[GuinnessNJ]

Okay, this is kicking my butt now...
I have a G4, 500mhz, 256mb ram, that I'm trying to install OSX server on. I boot off the cd, run Drive Setup, initilize the hard drive, and then run the install off the OSX Server cd. It starts, but when i get to the point where it says " Configuring your computer to start up from the Mac OS X Server CD." Then it immediatly pops up an error... "An error occured while trying to configure your computer to start Mac OS X Server from the Installation CD. Make sure you start up your computer from the CD by holding down the C key at startup before opening the installer" meanwhile, I already am booted off the CD. Something else strange is that when I try to initilize the drive with the UFS file format, it won't initilize. Could this be the reason the install keeps bombing? I can initilize in Mac OS Extendend or Standard, no problem. Another weird thing is that I've tried this on two different G4's. Two separate machines, and the same thing happens. any ideas???

[Hakintosh]

Guiness -

In my experience with Mac OS X, (both the PB and GM), the UFS file system has always posed problems with system installs. I believe the reason has something to do with the fact that in UNIX w/UFS, you can have 4 different files with all the same name, ie. readme, Readme, README, ReAdMe. Mac OS w/HFS & HFS+ does not allow this, as it is not case sensitive. This was a big reason why Airport support did not work in some versions of OS X using the UFS file system. My guess is that since OS X Server (1.2 right?) is just the OS 9 GUI on top of Darwin, you're running into a problem similar to the one people are having using UFS with OS X. Hope this helps.

- Hak

With Server 1.2 you need to format the drive as HFS before installing. The installation will convert the partition to UFS during the install. Having a UFS partition beforehand does not work. Don't ask me why.

I usually create 2 HFS partitions in drive setup before installing. A 2 GB partition for the system, this will be converted to UFS during the install, and then the rest of the disk which will actually be used for data.

Doing this usually helps the install.

Did you get this copy of OSX with the G4? Apple release a couple of incremental updates to OSX Server. I think the latest was 1.2.3 which actually allowed support for dual processors. However none of these updates are currently available on the website, AFAIK. This is because OSX Server 1.2 is end of lifed.

Perhaps your instal problems stem from older software with newer hardware?

Wait the week until OSXS 2.0 will be released. It is much better, especially with things like installation.

[GuinnessNJ]

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Maybe the MAC OS ROM or something. It's a newer machine. Maybe 1.2 just can't work with the hardware. Thanks

[Moose]

I believe the reason has something to do with the fact that in UNIX w/UFS, you can have 4 different files with all the same name, ie. readme, Readme, README, ReAdMe. Mac OS w/HFS & HFS+ does not allow this, as it is not case sensitive.

Heh. I love reading stuff like this.

A) "readme" "Readme" "README" and "ReAdMe" are all different names. The character representation (in ASCII and in Unicode) for 'r' is different from the character representation for 'R'.

B) This feature would present ABSOLUTELY NO PROBLEM for the install unless some part of the installer was writing a file named "foo" and then trying to re-open it as "FOO" or something similar. If that is indeed the case, the software is broken, not the filesystem.

While a case may be made for a case-insensitive/case-preserving filesystem, it does encourage sloppiness, both from a user standpoint and from a developer standpoint, and flies in the face of the Unix philosophy of "Do what the user says, not what he means."

It's a Brave New World, boys and girls.

[smeldal]

Originally posted by GuinnessNJ:
Something else strange is that when I try to initilize the drive with the UFS file format, it won't initilize. Could this be the reason the install keeps bombing? I can initilize in Mac OS Extendend or Standard, no problem.

Not to be too snotty about it, but in the file named READ ME BEFORE INSTALLING.pdf (on the installation CD) it says:
"UFS support
Mac OS X Server supports Mac OS Extended (HFS Plus) and UNIX File System (UFS) formatted volumes, but only volumes in Mac OS Extended format can be used for startup. Only volumes in Mac OS Extended format should be selected during installation."

Have you tried using the HFS+ format for your MacOS X Server startup volume? (Yeah, I know: it was different under 1.2. But: RTFM)

[smeldal]

[Deleted duplicate]

[This message has been edited by smeldal (edited 05-29-2001).]

[GuinnessNJ]

Yeah, actually I guess I didn't make that clear. When I was starting the install, it was onto a Mac OS Extended partition. Someone told me i needed UFS, but i never could even get the drive partitioned in that format anyway. So, yes, I was trying to install onto mac os extended. But, when it gets to that part in the beginning of the install, where it tried to configure the machine to start up from the cd, it always gives me an error.

[afro11]

Did you download a copy of os x server, and then burn it to cd?

If this is the case the problem could be how you named the cd.

I think the installer looks for a specific name to restart from and if the cd is named differently then it produces an error

I had the same problem and I still haven't found the approriate name

If any one know it please email me

[GuinnessNJ]

It's an original CD, so that wouldn't be it. But, you're right. I've had that problem before with other things, usually on a PC platform though. That's popular with games. If the CD is named different, it won't work.