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mleitholt · 12:40 AM

So I was trying to install Tiger VIA an external USB dvd drive to my client's powermac g3 blue and white and when I finnaly got it to select the DVD drive as the startup disk, it rebooted and now is giving me the no operating system icon. How do I boot back into OS 8? I tried option and c, those didn't work. Or, if you can tell me how to install Tiger, that would be great too.

dimmer · Jun 18, 2008, 12:03 AM

Try Command Option P and R all at once as you boot (and disconnect the external drive).

BLAZE_MkIV · Jun 18, 2008, 06:59 AM

Command option shift delete.

Andrew Stephens · Jun 18, 2008, 11:10 AM

A G3 cannot boot from a USB device only Firewire so you seem to have confused your Mac

Hold the alt key down as the machine starts to acccess firmware level boot disc selection and once all available boot icons have shown select the one you want. Much more reliable thant the c key method.

mleitholt · Jun 18, 2008, 02:38 PM

Tried cmd + option +shift +delete, didn't work

Tried option, didn't work

I keep on getting the no OS icon.

angelmb · Jun 18, 2008, 02:42 PM

B&W G3 can't boot from FireWire. The PowerMac G4 "SawTooth" was the first to boot from FireWire.

Question 10: Is it possible to start up from a FireWire hard drive?

Answer: No, the Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White) boot ROM cannot currently support starting up from FireWire-based storage devices.

Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White): Frequently Asked Questions

tinkered · Jun 18, 2008, 08:01 PM

Have you tried putting a bootable CD in the CD drive, like the original system disc? Booting to the disc and then properly reselect the internal hard drive as the boot disk?

Also, there was a version of 10.4 that came on 3 CDs.

glideslope · Jun 18, 2008, 08:06 PM

Forget OS8. Go with the all time performer OS 7.6.1.

mleitholt · Jun 19, 2008, 04:41 PM

I pulled the hard drive and installed leopard on it, put it back in and it still wants to boot from CD. So I put in my leopard DVD via external USB drive and I still get the no OS icon. How do I boot from the hard drive.

chris v · Jun 19, 2008, 10:58 PM

It's not going to boot from an external drive. It'll only boot off something on the ATA bus.

Also, it's waaay too slow for 10.5. If that's the only OS that's on a drive on the ATA bus, it's not gonna boot that, either. OS 10.5 requires at least an 867 mhz G4 processor. 10.4 (Tiger) is as far as a G3 is gonna go.

Pull the drive back out & put 10.4 back on it.

mleitholt · Jun 20, 2008, 12:39 AM

I formatted the hard drive because the G3 doesn't support 10.5. So a friend told me my external DVD had to be in cable select mode for the jumpers and that got the DVD to boot. Then when I got to tiger installation, it said it could not be installed on this computer. I tried installing it through my MacBook Pro and it wouldn't let me because it is a Intel mac. How do I install Tiger now?

angelmb · Jun 20, 2008, 01:55 AM

You might need to update the G3's firmware even before you can install OS 9… and then upgrade to 10.4, get the firmware here:

Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White) Firmware Update 1.1: Document and Software

If your Blue & White came with a SCSI disc you would also need to apply another firmware update, which is listed here:
Mac OS X: Available firmware updates

So it is a bit a mess but you would need to install OS 8 again and check if you can run the firmware upgrade there Apple site reads: G3 Firmware Update 1.1 installs on any Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White) Desktop computer running Mac OS 8.5.1 through Mac OS 9.x. then go for 10.4… I have to say I did something similar to an iMac G3 DV but it required me to upgrade to OS 9.1 to run the firmware update, something seems not to be the case with the B&W, so my guess is you would be fine reinstalling Mac OS 8, applying the firmware and then installing 10.4. Good luck.

mleitholt · Jun 20, 2008, 02:13 AM

I'm going to find OS 9 then run Xpostfacto and see if that works, if it doesn't I'll try the firmware.

angelmb · Jun 20, 2008, 05:33 AM

I would stick to the firmware, it is after all the way intended to get it done. The B&W Power Macs qualify to run 10.4, I don't see the need to mess with Xpostfacto…

mleitholt · Jun 20, 2008, 01:52 PM

So I get a floppy drive icon that has a question mark on it when I try to install OS 9.2.1 I checked and my HD is properly connected. What do I do or should I download OS 8.5.1?

mleitholt · Jun 20, 2008, 03:00 PM

Is it possible to run the firmware update with no OS?

angelmb · Jun 20, 2008, 03:28 PM

No, it has to be ran from the Mac OS… it is after all a small app… didn't get the Mac OS disc that came with the computer?, since we are talking about a B&W G3 the discs are green colored… actually I think there is only one disc.

mleitholt · Jun 20, 2008, 03:38 PM

Nope, I just have the tower =/

MichiganRich · Jun 20, 2008, 08:22 PM

Sounds like they have the right man on the job, in any case...

mleitholt · Jun 21, 2008, 01:03 AM

Originally Posted by MichiganRich

Sounds like they have the right man on the job, in any case...

You don't have to be rude about it, she ended up giving it to me so now it's on my hands.

chris v · Jun 21, 2008, 11:34 PM

If you're really determined to do this, you could consider installing an internal DVD drive in the machine, so that you can install 10.4 from the DVD installer. They're about $20.00. You can probably hunt down a copy of OS 9.something through a used-mac site, for the same price, or less. if you've gotta do the firmware thing first.

Link: YourMacStore Shopping - Software