I bought a Mac Pro with a copyright date of 2007 from a state university. It didn't come with a hard drive or any disc. I have a drive to put in it. However, I have no idea what my options are, if any, to get a OS installed on it. This is my first Mac computer. Please advise.
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Mac Pro, null
Are you sure that it is a Power Mac from 2007?
It is my understanding that by 2007 Apple had completely switched over to Intel and totally dropped the PowerPC processor.
There are no 2007 Power Macs. Append the last three characters of its serial number to http://www.everymac.com/ultimate-mac-lookup/?search_keywords= , load the page, and use the information on it to determine your options.
(129753)
If it is a G5 the highest Mac OS X you can use is Leopard, 10.5.8. Apple no longer sells the disks so you can start by looking on eBay or possibly Amazon...but be sure and get the retail version, those are black with a large X. The grey disks are machine-dependent.
I know nothing about Mac's. I was under the impression it was a Mac Pro until I saw the icons for the different sections of this community. Regardless, where do I find the serial number? Also, if it's a Mac Pro, will the link you supplied still work? Thanks!
1. Click here for information.
2. Yes. It works for all Macs, iPods, iOS devices, and some other Apple hardware.
(129762)
A G5 PowerMac has one optical drive door; the 2006 through early 2013 Mac Pros have two doors. Also note the different arrangement of the front panel ports.
I have now found out that it is a Mac Pro w/2 - 3 ghz Quad core Xeon cpu, MacPro2,1. According to Everymac.com, pre-installed was OS X10.4.9. It further states I can use up to X10.7.5. Is Ebay/Amazon the best way to get a copy of the OSX? If so, when searching should I just use those numbers? Thanks to all!
You can buy the Snow Leopard 10.6.3 retail install DVD from Apple, cost is about $20.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard
And then update that, once installed, to Snow Leopard 10.6.8 by use of Software Update
from within the running system OS X 10.6.3; the Combo 10.6.8 update is a free download:
Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1
Once the computer is running the full OS X 10.6.8 Snow Leopard, it may be able to go
online and you could buy an upgrade to OS X 10.7 Lion from Apple online. Or stay at
Snow Leopard 10.6.8 and it should be OK to run the older Apple applications.
If you later choose to upgrade to Mac OS X 10.7, that also requires an update from Apple
servers, from the App Store. The actual upgrade file would be a download after you buy it
and requires Snow Leopard 10.6.8 to be installed, & up to date, before Lion can be...
•OS X Lion (10.7) - Apple Store (US)
http://store.apple.com/us/product/D6106Z/A/os-x-lion
Given Snow Leopard 10.6.8, your older Intel-based Mac could still run some older PPC
coded applications that otherwise would see no support once past this OS, to 10.7.x
Snow Leopard installer includes a now-discontinued 'Rosetta' utility to help run old apps.
With correct and positive identification of the hardware, the software
items, utilities, and accessories are easier to identify, locate & buy.
Good luck & happy computing! 🙂
I have now found out that it is a Mac Pro w/2 - 3 ghz Quad core Xeon cpu, MacPro2,1.
Thank you. I've asked the Hosts to move you to the Mac Pro forums.
2006/2007 Mac Pro (1,1/2,1) and OS X El Capitan
2006/2007 Mac Pro (1,1/2,1) and OS X Yosemite
Easy to follow guides for installing OS X beyond Lion.
The best $$ / performance return would be an 250GB $98 EVO 850 SSD or PCIe-SSD (adapter). FBDIMMshave been excellent and affordable in the last two years. The biggest challenge tends to be finding a decent graphic card though but once you have Yosemite it is easier.
Whether it is easy or not to follow it has been made easier today to install and run Yosemite and works well.
I now have the install DVD from Apple. So, how do I get the optical drive bay open? Thanks!
You might find this helpful: https://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/0/MA263/en_US/Mac_Pro_8_core_User_Guide.p df
Go to page 17 where it says to use the media eject button on the keyboard to open the optical drive door.
Therefore, I have to use/buy an Apple keyboard in order to get the optical drive open?
If you have a mouse, startup the Mac while holding the mouse button, that is a trick for ejecting a disk, also.
If you have access to only non-Apple non-Mac keyboards for generic PCs running Windows:
•Keyboard Mappings using a PC Keyboard on a Macintosh: (microsoft support)
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/970299
Another take on the topic from Apple, the other side of the coin from link above:
•Boot Camp: About keyboards and key assignment for Microsoft Windows - Apple Support
So you can use another keyboard if you can locate the correct keys. However since
most Apple keyboards after 2005 should work with the early Intel-based Mac, any
good condition used one would be OK. A few full-size aluminum Apple keyboards
may have issue between use with Mac Pro vs PowerMac (intel vs PPC) as such had
been reported back in the day. I've no full-size aluminum keyboard to test for that one.
In any event...
Good luck & happy computing! 🙂
I bought a 2007 Mac Pro with no hard drive, what are my options concerning installation of an OS??
