Possible USB Boot. OS X DVD.toast to USB to iBook G4?

This might help. You want the part dealing with Open Firmware and booting.

If it works, it will be slow.

macnewbie1990 said:

This has probably been addressed numerous times, I've done various forum searches to arrive to where I am now.

Attempting to Boot from USB via firmware, i've attached an image of how far I get until it reads 'LOAD-SIZE too small', and I'm wondering what this means? Is the USB memory too small to boot from? 4gb holding a condensed 2.7 dvd.toast of OS x 4.11.

Instructions I've read from other ibook g4 14' owners state that the last instruction should automatically force a boot from USB, yet I am stuck.

When the usb is inserted and 'C' is held during boot the USB drive flashes 3 times, so i assume the system is searching for a os to run? But it does not show (again, image attached, only HD X is present and refresh and boot button.

When I insert the usb drive into my Emac, i open the file itself, and then go to Startup Disk in System Preferences, it says it is available to boot from?? (Again, image attached).

The disk is (2), partition is (10) if this is helpful ( i did reference these during attempts in firmware but got nowhere). thanks

Any ideas or suggestions please and thankyou in advance.

Click to expand...

1. Place your usb flash drive into one of usb ports and start the iBook up in open firmware.

2. Type one of the following commands:

boot usb0/disk@1:,\\:tbxi

or

boot usb1/disk@1:,\\:tbxi

Which one works will depend on which usb port you're using. I can't remember, at the moment, which port is 0 (zero) and which is 1.

I've used this method with my iBook many times to run Lubuntu off a 4GB flash drive, and also to do a full installation of Lubuntu onto the iBook hard drive. (The optical drive has been broken for 5 years.)

However, I've never installed OSX this way. If it doesn't work, then there may be a problem with the image burned onto the flash drive.

EDIT: For those wanting to boot an iBook G4 into Lubuntu with a 4GB flash drive, use the following instead of what I wrote above.

boot usb0/disk@1:,\\yaboot

or

boot usb1/disk@1:,\\yaboot

I typed the first response off the top of my head. I should have check first to make sure I was writing it correctly. I just checked my notes, and then verified them by booting my iBook into Lubuntu by substituting "yaboot" for ":tbxi". I apologize for responding before checking.

macnewbie1990 said:

thanks for the instruction. Iv done both it states ' can't OPEN' , should i attempt to recopy the install disk as a dmg? as its currently toast format?

Click to expand...

Oh, I see. You copied the DMG itself over to the USB stick.

In the boot state, there is no OS to mount the DMG. A disk image needs to be mounted before it can be used. You need to clone the CONTENTS of the DMG to the USB stick so that it's seen as a bootable drive and not an (as yet) unopenable disk image. Make sure you make it bootable. Carbon Copy Cloner and SuperDuper are good for that.

macnewbie1990 said:

ah okay, i get it, it only sees a program until its manually unpacked, mounted when using it on my emac, the disk utility says the disk is bootable but im going to disregard this and go ahead trying this clone method, thanks again

Click to expand...

Your eMac is seeing it as bootable because you have opened the disk image and mounted the disk. It's thus being seen as any other disk with a bootable system. Unmount the disk and close the image and there is nothing but the disk image itelf (a file) which is not bootable because it's just a file at that point.

Hope that makes sense.

http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20101011105729488

this method worked for me on two powermacs and i don't think it should be too different from ibooks