Installing Leopard From DMG

[EDIT DEUX: Thanks to DIGG this is really taking off. There are a variety of really good ‘other’ methods outlined in the comments. Apparently LOTS of people have found the following useful. I hope you will too. In return, if you’d favorite the gWHIZ blog at Technorati I’d really appreciate it as I’m trying to break into their top 50,000 blogs by years end.]

As I wrote last night… Installing Leopard from [the ADC] disc image is anything but intuitive.

Ever heard of RTFM? Helps if there’s an FM to R. And, there isn’t, really. [EDIT: Actually, for those who are obtaining Leopard via their ADC Select and Premier seeds… this process is now documented in the readme text… However, it’s NOT documented with pics.]

Here’s the blow by blow: If you have a dual layer DVD writer… Pass GO and collect $200. Otherwise, read on…

First things first. It is illegal to install the Leopard [server and] workstation OS you’ve come by through other than sanctioned means. For me, “sanctioned” meant renewing my Apple ADC Select Membership and downloading the DMG Apple made available on their site. For others that meant obtaining the DVD at WWDC 06 [and 07]. If there are other legal methods… I’m not in the know. And, no, I won’t be sharing my DMG. Please, don’t ask.

However, I will be sharing an installation method Apple seems to have thus far neglected to disclose. [Which is now thoroughly documented with the official seeds’ readme files albeit without the pics you’ll see here.]

PREP
Have TWO blank partitions ready. One will be for the installer and the other will be where you install Leopard. [Double this if you intend to also load up Server.]

LET’S GO

• With your disc image mounted, open the Disk Utility application (Applications -> Utilities).
• Click the Restore tab (see it near the top of the Disk Utility window? Just after First Aid, Erase and RAID…)
• Drag your DMG file from the list on the left of your Disk Utility window to the “Source” field.
• Then, drag the icon of the partition you want to put the installer on to the “Destination” field. Again, do this from the left pane of your Disk Utility window. If you try to do this from the desktop (as I kept trying to do) you’re going to drive yourself bonkers.
• Click the “Erase Destination” check box so that it shows a check.
• I also skipped the Checksum. You might or might not want to do the same. Your call.
• Click Restore.
• Wait until done.

Once the above is complete you now have a bootable OSX Leopard Install partition.

All you have to do now is go to System Preferences -> Startup Disk and specify your boot partition to be “Mac OS X Install DVD”.

Restart and prepare to install to your other blank partition (or, really, wherever you choose). [It warrants disclosing… some people have said (comments below) their mileage is poor with USB drives… I can’t say with any authority that USB drives don’t work as startup volumes for Leopard… it would seem at the least they don’t do the job well.]

BTW, this should work on ANY Mac OS install DMG. There’s no special voodoo magic just because it’s Leopard.

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