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I have a Macbook2,1 with 4GB RAM, Intel Core 2 Duo 2GHz and Leopard 10.5.8 and I need to upgrade it to Lion. I've downloaded Lion installation dmg file and restored it to a USB disk using Disk Utility.

But when I restart my MacBook holding option key, it doesn't show the USB disk. it only shows my hard disk. I've tried an external DVD-Drive (since the original DVD-Drive is not functional), same problem. Also I've tried restarting through Startup Disk preferences, same problem.

Any idea?

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What model/year MacBook are you using? – Mr. Mel Nov 26 '12 at 3:57
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That's Target Mode, and, apparently, it's entering it as its unable to access the USB. So there's, probably, an issue either with the USB image or the compatibility between your computer and the new OS. – Thecafremo Nov 26 '12 at 8:34
Thank you for your response. I edited the question. – Bizz Nov 26 '12 at 12:55
@Bizz Can you test that the USB was properly created? Is it properly formatted? Can you try to boot from it from another computer? Does it mounts on the desktop? – Thecafremo Nov 26 '12 at 14:14
it mounts on desktop. It doesn't show up in Startup Disk pref, until I remove and insert it. But Disk Utility recognizes it and Disk Utility->First Aid->Verify was OK. – Bizz Nov 26 '12 at 14:31
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1 Answer

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Thank you all for your help. I finally managed to make it work. It seemed the problem is somehow related to USB boot support of MacBook2,1. This is how it worked for me:

use these 5 steps if you're upgrading from 10.5.X to 10.7.X

  1. Copy /System/Library/CoreServices/SystemVersion.plist to desktop
  2. Open it in an editor (I used TextEdit)
  3. Under ProductVersion change 10.5.X to 10.6.X
  4. Save and Authenticate
  5. copy it back to /System/Library/CoreServices/ overwriting the original SystemVersion.plist

use these 8 steps if you have a problem with USB boot.

  1. Using BootCamp Create a 5GB partition
  2. Open Disk Utility
  3. Select Lion installation file (DMG) and click on Open
  4. From main pane Click on Restore Button
  5. From left pane Drag and drop ESD (below the DMG) onto Source
  6. From left pane Drag and drop the newly create partition onto Destination
  7. Click on Restore button below Destination
  8. Restart and hold Option key. Now the partition is available in the boot menu.
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