Filed under: MacBook Air
MacBook Air Leopard disk only works with MacBook Air
As we speak many, many people are anxiously awaiting the arrival of their MacBook Air. When you open up the MacBook Air you'll see that it includes a Leopard installation disk, as every other Mac does. This Apple KB article supplies us with an interesting fact: the Leopard disk will only work with a MacBook Air. The Installer checks to see if it is running on an Air, and if it isn't refuses to install Leopard.
Clearly, with support for multi-touch gestures and Remote Disc, the MacBook Air is likely running a slightly custom install of OS X, so it makes sense that Apple would limit it to installing on the Air. In the same vein Apple warns you not to try and install a non-MacBook Air version of Leopard onto the Air. Something to keep in mind.
Update: This is why you shouldn't blog before having your morning caffeine, folks. As many people in the comments pointed out this isn't new to the MacBook Air, most restore disks only work the with model of Mac that they came with. It is still interesting to note, though, for people new to the Mac (right? Any body?).
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Jon said 7:05AM on 1-30-2008
Hasn't Apple always done this? MacBook discs won't install on iMacs and iMac ones won't install on Mac Pros, etc.
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Alex Oughton said 7:19AM on 1-30-2008
Indeed, this is how Apple has always done this. Bundled copies of OS X only work on the machine type they were bundled with. Retail copies of OS X older than the Mac you want to install it on also won't work (simply the drivers are missing). If the retail boxes some day get updated to carry a newer build than the one included with the MBA, then those disks should work (but why would you want to?).
Benjamin Fortin said 9:11AM on 1-30-2008
@Alex:
There are a few exceptions to this - I had an iBook G4 that came with Tiger. I was able (easily) to install both a Panther retail disc and the Jaguar disc that came with my iMac G4. Granted they're both G4s, so that's probably why it worked.
Jonny said 10:43AM on 1-30-2008
@ Benjamin
Thats because for almost all the revisions of iBook G4, the only real change was the CPU speed and the size of the included hard disk.
The video card didnt change at all. It was still the 9200.
Not Korn JonathanD said 7:12AM on 1-30-2008
Does this mean that if we could somehow break free the drivers for the MBA touchpad, that it would enable multitouch on the current MBP?
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Steve said 7:33AM on 1-30-2008
No - the multitouch support is included in 10.5.2, just only works on the MacBook Air
Alex Brooks said 8:12AM on 1-30-2008
@Steve,
The MacBook Air's at Macworld weren't running 10.5.2 so what makes you assume that the multi-touch additions are included in the next Leopard update?
ashvala said 11:51AM on 1-30-2008
However... Multitouch feature is just some software. The Trackpad just recognizes the gestures & outputs it. And I ain't sure if it will come with 10.5.2
James Donevan said 7:15AM on 1-30-2008
Strange post Scott... machine specific installer discs have been standard practice with Mac hardware for several decades now.
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dombi said 7:34AM on 1-30-2008
Yep, nothing new about this. Apple has been doing this all along.
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jigme said 8:09AM on 1-30-2008
hmm.
how do you know this re. 10.5.2... ..."Steve"?
and if you *do* know, then when can we get it? :-)
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Justin said 8:22AM on 1-30-2008
Wait, wait ... you're telling us the MacBook AIR Leopard disk only works with MacBook AIR? Hrmm ... file this under, "Duh."
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krye said 8:33AM on 1-30-2008
Yeh, I thought all machine-supplied OSX disks were machine specific. So if I wanted to try it, my Mom's iMac disc won't work in my MacBook, and vice-versa.
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tehpyro said 8:37AM on 1-30-2008
Someone with access to a macbook air please try this. What would happen if you used carbon copy cloner (it's a free hard disk clone tool) to clone a macbook air image onto an external hard disk; then boot from that disk (holding C at startup) on a regular macbook or macbook pro. Would remote disk work with them? What would work that only works on the Air? Someone try and report back to TUAW!
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heegins said 9:02AM on 1-30-2008
Surely the multitouch capabilities are reliant on specific hardware. Right?
tehpyro said 9:10AM on 1-30-2008
im sure they are but at the same time i mean there is already 2 finger support on the intel macbooks and macbook pros... and im curious about remote disk working on a regular mac laptop. Not that I'd ever really need it but hell! I'm curious!
Nick said 9:03AM on 1-30-2008
here's the difference: in the past, bundled leopard installation disks were locked into the machine type they came with (i.e., a macbook pro leopard disk would only work with macbook pros). However, with a little bit of effort, the installer could easily be modified to remove the system check, and thus install the OS on any mac. The difference here is that the macbook air runs a customized version of OS X - it includes things not found on any other version of leopard (for proof of this, compare the leopard build number on MBAs versus all other leopard installations). The MBA leopard installer doesn't just perform a system check and then install; it is a specifically customized version of leopard that will not run on any other mac. some of these features may be included in forthcoming releases (10.5.2), but the MBA disk in itself will not be able to run on any other machine.
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ramond said 9:08AM on 1-30-2008
Also, if you superduper your macbook pro hd to a macbook air you will need to install the air dvd over the top to get the drivers.
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eric f. said 9:11AM on 1-30-2008
Scott, did you have your coffee yet?... "as we speaking"????
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Nic said 9:25AM on 1-30-2008
Goodness, people on here are mean aren't they! I miss the chummy atmosphere of the TUAW of yore.*
*Note: atmosphere may have only ever existed only in my sepia-tinged reminiscences.