# Bought used Imac G5 with no operating system



## tomfhammer

I got a good deal on a used Imac G5 but it came without an Operating System installed. The seller burned a copy of OS 10 Tiger and included it, but I cannot boot it up from that. Do I need to buy a new operating system? Other ideas?


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## shuuhen

They should have included the restore discs with the computer (not burned copies). If you cannot get access to those, you will need to either buy a copy of Mac OS X or install Linux (both if you really want). Mac OS X is easier than Linux for most things, especially on Apple hardware. I recommend looking at either a copy of Tiger (10.4) or Leopard (10.5), with a preference for the latter.

Mac OS X is a Unix-like operating system, so you can do almost anything with it that you would on a Linux machine. Mac OS X also has much better support for the hardware. If you are really interested in doing Linux instead, look at Yellow Dog Linux, Gentoo Linux or Debian GNU/Linux (in that order).


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## tomfhammer

Thanks for your help. The seller of the Imac is suggesting I link to my Powerbook G4 laptop via Firewire and somehow solve my dilemma that way. I am not getting the Powerbook to recognize the Imac on the Powerbook desktop when I link them. I have a very cheap Firewire cable so that could be an issue. (i bought it at a dollar store because I couldn't find one anywhere else in my small town). Any knowledge on that? Thanks!


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## sinclair_tm

Cable shouldn't matter. Start up the iMac and hold the T key down right away. There should be a Firewire icon on the screen. If not, then there is something wrong with the iMac. But that will not help you get the OS on the iMac. In order to install the OS, you have to boot the computer you want the OS on from the install disk. At this point, the best thing would be for you to buy a copy of OS X from Apple online.


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