HowTo revert new MacBook Pro, Mac Pro or iMac to Snow Leopard

Don't be ashamed. I just got used to eating humble pie.

Hey, try XBench for you scores too, just for giggles.

Yes, I think you will be able to boot from the special factory SLeo restore discs for your iMac.

As you can see from my Geekbench, my downgrade from Lion resulted in a Snow Leo machine that runs on par with the benchmarks. No problems. It's not an iMac but I believe our computers were forged in the same era. I don't want to give you false hope, but this feels like it should work, doesn't it?

10.6.8 shouldn't mess up your Macbook Pro Core2Duo but I'm skittish on such things myself... don't upgrade if you don't have to or want to. But then you will use your iMac install (ironic)... it's alright if it's slow, you just don't want it to crash on you. A free partition somewhere to create your master clone... you may only need 10GB but why not give yourself 20-30GB and worry about it later. If your goal is to get a speedy system, then it's worth some shenanigans.

I'll look back in the thread to see what you got stuck on... i can't record a video right now...

Maybe I can sum up what you need to do given your setup....or at least to start...brb

Thanks so, so much for helping me. What are the system specs for your downgraded machine is it a core 2 duo or i processor sandy bridge? I thank Roy and all of you who have contributed and i really would like to be able to do it. Seems it might be the only way to get the system performance you paid for.

My imac is partitioned 1 TB with SL and 1TB blank. I found out about geekbench after i had deleted the lion partition which is now my blank partition. Can i use this blank partition to use roy's method thus negating the need to get my macbook involved?

My macbook is from 2008 and i bought it because it can output composite video. I travel a lot, for long periods and use the in room tv and macbook as my entertainment system (and also to watch on the plane ride), so front row really helps as it lets me cue up music, eye tv recordings, tivo trancoded transfers, itunes movies and shows all with a simple remote. Problem with hotel rooms is that even if there is a flat screen i have never seen HDMI or DVI connections on them regardless of how high end the hotel is. All you get is composite for sure then if you are lucky component and/or VGA. With an ios device i can also use it as a remote to control my slingbox but this system is heavy and sharing with the wife on the plane ride to annual or bi-annual vacations is not so nice as the screen quality is nasty. I was hoping that last year's 2011 macbook air 11" can let me do the same with a scan convertor. I bought all the parts i need but have not tested yet. So since this is macbook is my entertainment life blood, i'm really weary of doing anything that will cause issues for me.

@zirkenz

[my machine is an i5 Macbook Pro 13", 3 weeks young, Sandybridge, yadda yadda]

Your Roy prep:

1. get on whatever machine already has 10.6.8 installed, slow or otherwise, long as it isn't crashing .. don't update your MBP Core2Duo (although I didn't know it was supposed to kill Front Row!)
2. You're going to be making 20-30GB of temporary files, so you need to make room for yourself somewhere... if you've got room on yoru MBP and can network the computers or put MBP in target disc mode, then you can put your temps onto the MBP. You just need some room to work. This part won't screw up your MBP
3. download the 10.6.8 Combo Updater v1.1 http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1399
4. *download Server Admin Tools 10.6.8 http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1403

if you search for System Image Utility as Roy mentions, it says it is a part of Server Admin Tools

YES, I know, just get Server Admin Tools 😉 from the link and install it on your functioning 10.6.8 machine

NOTE: I just looked and there IS a Server Admin Tools 10.6.7 http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1365

Then you wouldn't have to use the slow-*** iMac to generate the images (unless half an iMac is still faster than your ol' 2008 MBP)

5.

You need one more thing and this is crucial: an image of whatever retail Sleo install disc you've got (the grey restore disc that came with another computer will NOT work)

Here's Roy's instructions for making your disk image... he added this on page 4

To anticipate another potential question: How does one create the base source image?

- insert you Snow Leopard 10.6.3 (or 10.6.0) install disk in an optical drive

- open Disk Utility (in the Applications/Utility folder)

- select the Snow Leopard install disk from the offerings in the left side of the window

- find the menu selection that is something like "Disk Image from...." (under the Disk Utility File menu?)

- specify the destination and click save

It will take awhile...

Then follow Roy's "Procedure (A)" ...highlights:

1. doubleclick the image you just made, let it do its thing and mount
2. fire up System Image Utility (which was installed by Server Admin Tools)
3. because you did step 1 just now, you'll see a button to Customize in the lower right, hit it
4. see that little Automator Library window that came up next to the System Image Utility window?

Follows Roy's steps starting with A4

He has you drag two Automator steps into the workflow between the others

A7-A9 You're just mounting the 10.6.8 Combo Update v1.1 file you downloaded and dragging its package into a working area

...before you drag the pulled package into your workflow.

Follow the steps to A10 ... now before you do A11 there are one or two points, after you wait a LONG time, where you will be prompted, have to hit okay or whatever, and then wait some more... kinda lame.... Someone in the thread explained a trick to skip these extra prompts but I didn't use them so I can't say much about it other than YMMV. The way I did it, I had the nag-prompt mentioned in A12...and it helped me know I was on the right track... but if you're going to do this overnight while you sleep, you might try what "Oliver W" suggested:

I found out the the nag-screen "Image creation in progress. Cancel the image creation to proceed" does *NOT* appear when you (immediately prior to step A.11 in your tutorial!) try to quit the System Image Utility. Then you will be asked if you want to save your settings - please do so and save your settings under s meaningful name like "hope_it_works" or so. This will be creating a file with the hidden extension ".workflow".

Next quit System Image Utility, use the Finder to go to the place where you just stored your workflow file and double-click it:

This wil open an Automator-window which looks slightly different from the System Image Utility.

In the upper right corner of the menu bar you will find a "PLAY" icon (like on a CD-player) probably labeled "execute" or "run" (my OS language is German...) click it and you're done after waiting for not too long!

Get that far? That was the longest part, you're almost done.

Your goal in following Roy's "Post-Process (B)" is to extract the actual System.dmg from the thing you just made... Roy's steps tell you where to look for it and pull it out.... you can put it in your working area but it would be fastest/best if you dragged it onto the MBP that you're going to use to wipe your iMac. It's basically going to be your master 10.6.8.

For me, I just left it named System.dmg.

For "Install (C)" ... you're going to skip the command line steps and do it via DiskUtility GUI...

Since you have your Macbook Pro, boot your Macbook Pro normally into MBP-land... 10.6.7 is fine for this part. 10.5.8 is fine for this part! Then connect your iMac in Target Disc Mode.

Now when you fire up Disk Utility, you're going to be dragging your destination iMac Sleo partition into the target area (C3).... you will lose everything on this partition and this will become your shiny new Sleo iMac...so get whatever you want off of it. Think you already knew that part 😉 Your source is the System.dmg that you might have renamed per Roy. You should be pretty good from here... follow the steps... sometimes you have to mount images before restoring them but Roy didn't say and I don't remember if I did that... so stick with the plan, don't panic, one way will work, and it will restore a pristine 10.6.8 build to your waiting iMac.

....

Tech Harmony, booting in safe mode, then running the combo updater and fixing permissions then reruning geekbemch did not work. i get the same scores. one thing did pop up in repair permissions one of the items said:

Warning: SUID File "System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/MacOS/ARDAg ent" has been modified nd will not be repaired

Don't know what that means but now i'm working on Roy's method but i was wondering since you already have a file that works as it should is there anyway i can download that from you? You would be literally saving me from disaster. I can provide space for the upload. I have already paid apple for 5 liscs of SL, so it would not be illegal. Sorry to be so forward and putting you in an akward situation but i'm seriously desperate.

As for the question as to why my system is partitioned into 2 is because i created a partition to install SL leaving the Lion parition intact in case my SL effort failed. Then i went to delete the lion partition, it did but i was not able to join them into one parition again. I was actualy so excited that SL had installed on one partition and booted, i literally cried. Last time i did that was when my father passed when i was 5. I was getting ready to use my clone of this parition to repartition the imac as one then restore but then i was on another forum thread about installing sl on the new 2011 mac mini and that is where the whole geekbench thing came up. I ran the test and found out that i'm only getting half the performace.I turned ghost white and was sick to my stomach. I just pray Roy's method works for me. Still have not heard back from you all on geekbench scores after using roy's method. I know tech harmony has acheived 100% success so i'm hopefull.

Again i apologise if i come across like a nutter but without getting into it, i find my self in a very desperate situation that has my head spinining.

i got 55xx consistently, i should get 10xxx according to all the 32 bit geekbench scores posted online for my imac which is the core i7 21.5" maxed out. No i was not comparing the mac mini to the imac just saying that i learnt about geekbench and low scores from that forum and realized that i too was getting low scores. I know the mac mini has different hardware and expecting anything with SL with this sytem is expecting too much. Tech Harmony seems to have had success 100%. Roy did u run a geekbench? What are your scores? Do you think they changed something with my CTO imac?

Great stuff Roy, I can dig it! All of it. Hopefully Zirkenz didn't get eaten by his computer 😉

@zirkenz, any progress with "the method"? As Roy implies, it's good that your machine is scoring in the 5000's while you sort this out because that's what my i5 does and it feels nice and zippy. So at least you can sort this on a fast machine 😉 If you really should be clocking in the 10,000s though, I see your hunger for more speed. Totally.

It'll satisfy ME to know when you've got "the method" sorted out because then, if you still get the same low scores, you might actually start to suspect your hardware! When all is said and done, you may have to either re-acquire Lion (you might still be eligible for the up-to-date upgrade/download for Lion) just to test your hardware and/or request/order the factory disc for your iMac that has Snow Leo. Then you can have complete peace of mind and determine if there's something wrong with your hardware. Ideally the method will "just work."

Related aside, you could download the free preference pane "MenuMeters" (I still prefer it over iStat for some reason) ... you go into the System Preferences preference pane, once it's installed , and you can turn on a view of your processors... it will show you your individual cores and threads if you tell it to... I don't know how many should show up for your processor, but you can see how hard your cores are working. (I also turn on network activity so I can see what's uploading and downloading from my machines at-a-glance)

The "Activity Monitor" app will let you know about what's running in the background, taking up RAM and CPU. And the Apple System Profiler (sp) will tell you things like how your RAM and other hardware is showing up.

I know it's anxious business not having something that should "just work" just work. If I had a nickel for every..... 😉 But soon you will have this all resolved, one way or another, and can move on to the next challenge. It's crazy what machines drive us to... I swear I once troubleshot MobileMe for 2 years with a client, off and on, and it never worked...until we finally reformatted EVERYthing (a server, a laptop, and two devices) -- ridiculous -- we both started tearing up because it was finally syncing. So I know man, it really really shouldn't be this hard BUT I figure we're only in 2011 and I think the promise of 2050 is not flying cars but computers that do, finally, just work...that'll be the true revolution lol.

Good luck to us all in the meantime!

hi,

still working on roy's method, so far it is still chewing me up 😁 😕 😟 but i have a few questions:

1. Can the restore disc that comes with a 2011 SL core i5 imac be used to restore the i7 since they are identical except for the upgraded processor?

2. Roy, how does your method install the correct drivers for the core i family? You said that the retail SL disc 10.6.3 lacks support for the core i family but the updaters do. So when i ran the comobo updater it should have installed the missing holes. From what i understand your method marries the retail sl 10.6.3 with the combo updater creating one super installer which you install on the imac for example and it should in theory install the right updaters. How is this different from what i did? Unless my current SL install thinks its a macbook that would explain a lot and why its not filling any holes. Would still be cool if you guys could put out a video how to.

3. If i boot of the clone of the imac now with sl+updaters and reinstall sl after paritioning the imac into one partition, does it see my bootable clone as a macbook and basically does the same thing on reinstall i.e see my imac as macbook thus putting me back right where i started?

4. Why can't you use the system restore disc to create the "roy installer"?

Hi zirkenz... what step are you stuck on? I imagine my explanation of Roy's instructions might have confused things but there must be a specific step you're stuck on. I went through each of his steps, I reread your posts, and then I tried to tailor everything that you would see to your computer. It would help me a lot if you would let me know how far you can get. I don't have much time to devote to a video although that's a nice idea 😉

While you are waiting for his stuff to finish, you can read my thoughts/answers below 😉

1. Booting from an i5 iMac 2011 disc: Maybe that chart I posted with all the restore disc releases would say which discs come with which machine... but usually the restore discs didn't differentiate between processors, just years and models. There would be one for all the Macbook Pros of a given release... or all the iMacs of a given release. So if your i7 iMac is from the same release period as the i5 discs you've got, you should think they would work. Of course, the whole reason this is a unique situation is because of the TYPE of i5/i7 these are... sandybridge right? But I would think they should work. I received the factory disc for my MBP from Apple but it's not your typical grey restore disc.... it's like a white factory disc... so it doesn't give me any extra clue as to what originally shipped with my i5 MBP 2011.

2. I don't know if I used a 10.6.3 base but the way this works, the clone you're making doesn't have any clue or preference or designation for the kind of computer you are making it on... it is a pure virgin master combining all of your base 10.6.x disc with all the the new 10.6.8 updates. So it doesn't run on anything until the first time you run it on your target machine. So that would be the first time this 10.6.8 master would even know what kind of computer it was running on: first boot. Then it could decide which drivers it needed to keep for your i7 or whatever.

Thing is,that's not how OSX has EVER worked. For a decade you could install OSX on an external hard drive and then boot that hard drive on any computer that could handle that version...all the drivers were always there... random awesome feature of Macs. So I'm not sure they would cripple this feature now....so sure, your method should have worked. But it didn't. And you don't see where you could have made a mistake 😉

In my opinion, it's better when your problem is the result of user error than something out of your control. You really should WANT to have made a mistake in your install process. If you didn't make a mistake, then either your computer is busted or you can't put Snow Leo on period. So what would I rather? I'd rather it turn out that I made a mistake and try again, or try another method. I know you can't see how Roy's method would yield different results from what you did, using your logic. But using your logic, you can't figure out how to actually DO roy's method 😉 So sure, while your theories are sound, so should your iMac be working perfectly. Any way you cut it, something went wrong ....and I'd always rather it be MY error than require a trip to the Apple Store. That's my pragmatism, YMMV 😉

3. If I understand you correctly, this should work... but so should what you originally did. Sure, do it... try it... why not? Thing is, I don't know if anyone in this thread tried a pure Target Disk method... it's a step in the method, but I don't know if anyone in this thread did a full target disc route like you originally did.... so for all I know there's something different about it this time. It seems like it should work but I would think there must be a thread about it then.

4. Apple always locked the restore discs to the product family... they just say "Macbook Pro" or whatever... you couldn't boot them on any computer but an MBP.... I have no idea if using a disk image of a restore disc in the Roy method would work... I wouldn't bother with it if I was already having problems or unless I had a lot of time to run experiments. It might work perfectly and turn out that booting-for-install is the only thing the restore discs controlled. It's never been practical for me to figure out a workaround for the restore disc limitation so, unless you have no other choice or a lot of time, it's not something I would complicate matters with. If it booted on your iMac, then you wouldn't bother with any of these methods, you'd just boot it!