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iMac G5 PPC Installing

A

aldirleyg

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 16, 2014
11
0
Well,
a while ago (one and a half years), i had problems with my ImacG5 PPC. Some how i've manage to reassemble a G3 i had here, udated the firmware and install OSX 10.4.11 on it. Since the optil drive of ImacG5 is busted, i've restored de installation on G3 to the G5 hard drive in target mode and it worked fine.
Now i have the same problem and it doesnt want to work. I have tried everything, Firewire boot, usb boot (Several tutorials on the net) nothing seems to make my imacG5 works.
I don't remember if there is any step that i am probably missing righ now...
Any help would be very much appreciated...
many thanks in advance.
 
You're sure that the iMac G5 is in Target Disk Mode, and is connected to the G3, and you're restoring with a cloner like CarbonCopyCloner or Superduper? USB booting can be very hit and miss on PPC Macs, but is known to work.
 
Pretty sure

Yes, i am pretty sure that it is in target mode. Actually i used before and i am using now the disk utility restore option. I have tried with CArbon Copy Cloner but it is returning an error and wont start copying.
 
Man..i have tried that several times...doenst work for me...dont know why...simply doenst. When everything is set i can see the files on the "dir" command though. just when i tell it to boot it doesnt go.
But then again, when trying to boot it gives me a second screen with some numbers and characters (on the lower left corner of the screen)...they just pass so fast i can't read them...any ideias on that???
 
aldirleyg said:
Man..i have tried that several times...doenst work for me...dont know why...simply doenst. When everything is set i can see the files on the "dir" command though. just when i tell it to boot it doesnt go.
But then again, when trying to boot it gives me a second screen with some numbers and characters (on the lower left corner of the screen)...they just pass so fast i can't read them...any ideias on that???
Click to expand...

USB booting is very hit and miss. Many people have done it with ease, such as Intell and gavinstubbs09, but I believe it depends on your USB device. Sometimes HDDs and USB thumb drives will simply crash. I have a USB to PATA hard drive converter, the hard drives attached will always turn on, but crash in OpenFirmware, on any PPC Mac I have tried (G3/G4). I would continue to try restoring the HDD from disk utility, SuperDuper, or CCC. You'll probably make more ground, honestly.
 
Well,
CCC gives -me the error when it doesnt it simply crashes....diskutility still doesnt work don't know why...
Trying now Superduper...so far so good. I will let you know in the end...
Many thanks for you attention... ;)
 
same all same all

Well,
Superduper just finished, but i still have the same results:(
It starts spinning until the apple logo turns into a forbidden signal.
Any aideas on what may be the issue???
 
Perhaps you have a bad hard disk. One thing you could try is putting the iMac G3 into Target Disk mode and connecting it via firewire to the G5, and try booting the G3s hard drive by holding down option and selecting it as boot device, and see if it boots correctly.
 
NOTE: make sure any machines you perform this on is completely off while swapping HDDs.

Alrighty, for stuff that doesn't have optical drives, I usually do this:

1. Rip the OS X installation CD to the G3, make sure its a DMG.

2. Get the G5 HDD out. You might be uncomfortable doing this, but it isn't too hard.

3. Plug the G5 HDD into the G3 and boot the G3. The G5 HDD should show up in Disk Utility.

4. Erase the G5 HDD and divide it into two partitions, A 6GB one for the OS X Installation CD, and use the rest as the drive to install the OS on.

5. Using the restore option, restore the DMG of the OS X Installation DVD to the OS X Installation partition you created in Step 4.

6. After it is complete, poweroff the G3 and remove the G5 HDD.

7. Put the G5 HDD back in the G5, then boot it.

8. When you hear the bong, hold option on the keyboard and select the OS X install drive.

9. Select your language and continue with the OS Install. Make sure you select the drive you install the OS on, not the OS X installation drive.
 
jrsx said:
USB booting is very hit and miss. Many people have done it with ease, such as Intell and gavinstubbs09, but I believe it depends on your USB device. Sometimes HDDs and USB thumb drives will simply crash. I have a USB to PATA hard drive converter, the hard drives attached will always turn on, but crash in OpenFirmware, on any PPC Mac I have tried (G3/G4). I would continue to try restoring the HDD from disk utility, SuperDuper, or CCC. You'll probably make more ground, honestly.
Click to expand...

I hath been summoned by thy name. *Puts cheese hat on jrsx* What machine are you trying to boot from a USB drive? The G3 or the G5?
 
Intell said:
I hath been summoned by thy name. *Puts cheese hat on jrsx* What machine are you trying to boot from a USB drive? The G3 or the G5?
Click to expand...

Its a G5, the G3 worked very smooth on the USB boot... ;)

----------
128keaton said:
NOTE: make sure any machines you perform this on is completely off while swapping HDDs.

Alrighty, for stuff that doesn't have optical drives, I usually do this:

1. Rip the OS X installation CD to the G3, make sure its a DMG.

2. Get the G5 HDD out. You might be uncomfortable doing this, but it isn't too hard.

3. Plug the G5 HDD into the G3 and boot the G3. The G5 HDD should show up in Disk Utility.

4. Erase the G5 HDD and divide it into two partitions, A 6GB one for the OS X Installation CD, and use the rest as the drive to install the OS on.

5. Using the restore option, restore the DMG of the OS X Installation DVD to the OS X Installation partition you created in Step 4.

6. After it is complete, poweroff the G3 and remove the G5 HDD.

7. Put the G5 HDD back in the G5, then boot it.

8. When you hear the bong, hold option on the keyboard and select the OS X install drive.

9. Select your language and continue with the OS Install. Make sure you select the drive you install the OS on, not the OS X installation drive.
Click to expand...

I will be trying this. I've had open my g5 once, i can do it again.. many thanks for the hints...
 
aldirleyg said:
Its a G5, the G3 worked very smooth on the USB boot... ;)
Click to expand...

The G5 has USB 2. For USB 2.0 PowerPC Macs you must boot the machine via USB through OpenFirmware. Double check to make sure the commands and are correct and that the drive/file locations are valid.
 
128keaton said:
NOTE: make sure any machines you perform this on is completely off while swapping HDDs.

Alrighty, for stuff that doesn't have optical drives, I usually do this:

1. Rip the OS X installation CD to the G3, make sure its a DMG.

2. Get the G5 HDD out. You might be uncomfortable doing this, but it isn't too hard.

3. Plug the G5 HDD into the G3 and boot the G3. The G5 HDD should show up in Disk Utility.

4. Erase the G5 HDD and divide it into two partitions, A 6GB one for the OS X Installation CD, and use the rest as the drive to install the OS on.

5. Using the restore option, restore the DMG of the OS X Installation DVD to the OS X Installation partition you created in Step 4.

6. After it is complete, poweroff the G3 and remove the G5 HDD.

7. Put the G5 HDD back in the G5, then boot it.

8. When you hear the bong, hold option on the keyboard and select the OS X install drive.

9. Select your language and continue with the OS Install. Make sure you select the drive you install the OS on, not the OS X installation drive.
Click to expand...

Well, this did not worked, since the boot options returns "zero" no volumes to boot from. Trying and doing it with a diferent HD just in case.
But then again, the hard drive is SATA and my G3 doesnt even have this port to connect to, so i am using an external USB case. Would that be the problem...??

----------
Intell said:
The G5 has USB 2. For USB 2.0 PowerPC Macs you must boot the machine via USB through OpenFirmware. Double check to make sure the commands and are correct and that the drive/file locations are valid.
Click to expand...

I have tripled(x10) checked the commands and locations...it simply doesnt boot... :(
 
Honestly i just don't know what else to do..so dissapointed...i realy need this to work...puffff

----------

Just one more thing...please...
In disk utility those drives that i am trying to use with G5 says on Status: SMART: not suported - what that means??? could that be the problem??

Now i have boot agian from USB drive on G3 and try to install directly on USB external USB drive and it says:

You cannot isntal OSX on this volume. Mac OSX cannot boot from this volume.

Any help with this??? Pleaaaaase...???

----------
jrsx said:
Perhaps you have a bad hard disk. One thing you could try is putting the iMac G3 into Target Disk mode and connecting it via firewire to the G5, and try booting the G3s hard drive by holding down option and selecting it as boot device, and see if it boots correctly.
Click to expand...

Did not work to. :(
 
aldirleyg said:
Well, this did not worked, since the boot options returns "zero" no volumes to boot from. Trying and doing it with a diferent HD just in case.
But then again, the hard drive is SATA and my G3 doesnt even have this port to connect to, so i am using an external USB case. Would that be the problem...??

----------



I have tripled(x10) checked the commands and locations...it simply doesnt boot... :(
Click to expand...
All you are doing on the G3 is erasing and partitioning the HD, shouldn't be a problem as you aren't booting G3 from that HD.


Let me break it down again:

You are ripping the Leopard DVD, erasing, partitioning, and restoring the G5 HDD using the G3.
You are installing Leopard on the G5 using the HDD you modified with the G3? Understand?
 
Updates

Ok...some updates on my problem (Yes still fighting here ;) )

First off all i want to appologize for the misguided info: Acctualy it has been booting from USB drive. But like the other options, like in target mode in fw and restored from G3 to G5 it shows the logo then the spining and then the forbidden sign. It stops there. I was thinking that when it fails the boot from USB it was trying to boot from the hard drive , and that was the reason for the same result. In short, all the options (USB boot, Restore from G3 Installation, install while in target mode from the G3) they are all giving me the same result (above mentioned in red)

Somethind else that i wanted to share with you is this: when i try to boot in verbose mode or single user mode it stops and give me several lines saying :
STILL WAITING FOR THE ROOT DEVICE. Does this ring a bell... Please help.. i am starting to get desperate here.
Just remembering: its a G5 PPC, installing Tiger (10.4.11) i did it before once.Just dont know why it is not working now
 
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