Can OS X be installed from a CD other than the original?

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Level 1

4 points

Can OS X be installed from a CD other than the original?

Hi!

I've got a late-2008 macbook and will upgrade the HDD to an SDD. I've lost my Leopard CD - in addition to contacting Apple for a new one, can I use my brother's Leopard CD...?

How is this done btw. on laptops that have no optical station? Bootable external hard drives?

After re-installing OS X, will signing into App store make Snow Leopard, Lion etc. updates (that I've paid for) be available free of charge?

Cheers,

Anders

iMac, Mac OS X (10.5.5)

Posted on Mar 29, 2013 5:54 PM

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Answer 1

Mar 29, 2013 5:59 PM in response to abrotherus01

You can call Ap[pleCare and request a replace instal DVD for your Mac

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Answer 2

Niel

Level 10

726,935 points

Mar 29, 2013 6:00 PM in response to abrotherus01

1. You need to use the original disks for that model of Mac or a retail package newer than it.

2. Macs which shipped without an optical drive either use an USB thumbdrive or have a preloaded recovery partition.

3. If you use the same Apple ID, your past Mac App Store purchases will be freely available. Snow Leopard is a DVD install and not available from the Mac App Store.

(79715)

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Answer 3

abrotherus01 Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 30, 2013 3:27 AM in response to Niel

"1. You need to use the original disks for that model of Mac or a retail package newer than it."

What you're saying is I can use eg. my brother's CDs, as long as he has the same model of Macbook or newer?

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Answer 4

mende1

Level 10

93,538 points

Mar 30, 2013 3:32 AM in response to abrotherus01

An example: your brother and you have got different Macs that came with Mac OS X Leopard. In this case, the Mac OS X DVDs that came with your Mac include a special Mac OS X version only compatible with your Mac, and the same for your brother. In this case, you won't be able to use your brother's DVD to install Mac OS X, because the version that they include isn't compatible with your Mac.

Then, Niel mention retail packages. In that case, you can use that DVD to reinstall Mac OS X on your Mac, always that it includes a newer Mac OS X version than the one that came with your computer.

If you have a Snow Leopard DVD, use it to reinstall Mac OS X onto the new SSD instead of the DVD that came with your Mac, so you will save time and headaches. If not, you can use your brother's DVDs but only if it contains a newer Mac OS X version (for example, Snow Leopard) or he has got the same computer with the same model as you

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