Guide: Install Leopard on unsupported Macs on single-layer DVD

[spinne1]

The other guide is wonderful but was getting out of control with too many posts with too many varied problems which made the good advice harder to dig out. A reposting of the process of that guide will likely be coming by the originator of the post.

Now, in the meantime, here is a step-by-step process for installing Leopard on your pre-867Mhz G4 Macs AND if you only have a single layer DVD burner and no access to another Mac or hard drive to boot from:

I did each step again as I went to make sure each step is valid and that the little points are noted (like when to select and deselect).

Note, the original installer will not work if your Mac does not have a built-in processor of at least 867Mhz, therefore you must use a modified OSInstall.mkpg file that does not contain the instructions to abort installation on pre-867Mhz machines.

1. You should download this file here:

http://www.dslreports.com/r0/download/1233284~ef912347c2c6f2be47c4b7280666aff6/NewOSInstall.mpkg.zip

2. Unzip the file, rename it OSInstall.mpkg and move it to your desktop for the sake of ease.
3. Mount the Original Leopard Installation DVD
4. Open Disc Utility (under Applications->Utilities)
5. Click on New Image near the top of the window (note: don't have any drives or disc images selected on the left side)
6. Name the image as dump (save on desktop)
7. Put the type as sparse image and encryption as none
8. Put the size as DL-DVD (8Gb), and click Create

9. Mount dump.sparse (most likely it did so automatically)
10. In Disk Utility, select the dump mounted image (white hard-drive looking thing on the left side of window) and click the Restore tab
11. Drag the mounted Mac OS X Install DVD to the Source field
12. Drag the mounted dump to the Destination field
13. Click the Restore button and wait (it took 15 minutes on mine)

14. Once that is done, go to Finder and find the dump mounted image
15. Command-Delete the XCode Tools folder under Optional Installs, then empty the Trash
16. Download and/or open TinkerTool.
17. In TinkerTool under the Finder tab, check the box "Show Hidden and System Files"
18. In TinkerTool hit the button that says "Relaunch Finder"

19. In the dump mounted image, navigate to System->Installation-> Packages
20. First select, and then Command-Delete all printer and foreign language packages (You can download printer files you need later from your printer company, or load from original install DVD later using Pacifist)(also, I kept AsianLanguageSupport because I wasn't sure if it was really a language)
21. You should have thrown away 27 files and have 31 items left
22. Empty the Trash
23. Command-Delete OSInstall.mpkg and empty the Trash

24. Open a new Finder window and click on Desktop or go to your desktop
25. Drag the modified OSInstall.mpkg file you downloaded into the Packages folder that is still open on the dump image (hit authenticate and enter password)

26. Return to Disc Utility, deselect dump, then reselect it to check on the size of your dump (should be 4.3Gb or less)
27. Deselect dump (make sure no drives or images are selected)
28. Click on New Image
29. Name the image as burn (save on desktop)
30. Put the type as sparse image and encryption as none
31. Put the size as SL-DVD(4.7Gb), and click Create

32. Select the mounted burn image and click the Restore tab
33. Drag the mounted dump to the Source field
34. Drag the mounted burn to the Destination field (dont mix up!!)
35. Click Restore and wait (about 10 minutes for me)

36. Reopen TinkerTool and now deselect "Show Hidden and System Files" and hit "Relaunch Finder"
37. Quit TinkerTool
38. Return to Disk Utility and select burn.sparseimage on the left side and go up and click the Burn yellow and black button
39. Insert a DVD-R and select your choice of burn speed (I use 6x as to better my non-coaster chances) and whether to verify (I say no) and start the burn process
40. After it is finished, check the mounted disk. See if it appears proper.

41. For the final check, reboot while holding down C on a USB wired keyboard. It will take considerable time to get through the gray screens, but be patient.
42. It should eventually get to the purple space scene background and the installer.
43. Select English, then accept all the legal stuff, and select your hard drive
44. Note that you MUST hit "Options" then Archive and Install, and also hit the "Customize" button before hitting the final "Install" button and deselect the foreign languages, the x11, and the printers. Then hit Install and it will work.

PS It is much easier to use this guide if you print it off rather than keep going back and forth to a browser window.
PS II: A potential downfall is that I don't know exactly how the OSInstall.mkpg file I linked to was modified, but it worked on my PM G4/533. Potential problems with your installs could be the result of the mod not being compatible with your particular machine.

 

[suneohair]

A little redundant don't you think?

Also, the mpkg linked has the relevant sections commented out. In case you want to know how it is edited.

 

[spinne1]

A little redundant don't you think?

Also, the mpkg linked has the relevant sections commented out. In case you want to know how it is edited.

If it was redundant then the other guide would not be filled with "it's not working" or "how do I do....." posts. All the information was there but it was not tied into a neat package for folks to do step by step (for example your guide addressed installing on pre-867Mhz Macs but did not address installing using only a single layer DVD). But you did improve it dramatically from the original posting, making it neater, more organized, etc based on posts that followed it. All in all your guide is brilliant. Yet, for many it was not working because their needs did not match your guide. Specifically the folks with only SL DVD burners (like me). Or the folks who did not want to fool with installing the x11 stuff (I've done that before and it made some things act squirrely as I kept installing more and more unix tools from the net). Not to mention that we use different methods. I don't use CCC at all or Terminal. They are different ways of skinning the same animal, but they are different.

 

[suneohair]

These are things I planned to add to my guide and the first post notes this. Further, in many cases it doesn't work because it just doesn't work, I followed my guide, which I know worked before, and I get KPs. There are bigger problems to work through at this point.

 

[spinne1]

To confirm that this works without problems, I burned a new installer DVD, booted from it and then did an erase and install on a different hard drive than the one I first installed to a week ago using archive and install. It worked without a hitch. For G4/533s I can say it is nearly foolproof. All those having troubles, give this guide a try and hopefully it will solve your problems (I am especially curious whether those with kernal panics will still have problems, and those with kext issues).

 

[suneohair]

To confirm that this works without problems, I burned a new installer DVD, booted from it and then did an erase and install on a different hard drive than the one I first installed to a week ago using archive and install. It worked without a hitch. For G4/533s I can say it is nearly foolproof. All those having troubles, give this guide a try and hopefully it will solve your problems (I am especially curious whether those with kernal panics will still have problems, and those with kext issues).

On my DP 500, I get KPs with the official Leopard disc. My thought is that it may be due to firmware. Mine is pretty old. I am trying get my hands on OS9 so I can install the latest to see where that gets me.

Further, it would make zero sense to get a KP that specific from a poorly burned DVD. Especially when you consider the evidence that the official DVD causes the same problem.

I am not saying your method does not. However, I find you post to be incredibly redundant, a collaborative effort would have been a better option if you felt there were things missing (which I noted I would update). And further, there are members that had difficulty following you instructions, namely it doesn't work. Disk Utility has not given me reliable manipulation of images which is why I do not use it.

To close, I chose not post the modified package because I am not in the game of posting files that are copyrighted for mass distribution. If someone else, such as you, wants to so be it.

 

[spinne1]

On my DP 500, I get KPs with the official Leopard disc.

That should not be possible because the original Leopard disc refuses to install on machines slower than 867Mhz. I assume you mean the original disc with the modified OSInstall.mkpg file that you burned.

My thought is that it may be due to firmware. Mine is pretty old. I am trying get my hands on OS9 so I can install the latest to see where that gets me.

I think you are on to something here. OS 9 can be had pretty cheaply on ebay. If your firmware is out of date it could cause OS X problems. It appears you need 4.2.8.

I am not saying your method does not. However, I find you post to be incredibly redundant, a collaborative effort would have been a better option if you felt there were things missing (which I noted I would update). And further, there are members that had difficulty following you instructions, namely it doesn't work. Disk Utility has not given me reliable manipulation of images which is why I do not use it.

I can respect that even if I disagree with your premise. Firstly, Disk Utility is extremely reliable at manipulation of images if you pay attention to detail and do every thing exactly right. I've never had a problem that wasn't attributable to my own error.

I have not heard of a single instance of someone having trouble following my completed reorganized guide. It was not complete and accurate in my posts in your thread and therefore people were having trouble with it because they were mixing advice from multiple sources. That is what necessitated posting a new guide with a different method. How could we merge those into one guide? They are two different procedures for getting a similar result. The poster "seven" was having trouble using a mash of advice from my postings and your guide and other posts in your guide and was having no luck. He then scrapped it all and started over using the directions in my guide step by step and reported to me today that he now has Leopard running perfectly on his G4 Cube. Isn't that what this is all about? That very thing is the only reason I did this: to help people get Leopard running where no other method posted at this time would work for the criteria of: 1) unsupported Mac, and 2) Single-layer DVD burner, and 3) no external hard drive to boot from. As far as your guide, feel free to finish adding the elements you want to add and perfect it and keep it going. If it helps people install Leopard, good for you and everybody. I see my post as win-win. People can use either one but my post would only be redundant if it gave the exact same result as yours, but it does not.

To close, I chose not post the modified package because I am not in the game of posting files that are copyrighted for mass distribution. If someone else, such as you, wants to so be it.

I did not post any files. I posted a link to a file that someone else posted to a different web site. If copyright is your concern then why are you posting instructions for manipulating and reverse engineering copyrighted files (the OS X install DVD)?. These guides are by strict standards violations of the law if you agree that the shrink-wrap licenses are valid. That is a subject not settled in the US at this point. It may yet be found that such manipulations for home use are "fair use" and okay despite the shrink-wrap license that comes with almost all software.

 

[suneohair]

That should not be possible because the original Leopard disc refuses to install on machines slower than 867Mhz. I assume you mean the original disc with the modified OSInstall.mkpg file that you burned.

What I am saying is this. The official Leopard disc KPs in the same way that the burned disc KPs, thus ruling out that there is a problem with my process. The KP is right away, it doesn't even get past the apple screen. There is something else going on.

I think you are on to something here. OS 9 can be had pretty cheaply on ebay. If your firmware is out of date it could cause OS X problems. It appears you need 4.2.8.

We actually had a few copies at work, so I got my hands on that today. Going to work on it tonight.

I can respect that even if I disagree with your premise. Firstly, Disk Utility is extremely reliable at manipulation of images if you pay attention to detail and do every thing exactly right. I've never had a problem that wasn't attributable to my own error.

I have not heard of a single instance of someone having trouble following my completed reorganized guide. It was not complete and accurate in my posts in your thread and therefore people were having trouble with it because they were mixing advice from multiple sources. That is what necessitated posting a new guide with a different method. How could we merge those into one guide? They are two different procedures for getting a similar result. The poster "seven" was having trouble using a mash of advice from my postings and your guide and other posts in your guide and was having no luck. He then scrapped it all and started over using the directions in my guide step by step and reported to me today that he now has Leopard running perfectly on his G4 Cube. Isn't that what this is all about? That very thing is the only reason I did this: to help people get Leopard running where no other method posted at this time would work for the criteria of: 1) unsupported Mac, and 2) Single-layer DVD burner, and 3) no external hard drive to boot from. As far as your guide, feel free to finish adding the elements you want to add and perfect it and keep it going. If it helps people install Leopard, good for you and everybody. I see my post as win-win. People can use either one but my post would only be redundant if it gave the exact same result as yours, but it does not.

Disk utility is great, however, there are time when it states the resource isn't available or some other strange error. And CCC doesn't.

As far as the guides working. That is fine, i tried your guide and I got the same result, again suggesting that in many cases there is something else going on.

If I remember correctly, it was seven who used your post in my thread and responded to you saying what you said didn't help. But again, an effort to improve the guide by offering insight as opposed to hijacking my title and adding "on single-layer DVD" would have been a better approach. I find it rather annoying to say the least.

I did not post any files. I posted a link to a file that someone else posted to a different web site. If copyright is your concern then why are you posting instructions for manipulating and reverse engineering copyrighted files (the OS X install DVD)?. These guides are by strict standards violations of the law if you agree that the shrink-wrap licenses are valid. That is a subject not settled in the US at this point. It may yet be found that such manipulations for home use are "fair use" and okay despite the shrink-wrap license that comes with almost all software.

You didn't post the file. Which is clear since you didn't know what was done to it. And that is fine. Copyright of files is my concern. I don't find any problem with telling people how to manipulate the files themselves.

For example, telling people how to crack a DVD is not illegal. Or telling people how to crack their iPhone software. Them doing is what has the potential to turn into an illegality.

Oh well though. Maybe I am overreacting, but in a way I find this thread to be a direct attack at the work I did. And further, the guide would be much better and I would have been able to work through more issues with people if I hadn't been banned for two weeks. It is what it is though.

 

[spinne1]

I am sorry that I stepped on your toes. That was not my intent. A better approach would have been to finish my guide and send it to you saying, "hey, would you mind including a new procedure for this process and including it in your guide as "METHOD #2" or something." I doubt you would have put it in your original post however. You would have probably said, "thanks, but this is my guide, do your own." [which is what I did] I suppose I should have changed the wording around so that it wasn't such an obvious piggyback and for that I apologize. I could have made it: Guide: SL DVD, pre-867Mhz Mac and OS 10.5.

The reason I couldn't just add another post to your guide is that there was already too much different information as to how to proceed and my post would have been just more noise.

And what is this banned for two weeks stuff? I know nothing of that.

As of now, feel free to take my entire post and add it to your original post as an alternative method if you so choose.

And I now understand what you mean by KP on your machine. With that in mind: update the firmware but also see if booting from a Panther or Tiger disc does the same thing or not. I am curious.

 

[suneohair]

Well I am happy to say that I have Leopard installed!! It was the firmware.

I knew it wasn't the machine in general as my tiger install dvds worked just fine and a much older Leopard build worked as well.

I was banned for reasons not pertaining to these threads. I mentioned that because I basically put the guide up and was banned shortly after, which meant I couldn't really update the guide even though I wanted to. Heck, I even emailed DoctorQ and asked him to post my new version for me.

No hard feelings though. I was getting a little ticked as my attempts to install Leopard were failing after all this work I did. It is solved. Hopefully this helps some of the others having issues with KPing!!! I am happy though!

 

[macmantis]

Thanks spinne1. This guide got me through getting the disk made - although I had a kernel panic using it anyway which I'm guessing was also caused by an absence of the latest firmware update, like suneohair. I'll have to try and track down a copy of of OS 9 and figure out how to downgrade from Tiger to it - then install firmware then try the disk again. Thanks for your help and your effort in making these guides, both of you.

 

[spinne1]

Thanks spinne1. This guide got me through getting the disk made - although I had a kernel panic using it anyway which I'm guessing was also caused by an absence of the latest firmware update, like suneohair. I'll have to try and track down a copy of of OS 9 and figure out how to downgrade from Tiger to it - then install firmware then try the disk again. Thanks for your help and your effort in making these guides, both of you.

You really don't want to mess up your Tiger drive. Just get an additional cheap hard drive off ebay or wherever and install it, format it, and find OS 9 (again ebay or wherever) and install it on the additional drive. Then, in Google type in 9.2.1 and go to the page for downloading the Apple OS 9.2.1 upgrade, then repeat the process for 9.2.2. After you have them downloaded upgrade your OS 9 installation with these two upgrades, the 9.2.1 first. After that is done, download the firmware update file (I believe it is 4.2.8f--Google it or read suneohair's posts about it). After that set your startup disk to OS 9 and restart. Then find and run the update firmware file following the directions it gives. Then reboot into OS 9 and make sure the update worked. Then reset the startup disk to Tiger and reboot and see if all is well. Then, reboot with the Leopard disc and install.

 

[SawTooth500]

Yeah, you can't have too much hard drive space. I've added an older 40 gig and a new 200 gig to mine. Now I need to find a driver or what ever .kext will let me use the the space above 128g on the 200.

 

[rbarringto]

What would I do to if I use an .iso instead of the Mac OS X Leopard DVD

What would I do to if I use an Mac OS X Leopard.iso instead of the Mac OS X Leopard DVD. I tried following your steps but I ran into problems.