I broke my OS X Leopard , 10.5.8... can anyone help me fix it without format?

[ediflorianus]

Hello folks, I did a few stupid things last 6mo or so, mainly brakeing my OSX 10.5.8 instalation on my 4TB sshd hybrid drive... I moved the drive(w/ working osx)from my G5 to my 2009 Mac Pro, started fine, then I had a few missteps there, on other drives and long story short I was only able to load the drive in single-user mode ,mount-uw &start commands,last time,on The Mac Pro, so I got frustrated and moved the drive back to the G5, it turns out you can't do that, so now, after trying the basesics I can't boot from it(the drive) the leopard,on either machine.
(First aid gives error, fixing permissions give error, so not working)....
I can't make heads or tails of the event.... formating the drive is not a priority or option...
I can access drive from diffrent hdd if I boot...(like from Sierra on mac pro or leopard disk on powerpc g5)...
I tried as last resort to graft the original files so it boots but I ended up making it worse,not able to fix permissions...
Now it hangs,on mac pro, or locks up/not finish loading on PowerMac G5 in verbose mode....
I-am kind of lost ... feels like a bad year... especially for me to mess-up my old main drive....

Any assistance is appreciated...Thank you
(I read there may be a way to upgrade the install?or recovery install without loosing user/files/etc)....

P.S.The initial install... back in cc 2009 was the modded osx10.5.4 dmg floating around online for lower end g4's ,if it makes any difference...(I can post link to machgarden or archive if need-bee)

 

[f54da]

probably replace the /System folder with a fresh copy

 

[DeltaMac]

You should try reinstalling from a Leopard installer.
Here's a download source for an ISO that you can use to burn to a dual-layer DVD-R (won't fit on a single layer DVD-R), or, you could make a bootable installer on a thumb drive.

Mac OS X for PPC (Mac OS 10) - Macintosh Garden

Mac OS X Internal Edition - (Download #1) Mac OS X Public Beta System clock must be set before May 2001. Mac OS X Cheetah 10.0 - (Download #2 - #5) 10.0?

macintoshgarden.org

(scroll down to #36 --- that's a good one that I have used a number of times to make Leopard installers.)

 

[ediflorianus]

You should try reinstalling from a Leopard installer.
Here's a download source for an ISO that you can use to burn to a dual-layer DVD-R (won't fit on a single layer DVD-R), or, you could make a bootable installer on a thumb drive.

Mac OS X for PPC (Mac OS 10) - Macintosh Garden

Mac OS X Internal Edition - (Download #1) Mac OS X Public Beta System clock must be set before May 2001. Mac OS X Cheetah 10.0 - (Download #2 - #5) 10.0?

macintoshgarden.org

(scroll down to #36 --- that's a good one that I have used a number of times to make Leopard installers.)

Won't it move all my users &3.8tb files into old?I already used a 10.5.6 dual layerd disk to no avail, it wants me to format the hdd... i can share a photo with this
I think I already replaced part of the /system folder, I will try again, main issue is it needs to be entirely permission fixed....after....

 

[Doq]

Makes sense. You're trying to install 10.5.6 (an older release) on top of 10.5.8 (a newer release), no wonder the installer is prompting you to wipe it.

Your best out here is probably to make a backup of your data and start over as it says.

 

[ediflorianus]

Makes sense. You're trying to install 10.5.6 (an older release) on top of 10.5.8 (a newer release), no wonder the installer is prompting you to wipe it.

Your best out here is probably to make a backup of your data and start over as it says.

Yes, it would be a option if I could enter the OSX and run mac migration or time machine, then again I would no be facing these issues...I set asside the drive for now until I could find a good , feasible solution.

 

[Doq]

Yes, it would be a option if I could enter the OSX and run mac migration or time machine, then again I would no be facing these issues...I set asside the drive for now until I could find a good , feasible solution.

Try connecting the drive to another machine? If the filesystem is still good it should pop right up.

 

[ediflorianus]

Try connecting the drive to another machine? If the filesystem is still good it should pop right up.

That is not the issue,issue is unable to repair the permissions & first aid... the drive shows up fine next to my sierra drive in mac pro, all files ok, but no method to properly migrate the files for a future restore to as initially was, just to copy...(or use from a diffrent install like sierra).

 

[Doq]

That is not the issue,issue is unable to repair the permissions & first aid... the drive shows up fine next to my sierra drive in mac pro, all files ok, but no method to properly migrate the files for a future restore to as initially was, just to copy...(or use from a diffrent install like sierra).

Right, and I'm saying if your system is this hosed, your best bet is to just copy your data off and start over. I understand this is the opposite of what you want, but it's for the best and will avoid any future issues with trying to reuse a potentially permanently broken system.

I'm confused as to how you managed to get it to boot on a Mac Pro at all. Far as I know, no Mac Pro has ever been able to boot from an APM-formatted disk, and your make of G5 can't boot from a GPT-formatted disk.

 

[ediflorianus]

Right, and I'm saying if your system is this hosed, your best bet is to just copy your data off and start over. I understand this is the opposite of what you want, but it's for the best and will avoid any future issues with trying to reuse a potentially permanently broken system.

I'm confused as to how you managed to get it to boot on a Mac Pro at all. Far as I know, no Mac Pro has ever been able to boot from an APM-formatted disk, and your make of G5 can't boot from a GPT-formatted disk.

Nonsense, Mac pro 4.1 boots fine APM 10.5.8.(universal binary)or so I toght, issue is going back to G5 or back&forth.... yeah I will just put asside the old main drive untill this issue is fixed, I already used 3x DL dvds to try and fix the issue without success... I have to order more for any future endeavors. I need to find a drive empty so I can mount the dmg to it ,boot from it externally and copy system folder as above suggested... that is my future move... it seems my dvd with diskwarrior just won't boot, I wonder why.... B.T.W on G5 I get full fans and "still waiting for root device" so it's not locked up but it's not moving forward in the osx boot sequence...

 

[Dronecatcher]

Wouldn't it be far more reassuring to copy user files and do a clean install - anything else will leave the nagging feeling that something left behind might still cause problems?

 

[winxmac]

The oldest version available is 10.7 Lion
How to download and install macOS

If you still have the installer for 10.5.x why not just backup or copy all important files and save to a different drive then proceed to wipe and reinstall?

 

[ediflorianus]

Wouldn't it be far more reassuring to copy user files and do a clean install - anything else will leave the nagging feeling that something left behind might still cause problems?

View attachment 2530453

It may be... how should I proceed it's 3.6Tb of files... I don't really have sutch a big drive empty... just smaller ones... (as for a clean install thats not a issue, saving the old users&folders and moving them that may be)
How do I initiate a backup time machine or migration without entering the broken os x?

 

[Dronecatcher]

It may be... how should I proceed it's 3.6Tb of files... I don't really have sutch a big drive empty... just smaller ones... (as for a clean install thats not a issue, saving the old users&folders and moving them that may be)
How do I initiate a backup time machine or migration without entering the broken os x?

I see your problem. Isn't there a subset of files that you absolutely must keep and only back them up (manually?)

Then, via another computer, delete all the OSX system files and create a 20Gb partition, rename the larger existing partition, install Leopard onto the new one and hopefully all your user files will still be intact?