[Dave N]

I have some software that only works under 10.3, so yesterday I wiped my G5 iMac's hd and created 2 partitions. I (re)installed 10.4 on the main partition and want to install 10.3 on the other one so I can have a dual boot machine. But when I boot from the 10.3 install CD, the grey startup screen comes on with the apple image slightly corrupted, the optical drive stops spinning, and then the fan comes on high. Then nothing.

The 10.3 install CD is ok, because I just booted my old quicksilver G4 from it.

Any suggestions?

[wingdo]

What version of Panther is on the Boot CD? The very first iMac G5 supported 10.3.5, but most of the later edition iMac G5s came with Tiger pre-installed. I am not sure a 10.3.0 CD will boot for you.

[Dave N]

Maybe that's the problem. This is the full retail version of 10.3 that I bought when it first came out.

[JKT]

That is probably the issue - the iMac G5 could need a later version of 10.3 to function properly than the one on the install disk that you have. If that is the case, the only way to install it onto your iMac would be to hook the iMac up to your QS G4 using a firewire cable then:

Put the iMac into Target Disk mode (restart holding down the command and T keys until you see the jumping firewire symbol) so that it mounts both partitions as external hard drives on your QS G4.
Run the 10.3 installer CD from the QSG4.
Select the second partition of the iMac G5 hard drive as the install location when prompted to choose the drive for installation.
Once the install finishes, download the 10.3.9 combo updater (or do that beforehand to be ready to go straight into the update process) and run that on the iMac G5 while it is still in target disk mode.
Once finished, eject the iMacG5 disk(s) and shutdown the iMac, then try booting into 10.3.9 on the iMacG5 (hold down the option key at boot to pick the partition you wish to start from).

[Dave N]

Thanks a lot JKT. I was trying to think of a workaround for this, but never thought of that one. I'd really like to be able to run this software from my G5, so I'll give it a shot.

[OreoCookie]

If you talk about the iMac in your sig, a 2.1 GHz G5 iMac, it will not work as this particular model requires 10.4.2 or later.

So you have to either use another computer or update the app. What app are you referring to and may I ask why it doesn't run on 10.4?

[Dave N]

Well, this worked to a point. I was able to install 10.3.0 and then do the combined update to 10.3.9, but I think it has all of the hardware settings/drivers installed for the QS G4. When I try to boot from the 10.3.9 partition on the G5 iMac alone I get the grey screen with the startup spinner, but then I get a circle with a line through it in the middle. It's my uneducated guess that the OS can't figure out what to do with the iMac's hardware. I tried booting holding the shift key, but that didn't work either.

I'm still open to suggestions...

[CharlesS]

Unfortunately, I don't think there's any way to make an older version of OS X work with newer hardware it's not designed for. About the only thing I can think of is to get a cheap used Mac on eBay to run Panther on.

[Dave N]

Thanks for the posts. The program is Vector NTI which is a DNA analysis program. It was supported up through OS 10.3, but will not install under 10.4--I have no idea why. The website said as much and I tried installing it twice with no luck. The developer has no plans for any later OS X versions (including Intel Macs).

I still have my old Quicksilver G4 that I could run this program on, but it would be a lot nicer to be able to run it at my desk on my everyday iMac (listed below). Vector NTI is free for government and academic use, compared to something like MacVector which costs $2000. I'm evaluating both of these for my work.

[CharlesS]

Sorry to hear that. You could install the app on your Quicksilver and access it via VNC, and (sort of) use it on your iMac that way...

[Dave N]

I installed the software on the QS G4 and moved it back into my office. This isn't a program I'll be using every day (hopefully), so I'll just make do.