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Cannot install 10.8 on SSD

Poob Bubes

Poob Bubes

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 16, 2007
544
179
I added an SSD to my system (Journaled and GUID) and I cannot get a fresh install on it. I have tried both an install from the Recovery partition and Internet Recovery and both times I've come back to the following screen when I check on the progress:

photohtn.jpg
 
Poob Bubes said:
I added an SSD to my system (Journaled and GUID) and I cannot get a fresh install on it. I have tried both an install from the Recovery partition and Internet Recovery and both times I've come back to the following screen when I check on the progress:

photohtn.jpg
Click to expand...

I recently added an SSD as well. I moved the original drive to the optical bay and used Carbon Copy Cloner to clone my original drive and recovery partition to the SSD. I turned on File Vault, which only works if the Recovery partition exists. Once I was comfortable that the recovery partition was OK, I recreated a new filesystem on my original drive. Everything works great. It only took a few hours. I didn't lose any data and I could hold the option key down at startup and boot from either drive until I was sure everything was OK.

If you are really look to do a fresh install you can try downloading 10.8 from the App store and placing the install.dmg on a 8 GB USB drive with Disk Utility and install it from there.
 
Poob Bubes said:
I added an SSD to my system (Journaled and GUID) and I cannot get a fresh install on it. I have tried both an install from the Recovery partition and Internet Recovery and both times I've come back to the following screen when I check on the progress:

photohtn.jpg
Click to expand...

When I was trying to install 10.8 onto a flash drive today the Mac Mini (10.8.2) wouldn't let me. I was able to install it from an iMac but once I tried to boot from the Mini I received the same warning. I think you're going to need to somehow clone 10.8.2 on it.
 
Last edited:
Well I really wanted a fresh install and the version from the App Store won't work on the new Minis plus I never purchased it since ML came pre-installed. I will go the cloning route if I can't get this figured out. It's just frustrating because it should be working.
 
Darby67 said:
Why not clone OS from original HD to SSD. Worked for me, flawless. Up and running in no time.
Click to expand...

Well I loaded several things I normally wouldn't load on it and did some other things to system files because I planned on reinstalling to the SSD. I will need to format the original drive and reinstall before cloning. I'm just afraid I might get the same screen and not be able to get an OS loaded back. I will clone what I have as an insurance backup before I try anything.
 
T

The Late 2012 Mac mini uses a special build of OS X 10.8 - you cannot use OS X 10.8 installed to a flash drive from a different Mac. Use Internet Recovery.
 
monokitty said:
The Late 2012 Mac mini uses a special build of OS X 10.8 - you cannot use OS X 10.8 installed to a flash drive from a different Mac. Use Internet Recovery.
Click to expand...
There are instructions on the web on how to save the InstallESD.dmg downloaded via Internet Recovery if you really want to keep an installer
 
Poob Bubes said:
Well I really wanted a fresh install and the version from the App Store won't work on the new Minis plus I never purchased it since ML came pre-installed. I will go the cloning route if I can't get this figured out. It's just frustrating because it should be working.
Click to expand...

Are you telling me that if anyone formats their new Mac Mini in order to do a fresh install they won't be able to install ML?
 
dasx said:
Are you telling me that if anyone formats their new Mac Mini in order to do a fresh install they won't be able to install ML?
Click to expand...

Just telling you my situation. I did try another installation last night from the 10.8.1 Recovery partition and this morning it shows "installing OS X on the disk" but the remaining time hasn't changed for the last 30 min.
 
Poob Bubes said:
Just telling you my situation. I did try another installation last night from the 10.8.1 Recovery partition and this morning it shows "installing OS X on the disk" but the remaining time hasn't changed for the last 30 min.
Click to expand...

That seems pretty impossible. (assuming a healthy computer).
Can't see why Apple would ship a machine in which a simple format makes it unusable.

I'd try the following:

1. Log into the Apple Store and download a copy of ML (it's 10.8.2, just checked). (if you hadn't previously purchased it there's gotta be a way to download it as you have the license of the new Mini).
2. When download finishes, get Lion Diskmaker and follow the steps in order to make an external drive bootable.
3. Reboot and try to install from the partition.

If it doesn't work I'd say there's gotta be something wrong. A lot of users have bought a Mini an put an SSD into it and there are no threads claiming they couldn't install ML. I did a quick search on google too and couldn't find anything like this.

Is your SSD the Apple stock one? Did you install it yourself? ---> EDIT: Oh, just read you added it yourself. Which one?
 
posting from iphone.. (so hope the link works).. The instructions I post in this thread should work for you..
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1480045/
Let us know how you get on..
 
Well I think it is a problem with the Crucial M4. I tried cloning and the process fails several times. I put an entirely different M4 in and it acted the same way. I eventually got one cloned but when the OS boots up there are beach balls galore! The only other thing it could be is the SATA cable I got from iFixit (highly unlikely).

If it wasn't such a pain to update the firmware on OS X without a SuperDrive, I would just try different versions. Anyone know if I would be able to update with any external optical drive?

My only other option is to get a Samsung instead. Looks like I missed the blowout prices on the 830s :(. Most are OOS now and replaced with 840s.
 
Last edited:
ooh that sucks.... post updates please - like many others i'm eager to update my shiny new 2012 mini with an SSD for system+apps (with owc drive doubler) - just not sure yet what the best SSD is

good luck
 
For those who do not know...the 10.8.2 version the 2012 Mac Mini's like someone else mentioned in this past is a special version, so even the latest 10.8.2 image downloaded from the Mac App Store will not install.

The Mac App Store 10.8.2 version is Build 12C60 while the 2012 Mac Mini's, even after I had used internet recovery, the Special 2012 Mac Mini Build is 12C2034.

Hopefully when they release 10.8.3 that everything will be combined and not have special builds. It seems that when new hardware exists, there are these odd builds that don't work well with current Mac App Store or general population builds.
 
With my Mini (2012) I used Carbon Copy Clone to create the recovery partition, rebooted to recovery and installed - worked ok for me.

(Perhaps because I had the other disk in situ it worked I cannot tell for sure as my mini came with 2x1TB disks and I swapped out one for my SSD).

Another way would be to hook up the second disk and boot into recovery and disk util from there for the ssd then choose as destination for the install?
 
Well it was definitely a firmware issue. This is from the firmware it shipped with (000F):

diskspeedtestold.png


And this is with the latest firmware (010G):

diskspeedtestnew.png


I finally got it cloned on the M4 but there are still times when it will randomly hang. I guess I'll just have to use it awhile and see how it does.
 
You can clone from one volume to another using the Disk Utility in the OS X Recovery. That is how I ended up moving from my HDD to SSD when I installed the SSD. I imagine even if you had an external HDD plugged in you could still accomplish this task.

No additional hardware or software required.
 
Poob Bubes said:
Well I think it is a problem with the Crucial M4. I tried cloning and the process fails several times. I put an entirely different M4 in and it acted the same way. I eventually got one cloned but when the OS boots up there are beach balls galore! The only other thing it could be is the SATA cable I got from iFixit (highly unlikely).

If it wasn't such a pain to update the firmware on OS X without a SuperDrive, I would just try different versions. Anyone know if I would be able to update with any external optical drive?

My only other option is to get a Samsung instead. Looks like I missed the blowout prices on the 830s :(. Most are OOS now and replaced with 840s.
Click to expand...

What firmware is your M4? I'm actually thinking about doing the same but will skip it if it's the M4.
 
kappaknight said:
What firmware is your M4? I'm actually thinking about doing the same but will skip it if it's the M4.
Click to expand...

I just installed an M4 tonight, works beautifully so i can't imagine it's a firmware issue. Something with his Mac Mini is not playing nice.
 
I've got a Samsung 830 coming Thursday. I'll let you know if it alleviates my issues. If not, I'll send this mini back to Amazon for a replacement.
 
Try cmd+r when booting to make an internet recovery,
it should download ML and install it..
 
Poob Bubes said:
Well it was definitely a firmware issue. This is from the firmware it shipped with (000F):

diskspeedtestold.png


And this is with the latest firmware (010G):

diskspeedtestnew.png


I finally got it cloned on the M4 but there are still times when it will randomly hang. I guess I'll just have to use it awhile and see how it does.
Click to expand...

Is that M4 SATA III? Cause that writing speed looks pretty poor to me. :confused:
 
dasx said:
Is that M4 SATA III? Cause that writing speed looks pretty poor to me. :confused:
Click to expand...

They are rated at 260 MB/s write and 500 MB/s read, which are the speeds I am seeing. The write speed he reported is a little on the low side.
 
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