Installing 10.3 on iBook without DVD Drive

[reimerd10]

I have an iBook with 10.2 on it. I would much rather have a newer version of OS X on it and I have some 10.3 install dvd's from an eMac I used to have but bit the dust.
The problem is that the iBook does not have a dvd drive and therefore I cannot do this the traditional and simple way. I tried connecting it to my Macbook with firewire and rebooting so that it mounts as another drive but my Macbook won't run the instal program.
Is this because OS X won't let you downgrade or is it because 10.3 didn't come with intel support and the dvd's assume that I want to instal the software to my Macbook hard drive rather than the iBook's drive?
Is there any easy way to do this other than finding an external drive or sending the dvd's back to apple and trading them for cd versions of the software?

 

[ethernet76]

I have an iBook with 10.2 on it. I would much rather have a newer version of OS X on it and I have some 10.3 install dvd's from an eMac I used to have but bit the dust.
The problem is that the iBook does not have a dvd drive and therefore I cannot do this the traditional and simple way. I tried connecting it to my Macbook with firewire and rebooting so that it mounts as another drive but my Macbook won't run the instal program.
Is this because OS X won't let you downgrade or is it because 10.3 didn't come with intel support and the dvd's assume that I want to instal the software to my Macbook hard drive rather than the iBook's drive?
Is there any easy way to do this other than finding an external drive or sending the dvd's back to apple and trading them for cd versions of the software?

You'll need a CD version if you don't have another viable PPC based Mac. You're correct about the Macbook not running it because it's not based for Intel.

You might be able to squeeze the install onto a single CD if you remove the X11 stuff, but it's been a while since I've touched 10.3 so there is a good chance I'm wrong.

 

[mad jew]

If the discs came bundled with an eMac then they are licensed only for that eMac. Installing the OS from those discs onto the iBook would be a breach of the licence.

 

[Macky-Mac]

If the discs came bundled with an eMac then they are licensed only for that eMac. Installing the OS from those discs onto the iBook would be a breach of the licence.

IIRC; the license requires him to 1) not have the software installed on more than one computer at a time, and 2) prevents him from transferring ownership of the software separately from the rest of the bundle

so if the original computer is still in his posession but nonfunctioning, then I don't think there's anything in license that would prevent him from installing the software on another compatible computer as long as he continues to comply with the various requirements of the license

 

[Luigi239]

I believe the eMac installed disks check your system at startup to make sure that you really do have a eMac. If you don't, it will not install.

 

[mad jew]

IIRC; the license requires him to 1) not have the software installed on more than one computer at a time, and 2) prevents him from transferring ownership of the software separately from the rest of the bundle

I thought that was only for retail versions of the OS.

 

[MisterMe]

I thought that was only for retail versions of the OS.

Installing the OS on the System Restore disk on a different model Mac would require hacking it. This is not permitted.

 

[Macky-Mac]

I thought that was only for retail versions of the OS.

What I posted above is from the "single use license" that came with my G5 iMac. IIRC, The last time I compared it with a retail box license, I came to the conclusion that they're the same "single use license"

 

[SuperCompu2]

Computer-specific install disks look at the product code before installing.

For example, if I was going to install an original OS (9.0.4) on my PowerMac, it would look for PowerMac3,3 in the machine's firmware. This is how it determines the specific unit it's installing on.

Needless to say, you'll either need a good hacker friend, a CD version of the OS, or an eMac to install with the original disk in order to get Panther on this iBook.