G5 No OS, how to create Panther disk?

[Cherodactyl]

Hey guys, my boyfriend gave me a PPC G5 that has absolutely nothing on it. It came with an OS X 10.4 install disk, which the computer reads, but it says it needs OS X 10.3 or older to update the OS. I've scoured the internet for hours on instructions on how to burn a copy of Panther using Windows 7 and have managed to waste 7 DVDs so far. I'm not a mac user, but I've played around with Linux, jailbroken/unlocked iPhones and fixed numerous Windows blue screens as a side job/hobby, so I'm not clueless on how to do things; I've just had trouble with this one. I've converted the .dmg files and burned an .iso disc, I've tried using MacDrive 9 to open the .dmg files and burn them directly to a disk, but none of these seem to be readable on the G5. It just keeps flashing the question mark on the screen. I don't have a macbook handy to try and connect the two, otherwise I would have tried that option. I'm wondering if I'm possibly burning the disks wrong or what? Any thoughts?

[gaboshenia]

2 questions:
1: while trying to boot up from the dvd are you holding down the "C" button on the keyboard?
2: did you check if the hdd and/or the supredrive are correctly wired up? and if so, do you have a spare hdd to try on? maybe it's the hdd...

good luck!

[Jethryn Freyman]

Find or burn a 10.5 Leopard disc, put it in, hold down option/alt while pressing the power button, boot from the 10.5 installer disc, follow the instructions, and you're golden.

[Zotaccian]

I think you need os x to burn those disks, I have also tried burning dmg's in Windows in the past but it has always failed. If you could find already (succesfully) converted iso files then it might work, I created my Tiger disks that way.

[Colpeas]

Originally Posted by Cherodactyl

Hey guys, my boyfriend gave me a PPC G5 that has absolutely nothing on it. It came with an OS X 10.4 install disk, which the computer reads, but it says it needs OS X 10.3 or older to update the OS. I've scoured the internet for hours on instructions on how to burn a copy of Panther using Windows 7 and have managed to waste 7 DVDs so far. I'm not a mac user, but I've played around with Linux, jailbroken/unlocked iPhones and fixed numerous Windows blue screens as a side job/hobby, so I'm not clueless on how to do things; I've just had trouble with this one. I've converted the .dmg files and burned an .iso disc, I've tried using MacDrive 9 to open the .dmg files and burn them directly to a disk, but none of these seem to be readable on the G5. It just keeps flashing the question mark on the screen. I don't have a macbook handy to try and connect the two, otherwise I would have tried that option. I'm wondering if I'm possibly burning the disks wrong or what? Any thoughts?

the problem is that PPC Macs can't use discs burned as a MBR (master boot record) partition scheme as a bootable disc. You need to burn it as an APS (Apple partition scheme) to be able to boot form the disc - and that is a task for which you need another Mac (Intel or PPC), because Windows doesn't support APS whatsoever. PPC Macs can use MBR only for non-bootable drives such as external HDDs.

In short: you can't use Windows machine to burn an installation disc for a PPC Mac. Period.
If you have a Mac owner among your friends, ask them for help, or try a local apple store, if you have the opportunity to do so.

[Cherodactyl]

Originally Posted by gaboshenia

2 questions:
1: while trying to boot up from the dvd are you holding down the "C" button on the keyboard?
2: did you check if the hdd and/or the supredrive are correctly wired up? and if so, do you have a spare hdd to try on? maybe it's the hdd...

good luck!

I'm not sure where to check, but it does read the 10.4 disk I have, just not the 10.3 disks that I had burned.

Originally Posted by Jethryn Freyman

Find or burn a 10.5 Leopard disc, put it in, hold down option/alt while pressing the power button, boot from the 10.5 installer disc, follow the instructions, and you're golden.

It's not going to say I will need a previous OS X currently on the machine? There is nothing on it right now.

Originally Posted by Zotaccian

I think you need os x to burn those disks, I have also tried burning dmg's in Windows in the past but it has always failed. If you could find already (succesfully) converted iso files then it might work, I created my Tiger disks that way.

I will try to find some, thanks!

Originally Posted by Colpeas

the problem is that PPC Macs can't use discs burned as a MBR (master boot record) partition scheme as a bootable disc. You need to burn it as an APS (Apple partition scheme) to be able to boot form the disc - and that is a task for which you need another Mac (Intel or PPC), because Windows doesn't support APS whatsoever. PPC Macs can use MBR only for non-bootable drives such as external HDDs.

In short: you can't use Windows machine to burn an installation disc for a PPC Mac. Period.
If you have a Mac owner among your friends, ask them for help, or try a local apple store, if you have the opportunity to do so.

My boyfriend has a MBP, if I can't figure this out by the weekend I'll try to use his to burn some disks or just connect them together, or just settle with putting Linux on it. Not that I want to :/


Thank you all for your input/help/ideas!

[Nermal]

Originally Posted by Cherodactyl

It's not going to say I will need a previous OS X currently on the machine? There is nothing on it right now.

A retail 10.5 DVD won't have that issue. It sounds like your 10.4 is a "drop-in" which can only be used for upgrades, but a normal boxed copy will install onto an empty system.

[Cherodactyl]

Originally Posted by Nermal

A retail 10.5 DVD won't have that issue. It sounds like your 10.4 is a "drop-in" which can only be used for upgrades, but a normal boxed copy will install onto an empty system.

yeah that's kind of what I figured, but it is a good sign that nothing is wrong with it if it is able to try and run the update, right? When my boyfriend picked it up from the guy he got it from, he was under the assumption that it had OSX and dual booted Linux as well. He was only interested in the monitor, but didn't want to pay for the connector, and since had no use for it he handed it over to me. That's when I found out it was blank.

I did realize earlier I actually burned an .img file to DVD and not an .iso file so that could be the reason why it wasn't able to run the disc I had burned? I did this at like 2am when I got home last night so I wasn't paying much attention, hopefully this time around I'll get it right!

[California]

Originally Posted by Nermal

A retail 10.5 DVD won't have that issue. It sounds like your 10.4 is a "drop-in" which can only be used for upgrades, but a normal boxed copy will install onto an empty system.

No, search around there is a work-around for drop-in discs.

----------

Originally Posted by Nermal

A retail 10.5 DVD won't have that issue. It sounds like your 10.4 is a "drop-in" which can only be used for upgrades, but a normal boxed copy will install onto an empty system.

No, search around there is a work-around for drop-in discs. I think I still have a drop in Leopard disc if you need it. You tell it to go to Time Machine or something/ it does have the FULL install on those drop in discs...

Think about it, you need a full install on the drop in discs bc the system doesn't know what might be missing from the previous system.

There is a work around google it.