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miramac · Jun 20, 2008, 03:12 PM

Hello everyone..this is my first post and so I must start by saying Im a bit new to all this stuff. My problem is that I have an older G4 running 10.2.8 on it and so I just bought a copy of leopard 10.5 and tried to install. When I insert the disk I get a message saying that the computer can't read it. Is this a common problem? Do I need to upgrade to a more recent version before going straight to leopard? Or is my copy of leopard junk? Any info is greatly appreciated. Thanks

msuper69 · Jun 20, 2008, 03:28 PM

Put your 10.2 disk (or any DVD) in. If you get the same error, you've got a hardware problem with the DVD reader.

miramac · Jun 20, 2008, 03:36 PM

ok, thanks for the info...so, if its the not the reader then is its probably the disk, right?

ibook_steve · Jun 20, 2008, 03:40 PM

More likely this is an older computer that does not have a DVD drive (CD only). Which machine do you have?

Steve

miramac · Jun 20, 2008, 03:52 PM

Im not home (work..hehehe) and so I'm not sure which machine it is..I do remember playing DVD's on it though so I think it should have a DVD drive. Is there any place I can search to narrow down which g4 I have? I bought it around 4 years ago and I think this is when they started coming out with dual gig hard drives.

Chuckit · Jun 20, 2008, 05:01 PM

apple-history.com has the specs of every Mac ever made, so if you know other facts about your computer, you can compare it there. Otherwise, when you get home, you can just look in System Profiler and see what kind of drive it has.

ibook_steve · Jun 20, 2008, 06:32 PM

Well, if you've played DVD movies before, then you have a DVD drive. If the install disk won't mount, then there's something wrong with the disk or the drive. If other disks do mount, you may have a scratched or damaged OS install disk.

Steve

miramac · Jun 20, 2008, 07:08 PM

ok, Im home...here are my specs
System Version -Mac OS X 10.2.8
Machine Speed -1.0 GHz
Number of Processors 2
L2 cache size -256k (times 2)
L3 cache size-1MB (times 2)
Machine Model - Power Mac G4 (version =3.2)
Memory Overview- Type-DDR SDRAM 512MB

64stang06 · Jun 20, 2008, 07:19 PM

Ouch...upgrade the RAM. Leopard requires a minimum of 512MB, and with the way things run now, anything less than 1GB would make it seem like it's crawling.

miramac · Jun 20, 2008, 07:30 PM

Originally Posted by 64stang06

Ouch...upgrade the RAM. Leopard requires a minimum of 512MB, and with the way things run now, anything less than 1GB would make it seem like it's crawling.

ok, are there any places I can get a good deal on RAM. I was looking at ebay but I don't know which RAM to buy. Got any suggestions? Since Im going to use this computer solely for video editing Im sure Im going to need a lot of ram.

ghporter · Jun 20, 2008, 07:37 PM

Try Crucial, Kingston and even Newegg for RAM. Going to eBay for RAM is asking for trouble, considering that RAM pricing is at a relatively low point right now (=very inexpensive). Both Crucial and Kingston have "memory configurator" assistance that helps you find the right parts for your machine very easily.

miramac · Jun 20, 2008, 07:45 PM

Originally Posted by ghporter

Try Crucial, Kingston and even Newegg for RAM. Going to eBay for RAM is asking for trouble, considering that RAM pricing is at a relatively low point right now (=very inexpensive). Both Crucial and Kingston have "memory configurator" assistance that helps you find the right parts for your machine very easily.

yes, your right..its not worth trying to save $5-$10 bucks on something thats cheap already. Ok, I will look into those brands you recommended. My plan is to use this computer to run Final Cut Studio 2 so Im hoping it will suffice.

auto_immune · Jun 20, 2008, 07:47 PM

Originally Posted by Chuckit

apple-history.com has the specs of every Mac ever made, so if you know other facts about your computer, you can compare it there. Otherwise, when you get home, you can just look in System Profiler and see what kind of drive it has.

Also, you can check out this cool little app: Mactracker - get info on any Mac

64stang06 · Jun 20, 2008, 08:43 PM

Also, depending on the machine you have, it's either PC133 RAM (Quicksilver, 1.5GB max) or PC2100 RAM (Mirror Door Drive, 2GB max). Hope that helps!

BTW, what video software would you be using? You just may be better off going to 10.4 instead of 10.5, FYI.

miramac · Jun 20, 2008, 08:47 PM

Originally Posted by 64stang06

Also, depending on the machine you have, it's either PC133 RAM (Quicksilver, 1.5GB max) or PC2100 RAM (Mirror Door Drive, 2GB max). Hope that helps!

BTW, what video software would you be using? You just may be better off going to 10.4 instead of 10.5, FYI.

I've been trying to find this out for the past hour. Im getting conflicting info on whether it should be 2100 or 2700??

miramac · Jun 20, 2008, 09:27 PM

ok, so I just decided to open the darn computer and find out for certain. I have a samsung 2700 512k ram. I was planning on installing Final Cut Studio 2 but now read that the system requirements are a dual 1.25GHz processor....I only have a dual 1 GHz processor...looks like this computer just isn't going to cut it after all...bummer!...time to start looking for a used one that is a bit more recent.

miramac · Jun 22, 2008, 01:08 AM

Ok, well back to my original question. I'm still not able to get the computer to read the cd. Since this is a "copy" of leopard does this make a difference or do I need an original retail disk???

analogika · Jun 22, 2008, 05:43 AM

a) Many older drives have increasing trouble reading DVD-Rs over the years.

b) This is especially true of double-layer burned disks, such as the Leopard Install Disk.

I'm just gonna stop there.

turtle777 · Jun 22, 2008, 09:50 PM

Did you buy a retail version of Leopard ?

The OEM version that ships with the new Intel Macs will NOT install on non-Intel Macs.

-t

analogika · Jun 23, 2008, 12:53 AM

The CPU Drop-In upgrade DVD will, however.

finalsortie · Jun 27, 2008, 08:48 AM

If you have access to an original Leopard Install DVD, use that.

If you find that your DVD drive is on the fritz, you have a few options.

1.) You can replace the drive.

2.) If you have a firewire port, or USB (however, I have never gotten mine to work via USB, but I have not tried that hard either) SONY makes some excellent external DVD drives that work with OS X, however I do not know what their current 10.2 support.

3.) If either of these option do not sit well with you, ask a friend (I assume that is where you got the copy of the Leopard Disk) to create an image of the the Disk, it should mount just fine (since you can burn a copy, I assume you should be able to make an image of it as well, although I have never tried either. . .) - it might be best to have it on an external drive, preferably firewire, as OS X can boot from firewire drives. . .

4.) Or, using another computer, Instal Leopard on an external firewire hard drive and boot from it

Well, I hope that helped.

miramac · Jun 30, 2008, 12:58 AM

Originally Posted by finalsortie

If you have access to an original Leopard Install DVD, use that.

If you find that your DVD drive is on the fritz, you have a few options.

1.) You can replace the drive.

2.) If you have a firewire port, or USB (however, I have never gotten mine to work via USB, but I have not tried that hard either) SONY makes some excellent external DVD drives that work with OS X, however I do not know what their current 10.2 support.

3.) If either of these option do not sit well with you, ask a friend (I assume that is where you got the copy of the Leopard Disk) to create an image of the the Disk, it should mount just fine (since you can burn a copy, I assume you should be able to make an image of it as well, although I have never tried either. . .) - it might be best to have it on an external drive, preferably firewire, as OS X can boot from firewire drives. . .

4.) Or, using another computer, Instal Leopard on an external firewire hard drive and boot from it

Well, I hope that helped.

Well, thanks for the info. I actually decided to take the easy way out and bought an IMAC G5. Its a used model but it works just fine and has leopard on it already. Now, Im getting ready to sell my G4.

frdmfghtr · Jun 30, 2008, 06:57 AM

"Ok, well back to my original question. I'm still not able to get the computer to read the cd. Since this is a "copy" of leopard does this make a difference or do I need an original retail disk???"

Yes you need an original disk, for several reasons.

Aside from the technical reasons, it's the Right Thing To Do. Apple doesn't make users go through the serial number/activation nonsense that Microsoft and other software manufacturers do (Apple Genuine Advantage anybody? No, me neither) so let's not give Apple a reason to do so.

Cold Warrior · Jun 30, 2008, 07:02 AM

Originally Posted by finalsortie

create an image of the the Disk, it should mount just fine (since you can burn a copy, I assume you should be able to make an image of it as well, although I have never tried either. . .) - it might be best to have it on an external drive, preferably firewire, as OS X can boot from firewire drives. . .

This is a great idea for backing up one's own Leopard install disc. Use Disk Utility to make an image of the disc, make the image the 'source', and then make a small external drive partition the 'destination'. Restore to that partition. Now you have a bootable Leopard install partition, which will be stable and very fast for future reinstallations (IAW its SLA) and troubleshooting.