Can't Image 24" iMac

[rolfea]

I've recently got a 24" iMac as an upgrade from my 20" one. It looks to have all the same generation and hardware as my 20" one.

 

I used the System Image Utility on our xserve to take an image of my mac and tried to push out the image using net install. Creating the image all went fine, to my knowledge,

however when I try to push out the image across a network connection it doesn't seem to work. As I hold N for the net install boot, the large globe appears and flashed, then the smaller spinning globe appears and finally the ring of lines starts spinning. It then hangs for all eternity.

 

I tried a different image, which worked. So the network connection works fine. And I re-created the image of my 20" iMac to ensure the image is working. But the same thing happens.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

[HodgeHi]

It's probably a driver issue. I have had issues trying to image a machine which has a different graphics card. The .nbi file was the cause. Try to create a new netinstall .nbi file for your 24 " machine. You may need to create a newer image anyway though. Just try an updated .nbi file first is what I would recommend. It's all down to the frameworks that are used to netboot.

[DMcCoy]

As I hold N for the net install boot, the large globe appears and flashed, then the smaller spinning globe appears and finally the ring of lines starts spinning. It then hangs for all eternity.

Thanks

 

Hardware is not supported is probably the issue. I had the same symptoms going from white to silver imacs with the same image. What version of OS X was it? I was able to upgrade the image file directly from 10.5.4 to 10.5.8 which worked, although it's quite a pain to do.

 

EDIT: as above also update the version of system image utility to the latest version to make sure latest hardware is supported too. You can then rebuild an updated OS image if needed into a netinstall image then.

Edited September 17, 2010 by DMcCoy

[rolfea]

We've got everything running 10.5.8 at the moment. I'll check my version of System Image Utility. If not I'll take HodgeHi's advice and create it from scratch or use the migration assistant to, at least, get my applications across.

 

Thanks for both your replies.

[DMcCoy]

You also say you got it recently. What version of OS X came with it? The version it ships with is nearly always the minimum version required to support the hardware in the machine.

[rolfea]

You also say you got it recently. What version of OS X came with it? The version it ships with is nearly always the minimum version required to support the hardware in the machine.

 

So, if I buy new iMacs that come with 10.6 I won't be able to image them down to 10.5.8?

[Carter]

Don't use the image Utility that comes with OS X Server. Use either CCC if you have a spare Mac around. Plug both of your iMacs into a spare computer via Target/Firewire mode then on the middle computer run Carbon Copy Cloner. Use this utility to image the 20" to the 24". The image should work on the 24" iMac seeing that your 20" is up to date. Another method if you only have the two desktops is to use a Install/Restore disc. Boot the disc then go to the menubar and select Disk Utility. Here you can use the restore option.

 

Rule of thumb with Apple hardware is that you make your image on the highest/latest hardware you can and it should work on all hardware below it. I use this method at work and it always works .... unless your dealing with PPC & Intel with Snow Leopard.

 

Anyways, try either CCC or Restore w/Disk Utility

 

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Edited September 29, 2010 by Carter

[rolfea]

Now the 24" Mac isn't the problem. I have 3 newly bought macs which come with with snow leopard and I need to image them with an Art Image that I have had for about a year now.

 

The image doesn't load on the new macs. Rebuilding the image again will really test my patience. =/

[Carter]

You will not be able to install a Leopard 10.5.x image on a computer that came with Snow Leopard 10.6.x

 

This is one thing I have always voiced to my Apple reps that I can't stand about Apple. When Apple revamps hardware, whatever OS is out at that particular time, it will only run that OS or newer. You can not go lower. This is a big reason why I try to hold off on new purchases at times. Right now I have a few newer laptops in the system that are running with 10.6.x though everyone else has 10.5.x .... there is no way around it.

 

The only reason I can think of is for support of the OS/Hardware. It keeps support in a tight range for their hardware. If every OS could be installed it would make for a large support area.

 

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Edited September 29, 2010 by Carter

[rolfea]

i just died inside.

[Carter]

Ya, it's an issue I've learned to live with. It doesn't really hurt the consumer but it makes it hard for large companies, education etc. that want to stick with one OS rather having to support more than one.

 

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[HodgeHi]

Does it not work with the latest updated version of 10.5.8? I thought that they usually updated the previous version to work on newer hardware with .1 increments. I thought whenever a new piece of hardware came out a .1 increment usually followed.

 

I would maybe fully patch the 10.5 version and then try that. You never know.

[Carter]

Does it not work with the latest updated version of 10.5.8? I thought that they usually updated the previous version to work on newer hardware with .1 increments. I thought whenever a new piece of hardware came out a .1 increment usually followed.

 

I would maybe fully patch the 10.5 version and then try that. You never know.

 

Still wont have luck. Your Mac will only run the same level of OS X that it came in the box with.

 

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[rolfea]

Does it not work with the latest updated version of 10.5.8? I thought that they usually updated the previous version to work on newer hardware with .1 increments. I thought whenever a new piece of hardware came out a .1 increment usually followed.

 

I would maybe fully patch the 10.5 version and then try that. You never know.

 

I think your right. I managed to install Leopard with a separate install disc we got with a license.

I still couldn't image the Mac, but I rebuilt the machine and took an image if the new machine. This then pushed out to the other 3 new machines successfully.

[Arthur]

Does it not work with the latest updated version of 10.5.8?

Straight from the horses mouth...

 

You should not attempt to install or reinstall a version of Mac OS X earlier than what came with your computer. (Source)

 

If you install an earlier (previous) version of the Mac OS X than what was included, your computer may exhibit unexpected behavior... (Source)

 

 

The early 2009 24" iMac and mid-2009 20" iMac both shipped with 10.5.6.

 

This is one thing I have always voiced to my Apple reps that I can't stand about Apple. When Apple revamps hardware, whatever OS is out at that particular time, it will only run that OS or newer. You can not go lower.

This is a good thing, because it means Apple will never be in the same situation as Microsoft are with Windows XP and/or IE6.

[rolfea]

This is a good thing, because it means Apple will never be in the same situation as Microsoft are with Windows XP and/or IE6.

 

For stand alone machines, yes, it's great.

 

But it's a bad thing because schools may want to standardise software, not have enough money to buy a full 30 Macs for a IT Suite one year, so buy the next batch the next year and have to create another image and image twice as many Macs or risk of having software that can't be used or supported on snow leopard

[Carter]

For stand alone machines, yes, it's great.

 

But it's a bad thing because schools may want to standardise software, not have enough money to buy a full 30 Macs for a IT Suite one year, so buy the next batch the next year and have to create another image and image twice as many Macs or risk of having software that can't be used or supported on snow leopard

 

+1

 

It does help with support but when you have 500-1000 Macs to support and they all have 10.5 and then you buy a couple dozen that will only run the latest OS, this throws a wrench into the works. First you have a new OS/image to completely re-build, then another to support (ie. software compatibility issues because your standard 10.5 image is built and you don't want different versions of software in the environment).

 

It's the way it is but it really does blow on Apple behalf. I would have gone 10.6 across the province this year but the $15K-$20K price tag was a bit much!

 

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[sjatkn]

Now the 24" Mac isn't the problem. I have 3 newly bought macs which come with with snow leopard and I need to image them with an Art Image that I have had for about a year now.

 

The image doesn't load on the new macs. Rebuilding the image again will really test my patience. =/

 

I had exactly that problem. As you have guessed there is a hardware difference between the Core i3/5/7 machines and the Core 2 Duo that means 10.5 will not boot. I never bothered to try and work out what it was, I gave in and built a new image straight away.

 

As a possible alternative which I should have thought of when I did mine was to upgrade one of your existing 10.5 machines to 10.6 and see if and image from that will work. If you are netbooting then you will need to create a new netboot image from 10.6 otherwise you will still have the not booting problem.

[HodgeHi]

We have the same problem. In my case though it is hardware compatibility. We have 15 to 20 webcams that work well with 10.5.8 and a piece of software we use. If we upgrade to 10.6 we can no longer use these webcams or this piece of software. So we either don't upgrade, or upgrade and purchase another load of webcams and at £60 to be compatible with a mac is a bit much for a webcam really.

[mmcfee]

Just joined up to say "ditto" on this thread. We run an all Linux/Unix back-end and have single sign-on (for Mac, Linux & Windows via LDAP, Kerberos, NFS - plus SMB for Windows boxes). Some of the changes made in 10.6 mean new machines simply don't work in our environment. Which is sad, because we were excited when new machines running 10.5 recognized they were in a shared environment at first startup and would automatically attempt to join our 'domain' (for lack of a better word). We thought "Hey, Apple is starting to pay attention to the shared environment 'enterprise' space. But now... all of that has changed completely. All sorts of small steps sideways or backwards have made 10.6 unusable for us. Local unix groups in 10.6 don't stop at GID 99 any more (encroaching on existing groups), the Finder freaks out at auto-mounted NFS home directories, Apps won't launch due to lost group permissions, and so on.

 

So, until we work out how to overcome all this without tearing 10.6 apart and get 10.6 machines to work, we simply can't buy any new machines.

Sorry Apple. Thanks for trying back in 10.5 to play in the 'enterprise' space... but no thanks for then just throwing it all out again in 10.6.

We're stuck in a Catch-22: We can't install 10.5.x on new iMacs, new iMacs with 10.6 won't work in our environment (until we pull it apart and find out everything that's changed).

 

Maybe 10.7..... ?

Edited October 20, 2010 by mmcfee

[Boon72]

this isn't the case as i got server 10.5.4 on a Mac Mini that came with 10.6 (initially it didn't work) if i remember correctly i had to install 10.5.6 from dvd on it and then install server 10.5.4.

 

if you therefore get your new iMac with an old dvd 10.5.6 and install that you should be able to then image it with your upgraded 10.5.8 images

[mmcfee]

My issue is specific to the iMacs so far which have Core i3 processors. The Minis still have Core2Duos and I suspected that they might run 10.5 of some flavor. I've ordered a Mini, actually, just to confirm this. Looks like you beat me to it.

 

As for the Core i3 (and 5 and 7), they must surely use a different chipset than any previous model, so my suspicion is that this is at the root of the problem. I'm going to try to track down a 10.5.7 or 10.5.8 (was there one?) DVD and give it one more try on the Core i3 iMac I have.

[mmcfee]

As a final confirmation, I got a new Mini today and tried the same 10.5.6 disc that the Core i3 iMac would not boot from and the Mini readily booted it.

So I assume, unless some magic happened in the 10.5.7 DVD, that this Core i3 simply will not boot 10.5 of any sortl (from DVD nor cloned drive).

Guess I should grab a couple of Minis while I can for fail-over.