How to Perform a Clean Install of Snow Leopard
Snow Leopard OS X 10.6 was the earliest version that allowed access to the Mac App store. It was the only way for anyone with an old Mac to upgrade to newer Mac operating systems.
This process involves three steps:
Boot from the Snow Leopard Install DVD. Erase the hard drive. Install Snow Leopard on the erased hard drive.
Boot From the Snow Leopard Install DVD
Here’s how to boot from the Snow Leopard install DVD:
Insert the Snow Leopard Install DVD into the Mac’s optical drive. Once the Snow Leopard DVD mounts on the desktop, the Mac OS X Install DVD window opens. If it doesn’t, double-click the DVD icon on the desktop. In the Mac OS X Install DVD window, double-click the Install Mac OS X icon. The Install Mac OS X window opens and presents you with two options. You can continue with a standard upgrade installation, or use the utilities included on the install DVD. Click the Utilities button. The Snow Leopard installer informs you that, to use the supplied utilities, you must restart the Mac and boot from the DVD. Click Restart.
Erase the Hard Drive
For this step, you’ll use Disk Utility from the Snow Leopard installer. Here’s how:
After you reboot the Mac, the Snow Leopard installer asks which language you want to use as the main language. Make your selection and click the right arrow key. The Install Mac OS X screen displays. Click the Utilities button. In the Apple menu bar, select Utlities > Disk Utilities. Disk Utilities launches. Select Format a hard drive. Be sure to back up all of your data first. When you finish using Disk Utility, select Quit from the Disk Utility menu. You are returned to the Snow Leopard Installer to continue the installation.
Complete the Snow Leopard Installation
To complete the installation, follow the Snow Leopard basic install instructions. You now have a clean installation of Snow Leopard using a method that mimics the Erase and Install option available in previous versions of OS X.
Access the Mac App Store
The Mac App store was not part of the original version of Snow Leopard but was added in OS X 10.6.6. To access the store, you might need to update your system software. Select Software Update from the Apple menu.
