Computer won't start 10.4 install CD

M

mattbyrd

Registered
The computer at my work is obscenely out of date. We've been trying to update it as much as possible. It's running 10.3.9, and I have an install CD for 10.4, but when I restart the computer holding down the C button, it won't boot the CD. It just boots the OS and asks for my log in. The CD also won't show up in System Preferences > Startup Disk.

Any ideas?
 
What does the disc look like? Is it black with a silver "X" across it, or is it solid gray? If it's the latter, was it taken from another Mac that is not the same model?

Also, what model Mac are you trying to install 10.4 on?
 
It's gray; I found it laying around on the shelf. I guess it's for a different model, then? Will it not work?

I unfortunately inherited this sad, outdated Mac from my employer as my office computer...it's pretty rough:
Power Mac G4
Running 10.3.9
733 MHz
Memory: 1GB
 
mattbyrd said:
It's gray; I found it laying around on the shelf. I guess it's for a different model, then? Will it not work?

Like I said, I unfortunately inherited this sad Mac from my employer as my office computer...it's pretty rough:
Power Mac G4
Running 10.3.9
733 MHz
Memory: 1GB
Click to expand...

Nope, it won't work. The gray discs are basically OEM discs that only work with the Mac models that they shipped with. If it's for home, you could possibly purchase a copy of 10.4 pretty cheaply now. I found this online....I'm sure you could also find it on eBay for really cheap. Just make sure that it's the retail version.

Leopard won't officially work on that Mac as it doesn't meet the minimum requirements. I say "officially" because there are workarounds to making Leopard run on G4 Macs that are slower than 867 MHz, but they're not without their "gremlins". ;)
 
Also, don't count it out as outdated. 10.4 will run quite well on that Mac and with that much RAM it should be quite usable. I know of people still using their dual-processor Power Mac G4 systems running at 450 MHz with Tiger installed and are very happy with them. Macs do tend to have more staying value than your run-of-the-mill PC.
 
Hey, before Reality [Tm.--Ed.] set in and I obtained a MacBook, I had my "Widdle Mac" of a Pismo with "blazing speed" of an updated 550 MHz G4, 1 Gig RAM. It ran all the way to 10.4.11 very well.

Granted . . . when you tried to run a bunch of programs like browsers things would . . . sort of . . . slow down.

It worked great for its primary purpose--writing papers, e-mails, that sort of thing.

--J.D.
 
Doctor X said:
Edit: Obscenely long quote, i.e. the whole post right above this one, removed by fryke. ;)
Click to expand...

True, but the Pismo is a G3. He's got a desktop G4 system. The G4 is significantly improved by the Altivec extensions and does wonderfully with Tiger. My father actually went from a 1.6 GHz Power Macintosh G5 to a dual processor 867 MHz Power Mac G4 and he actually said that it "felt faster". I'm sure the second processor helped in making things run smoothly, but it's also a testament to how well the G4 can handle running Tiger.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I am having similar problem to Mattbyrd. I want to reboot from my install disk (OS 10.4.6; now running 10.4.11 on a MacBook Pro) but when I restart the computer holding down the C button, it won't boot the CD. The CD also won't show up in System Preferences > Startup Disk. Help.
 
Hi Sub, is that the disc that came with THAT MacBook Pro? If it's not it will not work.

If it's the black retail disc, in this case that will not work - those of 10.4 retail were PPC only, whereas your Mac will need the CPU specific ones, those shipped with the Mac. (Or of course, retail version of 10.5 will do too...)
 
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