Tiger on early 2009 MacPro? -- ProTools

You cannot install Tiger on your model. The earliest version of OS X you can install is the version that was installed when you bought the computer.

It would require for your hardware, a minimum of 10.5.6-1/2 (later than the retail 10.5.6 DVD) but should boot and run with 10.5.8.

Otherwise, the Apple Store Specials use to carry 2008 Model year.

There never ever was a retail version of Tiger for Intel Macs, only OEM, and the retail was for PowerPC Mac only.

Some people swap out the 1,1 with 5365 Xeon dual quad just to stay with Tiger and have a more powerful system. But they don't get the 3-5X improvement in memory bandwidth.

So you could upgrade your original to 10.5.8 probably and then transfer that over, if you ask to buy Leopard, it isn't listed anymore but should be still available.

How come the 2008 mac pro can boot into Tiger, even though the absolute min is 10.5.2?

The 2008 model originally came with 10.5.1 but could still run 10.4.11 as I recall. Later that model came with 10.5.2 then 10.5.4 pre-installed. However, the 2009 models cannot run Tiger because Tiger cannot support the hardware.

And Tiger can support 2008 hardware based mac pros?

As I understand Tiger would run on the very first of those 2008 models, but I don't know if it would work on the later models that came with 10.5.2 or 10.5.4. Perhaps someone with one of those models can say definitively.

In some cases Apple may install a version of OS X that is newer on hardware that is compatible with the previous version of OS X. Then model updates to that hardware don't involve a change in the model ID, but do require the later version of OS X. I'm thinking this may be the case here. The actual hardware was compatible with a late version of Tiger but came with Leopard installed by default.

Hmm.. How much later can you get with the 2008 mac pros? Yes, mine is a 3 ghz(close to 3.2) which came with 10.5.4, but yet I can still run tiger, though with no quartz extreme.

I'm just guessing as to if there's a change. May well be all the 2008 MPs can run Tiger. Maybe the only problem is with quartz extreme because the machine needs a different video driver than what's installed with Tiger. Of it just could be that the video card you got doesn't require a driver that only is installed by Leopard. Sort of like my using the ATI 3870 in my MP but having to use 10.5.7 for the compatible driver. But I have the first MP model which will run Tiger, but then my 3870 would not work.

This would be my surmise.

Kappy.. Are you interested in boosting your sata performance? Do you want full AHCI capability on your 2006 mac? Do you want to hook up two dual sata superdrives which will not only be bootable in os x through ODD ports, but also in windows if not better?

I have a program for you which can help make windows bootcamp recognize optical drives connected to the odd-ports on the 2006 mac pro, if you are interested.

Nadav,

That reads like a TV infomercial.

As it is I have two Superdrives in my MP, but they are not SATA drives. I have four Hitachi 500 GB drives installed. Windows is installed on my startup volume. I'm not sure what I am missing, but I would be happy to hear more about what you have. But if it is only useful with the optical drives, then I would not have much interest right now because I don't plan on replacing the optical drives unless they fail. I don't use Windows enough to really care about it.

Have a look at this...

Also, it does enhance the Mac side as well.

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2166334

The thread has been removed.

I wonder why?? Geez.. Apple doesn't want 2008 mac pro users to activate AHCI in windows so that odd ports can be seen by windows?

I don't see why it would be erased.