Being one of the first on the planet (due to timezones) to receive my retail copy of MacOS X 10.6 Snow Leopard DVD I must say things haven’t gone too well so far…
I very carefully inserted the disc and read all the instructions. I’ve tried the default and custom install options. To no avail. It just won’t install. Every time I attempt the upgrade it claims the disc is dirty and that I need to carefully clean the disc and try again. Which is ridiculous because the surface is like a pristine mirror. I can’t boot from the DVD holding C because it refuses to proceed past the initial Apple Logo and the drive keeps seeking. My only conclusion can be that the disc is faulty! I’ve restarted, disabled all virus software and auto-startup programs. It gets to roughly 30 of the 191 packages (according to the log) and then throws the same error. Argh!
“There is a problem reading the Mac OS X Install DVD. Carefully clean the disc and try again.”
I really hope this is just a dud disc and is not indicative of the whole batch. (From what I can read the batch number on the disc is… B09 000119 and was pressed in Singapore)
Anyway it’s disappointing that the process doesn’t work. I was really looking forward to getting into Snow Leopard.
Argh! I'm sick of seeing this window!
Tags: 10.6, broken, dirty disc, dud disc, duplication service, error, failed upgrade, failure, faulty, installation, MacOS X, pressing error, release, retail, Retail DVD, Snow Leopard, Snow Leopard 10.6 MacOSX error faulty failed install woes, won't work
small Update –> I’ve restarted my MBP, pressed C and the installation started, language choice, where to install, etc, etc, etc – the installation goes on and after like 10min it stopped and gave the failure that some support files are damaged………….OMG
I, too, have been frustrated by the myriad disk errors being described on this page. The install worked normally on my black MacBook, but no luck with my wife’s MacBook Pro. Most of the time the machine would spit the disk out while trying to initialize it on the desktop. The few times the disk would load, it would spit out part way through the installation.
I took the disk into the Apple Store near me today and the person I spoke with said they’d had a number of installation issues with MacBook Pros and in almost every instance a shot of compressed air into the disk slot fixed the problem! So I went home and tried it and voila, effortless install!
Best of luck to all.
I got the same message, that I had to remove the disc and clean it… then I found this site…
I removed my new RAM chips that I installed myself.. and replaced it the old ones..
And what do you know… It work perfectly!!!
Thanks guys!! appreciate it!!!:)
btw.. my RAM (that didn’t work) was “Corsair DDR2-5300″
FINAL UPDATE –> restarting and with “alt” pressed key booted from the USB stick and DONE…..I’ve just finished it and enjoying 10.6 right now – it’s an update so all programs are working and all files are where they belong. Good luck to the rest of you
… Just wanted to say, that I have changed back to my new Corsair memory again (after having to use my old mac ram to get SL installed)!! and it is working GREAT!!
once again, thank you so much for the tip!
UPDATE: removed a stick of RAM from my iMac and Snow Leopard installed flawlessly. Afterwards I reinstalled the RAM module and everything is good!
Thanks!
Definitely a memory issue. I can say this for certain as the following happened to me.
1. Snow Leopard using the same disk loaded fine on my Mac Mini but did not work on my Macbook Pro.
2. After swapping out the memory on my Macbook Pro it loaded fine.
My guess is that as it runs the installer I think it loads the pkgs into memory and verifies them once in memory therein lies the issue. Also, you can invoke the installer log and show all info and see where it breaks.
Finally, I was able to successfully load Snow Leopard only after switching out my memory with some memory I had in inventory.
It’s not a memory issue as it wouldn’t install on my iMac or MacBook. I haven’t put any additional RAM in the MacBook.
OK I guess it was not the memory but it worked after the swap. I just hope it works out for everyone. Disregard my previous post folks!
Sorry.
I’ve been getting the same issues exactly! It’s so frustrating being I’m supposed to have one of the best machines on the planet. Urgh. So, I don’t know much about RAM, etc, so I couldn’t tell you how to remove anything. I guess I’m going to hold down the “Alt” key and try installing that way????
I think it’s installed! I babysat the whole time not letting the screen go black.
I have spent over $100 on dual-layer discs, an 8GB usb drive and an original copy of Leopard (after originally downloading it)…
I have tried installing with two kinds of ram, have blown compressed air into my drive, have tried with different Leopard disks.
I have spent the last two whole days trying to get Snow Leopard to work.
“Installer could not copy the necessary support files”.
I don’t want Snow Leopard anymore. I have lost all motivation.
Apple… disappointing.
I have attempted to install snow leopard and my screen has gone completely black. The mac book pro appears to be in sleep mode. It is not installing or doing anything. I have been able to eject the disk and then start over but I get the same thing. Any suggestions.
attempted to install snow leopard. It won’t even start. I have a 2 year old intel mac pro with 9 GB ram and 275 GB free on the hard drive.
Apple is replacing the Snow Leopard disk. I somehow eventually managed to install it on my MacBook pro after several attempts, the first being that the disk was not even recognised in the disk drive, but it would not install on an Intel iMac reporting the disk was damaged (this also happened several times on the MacBook.
The disk seems flimsy in relation to my other Apple disks. Lots of other people are having the same problem, and this was reported to me by the Apple tech support person that I dealt with. My batch number is different, but starts with .009 and is pressed in Singapore. I would not be surprised if they are using inferior media to save costs.
Also, all my memory is Apple and is on both computers. I have not attempted to install it on my Mac Pro as I want to be sure everything works OK on my other computers.
I neglected to say that I decided to try to copy the disk using Toast Titanium 9 to a dual layer verbatim disk. The copying process stalled about half of the way recording a read error, thus demonstrating that the Snow Leopard install disk was the problem.
or it could be there is a problem with your drive…as was my case.
ive had problems reading some dvds (but not all) lately, i think the problem was dirt in the drive as the shot of compressed air worked for me.
as far as another person changing the memory to get it to work…it could be that just turning the computer over dislodged the dirt in the drive. i would say thats more likely than it being a memory error, especially when the error reported has to do with the media being used.
that would also explain why it works in some drives and not others.
I have the same disk error problem on two different Snow Leopard Disks!! Tried to installed it on two Intel Macbook Pros. Totally disappointing.
I have the same problem. Relatively new Macbook Pro and iMac won’t read disc. The process stalls part way through. Spent an hour on the phone with Apple only to be asked if I could call back the next day. Have logged issue on website and had no response 48 hours later. Only messages I have received from Apple is two separate customer surveys asking to rate how well the issue was handled.
IT IS DEFINITELY THE RAM!!! I tried once with my new RAM from Crucial (2 x 2gb) and it would not work. Put in my old ram that came with the Macbook Pro (2 x 1gb) and it installed on first attempt. I have tested the Crucial RAM with Rember and it seems to be ok. Going to put my 4GBs back in tonight.
Installed it on my iMac no problem – tried to do so on my newer Mac Mini and it mounted the disk fine first time. Started the install – left it when it said ‘45 minutes’ to complete. When I came back the disk was ejected system still on 10.5.8.
Now when I put in the Snow Leopard Install DVD it does this funny noise – two repeated read attempts followed by a pause which is repeats several times before spitting the DVD out.
Tried the DVD back into the iMac – which still reads it ok. Tried another disk in the Mac Mini – it reads it fine. I’m really hoping it’s not RAM (A) because I don’t have a clue where I put the original Apple RAM and (B) changing it in a Mac Mini is a complete pain. Anyone else had problems with a Mac Mini and got a success?
I encountered a similar problem — the only difference is that the Snow Leopard installer would quit without any error message, eject the DVD and restart my 24 inch iMac back into Leopard.
I tried cleaning the DVD, zapping PRAM, and upgrading to 10.5.8 but still encountered the problem.
What worked for me was unplugging all unnecessary USB peripherals (SanDisk USB media reader and Bamboo pad and wireless mouse) then reinstalling. Installation went flawlessly.
I hope this helps.
Thanks for a very helpful thread.
I too had a similar problem. The installer would run for about 5-10 minutes then give me a message saying “installer will complete after restarting” and restart automatically except when the restart completed it would go to the log in screen, I would log in and then the snow leopard CD would just load again and if I initiated the install again, it would start the install from the beginning, so the install would never complete.
I tried unplugging all my peripherals– printer, external hard drive, external speakers, and still no success. I also have never changed the RAM in my iMac from the original RAM so i assume that can’t be the problem.
I’ve ran the install close to 10 times now, any ideas?
Got Snow Leopard Installed!
Just thought I should post an update to my previous post. I called Apple Care and (from what I can remember) they got me to do the following.
Got me to restart Mac Mini and hold down cmd+alt+p+r keys. Didn’t fix it.
Then asked me to put in the OS 10.5 Leopard disc as this is a dual/double layer dvd – the same kind of disc as the Snow Leopard one I just bought.
Turns out the Mac Mini couldn’t read that either – so it looks like the drive has a problem.
Then they advised me to do try Firewire Target Disk Mode. donv (The Ghost) had posted this on the Apple forum but I was a bit unsure about it –
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2133848&start=0&tstart=30
But I clicked through on his link to the Apple page:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661
Turned out to be a lot easier than I’d thought. I connected my iMac to the Mac Mini with a firewire cable then started up the Mac Mini and held down the ‘t’ key. The Mac Mini mounted on my iMac desktop as a Firewire drive. Then I put in the Snow Leopard DVD into my iMac and ran the install. When it asked where I wanted to install it to I selected the Mac Mini (***It’s obviously crucial to choose the right destination drive.)
Thereafter the Mac Mini took control of the iMac’s disk drive and ran the installation process without a hitch.
I did have a nervous wait as I’d remembered I’d forgotten to back up an important file on my iMac and, as I hadn’t done this before, was worried it might get overwritten by mistake – but it was fine. Still, best to do a backup before…
Sorry for the long post – but did it just just in case it helps someone.
I had the same problem Donovan did – I tried 5 times with a first generation DVD. I got a replacement DVD tonight, which also failed.
I installed it via an external DVD drive. So… the disk is good, the internal drive is good for normal use – but they won’t work with each other.
I’m promoting the theory that the fault tolerance of these disks is very low, and that’s the source of the problem.
The Apple product specialist was going to send me off to the Genius bar when the replacement disk failed, so they don’t have any tricks up their sleeve.
I have a Sept ‘06 Intel Core 2 Duo – on Mac Rumors, most of the folks posting seem to have iMacs from late ‘06
Another observation: on the failed installs, the time estimator jumped around – up, down, up. On the successful one, it always went down, although sometimes in jumps.
I received the the same error message and tried cleaning the disc. It still took four tries before it would read it. Apple quality is slipping, I might be a loyal Apple fan but I’m not going to buy junk.
I have no doubt that this problem is caused by dodgy DVD’s. I have had problems installing on my early Macbook and went through 2 DVDs from the same retailer (probably the same batch) and had a range of problems including the dirty disk message, the ‘OSProductManagerDomain error 100′ message, and various unexplained quits. I then called Apple and as soon as I mentioned the ‘OSProductManagerDomain error 100′ message he immediately identified it as a disk problem and sent out a new one (which is now working perfectly).
My belief is that the when these dubious disks are combined with DVD drives that aren’t perfectly set up the problem arises. This is why some disks will work on some computers and not on others (where there may be some minor misalignment or dirt). Also some of the fixes that have worked may simply be that the DVD drive got jiggled and dislodged dirt or bumped the alignment.
Anyway call Apple even if your Mac is not under warranty because you get 90 days for your Snow Leopard purchase.
Cheers,
Tom
thanks for all the advice people. it’s not working !!! 2 install disks, every possible advice tried and failed, running out of steam here. I live in japan and getting help from the apple care number is really difficult for me to understand. I’m lost in translation! I’m going to call America tonight and battle it out. point 1. why the numerous problems with such a well trusted company?
2. why were we not told earlier that the cheaper upgrade would work just as well as the more pricey box set, when upgrading from tiger?
3. requesting compensation for time lost during this ordeal and a written letter of apollogy.
I’m not asking too much from a company that now appears to be giving the people who made it what it is today substandard products!!
I am so angry about this and my patience is wearing very thin.
I have tried installing this on an ‘07 MacBook close 15 times today. The best part is, THE SAME DISC WORKED FINE A MONTH AGO, ON THE SAME MACHINE. This makes no sense. It’s spotless with no scratches.
It says “Installer could not copy the necessary support files” every time. This happens at the “15 minutes remaining” mark every time. It hangs there, then after 3-4 minutes the disc gives up spinning and the error pops up to mock me.
I have formatted several times. I have formatted with the zero-out option. I have repartitioned several times. I have ensured it’s using the GUID scheme and is Mac OS Extended (Journaled). I have tried removing both RAM DIMMS, same failure each try. I installed over firewire through target disk mode, same failure.
What the hell? It worked, but now it doesn’t?
Also, if I try to go back to Leopard, it will install but the machine no longer boots. So basically I cannot do anything and this has bricked my MacBook.
Nice going Apple, thumbs up! Your support staff is useless.
So I take it you have access to another mac if you’ve tried target disc mode. Have you tried burning a copy of the disc (even with errors) and using the copy to install? It worked for me.
I don’t think it’s an error with the disc physically, because the same disc worked flawlessly on two macs a month ago, and it was just sitting in its padded sleeve in the closet… nothing to harm the disc.
I installed Leopard again last night and it worked. I then tried to upgrade to Snow Leopard and it installed all the way up to “one minute remaining” but then it stalled and wouldn’t complete after sitting for an hour. So I rebooted, the install “resumed” but started over from the beginning anyway, and left me with the same error as posted above.
It’s a problem with Apple’s installer. I want to give up, but at this point I’ve put so much time into it I refuse to use Leopard. I want to figure out why this is happening.
I also used Disk Utility to check for errors with my hard drive, and it was fine. I also verified the Install DVD and it was fine.
Send me a valid email and I might be able to send you a working disc image.
Just wanted to add my voice here. I’m having the same problem as everyone else trying to load the Snow Leopard DVD into a 2006 IMAC. It simply won’t read the disc, though the DVD easily reads other discs.
I just went to the Apple Store and picked up a replacement disc: same problem.
Very annoying.
Thanks for the help guys. I reinstalled the original RAM (2gig) that came with my 2.16 MBP and Snow Leopard installed perfectly. BTW the upgraded RAM was from Other World Computing.
-Very frustrating process until I found this site!
I’ve heard there are some wildlife groups trying to get Apple to do more stuff with the actual S.L.’s lol. I don’t know- people are saying it’s good PR for Apple- they should jump on that.
It must be a bad batch of disks. I am having the same problem and mine is (B09 000125), also made in Singapore
As I said, I switched from my upgrade RAM, back to my mac- RAM.. then, SL installed perfectly.!!!
BUT, then i tried switching back to my “Corsair DDR2-5300: 2×2gb”.. and SL started fuckin’ up! the whole system just slowed down, and one could not tell that I had 4GB ram installed…
SO, i had to switch back to my mac-ram (2×1gb)… it works perfectly.. although.. It sucks havin’ 4 gb of ram, and not being able to use it…
Anyone got a clue why it’s like this?
I have tried seven times to install Snow Leopard in my iMac. I’ve unplugged all appendages, I’ve repaired the destination disk; I’ve assumed I missed a running application and exited all applications; nothing works, Ironically, I just bought a Mac Book Air with Snow Leopard and it runs like a hot damn. I think it’s the Install Disk. I’ll have to make a trip to Mac Store but at this point I’m wondering if its worth the time. I was happy with my iMac before they told me this was better.
I am disappointed in Apple though.
I followed IKat’s method, using an external DVD drive to install Snow Leopard on my 2.0 core 2 duo macbook pro — it worked.
After repeated attempts to install Snow Leopard using my laptop’s drive, I went to this site. I wasn’t willing to drive back to my hometown to find my original ram. Disk utility also returned no errors on the dvd. Lucky for me, my roommate bought a new external DVD RW, so I gave IKat’s suggestion a try.
This is my experience.
I have been trying to get my iMac to take the snow leopard upgrade on and off for months. This thread finally nailed it! Thanks a ton!!
I had upgraded my 2.8Ghz mid 2008 iMac from the factory 2×1GB to some new Crucial 2×2GB and I put the 2×1GB into my mac-mini. The mac-mini took the SL upgrade no problem. After swapping the memory back form the mac-mini. Upgrade finally took…
Swapped the memory back, downloaded and installed all post updates. All is good so far…
Tried to install iLife 09, now I’m getting errors with it, and it won’t insall.
THIS IS RIDICULOUS, what is so different about the factory memory? OR is it the fact that it is more than what came with the machine from the factory? This is too trivial to truly matter, just absurd.
Did anyone have similar issues trying to install iLife 09?
Don’t feel bad people, I’m in Iraq, I have a late OCT unibody macbook. I finally got SL to install after about 100 tries with two different family pack discs that both worked in my friends macbooks, by taking my new hard drive and my old 2,1 macbook and installing the OS on the new hard drive, then installed back in the unibody, updated with time machine, everything is good. But a hell of a journey thgough
Tried to install SL at least 10 times on my IMAC before reading this thread. It came with 2 GB of RAM. About 6 months ago, I bought 4 GB to upgrade but would never work with both of the new memory chips so I had to install one along with one of the the original 1 GB chips.(making for a total of 3 GB on board) Tried and tried to install the SL time and time again. It would look like it was going to install for about 45 minutes then restart. But checking About this Mac it would only show 10.5.8. I tried taking out the NEW RAM chip and installing with only the one original 1 RAM chip. When I restarted with the install disc in the IMAC it booted up and started to install right away. The install took as a new operating system install. After that I shut it down and reinstalled the 2 GB RAM chip and everythng works like a charm.
Thanks for the tip everyone. Try it-it works.