[geeks] Install without DVD (was Re: DVD install of MacOS 10.5.3 or 10.5.4)

[Nadine Miller]

On Jul 26, 2008, at 12:18 PM, Brian Dunbar wrote:

> Shannon Hendrix wrote:
>> Does anyone know if you can find an install DVD of MacOS 10.5.3 or  
>> 10.5.4?
>> I am thinking of re-installing my Mac system, and I really don't  
>> want to have to start with 10.5.0 and go through the updates.
>
> Related question:
>
> My DVD drive is acting up - it won't read the install DVD.
>
> I can get it fixed but I'll have to send the laptop away for that,  
> so I've been putting it off.
>
> Is there any way to upgrade to MacOS 10.5.x without using the built- 
> in DVD?

If you can get the DVD mounted somewhere so you can access it from the  
Mac, you can use "Disk Utility" to restore it to a partition on a hard  
drive local to the Mac, then boot from that.  I did this recently to  
build an "emergency" partition that's faster than booting off the DVD  
drive.  I (mostly) used the instructions here: <http://iuseapple.com/blog/apple-how-to/advanced-os-x/2007/10/29/how-to-install-leopard-from-external-firewire-hard-drive/ 
 >.

 From what little I've read, the reports vary as to whether it's  
possible to boot all off of USB.  Most believe PPC Macs will only boot  
from Firewire disks.  On the Intel side, I think you have to have a  
GUID partition for Intel Macs to boot from USB.  I haven't pursued it  
much as I've got plenty of FW canisters laying around.

However, there is one comment in the link above where the poster  
claims to have booted a Sawtooth G4 off of an external USB drive.  He  
used CCC to backup his internal HD, then used terminal to bless the  
USB disk, since the Startup Disk preferences pane didn't show it as a  
boot disk after the clone.  I will probably test this just to see if  
it works (seems like it be a bit faster and possibly more reliable to  
build a hackintosh from a drive with multiple partitions with the  
various versions to attempt installs from).

=Nadine=