# new hdd and osx 10.4 for free g4



## snkby (Aug 11, 2008)

im not a total newbie to mac but its my first time installing an os and hdd into a mac.

heres the story.....i picked-up a g4 agp for free.

it needed memory and hdd.

i installed a stick of pc100 128mb and an 8gb we caviar drive that came from an unused pc so its formatted either fat32 or ntsf.

i want to install osx 10.4 which i have a copy of with 2 installation discs.

when i bootup with osx 10.4 installation disc #1 while holding the alt/option key i get a screen that shows 3 things : 
1) a return? symbol on the left of the screen.....looks like the letter c with an arrow at the top of the c
2) a symbol showing the os x disc 1 in the middle of the screen
3) a symbol on the right that is just an arrow pointing to the right

if i click on the osx symbol nothing happens.

if i click on the return? symbol it restarts and goes into a screen of gibberish that says i must restart the computer.

if i click on the symbol pointing right it does the same thing.

ive searched the mac support site for hours and i cant find a way to boot into a mode so i can load osx 10.4.

i have reset the pram and nvram.

the hdd is on ide2 as master and the dvdrom is on ide1 as master.

if i can get it all running i will be adding a much larger external usb drive and more ram.

any help would be greatly appreciated.

thanks.


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## sinclair_tm (Mar 11, 2005)

With the disk in the Mac, hold down the c key instead of the option key. That tells the Mac to boot from the CD drive.


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## snkby (Aug 11, 2008)

thanks sinclair_tm but its still -no go-.

when i do as you instructed i get a light grey screen with the apple logo in the center then it goes to a screen of error codes with instructions superimposed on them.

the background says : panic (cpu 0caller 0x002e5b9c) :unable to find driver for this platform3,1

and the last line on the screen is : panic:we are hanging here...fri apr27 14:51:44 pdt 2007

the superimposed section says : you need to restart your computer. hold down the power button for several seconds or press the restart button.

if i reboot holding -option- key then i get the screen with the 3 icons but i cant do anything with the icon that says -osx installation disc 1-

the discs came from my wifes macbook.

could they be non-bootable installation discs?

and if they are then how do i make a boot-disc?

i couldnt find that info on mac support.

thanks.


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## ShosMeister (Jan 19, 2008)

Some of the laptops did come with specific model/spec machines. Don't know if that is still the case, but, from what you describe, it may be.

Do you have another CD you could try? Do you have a case that you could put the HD into and format/install from your wife's laptop (not sure if the install would work, but, it's a thought)?


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## sinclair_tm (Mar 11, 2005)

Okay, you just told us the issue, and ShosMeister kinda got it. The problem is that you are trying to boot a PowerPC Mac with an Intel Mac OS. The restore disks that come with Intel Macs will only work on Intel Macs, and PowerPC Mac restore disks will only work on PowerPC Macs. The only disks that will boot both Macs are retail copies of 10.5. To get your G4 running, you have to find any retail copy of OS X up to 10.4 (I wouldn't recommend anything older than 10.3), or a 10.4 restore CD. 10.5 will not install on your Mac because of the CPU speed requirement. But if you want to spend the money, you can buy a CPU upgrade and then you'll be able to buy and install 10.5 on it.


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## snkby (Aug 11, 2008)

well...........im not trying to install 10.5 anyway.

and its not a laptop.

sounds like i can put the drive in an external case and usb it to my wifes macbook and load 10.4 onto the new hdd ?

when the macbook sees the new hdd will it offer to format it ?

then i format and install 10.4 onto the new hdd and stick it back into the g4 case and fire it up ?

any firmware needed before i can do that ?

thanks for all the help.

it feels like im getting closer.


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## sinclair_tm (Mar 11, 2005)

Like I said, that will not work. The Macbook is an Intel Mac, and it's OS will not work on the G4 in any way shape or forum. To instll 10.4 on this G4, you will have to get a reatil copy of 10.4, and the G4 will boot from that disk.


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## snkby (Aug 11, 2008)

craaaaappp!!!!!!!!

thanks sinclair_tm.

what about os x from a g5 ?

i just cant bring myself to pay $150 for an os if friends will lend me a copy.

im still confused though...........does the retail version have 2 versions of 10.4 ?

one version for intelmac and the other for non-intelmac ?

thanks again.


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## ShosMeister (Jan 19, 2008)

He is right. I TOTALLY missed the G4 part - was trying to do too many things at once. Sorry for misleading you.

You may be able to find some 10.4 CDs on one of the auction sites. Just be sure that it is not an Intel Only version.


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## sinclair_tm (Mar 11, 2005)

The retail version of 10.4 will be PowerPC only. PowerPC is G3, G4, and G5. The only way to get Intel 10.4 install CDs is with an Intel Mac. As for the G5 OS, that will be different as well. The G5 is a 64bit system, and the G4 is a 32bit system, and the version of the OS was tailored to each so that it would run at it's best, and the hardware drivers are different.
As for the reatil installers, everything is all on the same disk, but it polls the hardware to see what version of the OS it is to install, and what drivers to install. Retail OS X 10.3 and older will work on G3s and G4s only. Retail OS X 10.4 will install on all PowerPC Macs, but not Intel Macs. Retail OS X 10.5 will install on all PowerPC Macs with a G4 or G5 fater than 867Mhz, and all Intel Macs. The restore CDs that come with a Mac will work on that Mac, and simialr Macs. There was a short time in the OS 9/OS X 10.2 days when the restore CDs would only work on the same kind of Mac they came with, but since 10.3 the restore disks will work on any Mac with the same CPU as the Mac they came with.
As for barrowing a friend's disk, that is illegal, unless they don't have it installed on anything, and don't want it back. Besides you can find a full 10.4 install disk on ebay for $40.


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## snkby (Aug 11, 2008)

$40!?!?!?

ok now thats more like it. 

thanks for setting me straight on it all.

will have to start hunting for a -full 10.4 install disc- now.

thanks again everybody.


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