Nigel St. Hubbins

Q: I can't install Snow Leopard on my iMac 20" 20.GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with OS X 10.4.10., I can't install Snow Leopard on my iMac 20" 20.GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with OS X 10.4.10.

My trusty iMac has gotten a little long in the tooth, -- lots of time watching the beachball revolve around and around -- so I decided to upgrade from Snow Leopard to Mavericks after doing an erase and reinstall.  (I thought based on previously experience that Time Machine/Time Capsule should make that relatively straightforward.)  I had no problem reinstalling with my original 10.4.10 disks.  I could not locate a Leopard disk, but found my (white) Snow Leopard disk with the picture of the snow leopard imprinted.  For whatever reason, I get to the installing screen (with the large X) and it states:  "installing CAC OS X on the disk 'Macintosh HD' but get hung up about 5 minutes into the install.  The message proved is "Install Failed.  MAC OS  could not be installed on your computer.  The Installer could not copy the nexessary support files.  Click Resart to restart your computer and try installing again."

 

I've gone through the process several times with identical results. 

 

I'd be eternally grateful to anyone who can break me out of my rut and get me on the road to Mavericks!

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.7), Issue: Mac mail and Time Machine

Posted on May 10, 2014 2:04 PM

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Q: I can't install Snow Leopard on my iMac 20" 20.GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with OS X 10.4.10., I can't install Snow Leopard on my iMac 20 ... more

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  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy May 10, 2014 2:08 PM in response to Nigel St. Hubbins
    Level 10 (271,291 points)
    Desktops
    May 10, 2014 2:08 PM in response to Nigel St. Hubbins

    Are you doing the following:

     

    Clean Install of Snow Leopard

     

    Be sure to make a backup first because the following procedure will erase

    the drive and everything on it.

     

         1. Boot the computer using the Snow Leopard Installer Disc or the Disc 1 that came

             with your computer.  Insert the disc into the optical drive and restart the computer.

             After the chime press and hold down the  "C" key.  Release the key when you see

             a small spinning gear appear below the dark gray Apple logo.

     

         2. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue

             button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.

             After DU loads select the hard drive entry from the left side list (mfgr.'s ID and drive

             size.)  Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.  Set the number of

             partitions to one (1) from the Partitions drop down menu, click on Options button

             and select GUID, click on OK, then set the format type to MacOS Extended

             (Journaled, if supported), then click on the Apply button.

     

         3. When the formatting has completed quit DU and return to the installer.  Proceed

             with the OS X installation and follow the directions included with the installer.

     

         4. When the installation has completed your computer will Restart into the Setup

             Assistant. Be sure you configure your initial admin account with the exact same

             username and password that you used on your old drive. After you finish Setup

             Assistant will complete the installation after which you will be running a fresh

             install of OS X.  You can now begin the update process by opening Software

             Update and installing all recommended updates to bring your installation current.

     

    Download and install Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.

     

    Be sure your computer meets Mavericks' requirements:

     

    Upgrading to Mavericks

     

    You can upgrade to Mavericks from Lion or directly from Snow Leopard. Mavericks can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for FREE.

     

    Upgrading to Mavericks

     

    To upgrade to Mavericks you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or Lion installed. Download Mavericks from the App Store. Sign in using your Apple ID. Mavericks is free. The file is quite large, over 5 GBs, so allow some time to download. It would be preferable to use Ethernet because it is nearly four times faster than wireless.

     

        OS X Mavericks- System Requirements

     

          Macs that can be upgraded to OS X Mavericks

     

             1. iMac (Mid 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 7,1 or later

             2. MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 5,1 or later

             3. MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later

             4. MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 2,1 or later

             5. Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later

             6. Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later

             7. Xserve (Early 2009) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later

     

    To find the model identifier open System Profiler in the Utilities folder. It's displayed in the panel on the right.

     

         Are my applications compatible?

     

             See App Compatibility Table - RoaringApps.

  • by Nigel St. Hubbins,

    Nigel St. Hubbins Nigel St. Hubbins May 10, 2014 2:55 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 10, 2014 2:55 PM in response to Kappy

    Kappy,

     

    Thanks so much for your speedy reply.  Your instructions were very clear and precise.  Unfortunately, I ended up having precisely the same experience (i.e., installation getting hung up after starting off okay) and with the exact same "install failed" messaging.

     

    I was really, really wreckless in what I have been doing, as I did not understand that Time Capsule is unsupported by OS X Tiger, so I am not able to say "Nevermind" to my dreadful mistake!

     

    Any other ideas?

     

    Pete

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy May 10, 2014 3:01 PM in response to Nigel St. Hubbins
    Level 10 (271,291 points)
    Desktops
    May 10, 2014 3:01 PM in response to Nigel St. Hubbins

    Although I have come across this problem myself, it was usually solved simply by trying again. But in your case it sounds like your install media may be damaged or defective. All I can suggest is that you can try cleaning the disc using rubbing alcohol and a lint-free cloth by carefully cleaning in concentric circles starting from the innermost part of the disc and working outwards. Sometimes smears, minor scratches, etc. can make a disc unreadable. Cleaning can sometimes prove helpful. But if that does not work, then you probably need a new copy of the Snow Leopard DVD.

  • by Nigel St. Hubbins,

    Nigel St. Hubbins Nigel St. Hubbins May 10, 2014 3:54 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 10, 2014 3:54 PM in response to Kappy

    Thanks -- I'll give it a try asap!

  • by Hooyoobee,

    Hooyoobee Hooyoobee Feb 20, 2015 6:51 AM in response to Nigel St. Hubbins
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 20, 2015 6:51 AM in response to Nigel St. Hubbins

    You should not be able to jump from 10.4 to 10.6. In other words, you can't upgrade to Snow Leopard from Tiger.