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Marc Nadene · May 8, 2005, 03:57 PM

I just got Tiger and I have an older iMac that doesn't have a DVD drive. I want to install it still, but I have to figure out a way to convert this to CD. Anyone have any experience doing this? I don't really feel like giving $10 to Apple for this if I can figure out how to do it myself.

Thanks

Applefreak01 · May 8, 2005, 05:11 PM

By the time you figure out how to do it if it can be done at all, you could have gave Apple the $10 and have it installed on the iMac. It's only $10, not like there asking you to spend another $129 for the CDs.

analogika · May 8, 2005, 05:20 PM

Helpful, much?

SMacTech · May 8, 2005, 05:27 PM

If you have an external drive with a partition of at least 3GB, you can restore the dvd disk image to it, and make it boot the iMac. But you have to have a DVD drive to read it.

If you have another Mac, with a DVD, you could put your iMac into target disk mode and install it that way.

analogika · May 8, 2005, 05:36 PM

that assumes the target machine has a firewire port. Many of the early slot-loading iMacs - most of those the very ones which have only CD-ROM drives - do not have a Firewire port, yet are capable of running Tiger just fine.

Applefreak01 · May 8, 2005, 05:59 PM

Yeah my bet is the iMac doesn't have a firewire port and booting from a USB device will not work either. I have a iMac 233MHz Bondi I'd like to try to put Tiger on as well but no CDs (yet), no firewire, can't boot from USB I'm pretty much stuck to getting the CDs.

NeilCharter · May 8, 2005, 06:31 PM

Unfortunately for those macs without firewire the only way to install tiger is through getting the CDs from Apple.

TheSpaz · May 8, 2005, 07:26 PM

Easy... take the Hard Drive out of the iMac... Put it into a Mac with a DVD drive... Install Tiger... Put the iMac drive back in and boot up.

eggman · May 8, 2005, 09:25 PM

Originally Posted by TheSpaz

Easy... take the Hard Drive out of the iMac... Put it into a Mac with a DVD drive... Install Tiger... Put the iMac drive back in and boot up.

Are you absolutely, positively certain that the installer doesn't look at your hardware and install drivers specific to, oh, say your system's video card? Or it might perhaps install libraries that contain 64bit code for G5 systems that would cause a G3 to go tits up?

If so, your approach will surely fail. So much for "easy"

I really think the answer is that the orginal poster needs to get the install CDs from Apple. The DVD installer will be expecting to find specific files on the DVD that would necessarily have to be scattered amongst a number of CDs. Apple undoubtedly had to create a custom installer for the CD distribution that will ask for the appropriate disc at the appropriate time.

Oneota · May 8, 2005, 10:01 PM

Originally Posted by eggman

Are you absolutely, positively certain that the installer doesn't look at your hardware and install drivers specific to, oh, say your system's video card? Or it might perhaps install libraries that contain 64bit code for G5 systems that would cause a G3 to go tits up?

If so, your approach will surely fail. So much for "easy"

I really think the answer is that the orginal poster needs to get the install CDs from Apple. The DVD installer will be expecting to find specific files on the DVD that would necessarily have to be scattered amongst a number of CDs. Apple undoubtedly had to create a custom installer for the CD distribution that will ask for the appropriate disc at the appropriate time.

Nope; it installs everything for every model. Makes life easy for us I.T. folk.

eggman · May 8, 2005, 10:19 PM

Originally Posted by Oneota

Nope; it installs everything for every model. Makes life easy for us I.T. folk.

Color me impressed.

So it determines at boot time what extensions and drivers you need? Wow.

Marc Nadene · May 8, 2005, 11:23 PM

For the record, I don't have another mac. I do have a PC, so I could theoretically make a bootable image on a CD that will install the base system and then allow me to install the additional packages from within 10.4. So really what I'm asking is if anyone has tried to make a bootable bare-bones CD.

chabig · May 9, 2005, 12:14 AM

Originally Posted by analogika

that assumes the target machine has a firewire port. Many of the early slot-loading iMacs - most of those the very ones which have only CD-ROM drives - do not have a Firewire port, yet are capable of running Tiger just fine.

Built-in Firewire is a requirement to run Tiger, so it's safe to assume that any machine targeted for a Tiger installation must have built-in Firewire.

analogika · May 9, 2005, 02:56 AM

Underneath, the listing just says "slot-loading iMac", and considering that slot-loaders came out with and without Firewire at the same time, I think it's safe to assume that Tiger will install just fine on non-Firewire slot-loaders.

I don't think there is much of a difference between the motherboards of the two...?

Anubis IV · May 9, 2005, 03:23 AM

Originally Posted by Oneota

Nope; it installs everything for every model. Makes life easy for us I.T. folk.

It does? Then, as an example, why did my father's brand new 1GHz iBook G4 fail to boot at all after he cloned the hard drive from his old 500MHz G3 iBook to the G4? They were both running Panther, so it shouldn't have mattered at all, right?

Anyway, you may know better than me, and if you do, I apologize, but I was always under the impression that if you installed Mac OSX onto an internal hard drive, it WOULD look into what computer you were using and what configuration you had set up and it WOULD install specific things for that configuration. On the other hand, if you installed onto an external hard drive, it would install everything since it doesn't know what configuration it's being used for.

Stratus Fear · May 9, 2005, 03:29 AM

Originally Posted by Anubis IV

It does? Then, as an example, why did my father's brand new 1GHz iBook G4 fail to boot at all after he cloned the hard drive from his old 500MHz G3 iBook to the G4? They were both running Panther, so it shouldn't have mattered at all, right?

Anyway, you may know better than me, and if you do, I apologize, but I was always under the impression that if you installed Mac OSX onto an internal hard drive, it WOULD look into what computer you were using and what configuration you had set up and it WOULD install specific things for that configuration. On the other hand, if you installed onto an external hard drive, it would install everything since it doesn't know what configuration it's being used for.

Yeah, it actually does install everything. Mac OS X installs aren't system specific -- I booted my PowerBook off my iBook's hard drive once using FireWire Target mode.

As to why the clone didn't work? Who knows. Maybe the System folder didn't stay blessed or something.

analogika · May 9, 2005, 04:31 AM

Originally Posted by Anubis IV

It does? Then, as an example, why did my father's brand new 1GHz iBook G4 fail to boot at all after he cloned the hard drive from his old 500MHz G3 iBook to the G4? They were both running Panther, so it shouldn't have mattered at all, right?

"Cloned", how?

Also, when brand new hardware comes out, it usually includes an updated OS version to support the hardware and will not run on anything less than that, and which isn't available via Software Update for other machines until the next regular version update. Is it possible that the G3 'book wasn't quite up-to-date?

Simon X · 08:58 AM

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mitchell_pgh · May 9, 2005, 07:13 AM

I can't help but think "why not just pay the extra $10."

chabig · May 9, 2005, 08:27 AM

Originally Posted by Simon X

Others have suggested making a disk image onto an external drive if the Mac you want to install on has a FireWire connector. However, when mounting the disk image and clicking the install icon OS X want the Mac to restart. So, unless I'm missing something there is no way to install other than from the DVD ore sending off for the CDs. Right?

Target Disk Mode doesn't work for me either as my B&W G3 can't be mounted onto other Macs.

Simon,

You're right about the Mac wanting to restart. So you'd restart from the external drive and then install OS X onto the internal. It's pretty straightforward.

Also, I installed OS X onto a B&W once without a working optical drive. You have two choices since the B&W can't be booted into target disk mode:

1. Boot the "other" Mac into target disk mode and use its optical drive.
2. Put the B&W hard drive into an external case and install OS X onto it from the other Mac. Then return it to the B&W.

Chris

chabig · May 9, 2005, 08:28 AM

Originally Posted by analogika

Underneath, the listing just says "slot-loading iMac", and considering that slot-loaders came out with and without Firewire at the same time, I think it's safe to assume that Tiger will install just fine on non-Firewire slot-loaders.

I don't think there is much of a difference between the motherboards of the two...?

I think the motherboards are more different than you think. The CPUs run at different speeds, they probably have different graphics chips, one has firewire...

If it were my machine, I'd certainly try to install OS X. Just because Apple doesn't support it doesn't mean it won't work. I'd be happy if it did, but I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't.

Chris

Oneota · May 9, 2005, 08:33 AM

Originally Posted by analogika

Also, when brand new hardware comes out, it usually includes an updated OS version to support the hardware and will not run on anything less than that, and which isn't available via Software Update for other machines until the next regular version update. Is it possible that the G3 'book wasn't quite up-to-date?

Precisely. The point updates (10.3.4 to 10.3.5, for example) update/add drivers for new machines, and so if the old iBook wasn't running a new enough version of Panther, the new iBook wouldn't be able to boot. Best practice is to update a machine to the latest-and-greatest version of the OS you're running (so, currently, 10.3.9 or 10.4) before cloning.

SMacTech · May 9, 2005, 09:49 AM

Originally Posted by Simon X

Others have suggested making a disk image onto an external drive if the Mac you want to install on has a FireWire connector. However, when mounting the disk image and clicking the install icon OS X want the Mac to restart. So, unless I'm missing something there is no way to install other than from the DVD ore sending off for the CDs. Right?

Target Disk Mode doesn't work for me either as my B&W G3 can't be mounted onto other Macs.

You can't double-click the installer on a Tiger restored disk image, but instead, you hold the option key down at boot and select the partition with 10.4.

I have been doing it this way since they started the Tiger seeds as I don't have a DVD burner for my Mac.

Simon X · 08:59 AM

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Simon X · 09:26 AM

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Applefreak01 · May 9, 2005, 12:56 PM

Originally Posted by Simon X

SMacTech,

I don't get this. What ever I do the installer will still want to restart.

I think he means setup your hard drive with 2 partitions. One of which should be at least 3GB big. Use Disk Utility to make a disc image of the Tiger DVD. Now once that is done, while still in Disk Utility select the 3GB partition. Choose Restore. Drag the Tiger image to the source or browse for it. Click restore. Now restart hold down the option key. Choose the 3GB partition as the boot volume. Run the installer. Choose your other partition as the installation destination and install Tiger on that partition.

SMacTech · May 10, 2005, 09:11 AM

I found this about creating a DVD from CDs for Panther. I don't know if that will help you go the other way or not.

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.p...03120216030560

Applefreak01 · May 10, 2005, 04:31 PM

I still say just get the CDs from Apple. Make copy of the DVD before you send it back (like Apple says to) so you can still use the DVD to install on Macs with DVD drives and no you'll have the CDs for Macs without a DVD drive too. Win-Win.

dpoynter · Dec 14, 2005, 11:34 AM

I purchased an iMac and older one that came in the blue color. At the moment I can't remember the model number. anyhow it's a G3 and it came loaded from the person I purchased it from with OSX10 and 9 on it. I have a mac mini that has osx boot cds and I have a powermac g3 cd. Obviously the osx cd wont boot the imac cause it's dvd however the powermac g3 cd will not boot my imac at all. I press "c" after I here the apple chime and I still get nothing when I hold it down. I'm trying to install os8 from the cd. Any ideas to why the cd wont boot or to HOW to get the os8 cd to boot? i have no way of getting an OS on there without it booting ? e-mail; [email protected]