Trying to wipe / reinstall OSX. Will not boot OG disk. Please help me!

theprizefight

Registered
Hi all.

I am currently running a Powerbook G4 verison 10.5.8, 1.5 GHZ, 1GB Ram.

I found my original 2 disk set that came with my Mac (not someone elses, not a retail version, the OG install disks) and I want to do a clean erase and re-install Tiger (I don't have the snow leopard disk anymore). I need to do this because I am giving the computer to a friend. But I am having trouble getting the install to boot.

Here is what I have tried so far -

1. I have run disk utility on both my HD and the Disk itself and both appear to be okay.
2. I have tired with the disk inserted I have reset the PB computer and pressed "c". It flashes a grey screen, sometimes flashing a apple folder with a finder icon and a question mark, then continues to boot like normal, bypassing the install.
3. I have tried clicking on the disk itself and clicking install osx and pressing the reset button. Same results, just boots like normal, bypassing the OSX install.
4. I have tried holding down option during a boot of the computer and the only option it gives me is the HDx hard drive, no disk option.
5. I have tried the above things using my girlfriends computers disk drive via a firewire (using her disk drive, held down "t") and have experienced the same results.

Does anyone have any other options or things I can try? I reset PRAM and tried again but no results. I called apple but they refuse to talk to me about it because it's out of warranty and want to charge me $49 for phone support (even though I dropped cake on an iMac 2 months ago). The apple support forums didn't help because they just assumed these weren't the right disks, but they are and went round and round for two pages and I was no further than before I posted.

This disk clearly has OSX on it and is in mint condition. There is reason that because I have leopard installed I can't restore the computer to OG condition and install tiger right?

Pllllleaseeeeee helpppp!

- Kyle
 

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You will have to boot with the first install disk (boot while holding down the C button) and then once the installer firsts boots up, us the menu items to fins Disk Utility and first REFORMAT that drive. Os X will not install OS X if the install version is older than the installed versions of OS X.

So you must first format that internal drive before installing that older version of OS X.
 
You will have to boot with the first install disk (boot while holding down the C button) and then once the installer firsts boots up, us the menu items to fins Disk Utility and first REFORMAT that drive. Os X will not install OS X if the install version is older than the installed versions of OS X.

So you must first format that internal drive before installing that older version of OS X.

The OP's item #2 pretty much covers your first suggestion.
 
The OP's item #2 pretty much covers your first suggestion.

You will have to boot with the first install disk (boot while holding down the C button) and then once the installer firsts boots up, us the menu items to fins Disk Utility and first REFORMAT that drive. Os X will not install OS X if the install version is older than the installed versions of OS X.

So you must first format that internal drive before installing that older version of OS X.


The install does not even boot up at all. It bypasses that and loads up like normal.
 
Pop in the Tiger CD/DVD and wait for it to mount.

In the "Startup Disk" pane of the System Preferences, click and highlight the Install DVD.

Reboot.

Still boots from the hard drive?

Another thing you can try, if you've got the parts laying around, is booting from a FireWire CD/DVD drive (or a CD/DVD drive mounted in a FireWire case). I don't believe Tiger + old PowerBook can boot from USB, so FireWire may be your only option.

What about other booting options -- does a PowerPC CD/DVD of, say, Ubuntu boot the machine? Could your CD/DVD drive be defective and/or "preparing to bite the big one?"
 
When I go trough system preferences, highlight the DVD and click restart, it boots from the HD.

I don't have a firewire CD/DVD lying around. But I tried using another macs CD/DVD drive and it still booted from the harddrive.

CD/DVD drive is fine, I ran utility disk and other disks work fine. Again trying to boot off another macs DVD drive getting the same results made me believe it wasn't the DVD drive.

Not sure about Ubuntu. . .is that another OS? Could you elaborate more how I could try something like that. . .
 
Boot up normally...
If you insert your installer DVD, then open your System Utilities/Startup Disk pref pane - does your installer DVD show up as a choice for a bootable disk?
Can you choose that DVD, then click the restart button? Is there any change?
 
Boot up normally...
If you insert your installer DVD, then open your System Utilities/Startup Disk pref pane - does your installer DVD show up as a choice for a bootable disk?
Can you choose that DVD, then click the restart button? Is there any change?
Asked and answered...
As the OP has already stated,
"When I go trough system preferences, highlight the DVD and click restart, it boots from the HD. "
 
Click on your Apple Menu, then About this Mac.
Click on More Info... which will open your System Profiler.
What is the Model Identifier, as it is listed in Hardware Overview?

What OS X version shows for your installer DVD in the Startup Disk pref pane? You would need to reinsert that installer disk again to see that.
 
Click on your Apple Menu, then About this Mac.
Click on More Info... which will open your System Profiler.
What is the Model Identifier, as it is listed in Hardware Overview?

What OS X version shows for your installer DVD in the Startup Disk pref pane? You would need to reinsert that installer disk again to see that.


Model Identifier: PowerBook5,6


Mac OSX 10.4 on the mac install disk
 
Sounds like the installer version is correct.
If you can't boot to that installer DVD, and you can't boot to that disk from an external DVD drive (you said that you tried firewire target disk mode from another Mac with that same disk, which also failed), then your installer DVD is likely bad.
Do you have access to another OS X installer disk, either 10.4 or 10.5?
 
Sounds like the installer version is correct.
If you can't boot to that installer DVD, and you can't boot to that disk from an external DVD drive (you said that you tried firewire target disk mode from another Mac with that same disk, which also failed), then your installer DVD is likely bad.
Do you have access to another OS X installer disk, either 10.4 or 10.5?


No I don't. I lost my leopard disk. The only other install disks I have are for my iMac, but those won't do any good. It stinks that the DVD is bad. I never even took them out of the plastic sleeve.
 
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