Remote install on new MBA

[SKINSnCANES]

Ive been reading this forum for years and decided today would be the day I join and start posting.

I bought a 1.6 80 MBA today to go with my 24 iMac that I bought the day Leopard came out, and my iPhone to complete my little family. I look forward to talking on here, I read though damn near every post on this message board this week before taking the plunge on the Air.

I think it will be updated in June, but Im going on a 28 day vacation in May, so I figured id get it now to have for that.

Anyways, question. Based on the advice on this forum, I took it out of the box and am doing a fresh install. Im at my parents house and they have a G router. This is the most painfully slow process EVER!

Its been over an hour and it finally just started the progress...I feel like a modem could download this fast.

Has anyone else had this problem? I thought remote disc would be cool but not if its like this. I have an Airport Express with N at home, but obviously want to setup it up before I get home in a few days.

Also, can you connect two laptops using USB? I didnt buy the optical drive or any dongles but I dont want to rely on thsi remote disc if its like this.

Thanks!

 

[SKINSnCANES]

retried

So I took my iMac and directly plugged it into the router and am retrying it. It is going much much faster this time. Probably still slower than a CD, but I can see the progress bar moving so Im happy about that.

Im hoping I was just getting a bad signal or something and wotn have this problems when I get home and use my airport express

 

[Mhaddy]

First off, welcome . This is a great community that has helped me with more than my fair share of Apple-related problems and inquiries over the year. Hope you like it here!

Now, I can't answer your MBA-2-MBA via USB question, but I can tell you that my experiences with remote install via Wifi have been nothing but stellar. I've done a remote install twice, on two separate MBA's on my 802.11g network and from start to finish, it couldn't have taken more than an hour or so. Quick, painless, awesome. Sorry to hear you were having troubles - I think I've read a couple of people with similar issues... search the forum, should be able to find answers.

And Ethernet will always be faster than Wifi for the install.

 

[xparaparafreakx]

On your iMac, go the the airport menu, and click on "Create Network..."
Make the network then setup remote install.
Boot your Macbook Air with option and connect to the wireless network you created from the iMac.
Your done. My install was about 45 minutes and that was with a Powerbook that has 802.11g. Your iMac should have 802.11n draft so it should be faster.

 

[rom]

Ive been reading this forum for years and decided today would be the day I join and start posting.

I bought a 1.6 80 MBA today to go with my 24 iMac that I bought the day Leopard came out, and my iPhone to complete my little family. I look forward to talking on here, I read though damn near every post on this message board this week before taking the plunge on the Air.

I think it will be updated in June, but Im going on a 28 day vacation in May, so I figured id get it now to have for that.

Anyways, question. Based on the advice on this forum, I took it out of the box and am doing a fresh install. Im at my parents house and they have a G router. This is the most painfully slow process EVER!

Its been over an hour and it finally just started the progress...I feel like a modem could download this fast.

Has anyone else had this problem? I thought remote disc would be cool but not if its like this. I have an Airport Express with N at home, but obviously want to setup it up before I get home in a few days.

Also, can you connect two laptops using USB? I didnt buy the optical drive or any dongles but I dont want to rely on thsi remote disc if its like this.

Thanks!

Have not tried USB-networking but I'd recommend wired Ethernet connections but you need the USB Ethernet dongle for the MBA.

 

[SKINSnCANES]

Have not tried USB-networking but I'd recommend wired Ethernet connections but you need the USB Ethernet dongle for the MBA.

So you can connect ethernet to ethernet without a hub or anything? Ive gotta go to Apples website and read up on this

As an update, after watching the install for two hours, it was still around two percent so I left for the bar, I came home 6 hours later and it still had not asked for disc two. I just woke up and finally asking for disc two...

 

[SKINSnCANES]

On your iMac, go the the airport menu, and click on "Create Network..."
Make the network then setup remote install.
Boot your Macbook Air with option and connect to the wireless network you created from the iMac.
Your done. My install was about 45 minutes and that was with a Powerbook that has 802.11g. Your iMac should have 801.11n draft so it should be faster.

Thanks! This is what I wanted to do last night but didnt know if you could do computer to computer. Good to know...Im letting it finish at this piont, just put in disc two and it says one hour left. Though your way would be faster starting from scratch

 

[rom]

So you can connect ethernet to ethernet without a hub or anything? Ive gotta go to Apples website and read up on this

As an update, after watching the install for two hours, it was still around two percent so I left for the bar, I came home 6 hours later and it still had not asked for disc two. I just woke up and finally asking for disc two...

You need to have a DHCP server, though. Found that the hard way.

 

[SKINSnCANES]

Creating Network Issue

Ok, couple things.

I exchanged the MBA that I bought last week because after the second day the hard drive started making constant loud clicking noises and I wasnt running any programs. It annoyed the hell out of me.

I had a week 11, now I have a week 9.

Two problems, first, my week 11 didnt get hot at all. While it being on my lap it was at 35-40C, fan never turned on. Now Im sitting here, all Im doing is typing on this forum, and its at 70 C and the fan has run at 6200 the entire time... I dont know if this is normal, or if my other one was just an exception, but odds are I will return this one as well...

Second problem, based on the advice I received in this thread, I went to reinstall the OS on this one, I went to my iMac and created a network. But that network is never available to select, nor can you search for it when you try to do a fresh install. When I boot the computer normally, I can use the network I created and view my iMac, but I cant connect to it when you hold option and try to reinstall.

I bought my iMac and Air to a friends for the weekend but now I cant install the OS...I dont have a router and using a neighbors would take a day to install (trust me, at my dads it took 18 hours to reinstall the OS over his network...)