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I just bought my first Mac and need opinions.

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ericthetechguy

macrumors newbie
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Nov 30, 2010
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It is a iBook G4 12" - M9164LL. It does not have an O/S installed on it. Once again I have used/repaired/done everything with PC's so I'm illiterate when it comes to Mac's. I burnt a Tiger 10.4 OSX iso onto a DVD, but everytime I put it in and turn the computer on and hold "c" it will just eject the disk out. I have read that it should probably have a DVD Rom in it, and even when I looked it up through Apple.com and it confirmed. When I looked my specs up on Apple it did however say Panther was the original O/S. So what recommendations do you have for an O/S to put on it, I'm willing to try any of them (OSX, Linux, or any others you have used on these).

Thank you for any help.
 
You might be using an Intel version of Tiger, which won't boot. Honestly, you really should be using a retail disc. Some Macs don't like burned discs, or the iso you have is corrupted somehow.
 
Hrududu said:
You might be using an Intel version of Tiger, which won't boot. Honestly, you really should be using a retail disc. Some Macs don't like burned discs, or the iso you have is corrupted somehow.
Click to expand...

I know that the iso I have is for a powerpc and not intel. Several other people had the iso working, I burned it at 2x speed. But as you said my Mac could be one of those who just does not like burned disc's. Where and how much do Mac O/S's cost?
 
I just went through the same process last night with my iMac G4.

I bought it on eBay and the seller still had panther on it, so got a hold of tiger and installed it no problems. I think you might be getting problems because you burned to a DVD, and your old iBook might not like that. Mine was a set of 4 iso's that need to be burned to CDs and then installed from there. Also, I don't think you need to worry about 2x burning, I burned mine at 20x.
 
Agreed with evilgreg - multi disk CD install is the most reliable.

You can find Panther Disc's for $40-$50 range on Amazon. Check arond your local area first though and see if there are any other Mac users that have some lying around.
 
evilgreg said:
I just went through the same process last night with my iMac G4.

I bought it on eBay and the seller still had panther on it, so got a hold of tiger and installed it no problems. I think you might be getting problems because you burned to a DVD, and your old iBook might not like that. Mine was a set of 4 iso's that need to be burned to CDs and then installed from there. Also, I don't think you need to worry about 2x burning, I burned mine at 20x.
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm in the process of trying a 2 cd Panther download this time, instead of going straight to Tiger with no previous O/S and it will be a CD not a DVD this time also.
 
tonyburkhart said:
Agreed with evilgreg - multi disk CD install is the most reliable.

You can find Panther Disc's for $40-$50 range on Amazon. Check arond your local area first though and see if there are any other Mac users that have some lying around.
Click to expand...

Yeah if these downloads do not work, I will just buy one if I need too.
 
You can't burn Mac OS in .iso format if I recall correctly you have to burn it in a .dmg format. But it is more easy for you to just buy a disk.
 
has anyone mentioned buying a disc yet?!

ericthetechguy said:
....it should probably have a DVD Rom in it... ...I'm willing to try any of them (OSX, Linux, or any others you have used on these)...
Click to expand...

before another dozen people show up and tell you to buy a disk, how about checking out the optical drive with something free that would boot.

one of the older ubuntu for PPC would fit on a CD, try MIT and scroll down to find the 'powerpc' iso or torrents. should be around 480mb or so. burn the iso to CD and try to boot the ibook holding the 'C' key down just after powering on.

Yellow Dog Linux is another PPC build, and has no known problems on any of the G4 ibooks 800mhz and up. down side is that it's a DVD build. still free to try, and has decent instructions for burning the DVD using various methods.

i have piles of defective ibook optical drives laying about, they seem to fail a lot. if it does boot, you should be able to get a better idea of the specs, and then decide what os x to look for. slow/less memory, 10.3. faster/more memory, 10.4. just my two cents, best of luck.
 
To the people saying the OS has to be a .dmg and not an .iso file: you're wrong.

I installed tiger with 4 .iso's the other night.
 
There are other things to watch out!

1. have the PowerPC version (you have, ok)
2. is it a disk with black lable? Then it will boot. Is it grey? Then it has to be a Tiger Version for the ibook (though some specific model related versions do work on others two, e.g. the eMac version can be used for iMacs build earlier than the eMac CDs manufacturing date).

Another way to install your OS is to connect your ibook to another PPC Mac via firewire. Turn the others Mac on. Turn your Mac on while holding down T. Your's will get a lilac screen with a yellow firewiresymbol moving around.
Put the Install disk in the other ones Mac, start the install and choose your Mac (which will be recognized as an external HDD to the other one's Mac) as destination.
 
just buy a osx tiger retail disc , osx is no freeware to my knowledge or is it now :confused:

could have saved myself a lot of money if its freeware now ,as i bought for every of my 14 Mac a tiger disc and ok one snow leopard disc for the intel imac ,but all together disc's worth several hundred £, not to mention the ilife discs for each mac plus some other software
just because i like to have complete Mac's and just in case i one day want to sell one , then i can with a complete set of discs
 
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OS X is definitely not freeware. If you download it without paying for it, you are pirating.

Heck, even OS 9 isn't free yet (to my knowledge, at least).
 
MacHamster68 said:
jas i bought for every of my 14 Mac a tiger disc (...)
just because i like to have complete Mac's and just in case i one day want to sell one , then i can with a complete set of discs
Click to expand...
why didn't you take a universal version (the one with the black label on it)? My experience on Ebay is, that people do buy Macs for pretty much the same price, regardless of whether the Mac comes with or without OS DVDs/CDs. If I may suggest from my experience, if you sell them some time I recommend trying to sell the Macs and each set of OS DVDs seperately, you will get more money than giving them away just with the Macs.
 
yes sure i could have done that , but i like the things complete and would never sell a Mac which has software installed without the appropriate discs , for me thats like selling a car , i supply a full tank of petrol and the keys
 
^^^ It's more than that: Mac and its software (OS) are bundled. Selling dedicated discs separately is violation of terms of use. It's matter of seller's conscience because nobody will investigate it ofc.
 
From the Forum Rules:

Warez/Serials/Keys. Do not post software serial numbers or keys or refer people to specific websites, software, or techniques whose purpose is to break or bypass software licensing methods, distribute cracks, or obtain or use commercial software or media in violation of its license and/or for copyright violation. Do not ask for or give such help.
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