Mac OS X can't be installed on this computer

See if this helps:

Drive Partition and Format

1. Boot from your OS X Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.

2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.

3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Apply button and wait until the process has completed.

4. 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.

5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Security button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.

6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.

Steps 4-6 are optional but should be used on a drive that has never been formatted before, if the format type is not Mac OS Extended, if the partition scheme has been changed, or if a different operating system (not OS X) has been installed on the drive.

What exactly happens when you follow my procedure? Exact errors and error messages are helpful.

I remember having a problem like this a few years in the past, and I solved it by formatting the hard drive using a Gparted live CD I had handy. Chose the HFS+ format in Gparted, applied changes, rebooted, and voilà. Could have something to do with the GUID on the drive being corrupted or unreadable.

Do you have a restore partition on this drive (due to a prior installation of, say, Lion or a more recent version of OS X)? It could prevent you from downgrading to an older version of the OS. Plus, when you say you zeroed out the drive, it may mean you actually deleted the MacintoshHD startup volume, not the whole disk.

Then take it in for service. I haven't a clue where to go from here.

OK, but can you access Disk Utility from the install DVD, once you've chosen your language?

OK, so once you access Disk Utility, can you select your hard drive (not the startup volume that should be right under it, the drive itself) and format/erase it? From what you describe, it seems the drive GUID is unreadable or corrupted, and OS X shows it can't install on it. The best way to solve the issue would be to completely overwrite what's on the drive, and install anew.

Of course, at this point, you're sure the DVD you're trying to install from is either the one that originally came with this particular Mac, or a retail DVD?

Did you upgrade this MacBook Pro since you bought it? New hard drive, more RAM, a different logic board (there are several threads on this forum about people experiencing repetitive kernel panics due to a combination of faulty logic boards and GPUs), etc...?

Additionally, did you create a new partition while in Disk Utility, as Mac OS extended (journaled) on a GUID Partition Table volume? On a clean drive, that's mandatory for Snow Leopard.

One thing I forgot to ask: did you fully update your Mac before you tried to reinstall SL on it? By this I mean, apply firmware updates (such as they are) too?

Hi, I have the same problem here. tried everything that you've posted but my biggest problem is that I dont have the original installation dvd that comes with this mac. Borrowed an installation dvd from a friend. Need help. Thanks