Can't update off external DVD

A

Arthur H.

Registered
Got an iMac without an internal DVD drive. It has OS 9 and OS 10.3.9 and I'm trying to update to OS 10.4 with a DVD, using the external drive. It recoginzes the DVD in OS X, but when I hit restart to boot up from the install disk, the computer boots up in OS 9. I can't even manually select it to boot up from the install disk. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
Well... Is the disk you're trying to install from a retail Tiger disk or is it a grey original installation disk from another computer? If it's the latter, that won't work (and it wouldn't be legal, either).
 
Someone is going to shoot me for supposing this, but are not some of the "Retail" disks specific to PowerPC and others to Intel?

Let me explain: I have retail copies of 10.3 and 10.4 which I progressively used on my Widdle Pismo. Install disks were for OS 9 :)

Long story short, when I got this machine, I tried loading 10.4 on it--fresh empty Internal HD--and then transfering "stuff" from my other.

Machine would not recognize it.

Now it may be that the "retail" disk was made before the Intel processors were created. I obtained the proper installations disks for this Mac so all is good. However, I am wonder if some older "Retail" disks simply do not recognize Intel processors. CERTAINLY none you would get with your computers NOW.

So . . . perhaps the Retail Tiger does not or is not recognized by the PowerPC?

_shrug_by_bad_blood.gif


--J.D.

P.S. Oh . . . one other thing: make sure the HD is journaled. I discovered this "tid-bit" on my Ex-HD I use to "clone." My retail Leopard would not install on it without journaling. There are probably highly magical reasons for this.
 
This poster does not have an Intel processor in his iMac.
How do i know that? - 10.3.9 - No Intel system will boot to 10.3.9

Arthur H. - Is your external drive FireWire? or USB?
Likely the problem is USB. Your older Mac can't choose a USB drive to boot, although the disk would mount, and you would have access to files. So, you can't boot to the installer disk. (if you have a USB drive)
 
More often, the failure to recognize a disk, or failure to boot to a DVD, is likely the fault of an older DVD drive, as those PPC systems are supported by the commercial Tiger install. The oldest supported PPCs - the G3s seem to often have problems booting to the Tiger DVD (I've tried most every Mac in my service shop). There is NO Tiger commercial installer that will install on any Intel Mac. The only disks that will work in that case, is the original disks that shipped with that Intel Mac. That's because the Tiger installer never shipped as a universal install, as Leopard now does.
And, that's not the posters problem.... My guess still is - it's not a FireWire drive, but is USB - and that won't work to boot Tiger on a PPC.
 
Other than those that shipped with Intel systems, no...
Just to fill in the details, and make this more accurate, later versions of Tiger SERVER, are universal (both Intel and PPC), but not the Tiger client versions.
 
No, it's through FireWire, not a USB port. But it's a pretty old DVD drive which I've hardly ever used. Maybe its software is OS 9 compatible but not OS X? I don't have the original software for the DVD drive. Maybe I just need to borrow a newer DVD drive and try that?
 
No, it's connected through FireWire. I'm thinking that maybe because it's a fairly old DVD drive, it's only compatible with OS 9?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top