select it with the mouse and move the bottom of the rectangle upwards until you have reduced the existing partition enough to create the desired new volume's size. The space below the resized partition will appear gray. Click on the Apply button and wait until the process has completed.  (Note: You can only make a partition smaller in order to create new free space.)

4. Click on the [+] button below the sizing window to add a new partition in the gray space you freed up. Give the new volume a name, if you wish, then click on the Apply button. Wait until the process has completed.

You should now have a new volume on the drive.

It would be wise to have a backup of your current system as resizing is not necessarily free of risk for data loss.  Your drive must have sufficient contiguous free space for this process to work.

Step Three: Clone using Restore Option of Disk Utility

1. Boot the MBP into Target Disk Mode.
2. Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
3. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
4. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
5. Check the box labeled Erase destination.
6. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
7. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
8. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.

Destination means the new partition on the MBP's drive. Source means the Snow Leopard computer's drive.

Alternatively, you can clone the Snow Leopard system to an external drive, then restore the clone after connecting the external drive to the MBP.

A more complicated process involves using a 16 GB USB flash drive to which you would install Snow Leopard using the Mac that runs Snow Leopard. The Snow Leopard DVD installs 10.6.3, so after installing Snow Leopard onto the USB flash drive you need to update the system to 10.6.8 using the Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1. Now, boot your MBP from the USB flash drive and clone the Snow Leopard system to the new partition on your MBP's hard drive.

I thought that with the exception of the current mac pros, you could not run a version of the OS older than the one that came with the machine, no matter how you get it on that machine.

Apple includes a list of current and past systems in its OS releases, which it compares to the system its running on, which in most cases will prevent the OS from loading; however, in some cases it does work since model numbers are similar (even if hardware is slightly different).

Ok.

X423424X wrote:

 

I thought that with the exception of the current mac pros, you could not run a version of the OS older than the one that came with the machine, no matter how you get it on that machine.

Since the newest MBP models, that are currently being produced, are very close to the early 2011 models that did come with Snow Leopard it is possible mlto install SL on the new models. But you need a specific build, Point release, of SL for it to install. That is either 10.6.7 or 10.6.8 and if you use 10.6.7 you must update to 10.6.8 for all the hardware to work correctly. Earlier builds will not install on the newest MBPs.

With the exception of new MBAs and Minis extant models originally ran Snow Leopard but versions 10.6.4 and above. Unfortunately, the retail disc is 10.6.3 so it cannot be installed on these machines except by using the original discs with which they shipped before Lion was being pre-installed. So unless the newest models are hardware dependent on Lion they should be able to run Snow Leopard 10.6.8.

You can install Snow Leopard as a virtual machine on a Lion MBP. Have a look here:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3913218?start=0&tstart=0

MBA = MacBook Air

MBP = MacBook Pro

MB = MacBook

MP = Mac Pro

Why don't you just purchase Parallels and install Windows in Parallels so you can run Windows concurrently with OS X. You can even install XP in Parallels.

Parallels is a type of emulation software.

What MUD game is this? I would be very surprised if the only plugins were PowerPC only. It would be easy to recompile them for intel.

KeaCrazy wrote:

 

 

And Softwater I did go ahead an look at what that other guy wrote and it makes Kappy's instructions look like a toddle.

 

 

Yes, certainly not a recommended approach by any means. I would second Kappys advice on installing Parallels and running windows in virtual mode that way, if your Mac does not support Snow Leopard.

Good Luck

Pete