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Best Route to Save this g5?!

C

chicks

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 29, 2013
1
0
Hello friends,
I received this g5 in working order, plugged it in a day later and screwed it up!
What actions should I take to get this computer working again.

Currently when I turn on the computer there is a grey screen with a small folder on it. When I try the 2 discs that, what I am told, came with the computer, negative messages occur.

Install disc- Starts off looking like a nice install and then "bundled software cannot be installed.
Apple hardware test disc- instantly pops up with "Apple Hardware Test does not support this machine"



My question is, What steps can I do to make this an operational computer at minimal cost. I would love to give this to my father as a nice surprise.
 
Try holding Command+R once you turn it on.

If it loads the Utilities, try verifying the hard drive, repairing it, ect.

If that doesn't work or you can't get into the repair let us know!
 
Nice find! Definitely nice machines and whatever one is saved, is even better! So two things here.

Those are iMac G5 discs not Power Mac G5 discs. I don't know how different they are but I don't think they have much luck. You'll want to get a Leopard DVD or if you know the rounds you can find it *somewhere* on the internet. Boot this disc and be sure to properly format the hard drive.

The other issue I am not set 100% on but may be a possibility, could be a bad hard drive.

Edit: Keeg beat me!
 
KeegM480 said:
Try holding Command+R once you turn it on.

If it loads the Utilities, try verifying the hard drive, repairing it, ect.

If that doesn't work or you can't get into the repair let us know!
Click to expand...

The Command-R is only for 2010 and newer Macs or Macs that are running 10.7+.
 
If you really want to use those install disks on your mac, and you've got a couple blank DVDs around, try this. It will allow you to make a copy of the disk that will work on your computer. It is legal, but remember, only use it on one computer and never distribute. :D
 
Last edited:
KeegM480 said:
My bad :) Thanks for that info. Is there a way to get into OS X Utilities without the disc? That seems to be his best option to not spend a fortune :)
Click to expand...

No. The Recovery Partition feature was introduced with 10.7. It does not have an equivelant in earlier versions of Mac OS X that does not require a disc.
 
KeegM480 said:
ah, well that stinks. Thanks for that information :)
Click to expand...
The upshot of this is that you get install disks with PowerPC Macs. With 10.7 and above you don't get any media anymore - unless you know how to make your own.
 
eyoungren said:
The upshot of this is that you get install disks with PowerPC Macs. With 10.7 and above you don't get any media anymore - unless you know how to make your own.
Click to expand...

Yes, it is nice to have the disc, but its also nice to not need the disc. I guess this would explain why I couldn't pull up the OS X Utilities on my iMac G4 :p
 
Someone mentioned you should buy Leopard.

Look for Discs with black label they work on every Mac. 10.4 works on that Mac too. If you knew which PowerMac G5 it is actually, you could find out which minimum OS you need (see everymac.com) and search Ebay for the grey labled PowerMac G5 discs (that will give you a wider range of choice), maybe 10.3 will run too on it. if you just looking to get it booted and do not want the "best" OS.
You can see what Mac you have (and if ther is a HDD installed), if you open the side door and look at the bottom of the case. Tell us the serialnumber or what it tells about the configuration (e.g. 1,8GHz/512MB/80GB/Combo).

Also try this. Hold the option key while starting, if it now shows you a disc with an OS to choose from, you go further by trying to pick that.

To start disk utility without CD/DVD:
- Start holding apple (cmd) key and S-key
- a lot of text appears, wait
- type "/sbin/fsck -yf" (or german keyboard "-sbin-fsck ßzf)
- press return
- it will no check everything and say "The filesystem has been modified"
- repeat the above steps, till it says: "The filesystem seems to be OK"
- restart with ctrl-d

If you have a hardware issue like a bad wifi-card it will say "kernel panic" and "wifi card" or something like that.
 
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