Method 4: Direct Install from Mac to SSD/HDD

This guide is unique in the fact that you will be using an Apple Mac to install to the netbook's solid state drive/hard drive. The advantage is that there is almost no prep work besides hooking the destination drive up to your Mac, but not all netbook storage drives will be able to use this method. Case in point, the stock Dell Mini 9 SSD has no way to interface with anything besides the Mini 9, so you must use an SSD with a USB port on it, such as the RunCore line of solid state drives for netbooks. Another advantage is that any Intel-based Mac will work for this, regardless of whether it runs Tiger, Leopard, or Snow Leopard. There is a little more work post-install, but for most people this is negligible.

I want to stress, as always, the importance of using a retail disc, since some people think that they can just use the grey discs that came with their Mac. Those discs are tailored to that specific Mac, so it is unwise to use it for technical reasons as well as not having paid for the copy you will be installing. Resist the temptation, just go get a retail disc.

Also, the destination drive does not necessarily need to be the netbook's internal drive; if you wish you may use these instructions to install to an external hard drive.

Minimum Requirements

Pre-Install Checklist

On the Mac

  1. With the Mac off, connect your HDD/SSD to the Mac and have the Install DVD ready to insert into the DVD drive.
  2. Power on the Mac, insert the DVD, then press and hold the the "C" key until the Apple logo appears.
  3. A spinning gear will appear while loading the Installer. Once loaded, select your language and press Continue.
  4. Once loaded, select your language and press Continue. (Press Enter on your keyboard if you can't see the Continue button.)
  5. Press Continue on the Welcome screen, then press Agree on the next screen.
  6. Go to Menu Bar>Utilities>Disk Utility....
  7. Select the icon for the HDD/SDD that will be installed in your netbook.
  8. Go to the Partition tab. Configure:
    • Volume Scheme: 1 Partition
    • Name: <Any name without a space in it.>
    • Format: Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
    • Options...: GUID Partition Table, press OK.
  9. Press Apply, then Partition. When it is finished, close Disk Utility.
  10. Select your newly-formatted drive as the installation destination. (On 10.5 Leopard, you need to press Continue to get to the next screen.)
  11. Press the Customize button, deselect any feature(s) you do not need:
    • Additional Fonts - These are only needed for specific languages with special characters.
    • Language Translations - These are to translate the OS into different languages.
    • Printer Drivers (Printer Support on 10.6) - Usually you can find an updated driver for your printer on the Internet, but this can be helpful if you use multiple printers besides your own.
    • X11 - You need this if you are going to use GIMP or CrossOver.
    • Rosetta (10.6-only) - Rosetta allows you to run applications that were only designed to work on PowerPC-baed Macs (pre-10.4), it's small so it won't hurt to install just in case.
    • QuickTime 7 (10.6-only) - Useful if you need to watch QuickTime movies that are encoded in older formats.
  12. Press Done (10.5) or OK (10.6), then press Install. Installation can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours.
  13. The machine should automatically restart when installation is finished. (If your Installer is almost to the end and says it has failed, it probably actually finished, just try to continue on with the guide.)

Post-Install

  1. When the grey screen appears, press and hold the Option key until the boot menu appears. Select you netbook's drive and press Enter.
  2. The first-time setup video should play, this lasts about a minute. An account creation process should begin shortly thereafter. Fill in any information you want (you don't need to register) to complete the setup.
  3. Once you get to the Finder Desktop, you should download (if necessary) and run the NetbookInstaller 0.8.3 application. If a warning prompt shows up asking, "Are you sure you want to open it?" click Open. Select the following options:
    • Volume: <your netbook HDD/SSD>
    • Install Chameleon 2 NBI bootloader
    • Install General Extensions
    WARNING: Be extremely careful with this part. Whatever you do, DO NOT select your Mac's hard drive as the targer volume! It will screw up your Apple Mac if your do that. Make sure to select the netbook drive only!
  4. Press Install, enter your password and press OK.
  5. When installation is complete, close NetbookInstaller and any other programs you may have open and save all work (if necessary).

OS Update and Installing HDD/SSD into Netbook

  1. Open Software Update (accessible from the Apple icon in the Menu Bar) to update your Mac OS X installation to either 10.5.8 (Leopard) or 10.6.2 (Snow Leopard).
  2. Press any agree button and Install buttons necessary. You will probably be warned that a Restart is necessary, that is just fine. After installation is finished, press the Restart button (if necessary.)
  3. Instead of booting the Apple Mac from the HDD/SSD, install it into your netbook. You should now let your netbook startup from the newly (re)installed HDD/SSD. Leopard only: At the grey screen with the progress bar, press any key before the progress bar runs out. Type "-x" so that is looks like "boot: -x" in the bottom-left corner. If successful, it should boot into Mac OS X Safe Mode. Enter your password to login. Do not do this for 10.6 Snow Leopard.
  4. Run NetbookInstaller 0.8.3 again with these settings:
    • Volume: <your internal drive>
    • Install Chameleon 2 NBI bootloader
    • Install <your model name> Extensions
    • Generate a system specific DSDT.aml file
    • <Any other options you would like, the above are necessary.>
  5. Press Install, enter your password and press OK.
  6. When installation is complete, press OK and restart your computer.

Your netbook should now be updated and able to run Mac OS X normally. There may be some more tweaks to drivers necessary, depending on your netbook model.

News about NetbookInstaller can be found on Meklort's Blog and on the NetbookInstaller Google Code page. Please check the MyDellMini forum (or a similar site for non-Dell netbooks) for more information on drivers and troubleshooting.

Make sure to check the Tips section for more post-install or troubleshooting help.

mechdrew NetbookInstaller 4 Version 3.20