Lion install boots into a foreign language!?

[vip007]

I recently bought a used Macbook Pro whose user was Korean and the Macbook itself may have been bought in Korea as well. The OS (Snow Leopard) System language was set to English, so no issues there.

Today I wanted to install Lion. I used my USB Lion installer. However, to my surprise, the installer was now using Korean as the language (that is, when I booted into the installer everything was in Korean).

Thinking it was still an issue with the previous OS language I terminated Lion installation, booted into single user mode and used 'languagesetup' to change the language again to English (as mentioned here http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4102). This did not help.

So I am baffled. Why does the Macbook use Korean when installing Lion, only on this particular Macbook and even though the prior OS system language is set to English? Is there some information in hardware that determines the default installation language?

Update:

I tried to get around this problem but it kept reoccurring. No matter what, I was not given the option to choose system language during Lion install and it would always default to Korean. What seems to have fixed it in the end is (a combination of) the following:

1) I had to reset PRAM.
2) I used the languagesetup to again change the system language to English (from my "blind" Korean installation of Lion).

After this I was finally offered the option to choose the system language upon USB Install boot.

Really, really odd.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Can't you choose which language to install in?

 

[vip007]

Can't you choose which language to install in?

No, that option comes *after* the OS files are copied from the USB installer to the hard disk. I was talking about the very initial installation step where the Macbook boots off of the USB drive and one is presented with system installation/restore options (such as restore from time machine, install Lion, disk utility, or whatever else is there).

For instance, this screen

is in Korean.

The USB installation stick was created in English and has always booted into English so far, except on this machine.

 

[javiten]

thanks! it helped me a lot!

 

[npaisnel]

I get a similar problem with ANY installer

I have a late 2008 Mac Pro
bought new and only ever had Brit english as main language.

We live close to the coast of france, (the island of Jersey) and our history and road and place names, family names etc are often French, so I do have French setup as the second language on the machine, to use the French keyboard options for place names/ spelling etc.

Not a major issue, but often when installing new d/loaded apps, the installer often chooses french as the language to install in. The agreement etc , appears first iin french.

No issue to change to english..but it is a problem I'd love to get to the bottom of, why it does it some times, with some installer packages, but not others.

any one any ideas?

 

[stealthopts17]

Thanks for this!

 

[ducnguyen1504]

No, that option comes *after* the OS files are copied from the USB installer to the hard disk. I was talking about the very initial installation step where the Macbook boots off of the USB drive and one is presented with system installation/restore options (such as restore from time machine, install Lion, disk utility, or whatever else is there).

For instance, this screen

is in Korean.

The USB installation stick was created in English and has always booted into English so far, except on this machine.

It not work for me. I have USB installation was created in English, when I boot in iMac, it show Vietnamese but it is Japanese in Macbook air? How can I change it to English?