Can I install Snow Leopard on the new Mac Mini

Hello newfoundglory,

first I want to thank you for your effort to help us (your hopeful followers:-).

As I took similar steps (even in your footprints) I know it was a lot of work.

So I feel a little bit guilty asking you for some more help.

In fact it is more unix than mac. (Unfortunately that has become the same now).

Then I tried to fix permissions etc. with your recommendation:

"Using Terminal and Snow Leopard partition:

sudo su -

[enter your admin password]

cd /Sy*/Li*/Ex*/IOPla*/****/Pl*/AC*/****/Res*/

chown root:wheel Macmini5*

FINALLY, update the kernel caches using Terminal by typing:

kextcache -system-prelinked-kernel

kextcache -system-caches"

But I had no success.

There are several messages in terminal, but no very specific ones

Then I tried with with David Amis method (you surely know it from the threat):

"

• 7. Open the Terminal app in the utilities folder, and type the following:
  sudo su -
• 
  It will then ask for your password.
  8. Paste the following into terminal:
  cd /System/Library/Extensions/IOPlatformPluginFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns/ACPI_SM C_PlatformPlugin.kext/Contents/Resources
• chown root:wheel Macmini5*
• chmod 644 Macmini5*
• cd /System/Library/Extensions
• chown -R root:wheel AppleIntelHDGraphics.kext
• chown -R root:wheel AppleIntelSNBGraphicsFB.kext
• chmod -R 755 AppleIntelHDGraphics.kext
• chmod -R 755 AppleIntelSNBGraphicsFB.kext
• kextcache -system-prelinked-kernel
• kextcache -system-caches
• exit

echo 'Finished'"

But that too didn't succeed.

So I ask myself (and you):

Do I have to change anything in that commands, when I have (of course) another machine/Mini?

Probably you'll laugh, but I didn't find the answers for my unix-stupidity on the web.

Till now, my Mini (Core i7, not the server) did realize about 5.600 geekbench. And I'd like to become a little faster with it.

Thanks in advance.

Sadly I can confirm Michael Wasley's claims here. I tried several ways of getting SL on my brand new 2011 Mac Mini and every one of the resulted in a kernel panic.

Personally I'd wait until Lion has some time to mature. My experience with it so far has been abysmal.

After struggling for several hours last night I'm still stuck with Lion. :/

I tried target disk mode a few different ways and every time results in a kernel panic. There's something going on with the hardware that refuses to be downgraded.

At this point my only recommendation is to hold off on the new Mini until an update is released for Lion. I know that a few people are reporting that their experience has been positive, but for every one of them there are dozens experiencing problems. I have had to hard reboot this Mini ~50 times in less than a week. I've even gone as far as having Apple replace the hardware and I'm still seeing the same issues.

As always YMMV.

For those desperate to try this, the answer is simple: any existing / older operating system release simply does not have the proper drivers to support the new hardware (motherboard, chipset, cpu, ...) It will panic.

This is even the case with mid-cycle releases; where new notebooks & desktops were released with for instance 10.3.5 - 10.4.7 - 10.6.5 (numbers just as an example). If on those systems you need to do a clean install, don't have the factory discs that came with the unit and think you can just use the previous OS or the official upgrade disk to 10.3 10.4 10.5 or 10.6 respectively ... and then update back to 10.x.x ... you cannot. The earliest OS that works on any mac is that which it was released with.

There are instances where one can cross-boot so to speak with another drive from a similar generation ( PPC or Intel ) machine with the same OS version. But that is different than installing the previous OS.

Not to be that guy, but you're wrong.

The latest hardware CAN run previous versions of OS X under a very specific set of circumstances (like what we have here). If a new MBP is announced mid-cycle you're right, it cannot run a lower version than it was released with.

However in the case of the upgraded hardware that coincides with a new OS release (not an upgrade to existing) it's more complicated. Snow Leopard 10.6.8 can run successfully on the new MBP/Mac Minis. I know this because I can put my MBP (10.6.8) into Target Disk Mode, connect it to the Mini and then boot that drive on the Mini. So 10.6.8 is running on the Mini's hardware without kernel panic.

The issue that is left unresolved then is getting 10.6.8 onto the Mini. You cannot use the Retail SL installer because at best it's at 10.6.3 which, as you've pointed out, lacks the drivers to handle the latest hardware. I was hoping that I would be able to install SL onto the Mini running in Target Disk Mode without issue, then immediately run the Combo Update for 10.6.8. That should work in theory, but unfortunately doesn't in practice.

So I'm left with one final option which is to pull the hard drive entirely and swap it with another 2.5" SATA drive which does have SL 10.6.8 successfully installed on it. My biggest problem there is that I've only had this thing for 6 days at this point and swapping the drive out this soon isn't really something I'm looking forward to.

SUCCESS!!!

After 6 days and NUMEROUS attempts I have figured out how to get Snow Leopard onto the new Mac Mini!! It turns out I wasn't thinking the problem all the way through. I thought that the Mini was causing the kernel panic when connected in Target Disk Mode. However I was trying to install the retail Snow Leopard (which is 10.6.0) onto the Mini using an MBP which required 10.6.3!

There is a step after all of the applicable files are copied to the Mini (TDM) where the Source machine reboots and is supposed to continue the install. This is where my MBP was freezing up and I couldn't understand why. Well it turns out that the MBP is attempting to boot from the SL disk (10.6.0), however this machine requires a minimum of OS X 10.6.3 so the boot was hanging.

I ejected the retail version of OS X, input the Recovery disk I got with the MBP (which is 10.6.3) and the install continued as usual. Once installed I booted directly to the Mini's hard drive (TDM) via the MBP and ran Software Update to get to 10.6.8. Then rebooted and let the Mini boot itself...and we're up!

Steps:

1) Put Mini in Target Disk Mode (Firewire only)

2) Put SL retail install disk into Host Mac and install to the TDM drive

3) When the reboot hangs power the machine down (or if you're fast hold down Option on that reboot) and restart holding Option.

4) When the boot choice screen appears eject the Retail disk and input your Recovery disk.

5) Boot to the Recovery disk and the install picks up automatically (don't worry, it's actually installing 10.6.0 even though you're booted into 10.6.3's recovery).

6) Once you've gone through the new user introduction stuff (input username, etc) run Software Update

7) Power down the Mini and restart it w/o TDM.

8) Profit

Bravo! Bravissimo!

Now -- can we hide this whole thread about your finding an answer? Just joking, Apple -- I've had Macs since 1986, and I know that you'd never put your customers in a bind like that!...

This makes the 2011 Mac Mini so very, very, very much more useful to me and to so many others! Just read the online whine in so many forums! As soon as I can confirm that we don't lose some drivers for the AMD Radeon GPU, I'm onboard with an immediate order for eight 2011 Minis with i7 duos and the Radeon HD 6630M. Happy face!

Quite a few of us need some of the capabilities of Snow Leopard that are (for right now, anyway) lost in Lion. Soon, soon, we can no doubt upgrade to Lion as the gaps are filled, but for now -- nice machine, elegant Lion, imperfect combo for lots of real-world work. For now.

Anyway, great work, John! A primer in how not to give up, but keep poking 'til you get it right. I've been following your thinking (and that of others) who reasoned that very similar hardware might be able to run the same OS, regardless of box. QED!!! Yea!

John, I have already posted on various forums (and in another thread, here!) regarding your solution.

If you happen to drive by your favorite church and you hear the "Hallelujah" chorus drifting our their doors -- maybe they're ordering Minis! Again, GREAT WORK! -- and Apple will sell some additional units, probably a bunch of 'em, because of your persistence and cleverness in adding utility (and value), Apple's plans notwithstanding.

😁

In technical terms, Wahooooo!

I got it to boot and run 10.6.8 but it is running really poorly.

My method did not go all the way back to 10.6. I used a 2009 mac mini with a clean 10.6 install then upgraded to 10.6.8 runs badly slow and hang ups.

your way seems to be a cleaner run.

I wonder if there are some specific pieces (drivers, etc) for that 2009 Mini that cause conflicts in the new hardware?

My suggestion would be to download Carbon Copy Cloner (it's free) and make a full clone of your machine as it is. Then I'd wipe it and try my route to get 10.6.8 on there. If it's faster and more reliable then problem solved. And if not you could always restore your CCC backup and have lost nothing.

For what it's worth my Mini w/ SL is running flawlessly. In fact this same Mini w/ Lion caused my 24" Cinema Display to freak out (constant flickering, image split vertically, etc) and yet now that I'm on SL it's perfect again (I'm using it right now to type this 🙂 ). I haven't installed Plex yet or gotten my media setup in iTunes, but I suspect everything will go smoothly. If not I'll report back for sure.

Will this only work using the combination of a retail SL disc and a recovery disc from a MBP? I have a retail SL disc but no access to a MBP. Could I do this using a late 2009 iMac as the source instead? The iMacs recovery disc is os 10.6.2 I believe.

No to using your 2009 iMac recovery disk as part of the 2011 Mini move to Snow Leopard, It won't drive the 2011 components.

The boot disk must be able to activate all of the new hardware, including CPU, GPU and Thunderbolt, that are included in the 2011 Mini. That's why the process works: it relies on the recovery disk rebooting the 2011 Macbook Pro, and thus being able to boot the very similar setup in the 2011 Mini and to fully activate its imporant components..

Items that need drivers not available in your 10.6.2 disk include the Intel i5/i7 CPU's, the Intel or Radeon graphics processors, Thunderbolt chipsets, etc. Someone will be able to create (and will do so. soon) a boot disk image with modifications that will help you get the job done without a MBP, and word will circulate on that.

You may be stuck with 10.6.8 pretty much forever, if Apple decides to detect and disable booting for the 2011 Mini in future 10.6.x updates. Let's hope that they value our needs and don't do that.

However, being "stuck" with 10.6.8, isn't really a bad fate: the re-released, revised version of 10.6.8 is strong, stable, full of drivers and hooks for recent hardware, and fast; it should serve us very well for many years. Until we someday update to.... (ohmigosh!)

...Lion.

😮

If I'm understanding what you have available to you, yes it will work.

You have an iMac (running SL), the iMac recovery disk (which you think is 10.6.2), and a Retail OS X disk.

If that's correct then yes you can do it. My instructions reference an MBP because that's what I have, but it's certainly not a requirement.

The requirement is that you install the Retail copy of SL onto the Mini which is connected via Target Disk Mode. When your iMac reboots (which it will) you'll have to hold down the Option key right after the OS X Chime (before the screen turns white/gray). From the boot menu you can hold down Eject and remove the Retail copy. Insert your iMac recovery OS X disk and continue as usual.

Good luck!

Thanks for the info John and Steve. Seems to be conflicting opinions though as to weather it willl work with my setup (yes my iMac has the first gen i7 processor - late 2009?).

I do wonder that since my iMac restore CD wont have AMD/Intel HD3000 display drivers nor Thunderbolt support if this in fact would work? Unless those components will come into play when I apply the combo update via the Macs software update?

Right, I think because your initial post was a little confusing you inadvertently led Steve astray. No big deal...I'm right. 😉

Your iMac restore CD simply needs to boot your iMac, it has NOTHING to do w/ your Mini. Your Mini HDD is going to boot via your iMac (so you will be viewing your new Mini's OS X install through the iMac) as soon as OS X is installed. Because of that we know the hardware drivers will be present to run the iMac, which will allow you to view the Desktop and run Software Update to obtain 10.6.8.

10.6.8 has all of the drivers you're looking for (Thunderbolt, Intel HD 3000, etc) so once the update is complete on the Mini and it restarts just shut it down, connect it to its own monitor and away you go!