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  1. My faithful old intel plastic macbook hard drive died yesterday.

    Click click click is the only sound from the hdd.

    I have another hdd to put in the Mac, the only data lost is the installed programs, for which I have the install discs if I can re install the O/S

    The dvd drive in the macbook is also on it's way out, I have an external optical drive I can use to reinstall programs.

    I can't seem to make the mac boot from the usb optical drive with the install dvd. I held down the option key as I started the mac.

    I have the original install dvd but I only have a windows laptop to work with.

    How to I get the disc image copied to my windows laptop as a dmg? img burn which I use regularly, will only create iso

    Once I have the dmg image file of the install dvd I have the tools (transmac) to make a bootable USB drive, I am struggling to rip an image of the install dvd with a windows laptop.

    Any help would be much appreciated.

    My google results are not helping, only showing me how to burn a dmg file, which is not what I need.
    Last edited by super8rescue; 30th Mar 2021 at 02:50.
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  2. Interesting dilemma. Unfortunately all the solutions that come up to resolve it are a dismal PITA involving potentially dubious utility installs to the Windows PC that are unnecessary for anything beyond this one task. If there's the remotest chance of finding another friendly Mac user who'll let you make the USB dmg on their computer, it would be much much quicker/easier/cleaner. Maybe ask at a computer repair shop if they'll let you do it for a fee with one of their Macs?

    Otherwise, you could perhaps glean something useful from links like these:

    https://www.sysprobs.com/mount-dmg-files-virtualbox-windows-host

    https://superuser.com/questions/383235/create-a-bootable-usb-drive-from-a-dmg-file-on-windows

    PowerISO or AnyBurn are similar to ImgBurn but with more dmg capability: consider emailing the developers to ask if they can rip an Apple install disc to an image file on your Windows PC, which could then be copied to a USB stick and moved to your Mac where you could proceed to extract the contents to make a bootable USB.

    Luckily you're dealing with 10.5.6 Leopard, which is at least available on a simple install dvd. Trying to pull this off with Lion, Mavericks or El Capitan, with Apple's crazy online-only availability, would drive me to substance abuse.

    Good luck!
    Last edited by orsetto; 29th Mar 2021 at 20:18.
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  3. Thanks Orsetto

    I had a feeling this would be the case.

    Once I return to work I have access to as many macs as I can shake a stick at, so I will put this to one side for now.

    Being stuck at home, it seemed like the ideal time to try and sort it out, but as you suggest, with only a windows laptop, I am not making things easy for myself.
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  4. I feel your pain. The biggest Achilles Heel with Macs that had optical drives is the damned slot drives were flakey, unreliable and sadistically buried so deep in the chassis you can only replace them by dismantling the Mac down to the very last screw (which Apple thoughtfully makes hideously difficult for even their own techs to do). If it was a Windows laptop you could rip the entire dvd drive out in one motion after loosening one retaining screw, then replace with a new drive.

    What brand of external USB optical drive are you trying to boot your MacBook from? They can be really picky about this, with some models insisting the external drive be a legit Apple-branded "SuperDrive" to enable external boot function. With generic PC drives like LG, Samsung etc they will often refuse external boot. In rare cases, its a USB power issue: the Mac won't boot from a portable USB powered drive but will boot successfully from a larger AC-powered optical drive.

    Another peculiar but possible scenario is what material the boot disc is made from. The Apple slot drives usually fail gradually in stages, losing functionality bit by bit. Sometimes this manifests as inability to read genuine pressed commercial discs while still being able to read recordable media like DVD-R/DVD+R (and vice versa: drive might read pressed discs but fail with recordables). So it couldn't hurt to try the opposite game: if your 10.5.6 installer disc is the genuine pressed version, try using ImgBurn to direct copy it to a -R or +R disc with your Windows laptop, then try booting the Mac from the copy instead (or the reverse if that applies: if your disc is a copy, get hold of an original). IIRC, ImgBurn can direct-clone an Apple installer disc under Windows: it just can't mount it for use. I may be wrong about that: its been awhile since I tried it.

    EDIT: just re-read your OP, I forgot you said you were planning a DIY HDD replacement. If you're gonna do that as a time filler during lock down, perhaps consider going all the way and replace the internal SuperDrive as well while the MacBook is open? Yes, its much more difficult and requires much more disassembly, but if you're handy with small tools and parts its do-able. I've taken apart my old TiBook G4 to update the motherboard from 666 to 1K CPU, replace the fans and HDD and SuperDrive. Its tedious nerve-wracking work, but there are some excellent illustrated take-apart guides on the web. If you post back with the MacBook model # I can maybe link you to the tutorial site I used.
    Last edited by orsetto; 30th Mar 2021 at 12:51.
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  5. I'm a Super Moderator johns0's Avatar
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    Can you post what you did to get your issue resolved?It will help other people in similar situations.
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  6. Originally Posted by johns0 View Post
    Can you post what you did to get your issue resolved?It will help other people in similar situations.
    I am going to wait until I can (as suggested in the first reply) go back to work and use a mac to make a copy of the dvd and put it on a usb stick.
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  7. Originally Posted by orsetto View Post
    If you post back with the MacBook model # I can maybe link you to the tutorial site I used.

    Thanks Orsetto, I have dismantled the macbook over the years, even opening up the optical drive to remove a stuck disc so I am well familiar with the pig of a job it is to open up. Horrible things.

    I've opened it so many times I don't even need to remember which screw goes in which hole.

    The external optical drive is indeed, a generic drive I use with windows, so as you point out, unlikely to work which I why I am going to hopefully use Transmac to bring the macbook back to life by booting from usb.

    If it all fails, then I will have a macbook for spares I can sell.

    I only ever use the macbook these days for Cubase SX3 which is my all time favorite audio tool.

    If needs must, I will have to make do with a windows version on my i7 windoze laptop .

    I am just rather fond of the little white plastic macbook for audio work, so I will do my best to see if I can kickstart it again in the coming weeks, when I can get my hands on the mac suite at work. I have had the macbook since new, so I will do my best to get it going once I can get my hands on a mac.

    I was just hoping I might get the job down with a windows machine while stuck at home, to make a dmg but alas, not easy as you say, so my patience will just have to deal with it for now.

    It is this version of macbook
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEnCD93riRo
    Last edited by super8rescue; 31st Mar 2021 at 07:58.
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  8. Originally Posted by super8rescue View Post
    It is this version of macbook
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEnCD93riRo
    Ooof! Yeah, those are perhaps the biggest PITA MacBooks when it comes to replacing the optical drive. IIRC, these were nearly as disassembly-resistant as the notorious toilet-seat iBooks (which you literally did need to tear down to the last screw to access commonly-replaced parts). My TiBook G4 was bad enough: if I hadn't been suffering from pneumonia and ordered the repair parts in a fevered stupor I don't think I would ever have attempted it.

    The white plastic MacBooks were nifty in their way: I kinda miss them. They seemed more casual and accepting of hard portable use than the later metallic-finish models. Since the gloss white plastic finish began attracting scratches, scrapes and dirt the minute you bought it, after a couple weeks you just stopped babying it and threw it in the knapsack with a bottle opener , screwdriver, pens, books, camera, whatever rubbing against it. They were more rugged than they looked.
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