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    Restoration of Macbook without original discs

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by Jesecourt, Apr 16, 2015.

  1. Jesecourt

    Jesecourt Newbie

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    I recently acquired a white Macbook with Model Identifier MacBook1,1 but it did not come with any of the discs that are normally shipped with Macs. I have a white MacBook with Model Identifier MacBook7,1 that I purchased new several years ago. My question is, can I restore the Mac that has no discs by using the ones that came with the one that I purchased? If not, is there a workaround to removing all the previous owners information and settings on the system?

    Thanks in advance for any help or advice.

    Selena
     
    Jesecourt, Apr 16, 2015
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  2. mmoy

    mmoy Notebook Deity

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    Why don't you try remote disk boot from the 1,1 to the 7,1? If that works, then it's likely that a complete install would work from your disks.

    Another option would be to go to your local store. They might be willing to do a clean install for you gratis.

    I work in a company where a lot of people have Macs so one just sends out an email to the known Mac people in cases like this.
     
    mmoy, Apr 17, 2015
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  3. Hayoung

    Hayoung Notebook Consultant

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    Hayoung, Apr 18, 2015
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  4. S.SubZero

    S.SubZero Notebook Deity

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    Really old Macs won't have this. I don't think it works until 2010 or so. The 1,1 models are gonna be 2006 vintage.

    The discs that came with Macs, the grey discs, are -specific- to the type of Mac. They will not work on other Macs. Despite the outward appearance of your Macs being similar, they are six generations apart, and the insides will be substantially different. You're welcome to try booting, it will typically tell you flat out if it won't install. You may need to find a retail disc of say, Leopard.

    Note that a 1,1 Macbook is going to be of very limited practical use today.
     
    S.SubZero, Apr 18, 2015
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  5. Hayoung

    Hayoung Notebook Consultant

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    My bad! in any case, couldn't he use disk maker x and just do a bootable drive like I was supposed to do in that thread? Seems foolish to only be able to do it by disk.
     
    Hayoung, Apr 19, 2015
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  6. saturnotaku

    saturnotaku Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Apple sells retail copies of Snow Leopard for $20 that should install on the machine in question.
     
    saturnotaku, Apr 24, 2015
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  7. Yotsuba

    Yotsuba Notebook Evangelist

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    The original MacBook 1,1 shipped with Tiger (OS X 10.4.7). Unfortunately, the only way to get an Intel version of Tiger is to use the original system restore discs. If you can find a copy of Leopard, you could install that. The most recent supported version of OS X for that revision is Snow Leopard, which saturnotaku has said is available through Apple for $20. You should be able to install Lion and maybe even Mountain Lion on that computer through a third-party utility, but the performance may be less than desirable.
     
    Yotsuba, Apr 26, 2015
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  8. mmoy

    mmoy Notebook Deity

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    You might try your local social network to see if you can find someone with the disks. We have so many people at the office with Macs that one can generally just send out emails to the Mac interest group here to get a set of disks.
     
    mmoy, Apr 26, 2015
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