Bought used Macbook without disks ,how to degrade ofter Snow Leopard upgrade

Question

Level 1

0 points

Bought used Macbook without disks ,how to degrade ofter Snow Leopard upgrade

Hi,

I just bought a 2009 Macbook pro (13" , 2.26MHZ ,2GB) from ebay and I will be getting it in the next couple of days.It comes without any installation disks with 10.5 leopard already installed.

And I found out that it is possible to upgrade to Snow leopard by just buying a copy from amazom for £22. Although I have few questions.

1. I don't know whether my laptop has got a genuine copy of leopard (I hope it is). If not, is it still possible to upgrade to SL from the £22 amazon disks?

2. Is it possible to create a recovery disk from the current installation ?

3. If I decide to go back to 10.5 ,can I do it without buying a new copy of 10.5? can I borrow 10.5 from somebody else ?

4. 10.5 costs around £150 vs 10.6 costs £22 ,Why is older version expensive than 10.6? I thought it should be the other way around.

This is my first OS x experience .I've been PC user for all this time.

thanks in advance

Posted on Apr 28, 2011 1:09 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Apr 28, 2011 1:24 PM in response to mini998

1) Apple doesn't check to see if you have a "genuine" copy of Leopard. Buddy system and all. Besides, if it was a Mac from 2009, it more than likely has Leopard.

2) Yes, from Time Machine. Or you could just back up your entire hard disk manually.

3) No. The backup disks have the drivers necessary to make Leopard run. The Leopard upgrade wouldn't have the drivers for a 2009 Macbook Pro. The SL upgrade would.

4) SL was an interim upgrade. It wasn't worth making consumers pay $150 for an upgrade. You could have Tiger and upgrade directly to SL through the $30 disk. But you would have to do an erase and install.

Reply

Answer 2

Apr 28, 2011 1:24 PM in response to mini998

It comes without any installation disks with 10.5 leopard already installed.

The seller is breaking Apple's license aggreement (which he/she signed) by selling a Mac w/o the DVDs that originally came w/it. Without them you have a glorified door stoop.

Strongly suggest that you ask the seller to send you the discs that originally came w/the computer or get your money back.

If the above is not possible (underlined),

you can get replacement System Install & Restore CD/DVDs from Apple's Customer Support for a nominal S&H fee. You'll need to have the model and/or serial number of your Mac available. Since you are not in the US, you may need to go through the regional Apple Store that serves your location to find the contact number. Here's a list of links to all of those - http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/intlstoreroutingpage.html

Another resource: International Support Phone #s.

2. Is it possible to create a recovery disk from the current installation ?

No. You need the actual "recovery" DVD that originally came w/your computer.

This is my first OS x experience .I've been PC user for all this time.

Mac Video Tutorial

Reply

Answer 3

mini998 Author

Level 1

0 points

May 5, 2011 1:32 PM in response to mini998

Just got my macbook pro .It came with 10.6.5 installed but I would like to erase everything and do a clean install of Snow leopard.

I am willing to buy SL from amazon ,So do I still need to contact Apple and get the original disks?Does SL comes with all the drivers for 13 inch macbook pro?

( Even if they supply me disks it will be only leopard ,I will have to buy SL anyway )

Reply

Answer 4

May 6, 2011 9:12 AM in response to mini998

Apple and get the original disks?

Yes because......

You will need to use them eventually to run the Hardware Test which is on Disc #1. AHT is NOT included on the retailed universal install DVDs.

All of the bundled software are on the system DVDs. If you ever need to custom install any of the bundled software, you will need the system DVDs.

If you do get the system DVDs from Apple, keep them in a safe place so you won't lose them.

Reply

Answer 5

a brody

Level 10

83,011 points

May 6, 2011 9:24 AM in response to mini998

Some facts, Mac OS X 10.6 was released August 28, 2009.

That means if your MacBook was released post that date, only the 10.6 discs that shipped with it, and 10.6.3 retail discs will work with it.

Otherwise if it was released before that date, you can use any retail installer disc. The installer disc looks like *

and does not say Upgrade, Dropin, or OEM.

As others have suggested, insist on getting the original discs.

They also include the oldest version of iLife (iPhoto, iMovie, and iDVD) that will run on your Mac, which the retail release does not.

If you no longer have the ability to contact the original seller, contact AppleCare and see if they will send you the discs for a fee.

Do you know how to tell which part of 2009 it was released?

Reply

Answer 6

mini998 Author

Level 1

0 points

May 7, 2011 3:55 PM in response to mini998

Update

I found out that the manufacture date is January 2010. Ardered SL from Amazon thinking originally it came with leopard . Then I called Apple next day to found out it came with SL originally installed in it .So now I have ordered original disks from apple .(can return Amazon DVD since it is still in original packing 🙂) .

If someone else is interested about the cost of replacement disks.

It will be £30 for SL disks (paid over the phone ,cannot remember the exact price) .And they said it will be around £15 if it was leopard .

Thnaks a lot for all the advices guys

Reply