Fit Mac OS X Snow Leopard on a Single Layer DVD

You may have noticed that the Retail OS X Snow Leopard DVD is Dual Layer and well over 6 gigabytes. So you can't just create a scratch-free backup copy at will if you don't have a Dual Layer DVD burner. This guide allows you to create a personal backup that will fit onto a Single Layer DVD. You can then use this backup DVD to install Snow Leopard. As with my Chameleon Boot CD Install method, I highly recommend using a SATA CD/DVD drive.

STEP 1: COPY DVD TO HARD DISK
First you need to create a 1 to 1 copy of the DVD.
  1. Insert Mac OS X 10.6 Install DVD
  2. Open Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility
  3. Click File, then New, then Blank Disk Image...
  4. Save a blank 8.3 GB sparse disk image to the desktop using the following picture as an example.
    5. Save As: Rip Name: Mac OS X Install DVD Size: 8.3 GB (DVD+R DL) Format: Mac OS Extended Encryption: none Partitions: No partition map Image Format: sparse disk image
  5. Close and reopen Disk Utility to see your new Rip.sparseimage in the sidebar.
  6. Right click on Mac OS X Install DVD image and choose Get Info...
  7. Un-click the lock icon in the lower right corner and type your password.
  8. Un-check the Ignore ownership on this volume and close the lock icon.
  9. Choose Rip.sparseimage in the sidebar and click the Restore tab.
  10. Right click on Mac OS X Install DVD and choose Source
  11. Right click on Mac OS X Install DVD (image) and choose Destination.
  12. Un-check Erase destination checkbox.
  13. Click Restore and type your password.
  14. Eject Mac OS X 10.6 Install DVD from CD/DVD drive.
STEP 2: DELETE FILES TO SHRINK INSTALLATION DVD
Next, we'll eliminate unnecessary files from Rip.sparseimage in order to shrink the Install down to Single Layer size (4.6 GB). These include XCode, printer drivers, foreign languages, fonts, and instructions that you may never miss. If you do want to install anything here, you can always do it later after installation via your Retail DVD.
  1. Download ShowAllFiles.
  2. Open ShowAllFiles to make hidden files visible in Finder.
  3. Open Mac OS X Install DVD inside of the Rip.sparseimage in Finder.
  4. Navigate to Instructions.
  5. Delete Welcome to Snow Leopard pdf.
  6. Navigate to Optional Installs/Packages/
  7. Delete everything in the folder.
  8. Navigate to System/Installation/Packages/
  9. Delete all Printer drivers, Languages, and X11User.pkg. IMPORTANT: Do NOT delete AsianLanguagesSupport.pkg or AdditionalSpeechVoices.pkg.
  10. Empty trash.
  11. The Rip.sparseimage should now be 4.59 GB- just small enough to burn onto a SL DVD!
STEP 3: CREATE A SINGLE LAYER DVD IMAGE
You must now copy the modified contents of the Rip.sparseimage to a new disk image for burning.
  1. Open Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility
  2. Click File, then New, then Blank Disk Image...
  3. Save a blank 4.6 GB disk image to the desktop using the following picture as an example.
    4. Save As: Mac OS X Install DVD Name: Mac OS X Install DVD Size: 4.6 GB (DVD-R/DVD-RAM) Format: Mac OS Extended Encryption: none Partitions: Single partition - Apple Partition Map Image Format: read/write
  4. Close and reopen Disk Utility to see your new Mac OS X Install DVD.dmg in the sidebar.
  5. Choose Mac OS X Install DVD.dmg in the sidebar and click the Restore tab.
  6. Under Rip.sparseimage, right click on Mac OS X Install DVD and choose Source
  7. Under Mac OS X Install DVD.dmg, Right click on Mac OS X Install DVD and choose Destination.
  8. Un-check Erase destination checkbox.
  9. Click Restore and type your password.
  10. Insert any recordable Single Layer DVD-R or DVD-RW
  11. Right click Mac OS X Install DVD.dmg and select Burn "Mac OS X Install DVD.dmg"
  12. Burn DVD. Use a slow speed to ensure a proper burn.
You're done! You now have a backup Single Layer Snow Leopard 10.6 Mac OS X Installation DVD, and a backup disk image. Now you're ready to install directly from the Retail DVD using my Chameleon Boot CD Install method.

NOTE: This backup DVD may not boot as quickly into the Mac OS X Installer as the Retail DVD. It gets hung up on lines involving BootCache, but will resume- you may have to wait about 5-10 minutes to get to the Installation screen.

-tonymacx86


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