Initialize iMac G4 without drive

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dr fletch

Registered
Hi, I'm trying to restore my old iMac G4 1Gb 15" to sell as it's in fine shape...but it will not boot from the (Leopard disk in the) disk drive. Is there a way I can do this with an external firewire?
I've lost the original install disks too. That's why I'm trying Leopard. Suppose I could always just erase free space with disk utility but it's not very 'clean'.
 
Are these Leopard discs the ones that came with a different computer (gray-colored, with a specific Mac model printed on them)?
 
It's probably not worth it anyway as I only have 256Mb RAM and Leopard needs half a GIG minimum. So my questions changes somewhat...How can I restore and 'clean' the iMac for sale without the original install disks?
thanks
 
There was an initial 15" G4 iMac model released around 2003 that came with only a CD-RW drive (no DVD support). Does your iMac, in fact, have a DVD-ROM or DVD-RW drive?

If so, what happens if you insert the Leopard DVD, head over to the "Startup Disk" preference pane, select the Leopard DVD, then restart? Does it then boot from the DVD?

Howabout starting up with the Leopard DVD in the drive while holding the 'option' key, then selecting the Leopard DVD from the list of icons of bootable devices?

Yes, you can boot from an external FireWire drive. You can do this by inserting the Leopard DVD into the computer, then using Disk Utility to perform a "Restore" of the DVD onto a blank, external FireWire drive. You can then instruct the system to boot from the FireWire drive by selecting it in the "Startup Disk" preference pane.
 
You can wipe the contents of the hard drive by booting from any valid Mac OS X Install/Restore CD/DVD, then selecting "Disk Utility" from the "Utilities" menu when prompted for an installation language.

You can then use Disk Utility to repartition and/or reformat the drive, effectively wiping out all data on the drive.

This will leave you with an unbootable computer, since there is no longer an OS on the drive, but if you advertise it as such, there should be no problem.
 
Thanks, useful info but I'm not sure if I'd like to sell an unbootable iMac..I will keep trying. The Option key trick seems to be working but it's taking an age to boot from the dvd. Gonna leave it whirring away for an hour or two..
 
If you intend on selling the G4 without any kind of installation medium (Restore CD/DVD, Leopard Install CD/DVD, etc.), then (in my humble opinion) it matters not whether there's an OS on the drive or not.

Kind of like selling someone a car whose engine is running, but lacks keys. It's great until they turn it off or a problem arises, then they're screwed.
 
I guess I'll be selling the iMac 'as is' with 10.4.11 installed and NO install disk (lost) I have the restore disk but it won't boot from it as it appears to be OS9. Just one final question then - - - Is it possible to remove the old username in accounts?. I've wiped all user info and I will 'erase free space' with disk utility for security. Any other suggestions most welcome. Thanks
 
After you have created the new admin account, log out of your current account, and log in as the new admin. Now you can delete the old account.
 
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