Trouble / Problems installing / upgrading 10.4 on iMac G5

I

IHALL1977

Registered
I have an issue with installing OSX 10.4.

I am trying to upgrade my iMac G5 Power PC / Superdrive from OS X 10.3.9 and have tried to use the 10.4 install disks that shipped with my iBook Power PC G4 laptop, the thing is the install disks are Grey in colour and says iBook G4 on it -

Firstly on trying to install - a message comes up saying "mail cannot be installed on this computer" and "installation not possible" - similar to one of the last threads. So will I have to purchase a new black install 10.4 disk which I assume is universal on any machine -

also Do I have to uninstall 10.3.9 first - and if so - how do I do this

Thanks in advance
 
You cannot use the iBook disks on an iMac, there are two kinds of OS X disks, the ones tied to a specific model of computer, like the ones you have, and the black ones, so called 'retail' disks that should work on any machine.

If you do buy a fresh copy of OS X, probably better to get 10.5 as well.
 
Yes, as you have discovered, a grey installer disk will not work on any machine other than the model that it originally shipped with.

You need to find the commercial (Black) DVD, which can be installed on any compatible Mac.
eBay is a good possiblity - and Lowendmac.com is a good site to find older versions of the Mac operating system.
http://lowendmac.com/deals/best-mac-os-x-tiger-prices.html
You can simply do an Upgrade install on top of the 10.3.9 that you have now. There's no need to uninstall anything. Some here will recommend that you erase the drive, then install the new system on a blank drive, and reinstall/restore everything, and there's nothing wrong with that approach, if you have a means to back up all your files, and you have reinstall disks for all your software - or, you back up all your files/apps through some other backup software to an external drive.
I think - if you are presently not experiencing any kind of problems, and just want to upgrade - or need to upgrade because of some newer software that you want to use - then I suggest choosing the Option to Archive & Install. That's available from the Options button, when you get to the installer screen where you select the destination drive - you'll see it!
 
Thanks to both ora and DeltaMac, I only joined this forum tonight and this has been of great help, as was mentioned I just need to upgrade to Tiger inline with my iBook in order to use newer software - namely QuarkXPress Passport and CS3 suite, I probably won't upgrade to 10.5 right now as I only have 512mb of ram and just want to get both machines running on the same system. I will have a look on ebay and lowendmac.com for a good deal!!!
 
Fair enough, though if you can find a way I suggest you try and up the amount of RAM, 512 is pretty minimal for modern programs, especially CS3 which would use all the 512 and still be hungry all by itself. Not sure which iMac G5 you have, but i recently upgraded the RAM in a G5 iMac and found it very easy to do myself, just a matter of removing a couple of screws to take the back of the machine off.

Glad you find the forum helpful, we're all really happy when people have good experiences here, hope you hang around! :)
 
Yeah will do, I thought this issue would be a big headache, but it has seemed to be resolved quite easily, I have the iMac 17" G5 Power Pc - I think it's 80GB off hand and can't remember the ghz - as it's not near buy, but you say it's pretty easy to upgrade ram to the other slot - How much should I expect to pay for say… and additional 1MB of RAM?
 
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