It will not startup from a Mac OS X 10.3.0 installation CD. This can occur, for instance, if you purchased a retail copy of Mac OS X older than the version that is required to boot your Mac.Īs an example, the first-generation PowerBook 1.5 GHz 17' requires, as a minimum, OS X 10.3.3 to boot. Your Mac OS X CD or DVD might not be compatible with your Mac If you are using a Mac OS X CD or DVD that came with a Mac other than your own, it may not be able to properly startup your machine. This should force the system to bypass the normal startup volume and look for another valid boot drive - namely your Mac OS X startup CD or DVD. In these cases, holding down the 'option' key at startup (which, when functioning normally, displays all available startup devices) may allow you to select the appropriate boot volume (your Mac OS X installation CD or DVD) and proceed with the normal booting process.įailing this, try holding down the 'Command', 'Option', 'Shift', and 'Delete' keys simultaneously while your Mac is starting up. Try holding down the 'option' key instead of the 'C' key For some reason, holding down the 'C' key at startup does not always work to force booting from media that is in your Mac's optical drive. Fortunately, there are some relatively straightforward methods for dealing with this issue.

This obviously makes re-installation of Mac OS X impossible, and severely limits your troubleshooting avenues. You grab your Mac OS X CD or DVD, insert it, press the reset button, hold down the 'C' key and expect to be back up and running - but the system still refuses to properly boot.

It's a troubleshooting nightmare: you have problems starting your standard Mac OS X installation, or another serious issue that requires re-installation of Mac OS X itself.

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