New Hard Drive but will not boot!

R

RAG

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For all of you crazy smart mac addicts out there, here is the situation:

1) We are starting up a new church, and a friend gave us a mid-2007 iMac 2.8ghz that needed a HD replacement to help us out.
2) I replaced the HD with a compatible WD Caviar HD.
3) I have tried to boot from my OS Tiger disk that I loaded on my macbook pro so I can format the HD. But can't get it to recognize it
-The iMac was probably running Leopard before the HD replacement.
-The Tiger disk is a retail bought disk (M9639Z/A), not one that came with the macbook pro.
-I have on order a mac box set for snow leopard.
4) I reset the PRAM and I have tried hlding down the c, d ,as well as option key at start up. I have taken the factory memory out and reseated it.
5) All I get is a flashing folder with a question mark in it <or> the mouse arrow on the screen (depending which button I hold).

Any ideas? Help Mac experts.
 
There is no retail version of Tiger (Mac OS X 10.4.x) that will boot and install OS X on an Intel Mac.
You need either: Leopard, or Snow Leopard, or the original restore DVDs for your iMac, or the restore DVD set from an identical model iMac.
Or, simply continue to wait for your order to arrive, rather than trying to jump the gun with software that can't work...
 
I see. Can I boot from the mac box set without a prior OS on it? I guess I can just wait for the package and check it out.
Thanks.
 
Yes, you don't need any previous installed software - but then, what were you planning to install first, anyway?
You just boot to that installer, and follow the on-screen instructions. PeesaCake!

Hint - if that new hard drive is brand new - then you will need to format before your can install Snow Leopard. Boot to that DVD, and continue past the first screen, where you select a language. Then choose Disk Utilities from the Utilities menu that will be at the top of the screen. Select your W-D hard drive, and click the Erase tab. Name your volume if you like, and make sure that the volume format is Mac OS Extended (journaled), and click the Erase... button. That should only take a few seconds, then Quit Disk Utility, which will return you to the OS X installer window. Continue on with that, and you should be good to go.
 
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I thought I had to had a preexisting OS to install snow leopard, so I thought I would through on Tiger.
I started thinking about it, and the Retail Tiger that I have was actually for my Powerbook G4 and not the MacBook Pro. Anyway, thanks for the help. Come next spring I am thinking about trying to run an external mirrored HD to the iMac and run server software to act as host for our new church in PHX. I have a few months to figure out how all that works. Thanks again.
 
RAG said:
I thought I had to had a preexisting OS to install snow leopard, so I thought I would through on Tiger.
Click to expand...

That's what I had thought when I first bought the disc. It was at a cheap price and everything about it said Upgrade. The first options for installing is also upgrading. This was one of Apple's biggest misleading things. One thing that extremely frustrates me also about Snow Leopard is that before you could just format the drive as part of installing OS X, but now you have to go into Disk Utility and go do it.
 
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Hey DeltaMac, I did what you said and part way into the install, it said error installing and then froze. I had to restart but now all I get is the apple and the spinning wheel. What do you think? The apple and spinning wheel happened the first time I put in the disc but it went to the install page the second time. After I erased and partitioned, accepted the terms, etc it said error with 29 minutes left of loading.
 
Here is what is happening:
-Tried it again and the screen shot below is what came up.
-Tried it again without pressing option and the folder with a question mark came up.
-Tried it again pressing option but with nothing coming up after I clicked on "EFI boot." That is all that came up. Eventually it just restarted after 10 minutes with an empty folder coming up.

Did the hard drive already go bad?
 
ok, so I can't even get anything to happen when I start up with the leoaprd disk loaded...holding option, etc. All that comes up when holding option is my mouse cursor that works. starting without holding option brings me to the folder with a question mark on it.
Seems so weird since I had it installing and now I can't even get it to recognize the disk.
 
I think you should try erasing the hard drive again.

Boot to the Snow Leopard DVD:
Start with the DVD in the drive, while holding the letter C. That will force your iMac to boot to the DVD.
Click through the first screen, so you have the menus at the top, and open Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. Choose your hard drive, and click the Erase tab, then the Erase button on that window. When that completes. Quit Disk Utility, which will take you back to the OS X install. Follow the on-screen instructions (again)

note - if the hard drive does NOT show in the list in Disk Utility, and not even the W-D manufacturer's info line, then either the hard drive is (already) failed, or the iMac has serious problems, like a failing drive bus on the logic board. In that case, you should take the iMac apart, and recheck all the connections.

Although a brand-new hard drive might fail the first time you use it, that seems unlikely, but still possible. Use your warranty, assuming that the drive has failed. That's what the warranty is for.
 
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