HELP: OS X Installation Issues / Kernel Panic on iMac G4

I've been trying to do a fresh install on an iMac g4 700mhz I just picked up. I had problems getting the install to take on the system no matter what I do. I have formatted the drive, used new ones etc.

Basically whether tried to install Panther or Tiger I constantly get a failure about 20 minutes into the process and it asks me to try reinstalling again. Tried about 15 times and same thing every time.

I am now getting a kernel panic when trying to boot.. Here is the picture attached.

I have reset the PRAM/NVRAM and repaired the disk. I'm starting to pull my hair out Any help would be appreciated!

tom vilsack said:

-you replaced the harddrive?

im gonna rule out that there grey disks (and both panther and tiger are retail?) as your getting 20 min into install

when you first got G4 did it boot to osx np?

alot of kernel panics are because of bad ram or harddrives

more info plse

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I am going to have to assume ram then.. The OS X disks are not retail but they have been used recently on other systems(Power Mac G4 & iBook G3) with zero issues.

I'm pretty sure the previous owner left the original ram in there which was 128mb on the logic board and There was a 512mb stick in the user accessible slot. I didn't have luck when removing the 512mb and leaving the 128mb.

My next questions is: Can you leave the ram slot on the logic board empty and have ram inserted in the user accessible slot? Will this work or not?

MAC MAN JW said:

This Disc will not work with your iMac g4 being it said "unable to find driver for this platform" This means that the disc does not have the drivers for your imac G4. You will have to Get a retail Tiger Disc Or if you use LeopardAssist You can install Leopard if you have 512MB Ram i am almost 100% sure it is your install disc. just because it works on one G4 does not mean it will work on every one

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I used this same install disc just yesterday on a iBook G3 though. But will leopard take? I have the ram and I have a retail copy of Leopard.

MAC MAN JW said:

Yes, Leopard will work but only with this trick http://lowendmac.com/osx/leopard/openfirmware.html Leopard needs a G4 867+ CPU but this hack makes it think that it is 867MHz+ LeopardAssist won't work With out os x 10.2+ installed so you will have try what is in the link if you want leopard to work Why the disc did not work is that it does not have the drivers for "PowerMac 4,2" that is your iMac G4. It most have had some drivers for the ibook g3 and powermac g4 but not the imac. Let us know how the install goes

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Trying it out now.. Thanks for the help!

MAC MAN JW said:

Let us know how the install goes

Click to expand...

Didn't go well.. No kernel panics but I keep getting the message that shows in the background of the kernel panic. "You need to restart your computer"

I think that method won't work for me because the drive in the iMac seems to be a cd-rom and the Leopard install I have is a DVD. I was using an external drive so that script doesn't seem to work with that. Is there a script that is meant for an external?