Help! erased the hard drive on imac and cant get any OS to boot.

Red and White · 2 Mar 2009 at 10:48

i basically wanted to reinstall Mac Os X as the computer was a mess so i put the cd and erased the hard drive but when i try to install it says i cant as there isnt a earlier version of Mac OS X installed :eek:

i think i only have an upgrade cd not a proper install cd

what can i do now?

ive tried installing ubuntu but it wont boot the cd i just get this little folder with a smilie face on all the time.

fez · 2 Mar 2009 at 16:00

Well if you have a legit macbook or whatever with a legit license then I dont think there is any reason why you wouldnt be allowed to acquire a copy of the OS and install it that way.

Red and White · 2 Mar 2009 at 16:02

fez said:
Well if you have a legit macbook or whatever with a legit license then I dont think there is any reason why you wouldnt be allowed to acquire a copy of the OS and install it that way.

well i did 6 years ago when i bought the thing. can i still get it now?

fez · 2 Mar 2009 at 16:28

Im not sure about the legalities of it all but I believe that if you own the software license for a piece of software then you are allowed to back it up so I dont see why you cant find a copy of the OS and use that.

I think if you download music and can prove that you owned the music before the download then you are legally in the right.

fez · 2 Mar 2009 at 16:30

Was OS X about 6 years ago? There are plenty of places to find even the oldest software.

likwid · 2 Mar 2009 at 16:57

Na, OS X came out last year.

Whichever version of Mac OS was installed when you bought the laptop has a full license. If you don't have the installation disks for this license, ask around your friends. It will only be a temporary installation and no license key is required anyhow.

Red and White · 2 Mar 2009 at 17:32

cheers

Feek · 2 Mar 2009 at 18:44

likwid said:
Na, OS X came out last year.

Na, Leopard came out last year, OS X first appeared in 2001 (ish).