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model specific operating system problem

I bought a Mid 2010 mac pro second hand.


I did not know you need original installation disks that come with the machine to run it at it's best.


The seller seems to have installed Snow leopard from different installation disks (laptop) and says he lost the original disks that came with the machine.


How do I solve this problem?


Can I not just install a clean install of Mountain Lion on this machine?


I honestly can't believe how complex this is and how volatile this is.

Posted on Aug 11, 2013 2:42 PM

Reply
7 replies

Aug 11, 2013 2:50 PM in response to Chance Harper

It is not very complex nor volatile. You bought a computer and failed to get the installation discs that should come with it. Just call Apple to purchase a replacement set. You can ask that the seller reimburse you.


You already have Snow Leopard installed on this computer. You can open the App Store and sign in with your Apple ID. Purchase and download Mountain Lion or re-download Mountain Lion if you have already purchased it.


When the installer is running you can either upgrade the Snow Leopard installed on the computer or erase the drive first then install Mountain Lion.

Aug 11, 2013 3:09 PM in response to Kappy

Thx for the reply.


So tell me how exactly does one contact apple if you are based in South Africa?


I logged into the app store and tried to download mountain lion but it just fails to download.


At first it refused to log onto the APP Store until I updated the date on the mac pro (which I discovered by reading forums).


Will mountain Lion solve all the problems? I am able to download it on my laptop but for some reason it doesnt want to download on the mac pro? I click and then it just resets.


Is mountain Lion optimized for my mid 2010 mac pro as a first time install?

Aug 11, 2013 3:28 PM in response to Chance Harper

So tell me how exactly does one contact apple if you are based in South Africa?


I logged into the app store and tried to download mountain lion but it just fails to download.


At first it refused to log onto the APP Store until I updated the date on the mac pro (which I discovered by reading forums).


Will mountain Lion solve all the problems? I am able to download it on my laptop but for some reason it doesnt want to download on the mac pro? I click and then it just resets.


Is mountain Lion optimized for my mid 2010 mac pro as a first time install?


1. Customer Service: Contacting Apple for support and service - this includes international calling numbers. You can try the US number or that of a country on the list that is closest.


2. Can you be more explict than "it just failes to download?" Are you purchasing or re-downloading?


3. Since I don't know what problems you are having I cannot tell you if Mountain Lion will solve them. If you have downloaded the Mountain Lion installer on another computer, then you can: a. copy it to the MP; b. connect the two by Firewire cable and install using Target Disk Mode; c. create a bootable installer on a USB flash drive.


4. Mountain Lion is optimized for use on any compatible Mac hardware just as is any prior version of OS X.


Make Your Own Mountain/Lion Installer


1. After downloading Mountain/Lion you must first save the Install Mac OS X Mountain/

Lion application. After Mountain/Lion downloads DO NOT click on the Install button.

Go to your Applications folder and make a copy of the Mountain/Lion installer. Move

the copy into your Downloads folder. Now you can click on the Install button. You

must do this because the installer deletes itself automatically when it finishes

installing.


2. Get a USB flash drive that is at least 8 GBs. Prep this flash drive as follows:


a. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.

b. After DU loads select your flash drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left

side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.

c. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one.

Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the

partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until

the process has completed.

d. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side

list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.

e. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the

button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.

f. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to an hour depending upon the flash

drive size.


3. Use Lion DiskMaker 2.0 to put your installer clone onto the USB flash drive.


Note: The term Mountain/Lion used above means Lion or Mountain Lion.

Aug 11, 2013 7:10 PM in response to Chance Harper

Chance Harper wrote:


...I did not know you need original installation disks that come with the machine to run it at it's best...

If you want to continue to run Snow Leopard (which is the last Mac OS X which can run PPC software on an Intel-based Mac, which is what you have), having the original installer disks is the best way to go, and Kappy has said how to get them. But a very good approximation of that is to download and install the 10.6.8 Combo Updaterhttp://support.apple.com/kb/DL1399. That customizes the installation for your specific Mac and updates pretty much all of the operating system on your machine. If you did get the original installer disks, you'd be installing Mac OS 10.6.4, and you'd have to use the Combo Updater I've linked to anyway.

Aug 13, 2013 1:31 PM in response to Kappy

Thanks kappy, in the end I took it to an apple store and they just loaded the latest mountain lion on it for me. I then rebuilt my system from there. However I hate Logic Pro 9.1.8 and ML and want to just go back to SL. The **** program has graphic interface lag when running EQ or analyzer or meters. I can't believe how bad apple has been of late. For me it's been frustration upon frustration. I will however attempt to contact them.

model specific operating system problem

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