[Salex_Ander]

I'm ready to install Panther after much agonizing. I think I've taken all the precautions. But wait. My CD drive doesn't recognize the install disc 1. I put it in and I get the following dialog box:

"This disc is unreadable by this computer. Do you want to initialize?"

Just prior to attempting the install I updated my firmware and installed a new second internal HD (Seagate Barracuda). That's when things went wacky. I was going to initialize the drive with the utilities on the Panther CD so I could install Panther on the new drive.

I have an AGP Graphics G4/450. The CD drive is the original. My 9.2.2 boot drive is the original 20GB Quantum Fireball set as master and the new Seagate (unformatted) is set as slave (which will run only Panther). Both drives are ATA.

The first thing I did when the install disk didn't work was to remove the connections to the Seagate (I didn't remove it from the bracket). Still nothing appeared when I put a data CD that has worked in the past in the drive, and the Panther disc 1 gave me the same unrecognizable disc dialog box.

System Profiler sees the drive, but whenever I put any CD in, it doesn't mount. My Silverlining Pro Control Panel (for my external firewire d2 drive) sees the drive, too.

Interestingly, my firewire LaCie CD burner does recognize the disc, and I can launch the installer from it. However, I cannot set that drive as the startup disc.

What could I have done and how can I fix it? I'm itching to get Panther installed... Could the firmware have done something? Please help.

[SMacTech]

Have you tried starting up using the "c" or "option" keys ?

[Salex_Ander]

I have not. But I don't know if it would matter. No other CDs that have worked in the past are recognizable by the drive.

How would I use the "C" or "option" keys on startup if I can't even keep the install disc in the machine to start up? The "do you want to initialize" dialog box gives me two options: Eject and Initialize. And I can't continue doing anything until I select one option.

[Salex_Ander]

Originally posted by SMacTech:
Have you tried starting up using the "c" or "option" keys ?

I just got home to try to fix this. I tried starting with the "c" key pressed (opened CD drive, put install disc in, shut drive door, restarted quickly, held "c" key), but the system booted from the internal HD. Once booted, I got the same "disc unreadable, initialize?" dialog box. I zapped PRAM thinking it might flush something. Nope.

I'm getting more frustrated. Could the firmware upgrade have corruped something? Since I'm having the same problems with and without the new HD, I'm thinking yes...? If so, can I redo it?