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Cant install OS on Macbook Pro

Hello, Im trying to install Mac Os X from my internal optical drive on a new harddrive (formatted mac os journaled) and it doesn't seem to work. I tried both Snow leopard dvd and lion. Then I tried both dvd's with an external optical drive and same problem, stops spinning after few minutes the dvd that is. So I thought it might be that the harddrive is the problem(1 TB samsung) so removed it and installed the hitachi one that came with my macbook pro mid 2009, same issue. I tried everything even changing the ram from 8 GB to the 4 GB that came with my macbook pro. Help will be much appreciated as im trying to sell it ASAP, I really need the money. Thanks in advance.

MacBook Pro, MacBook Pro July 2009 2.66 GHz

Posted on Feb 10, 2012 7:04 AM

18 replies

a brody

Level 10

83,017 points

Feb 10, 2012 10:34 AM in response to David Quandos

First off, Lion never came on DVD. Snow Leopard did, but the disk made from it, is not going to be bootable anyway, unless a procedure *such as http://www.macmaps.com/bootcd.html is followed. I've not tested it on Snow Leopard, but if it wasn't, or if you haven't tested the disc before, it may be you are just finding out you don't have a bootable disc.

Feb 10, 2012 11:33 AM in response to a brody

I know lion never came on a disc i never said it did. I said i burned it on a disk (downloaded it from appstore and then burned to dvd) as explained here lifehacker.com/5823096/how-to-burn-your-own-lion-install-dvd-or-flash-drive . As for the snow leopard i tried the gray disc that came with it, and i tried a version from a trusted source of torrents both same result. IM pretty sure its not the dvd's im putting problem now after all that, but what doesnt make sense to me is that the optical drive played a dvd movie and burned a lion disc so whats the problem with it not reading the mac os x's dvd's? and is it fixable without changing the whole optical drive to a new one? if buying a new one is indeed the solution please let me know. thanks,..

a brody

Level 10

83,017 points

Feb 11, 2012 8:16 AM in response to David Quandos

Really it is hard to say. Ask to borrow someone's external Firewire Mac compatible burner at a user group. That would at least tell you if the disc in question is damaged or the disc drive. http://www.apple.com/usergroups/

Cant install OS on Macbook Pro