Crossed out Circle on Boot - G4 iMac

S

slave187

Registered
I just recently installed Tiger over target disk mode from my G4 iBook to my 700 mhz G4 iMac. The installation went smoothly, but when I try to boot up the iMac the Apple logo on the gray start up screen is replaced with a crossed out circle (kind of like a do not enter sign.)

I then booted up via TDM over my iBook and it worked fine. I was able to surf the web, check out iTunes and run updates; but all from my iBook. I installed all the updates Apple had to offer, but when I tried to boot up the iMac I had the same problems.

Any idea why I can use my iMac's Tiger through my iBook but NOT through my iMac?
 
Did you use the iBook Software Restore disks to install Mac OS X on the iMac? If so, that's your likely culprit. Use a retail version of Mac OS X or the Mac OS X install disks that came with the iMac to install OS X on the iMac.
 
Strange...

Well, when you install Mac OS X from a computer to another computer, you're potentially installing portions of Mac OS X that are specific to the computer that is the one doing the installing. It could be that you're installing some iBook-specific things that are incompatible with the iMac.

Is there a reason you're using your iBook to install Mac OS X on the iMac (does the iMac not have a DVD drive, or is the optical drive broken), instead of installing Mac OS X directly from the iMac?
 
That is correct, I do not have a DVD drive in my iMac.

Is there any way to check if I'm somehow installing iBook settings on my iMac?
 
I'm a bit confused about the two macs ... are you certain the iMac is a G4? Is it the Flat Panel mac or the all-in-one with the coloured back that may or may not be transparent? If it is the Flat Panel G4 then it should have a DVD drive already ....

Having got that off my chest, try the following:

Boot the iBook with the DVD drive into Target Disk Mode with the Tiger install disk inserted and mounted, which is probably a better way to go, since the installer will tailor any necessary machine-specific system resources to the boot machine.


700MHz G3 iMac


700MHz G4 iMac
 
Yes, it is a flat panel. The iMac was used in education at a local school and has a combo drive in it. Apparently that was standard for the iMacs at this school. I wish it did have a DVD drive as that would make this a lot easier.

I booted the iBook up with the DVD in it and held down "R" so it would load to the iMac's disk. From there I ran the DVD which restarts the computer and begins the installation process all over. Was this what I was suppose to do, or did I get a bit confused?
 
A 'combo' drive is a combination of a CD-RW, and a DVD reader. I'm guessing that your iMac G4 actually has a CD-RW only, and not a combo drive.

You can try the reverse TDM setup.
Put the Tiger install in your iBook G4, and start the iBook G4 in TDM, then boot the iMac holding the Option key. Choose the Installer disk from the screen that appears your iMac. Then click on the right-facing arrow. And, you should boot to the installer, from your iMac.
If there's a problem with an incorrect setup as part of the install, this sequence should take care of it.

note - this install-through with TDM from an optical drive does not always work, as the optical drive is not always available from TDM on every Mac. Hopefully, it will work for you.
 
You're right, I have a CD-RW drive.

Turns out there was a Pioneer DVD drive in the iMac, but it was never installed correctly. I could force it open and it would automatically close, but nothing happened after that. So I swapped my old optical drive back in, tried installing Tiger from TDM off my iBook and it worked like Lucky Charms.

Thanks a lot guy. Sorry for being dumb.
 
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