How to Burn Apple OS X Leopard 10.5 Onto a Single Layer

By Todd Campitelli

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It is a smart idea to create a backup of your operating system in case the original DVDs ever are lost, broken or damaged. Unfortunately at more than 7GB, OS X Leopard will not fit on a single-layer DVD. If you do not have a dual-layer DVD burner, you can still create a DVD backup. However, you will need to remove some of the unnecessary files that take up space, such as the additional language packs and printer drivers.

Step 1

Insert your OS X Leopard Installation Disc and launch the Disc Utility program.

Step 2

Drag the DVD icon from the desktop into the left pane of the Disc Utility.

Step 3

Create a new disc image by selecting the “New Image” icon located on the top of the Disc Utility menu bar. Save the new disc image to your desktop. You can name the disc image whatever you want, however for the settings, set the size to “8.0 GB (DVD+R DL)” and the encryption and format to “None” and “Sparse Disc Image” respectively.

Step 4

After the new disc image has been created, mount the disc image by double clicking its icon on the desktop. It will appear in the left pane of the Disc Utility.

Step 5

In Disc Utility, select the "Restore" tab. In the “Source” field, drag the Leopard DVD icon, and in the “Destination” field, drag the disc image you recently created. Click the “Restore” button and wait for the process to complete.

Step 6

Delete the unnecessary files. Open the newly created mounted disc image in the finder. Start by deleting the "Xcode Tools" folder from the root directory.

Step 7

Explore the packages within the Installation directory. Right-click the “Install Mac OS X” and select "show packages" from the contextual menu. From there, you can delete the additional language packages and the printer drivers, labeled as “[PrinterCompany]PrinterDrivers.pkg.”

Step 8

Empty the trash and eject the disc image you created.

Step 9

Launch Disc Utility once again and create another new disc image by selecting the “New Image” button. In the new image dialog box, you can name the image whatever you like and choose an appropriate destination. For the settings keep the encryption to “None” and the format to “Sparse Disc Image,” but set the size to “4.7 GB (DVD-R/DVD-RAM)” and then select “Create.”

Step 10

In Disc Utility, select the “Restore” tab and drag the disc image you just created in the destination field. In the source field, drag the disc image that has your modified installation files. Then select “Restore.”

Step 11

Once the process has completed, highlight the disc image that was just created. Insert a blank DVD and select the “Burn” icon from the top menu.

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