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Your right, now I'm feeling kind of ripped off. If Apple has been using 800 since 2003, why does my Intel imac only have 400?

Simple, your iMac is a Consumer Machine, and all Consumer Machines until about 2008 or so (I cant remember which exact revision) only ever had FW400. Your G5 however is a Pro Machine, so it gets FW800 (Like all Pro machines since the FW800 G4 MDD which introduced it, and whichever PowerBook got it first).
 
Your right, now I'm feeling kind of ripped off. If Apple has been using 800 since 2003, why does my Intel imac only have 400?

As chrismacguy said, the iMac (especially older iMacs like yours) is a consumer-oriented machine. I went from a PowerBook G4 to a MacBook and gained speed in everything except FW... dropped back down to FW400.
 
Ok, so it turns out I needed a new External HD anyway, so I got a firewire 800 one. Please help me though with this:

I partitioned my new external HD. I insert my tiger 10.4.4 disk and install it to one of the partitions. NOTE: it didn't ask for disk two to be inserted

The computer restarts and I go to system preferences and have it restart from the external HD
I tried booting through a restart and holding "option", but the only drive that comes up is my internal. Help?

Anyway, I then insert the OS 9 support disk and install. However, for whatever reason, when I inset my classic games, the install icon is blocked due to not being classic supported!

Please hep me- what am I doing wrong? Is it because I cant boot from the option key?

EDIT: Also, I don't know if this matters, but when I have it restart on the tiger (system preferences>startup disk>external HD) it looks just like my OS X smae desktop same folders- everything. Does that matter?
 
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hmmm i am confused now but sometimes you need to hold the option key looooong for the external to show up , when i first did it on a eMac it did took about 5 minutes to show the firewire external on the first time ,the internal gets shown nearly instantly


screenshots might eventually help and bring light to the end of the tunnel
 
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Ok, so it turns out I needed a new External HD anyway, so I got a firewire 800 one. Please help me though with this:

I partitioned my new external HD. I insert my tiger 10.4.4 disk and install it to one of the partitions. NOTE: it didn't ask for disk two to be inserted

The computer restarts and I go to system preferences and have it restart from the external HD
I tried booting through a restart and holding "option", but the only drive that comes up is my internal. Help?

Anyway, I then insert the OS 9 support disk and install. However, for whatever reason, when I inset my classic games, the install icon is blocked due to not being classic supported!

Please hep me- what am I doing wrong? Is it because I cant boot from the option key?

EDIT: Also, I don't know if this matters, but when I have it restart on the tiger (system preferences>startup disk>external HD) it looks just like my OS X smae desktop same folders- everything. Does that matter?

It looks to me as if your not actually rebooting into 10.4 at all, because it would have a different desktop, different folders etc. As for not asking for Disk 2, that probably has Applications (Im assuming these are the disks your G5 came with) on it.
 
How do I reboot into 10.4? I tried holding down the option key at restart and waited for the the timer icon to stop thinking, and the only thing there was the internal.

Any suggestions? I will try and post some screen shots tonight.
 
How do I reboot into 10.4? I tried holding down the option key at restart and waited for the the timer icon to stop thinking, and the only thing there was the internal.

Any suggestions? I will try and post some screen shots tonight.

You need to select the 10.4 Disk in Preferences > Startup Disk and select Restart... from that window. Then it should boot 10.4 just dandy.
 
I tried and it still wont work. DO I need to maybe install a newer or older OS version to make it boot? 10.4 shows up in system preferences, but not while holding option on restart.
 
I tried and it still wont work. DO I need to maybe install a newer or older OS version to make it boot? 10.4 shows up in system preferences, but not while holding option on restart.

No, your G5 originally shipped with 10.4.2 and then 10.4.4, so either of those should boot it just fine. Which HD is it installed on (Needs to be FW or Internal Disc).
 
hmmm you might need to reformat the disk using Disk utility over WD Smartware (I have WD Drives and I wipe the lot, never used their software as its kinda bloated in my opinion).
 
how do you do that? Cant you use disk utility anyway? sorry.

Use Disk Utility and select the volume, select Format (assuming you dont have any data on there you want to keep obviously as it wipes the drive), select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and then it should install and boot Tiger fine.
 
Sorry, but do you mean Restore? I cant find a format button, option,ect anywhere
 
Sorry, but that didn't seem to work. I even uninstalled the WD smartware. but after reinstalling tiger, i still can't beet to it. It just reverts right back to my internal HD
 
Sorry, but that didn't seem to work. I even uninstalled the WD smartware. but after reinstalling tiger, i still can't beet to it. It just reverts right back to my internal HD

Hmmm, maybe try formatting it within the Mac OS X Installer (Erase and Install on the external drive) - then it should work as thats the procedure I follow on my Macs and it works.
 
I am so sorry, but could you explain that? Like insert the install disk and overwrite it or something?

Insert the install disk, boot off of the disc, and during the install, click "Options" (Its the third of fourth screen I believe) and select "Erase and Install" in the box that appears, and then proceed as normal (Select the FW Disc of course).
 
still no luck... and you are sure that this doesn't have to do with the LUN?
 
still no luck... and you are sure that this doesn't have to do with the LUN?

Well Ive never ever had any issues with the LUN, so Im slightly confused. It might be easier just to buy a second internal HD for your G5, and install Tiger onto that - Its definitely easier than messing with externals, and should definitely work.
 
thanks, well Since this external hd is brand new there is no way I can get an internal one... dang.
 
thanks, well Since this external hd is brand new there is no way I can get an internal one... dang.

There is always the option to return the HD and say its "faulty" and then buy a new Internal HD (I find it very odd it isnt working, Ive never had this happen on any of the External FW HDDs Ive used, so it could be a Bad drive anyway).
 
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