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Help with Installing OSX 10.3 on a G4

J

Joeteck

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 25, 2007
4
0
Ok, first time mac user here. Been using PC's all my life. I know zero about macs. But I'm here to change all that.

I have a G4, single 733Mhz with 1.12 gig of RAM. I took the original hard drive out as my buddy needed it. So I'm trying to re-install the operating system.

Took about 5 minutes to figure out how to get the CD drive open ...lol. No button.

Needless to say, I did. It loads, I accept, I press continue, but it can never see any of my drives.

I removed the PC partitions completely, but still nothing. I even set the drive to be master, still can't see it.

Any help would be great. What a way to start to be a MAC user, my first post I'm crying for help and I can't even install a stinking OS.

Thanks!

Joe
 
Joeteck said:
Ok, first time mac user here. Been using PC's all my life. I know zero about macs. But I'm here to change all that.

I have a G4, single 733Mhz with 1.12 gig of RAM. I took the original hard drive out as my buddy needed it. So I'm trying to re-install the operating system.
Click to expand...

It would probably help if there was more information. Is it an iMac or PowerMac?

Took about 5 minutes to figure out how to get the CD drive open ...lol. No button.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I remember thinking the same thing when I first got my iBook G4.

Needless to say, I did. It loads, I accept, I press continue, but it can never see any of my drives.

I removed the PC partitions completely, but still nothing. I even set the drive to be master, still can't see it.
Click to expand...

So, the drive works in a PC but not in the Mac? The drive should be a standard PATA drive given the age of the machine. I take it that disc utility (available in the menu at the top of the screen) doesn't show the disc either?

Any help would be great. What a way to start to be a MAC user, my first post I'm crying for help and I can't even install a stinking OS.

Thanks!

Joe
Click to expand...

Good luck. Sounds like some incompatibility. I take it you don't have any access to the original drive so you can see the exact spec and test that the machine works with it instead of your replacement?
 
Go to the utilities tab on the tool bar, open Disk Utility, use it to reformat the drive to HFS+ Journaled. Once thats done, go back to the installer and your drive will show up then, allowing you to select it for the OS install.

Dont feel so bad, we ALL were newbies once too :D
 
Welcome aboard, and enjoy! :)

I just want you to know that trying to install a new OS on an unformatted hard disk on old hardware with additional parts that you've swapped into it is going to face you with some pretty advanced hurdles that you wont face in normal day to day usage. (Which is a big advantage to buying new)

So consider this your baptism by fire! ;)
 
SmurfBoxMasta said:
Go to the utilities tab on the tool bar, open Disk Utility, use it to reformat the drive to HFS+ Journaled. Once thats done, go back to the installer and your drive will show up then, allowing you to select it for the OS install.

Dont feel so bad, we ALL were newbies once too :D
Click to expand...

Yes, thank you that worked. I made it two partitions. But when I go back, it says It can be used to install the OS, either partition.

The mac is gray, and has clear handles around the entire computer.

BTW, Looks like this:
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00005YXCD.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
 
Where did this drive get pulled from? Perhaps the drive has to have a jumper set differently?
 
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