HFTaylor12
Level 1 (48 points)
Desktops

Q: How can I install Mac OS X Snow Leopard on Mac OS X Tiger?

Hello. Can someone tell me how I can install Mac OS X Snow Leopard on Mac OS X Tiger? I have the disk, but when I open the installer, I get a message saying that Snow Leopard could not be installed on my computer and it could only be installed on a Intel-Based Mac. This is a PowerPC Mac, so that makes sense.

So, I'm trying to ask how to make my Mac an Intel-Based Mac so I could install Snow Leopard. Or if I can't do that, I need to know how to install Snow Leopard some other way. Please help.

iBook, Mac OS X (10.4.11), iBook G4, not G3.

Posted on Dec 29, 2014 2:41 PM

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HFTaylor12

Q: How can I install Mac OS X Snow Leopard on Mac OS X Tiger?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Niel,

    Niel Niel Dec 29, 2014 2:43 PM in response to HFTaylor12
    Level 10 (314,553 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 29, 2014 2:43 PM in response to HFTaylor12

    You can't upgrade it; you need to buy a new, refurbished, or secondhand Intel Mac to run Snow Leopard or newer.

     

    (119148)

  • by MlchaelLAX,

    MlchaelLAX MlchaelLAX Dec 31, 2014 6:50 PM in response to HFTaylor12
    Level 4 (2,256 points)
    Dec 31, 2014 6:50 PM in response to HFTaylor12

    Your iBook will max out with Leopard, 10.5.8

     

    What functionality are you attempting to gain in Snow Leopard that Tiger or Leopard does not offer you?

  • by HFTaylor12,

    HFTaylor12 HFTaylor12 Jan 11, 2015 9:31 AM in response to MlchaelLAX
    Level 1 (48 points)
    Desktops
    Jan 11, 2015 9:31 AM in response to MlchaelLAX

    Snow Leopard has the Mac App Store and Tiger doesn't. That means I can never update the OS.

  • by Niel,

    Niel Niel Jan 11, 2015 9:46 AM in response to HFTaylor12
    Level 10 (314,553 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 11, 2015 9:46 AM in response to HFTaylor12

    You need to buy a Mac OS X 10.5 DVD from a source such as Amazon or eBay to upgrade the OS; even if you could get the Mac App Store on your computer, that item isn’t available in it.

     

    (119971)

  • by MlchaelLAX,

    MlchaelLAX MlchaelLAX Jan 11, 2015 11:12 AM in response to HFTaylor12
    Level 4 (2,256 points)
    Jan 11, 2015 11:12 AM in response to HFTaylor12

    HFTaylor12 wrote:

     

    Snow Leopard has the Mac App Store and Tiger doesn't. That means I can never update the OS.

    You can never run Snow Leopard on a PowerPC Mac, and hence it will never run the App store.  Upgrades from Tiger are only available to Leopard through purchase of a DVD from a third party source, since Apple no longer sells Leopard (maybe you can call 800-SOS-APPL and explain your situation and model number Mac and maybe they will provide a "replacement disc" for Leopard.  Software Update would then update your PowerPC Mac to 10.5.8 which is as high as it can go.

     

    If you need access to the App Store, you need an Intel Mac so that it can run Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or later depending upon the model of the Mac.

  • by a brody,

    a brody a brody Jan 11, 2015 5:51 PM in response to MlchaelLAX
    Level 9 (66,899 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    Jan 11, 2015 5:51 PM in response to MlchaelLAX

    Just an FYI, the Mac App Store was introduced with Mac OS X 10.6.6.    However the rest of what you say is accurate.

    10.6.8 is required if you want to upgrade certain Macs beyond 10.7.5 without having to reformat the drive you are installing the operating system on and without having to install some version of 10.7 first.

    One can actually install 10.7 or later if you maintain an original copy of the full installer of the operating system in question for your personal use without having to have the prerequisite operating system installed, if the hardware supported it.  But that's a discussion for another forum.

     

    For HFTaylor,

    Consider buying a used or refurbished Mac with an Intel CPU depending on your needs.  Read this tip about the migration of data from PowerPC to Intel before proceeding:

    https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-2295

     

    and see this tip about used and refurbished Macs*:

    http://www.macmaps.com/usedrefurbished.html

     

    * Links to my pages may give me compensation.

  • by MlchaelLAX,

    MlchaelLAX MlchaelLAX Jan 11, 2015 8:49 PM in response to a brody
    Level 4 (2,256 points)
    Jan 11, 2015 8:49 PM in response to a brody

    a brody wrote:

     

    Just an FYI, the Mac App Store was introduced with Mac OS X 10.6.6.    However the rest of what you say is accurate...

     

    * Links to my pages may give me compensation.

    Actually everything I said was accurate, thank you.  While your point would be interesting as a footnote in an encyclopedia article about Snow Leopard, it is only irrelevant and potentially confusing to the OP.

     

    There are only two versions of Snow Leopard available for purchase on DVD: 10.6 and 10.6.3.  Either one, once installed, will ONLY be upgraded to 10.6.8 by Software Update.

     

    Hence the only way the OP can get access to the App Store via Snow Leopard on an Intel Mac, is to install it and use Software Update to upgrade it 10.6.8 or use a later version of OS X, as I noted.