iBook G4 Tiger install troubles

[retta283]

I have the mid 2005 (last) iBook G4, and I want to refresh the operating system on it. I however don't have the original disks for it, so I need to try other methods. 10.4 retail disks and images will not work, the drivers are missing and it doesn't install properly.

Things I've tried:
10.4 retail disk - failed
Target Disk Mode with iMac - failed, says Mac OS X cannot be installed on this drive.
Target Disk Mode with PowerBook G4 - failed, see below
Booting from USB stick - failed

The USB stick was the most promising option, I got into Open Firmware and attempted the install, but every command would say "File or location could not be found" so I had to give that up. I tried it on my PowerBook, and it does find it but it gives me the prohibitory symbol.

Any tips as to what I'm doing wrong and what I can try?

 

[DeltaMac]

The 2005 iBook shipped originally with OS X 10.4.2 - so the 10.4(.0) installer won't boot that iBook G4.
If your PowerBook that you tried, is also the last version (2005, DLSD), then I would expect the outcome would be the same - no boot, or boot errors.
You should try the last commercial Tiger installer version, which would be for 10.4.6
I just downloaded a full 10.4.6 installer from here - https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/mac-osx-mac-os-10-ppc
It's download #30 - just in case you find it unclear.
I downloaded the .dmg - burned that to a DVD-R.
It is, in fact, the 10.4.6 installer, which should install on your iBook 2005 just fine.
Boots my eMac just fine.

 

[retta283]

The 2005 iBook shipped originally with OS X 10.4.2 - so the 10.4(.0) installer won't boot that iBook G4.
If your PowerBook that you tried, is also the last version (2005, DLSD), then I would expect the outcome would be the same - no boot, or boot errors.
You should try the last commercial Tiger installer version, which would be for 10.4.6
I just downloaded a full 10.4.6 installer from here - https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/mac-osx-mac-os-10-ppc
It's download #30 - just in case you find it unclear.
I downloaded the .dmg - burned that to a DVD-R.
It is, in fact, the 10.4.6 installer, which should install on your iBook 2005 just fine.
Boots my eMac just fine.

The PowerBook is early 2005, so it came out before tiger.
I tried the 10.4.6 image on the USB drive. That was the one throwing errors. I've been putting off buying DVD-Rs, but I might have to now...

 

[DeltaMac]

Do you, by any chance, have an external firewire drive?
The older Macs are one reason that I keep a Firewire drive, which has a 1 TiB hard drive where I archive either disk images or copies of OS X installer apps. That drive also has bootable partitions for most installers, including Tiger. And, installing from a hard drive can be much less hassle than trying to boot to a DVD on an older optical drive, faster, too!
And, I don't have to do the sometimes-finicky open-firmware "ritual" for booting to a USB drive.

 

[bobesch]

You may use one of your other Macs running Tiger, connect the iBook via FireWire in TDM and clone the exsiting Tiger-drive to the iBook using CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper!

 

[retta283]

Do you, by any chance, have an external firewire drive?
The older Macs are one reason that I keep a Firewire drive, which has a 1 TiB hard drive where I archive either disk images or copies of OS X installer apps. That drive also has bootable partitions for most installers, including Tiger. And, installing from a hard drive can be much less hassle than trying to boot to a DVD on an older optical drive, faster, too!
And, I don't have to do the sometimes-finicky open-firmware "ritual" for booting to a USB drive.

I trashed the last of my FireWire hard drives in the mid 2010s sadly... Would an iPod Classic 3rd or 4th gen work as a FireWire hard drive? How would I go about making it bootable media?