# How to make BOOTABLE mac INSTALL DVD (from ISO file) on XP?



## Ambushed

Like the title says, I have a mac 10.5 installation dvd copied to an iso file. I can need to burn that iso file to a dvd on a windows xp computer, while keeping it bootable for mac. Is there a program that will allow me to do this (burn iso on windows xp computer, to dual layer dvd+r > put new dvd in mac computer > boot from it > install mac 10.5 on mac computer). 

Thanks for the help, 

PS I have tried MAGICISO and ISO Image Burner


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## Ambushed

bumppp


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## PohTayToez

Sorry, I don't believe so.  A while back I looked all around, and I don't think that there is any program for Windows that will let you turn a .dmg file into something bootable on a Mac.  I've always had to burn Mac boot discs on other Macs.


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## Ambushed

Ahh ok allgoods. What are my options, would Windows 7 or Ubuntu fit nicely?


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## Ambushed

Bump, I've installed Ubuntu 11.04 but having issues with the wireless firmware :<. Any pro's out there? or even suggestions for OS.


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## PohTayToez

Well, it's really more about personal preference than anything.  What sort of mac do you have?  

Linux is the obvious choice, I think you can get pretty much and common distro you want on pretty much any Mac.  Windows is bit tougher, much easier if you stick to the recommended versions and install through bootcamp, but of course you would have to have OSX installed first.  Windows can be installed first but you'll probably want to check and see if there are any guides for your specific Mac so as to not run into any sort of driver problems.


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## tlarkin

DMG is the same standard as ISO.  If you take a DMG file and rename it ISO on a windows box you can burn it.   I have done this before a lot since my older Mac only had a CD burner and not DVD Burner (back in the day) so I would copy to my PC, then burn with Nero and it worked.   

It retained bootable too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMG_(file_format)

The wiki says it has to be converted, but I am pretty sure I never converted any, and I used Nero to burn OS X bootable installer DVDs on my PC.   It was a long time ago though.  For the record a DMG is just a block copy of something compressed, so if you block copy something bootable, it retains it's ability to boot.  Though apple drivers in the bootable material must be compliant with the hardware you are trying to boot.

What exactly is it you are trying to do here.  give me more details and I can help.


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## Ambushed

I am trying to install Ubuntu 11.04 onto my intel iMac via USB drive, I have put the Ubuntu.iso file onto the stick and have tried holding both c & option when it starts up. Do I need to convert the ISO?


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## mihir

Ambushed said:


> I am trying to install Ubuntu 11.04 onto my intel iMac via USB drive, I have put the Ubuntu.iso file onto the stick and have tried holding both c & option when it starts up. Do I need to convert the ISO?


You cannot just put the ISO on the USB drive.
Here is the procedure on how to write the iso to the usb drive.



> We would encourage Mac users to download Ubuntu Desktop Edition by burning a CD for the time being. But if you would prefer to use a USB, please follow the instructions below.
> Note: this procedure requires an .img file that you will be required to create from the .iso file you download.
> TIP: Drag and Drop a file from Finder to Terminal to 'paste' the full path without typing and risking type errors.
> Download the desired file
> Open the Terminal (in /Applications/Utilities/ or query Terminal in Spotlight)
> Convert the .iso file to .img using the convert option of hdiutil (e.g., hdiutil convert -format UDRW -o ~/path/to/target.img ~/path/to/ubuntu.iso)
> Note: OS X tends to put the .dmg ending on the output file automatically.
> Run diskutil list to get the current list of devices
> Insert your flash media
> Run diskutil list again and determine the device node assigned to your flash media (e.g. /dev/disk2)
> Run diskutil unmountDisk /dev/diskN (replace N with the disk number from the last command; in the previous example, N would be 2)
> Execute sudo dd if=/path/to/downloaded.img of=/dev/rdiskN bs=1m (replace /path/to/downloaded.img with the path where the image file is located; for example, ./ubuntu.img or ./ubuntu.dmg).
> Using /dev/rdisk instead of /dev/disk may be faster.
> If you see the error dd: Invalid number '1m', you are using GNU dd. Use the same command but replace bs=1m with bs=1M.
> If you see the error dd: /dev/diskN: Resource busy, make sure the disk is not in use. Start the 'Disk Utility.app' and unmount (don't eject) the drive.
> Run diskutil eject /dev/diskN and remove your flash media when the command completes
> Restart your Mac and press alt while the Mac is restarting to choose the USB-Stick



SOURCE:http://www.ubuntu.com/download/server/download


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## Ambushed

The thing is that I am not able to do the above as the whole OSX is corrupt and it won't boot up hence the reason to put Ubuntu on. What I have done is put the iso file onto the USB stick from the XP computer but the imac still won't boot from the USB stick. (Tried on two iMacs)


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## tlarkin

rename the ISO .dmg and then mount it with disk utility


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## PohTayToez

tlarkin said:


> rename the ISO .dmg and then mount it with disk utility



I'm almost positive that this will not work, I believe I tried it a while ago with Snow Leopard.  

Also, I misremembered from before, I did find programs that would burn a Mac bootable disc from Windows (or the claimed to be able to) but they were all paid applications.  I'd be willing to try it again, just for the sake of verifying if it's possible, but a Google search reveals quite a few other people that did the same unsuccessfully.


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## tlarkin

PohTayToez said:


> I'm almost positive that this will not work, I believe I tried it a while ago with Snow Leopard.
> 
> Also, I misremembered from before, I did find programs that would burn a Mac bootable disc from Windows (or the claimed to be able to) but they were all paid applications.  I'd be willing to try it again, just for the sake of verifying if it's possible, but a Google search reveals quite a few other people that did the same unsuccessfully.



A DMG is a block copy of something, an exact copy.  If you make an image of a boot-able drive or disk, it is boot-able.

It has been a long time since I have done it, but I remember burning both boot-able mac and windows disks on both platforms.


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## Ambushed

tlarkin said:


> rename the ISO .dmg and then mount it with disk utility



I am not able to get to disk utility - the imac is currently in the same position as before. (Gets to the mac icon and continues to look like its loading without doing anything.)

Any ideas would be great


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## tlarkin

Ambushed said:


> I am not able to get to disk utility - the imac is currently in the same position as before. (Gets to the mac icon and continues to look like its loading without doing anything.)
> 
> Any ideas would be great



Can you boot to single user mode?  At boot up hit +S until it boots into single user mode.


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## Ambushed

tlarkin said:


> Can you boot to single user mode?  At boot up hit +S until it boots into single user mode.



Yup I am in the black command-line.


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## tlarkin

Ambushed said:


> Yup I am in the black command-line.



Try running a file system check



		Code:
	

mount  -uw /
fsck -f


Those are two separate commands, also they should be listed.  The other thing is you can try to target mode boot it into another Mac and run disk utility.

You can run disk utility from the command line too, also while in SUM.



		Code:
	

diskutil repairVolume /dev/disk0s2


If it just boots to the apple screen and no further I am going to say it is file system corruption or a failing HD.  Lastly, you can always overlay the OS and it will not delete the user data.


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## Ambushed

tlarkin said:


> Try running a file system check
> 
> 
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> mount  -uw /
> fsck -f
> 
> 
> Those are two separate commands, also they should be listed.  The other thing is you can try to target mode boot it into another Mac and run disk utility.
> 
> You can run disk utility from the command line too, also while in SUM.
> 
> 
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> diskutil repairVolume /dev/disk0s2
> 
> 
> If it just boots to the apple screen and no further I am going to say it is file system corruption or a failing HD.  Lastly, you can always overlay the OS and it will not delete the user data.



Okay so I've ran both commands.

File system check came back to say that the Machintosh HD seems to be ok, the second command said the following: 

*Unable to run because unable to use the DiskManagement framework. Common reasons include, but are not limited to, the DiskArbitration framework being unavailable due to being booted in single-user mode.*


So atm the I have used winace to extract the iso into the flash drive (done on xp computer), from there I put it into the usb drive on the imac and tried both holding c and option differen't times but it seems to go to the same old apple icon loading.


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## Ambushed

Update: I have a feeling that the .iso file is corrupt as when I go to extract it to the usb drive I am getting CRC errors.

I will try extract the ubuntu iso image to the flashdrive and see how that works.


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## tlarkin

A brand new retail copy of Snow Leopard is only $29.....just saying.   As for disk utility not running from the command line, that is due to SUM only loading minimal kernel extensions so it won't run unless you manually launch them from the command line.

So, your Mac just boots to the apple logo and nothing else right?


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## Ambushed

tlarkin said:


> A brand new retail copy of Snow Leopard is only $29.....just saying.   As for disk utility not running from the command line, that is due to SUM only loading minimal kernel extensions so it won't run unless you manually launch them from the command line.
> 
> So, your Mac just boots to the apple logo and nothing else right?



I would buy the retail copy but my CD/DVD drive is broken :/, yeah it goes just to the apple logo and a circle thingy looking like its loading. I have the .iso image extracted onto flashdrive and have tried holding c on bootup but it stays white and doesn't progress. I will try download another image file and re extract it.


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## tlarkin

Ambushed said:


> I would buy the retail copy but my CD/DVD drive is broken :/, yeah it goes just to the apple logo and a circle thingy looking like its loading. I have the .iso image extracted onto flashdrive and have tried holding c on bootup but it stays white and doesn't progress. I will try download another image file and re extract it.



Do you have access to two or more macs?   Target disk mode boot it, and then install it off a working Mac.


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## speedyink

I seem to remember poweriso burns .dmg files.  Thats what I used to burn my 10.3 disc for my old imac.


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## Ambushed

Alright update,

I've downloaded another image file just puzzled on how I would extract it to my USB drive and what program to use.

Screenshot of files





Helppppppppp


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## tlarkin

that's just an archive....right click and extract.  It should extract to a single file


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## Ambushed

tlarkin said:


> that's just an archive....right click and extract.  It should extract to a single file



Yeah after awhile I managed to figure it out, extracted all files (which turned into a .dmg file) to the USB drive (after formatting with NTFS). But when I hold down C or Option on bootup it's not getting past a white screen. (This white screen has nothing on it)

Any ideas?


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## tlarkin

Ambushed said:


> Yeah after awhile I managed to figure it out, extracted all files (which turned into a .dmg file) to the USB drive (after formatting with NTFS). But when I hold down C or Option on bootup it's not getting past a white screen. (This white screen has nothing on it)
> 
> Any ideas?



You need to install the OS on the drive actually and boot from it.  Then hold down the option key to get the boot menu to find and locate all boot-able media.


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## Ambushed

The drive is fu*ked , I read up online that you can boot from the usb drive.


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## tlarkin

Ambushed said:


> The drive is fu*ked , I read up online that you can boot from the usb drive.



Yes you can, but there has to be an OS installed on it.  You cannot boot from an image file on an external.  It is just like booting from a USB hard drive on a PC that supports it.


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## speedyink

I just got snow leopard to install off a usb drive yesterday.  All I did was take the dmg file, put it on the mac which still had leopard on it, formatted my usb to fat32, put it in the mac, and opened up disk utility, and using the recover option I made a bootable usb out of it, which worked perfectly fine (even though it took 4 hours to write the install dvd to the usb).  If you have access to a mac that seemed easiest to me.  I'm really not sure if you can do the traditional windows way and have it work (using dos diskpart to properly format the disk, mount disc, drag contents onto newly formatted thumb drive)


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## tlarkin

speedyink said:


> I just got snow leopard to install off a usb drive yesterday.  All I did was take the dmg file, put it on the mac which still had leopard on it, formatted my usb to fat32, put it in the mac, and opened up disk utility, and using the recover option I made a bootable usb out of it, which worked perfectly fine (even though it took 4 hours to write the install dvd to the usb).  If you have access to a mac that seemed easiest to me.  I'm really not sure if you can do the traditional windows way and have it work (using dos diskpart to properly format the disk, mount disc, drag contents onto newly formatted thumb drive)



Yes you can use disk utility to restore an image to an external.  Though you may have to use the "scan for restore" option in disk utility to ensure it is bootable.

The problem with his mac is that it won't boot at all, so no disk utility and apparently the optical drive is dead?


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## Ambushed

tlarkin said:


> The problem with his mac is that it won't boot at all, so no disk utility and apparently the optical drive is dead?



Yeeeep


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## tlarkin

Ambushed said:


> Yeeeep



Borrow a Mac from a friend or co-worker and look up Target Disk mode booting over firewire


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## Ambushed

Hmm I'm still trying to get hold of another imac to do this on, in the meantime is there anything else anyone can think off?


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## tlarkin

Ambushed said:


> Hmm I'm still trying to get hold of another imac to do this on, in the meantime is there anything else anyone can think off?



With no optical drive and no external drives with OS X already loaded on it you will need to either target mode boot that mac into another mac, or use another mac to install OS X on an external drive then boot yours.  Alternatively you can pull out the HD and take it to another mac that works and hook it up that way.

Or you gotta replace hardware.  You would be in the same boat if this happened with any computer.


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## Ambushed

YES, finally got it to work..

Went out and bought a external DVD drive


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