[Fullthrottledesigns]

I just got a G4 iMac (Flat Panel) from a silent auction at work. I got it for $250.00 and just wanted to get it for the cool design, now I have it and don't really know what I should do with it I already have a G5 iMac for all my work. The tech specs are: G4 700Mhz 256mb RAM 15" screen CD-RW/DVD-ROM. I already ordered 512mb of ram for it and want to install Panther on it but when I put in the install CD in it just spits it back out. So I have to either figure out why it won't read my Panther install disc or live with Leopard. Anyway I don't really know what to do with it, I was thinking of maybe putting it in my basement for listening to music or something, any ideas?

[PB PM]

Have you tried using any other CDs/DVDs in the drive? It is possible that the drive is bad. What kind of Panther discs do you have, retail or machine specific?

[Fullthrottledesigns]

Yes I have tried other discs and they work fine. I tried my Leopard DVD and it starts up to the install screen with that disc. The panther discs I have are the retail, I tried my machine specific G5 Tiger discs to see what they do and it opens but says it cannot be installed on this computer.

[PB PM]

Do the Panther discs work in other machines? You wont be able to install 10.5 either though since it requires 867Mhz CPU to install (without hacks that is).

[Fullthrottledesigns]

Yes the Panther discs work fine in my G5 iMac so I don't know whats up.

Edit: I just tried it again and it read the Panther disc this time but when I double clicked on the install icon it asked me to restart and when it restarted to start the install it spit the disc out again. Now I can't get it to read the disc it just spits it out each time I put it in just like before.

[Fullthrottledesigns]

Could a Mod move this to the Genius Bar? and maybe change the title of the thread? or should I make another thread there about the install issue?

[kieran]

You could try installing Panther using Target Disk Mode from the G5 to the G4.

[Fullthrottledesigns]

I didn't know you could use that to install a new OS. So just fire up my G5 in target disc mode and I can load and unload the install discs?

[kieran]

You put the G4 in TDM and then put the Install Disks in the G5.


Now that I'm thinking about it though, would Panther be able to be installed from a G5? Is Panther too old for those machines?

[Fullthrottledesigns]

I will give it a shot and see how it goes. Thanks for the tip!!

Edit: I did not work, when I restart the G5 for the install it freezes at the grey screen with the apple.

[kieran]

Did you try putting the G4 in TDM, connect it to the G5 and then boot the G5 from the Install Disk? (restart the G5 and hold down C with the disk in the drive)

[Fullthrottledesigns]

I had the G4 in TDM and I put the install disc in the G5 and double clicked on the install icon and then it restarts and freezes on the grey screen. Do you think booting the G5 from the disc will make a difference?

[PB PM]

Its most likely because your G5 requires a newer version of OSX than is on the Panther disk. What version is the installer on the retail disk, 10.3.0 or something later? Depending on the model of G5 you have, it might require 10.3.9 or later.

[Fullthrottledesigns]

It is the retail version 10.3.0

[Brad]

Originally Posted by Fullthrottledesigns Could a Mod move this to the Genius Bar? and maybe change the title of the thread?

Done and done.

[PB PM]

What version of Panther is on your G5s install disks? If its higher than 10.3.0, then you need that version or later to boot your G5.

[Fullthrottledesigns]

Originally Posted by Brad Done and done.

Thanks!

My G5 has 10.4 Tiger on the install discs I just have the retail version of Panther from about 3 years ago I bought for my old power Mac G4.

[PB PM]

If you G5 came with Tiger, it wont boot from Panther or any older versions of Mac OS.

[Fullthrottledesigns]

I have leopard and I was reading that it has to be a G4 with a 867Mhz or better processor. Will it install on a 700Mhz G4 and just run a little slower? I want to install Tiger but the retail version is like $200.00

[Brad]

The 10.4 "Tiger" discs shouldn't cost any more than US$129.

Direct from Apple:
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPL...nMore=MA453Z/A

The 5-license "family pack", on the other hand, costs US$199.

[Fullthrottledesigns]

They are updating the store!! Do you think I should stick with Jaguar or spend the cash on Tiger? I don't plan on using this computer for more than email and internet.

[FFL]

Have you tried the TDM install routine using your G5's factory disc????

[Fullthrottledesigns]

Originally Posted by FFL Have you tried the TDM install routine using your G5's factory disc????

I have not tried the factory disc from the G5 just the Panther discs I have. I have the Leopard family pack from work that we have only used 3 licenses and I can use it on my G4 iMac but the processor is only 700Mhz and does not meet the required specs. I know that people have installed leopard on unsupported G4's but how safe is that? If I do that do I need to do any special work around or just install and let it go?

[kieran]

I installed Leopard on my 800mhz G4 iMac using TDM from an iBook.

It worked fine. There were no issues during install.

The only problem was that my iMac would no longer sleep right. There is an issue in the display drivers. They're different between Tiger and Leopard.

Some people have had success in copying the drivers over from Tiger, but I didn't, so I put Tiger back on there and have no issues.