need help installing OSX

S

stevieg306

Registered
got a few old macs off a friend, ones an orange g3 imac 400mhz, and 2 g4 400mhz PowerPcs.

heres my problem, the imac has OSX installed but the install is all messed up and wont install software. i have moved the hard disk from the imac to one of the g4s and it boots up but still cant install software. i do have a dmg on my windows pc from an original install dvd but the original disc got broke a few months ago. i have tried twice now to burn the install dvd image but it wont boot while holding the C key after the boot tone just shows the imac and ? icon. i have now got the dmg onto a 2nd formatted hard drive and have tried dragging the dmg into disc utility to burn it but nothings happening. really want to get at least one of them ideally the imac and a G4 working as i want both mac and windows platforms to work on.
 
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You have a mangle of different model Macs, different versions of MacOS X, and even a Windows PC thrown in to confuse things even farther.

We do not discuss Hackintoshes here. Throw your Windows PC out of the mix and then repeat the question.

Other considerations:
  1. You cannot install a version of MacOS X on a computer that is newer than the OS.
  2. You cannot use a System Restore [gray] disc to install the OS on a different model Mac than the one it shipped with.
  3. The most recent version of MacOS X that you can install on any PPC-based Mac is MacOS X 10.5.x Leopard.
  4. Dragging around .dmg files is not the proper way to install MacOS X.
I strongly suggest that if really want help from members of this forum that you give the versions of MacOS X. Also, if you insist on mixing up multiple computers in your request for help, then be clear about which software you are trying to install on which computer. Include specific versions. It would also be useful to give the capacity of the hard drive space on each computer and the amount of RAM installed on each computer.
 
imac is all back as i got it. its running version 10.0.3 (build 4p13)

im trying to burn and install tiger. i managed to get to get the install screen come up and ask for the root/admin password after clicking restart. it restarts and just boots straight into 10.0.3
 
You would not need an admin password to install OS X.
Just insert the DVD, then restart (without waiting for the disk to mount), while holding the "C" key.
This might not work if you are attempting to use a non-Apple USB keyboard.
And, you might not have a bootable DVD, unless you burn the image on a Mac.
One of the PowerMacs might be a good way to go. Install OS X on that. A 10-year-old CD drive might not read disks like a new one now. You can replace an original CD/DVD drive with a new burner for less than $30. That would give you a Mac with a nice disk burning setup, and a better chance to burn that image that you found.
 
i actually got osx installed today (10.1, yes i had to resort to torrens :rolleyes:) but yay i now have 2 macs working (imac and G4). i actually found out that one of the G4s is a 450mhz unit so will be using that and keeping the 400mhz for spares.
im going to find some burning software (most likely toast) and try burning with the DVD RW drive out my PC.
so yeah im a happy bunny. off tomorrow to get a 4 port usb card and possibly a WiFi pci card from my local maplin (electronics shop, im in UK) or PC World stores

thanks for the replies guys :D

Steve
 
stevieg306 said:
i actually got osx installed today (10.1, yes i had to resort to torrens :rolleyes:)...
Click to expand...

Be careful what you admit to here. This forum allows only legal, legitimate discussion of everything Apple, and, even though Mac OS X 10.1 is old as dirt, it's still illegal to obtain a copy of it in the method you mention. It's not free software, no matter how old it gets.

Just a heads-up!
 
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