Installing OS X without using a CD

[casperes1996]

Try mounting the disk image, then using the mounted volume as the source of the restore process instead of using the image file directly. Like this;

View attachment 767686

Last I tried that, it said it was read/write and couldn't be unmounted even after manually unmounting

Also, if your image is a .dmg and not a .cdr as in AphoticD's walkthrough, make sure you lock it before mounting.

Hmmm. I started with a .toast, and used hdiutil convert to make both a Cdr and an img/dmg. I'll try with the Cdr or locking the img

 

[weckart]

Hmmm. I started with a .toast, and used hdiutil convert to make both a Cdr and an img/dmg. I'll try with the Cdr or locking the img

If you have the original disk, make a .dmg or .cdr to start with and bypass Toast. If not, take a trip to the Garden and haul down a .dmg. Toast is a bit unreliable in my experience.

 

[AphoticD]

I have seen that error about not being able to unmount. To get around it, I have clicked the Unmount button in the Disk Utility toolbar to leave the disk image open but the volume unmounted.

Another thought... You could try some of the steps I’ve outlined here regarding shrinking a Dual-layer restore disc down to a single-layer DVD; the process involves converting to sparseimage format which appears to re-write the volume’s file order and is not a simple conversion of format or read/write flag.

You could also try restoring from your current image onto a new blank disk image, lock the new dmg or convert to .cdr and then use that copy to restore onto the USB drive.

If that gets you nowhere then I would second the idea of re-ripping from original media or downloading again.

Either way, you’re jumping through a number more hoops than should be necessary, but persevere. You’ll get there!

 

[casperes1996]

I haven't been this confused for a long time... So. The USB can mount inside the broken installation of Panther on the iBook. Opening the Disk Utility that's on the installation USB (the one that's meant to be on the broken Panther is missing, and is a part of why it's broken), it says that the USB is bootble in the "Get Info" part of the Volume details.

The Boot selector (holding Option on startup) doesn't show the USB drive, and as far as I can tell, neither does Open Firmware. I blessed the Core Services folder with the bootX file, and that changed nothing. Actually, I can think of very few things I haven't done. - I've even tried two separate images (one ripped from a physical disc I once, but no longer have and one downloaded off the internet)

It is really starting to feel hopeless this is.
[doublepost=1530137810][/doublepost]Oh yeah, and I obviously recently bought this iBook second hand. There person I bought it from gave me the login details of a user account on the machine. If I navigate to "Install OS X" on the USB via the Finder in the broken Panther install, it asks if I want to restart from the USB. I click yes, but it wants an admin password that I don't have. I tried running passwd from Single-User Mode to change the admin password, but passwd doesn't do anything, and it appears the executable for passwd has been deleted from what is really turning out to be an extremely broken Panther.

 

[weckart]

I tried running passwd from Single-User Mode to change the admin password, but passwd doesn't do anything, and it appears the executable for passwd has been deleted from what is really turning out to be an extremely broken Panther.

Try running a combi updater for Panther to see if that fixes all the holes.

 

[casperes1996]

Try running a combi updater for Panther to see if that fixes all the holes.

Can I do that A) Without the admin password, and 2) When the broken Panther is already on 10.3.9? And furthermore, it won't really fix the core problem, will it?

 

[weckart]

You can run a combo updater over any installation you have as long the combo isn't a lower version. I have done this in the past to tidy up faulty, slow and misbehaving installations.

It would seem that your only option is either boot up in Target mode and let another Mac remove the Admin password or remove the HDD and work on the installation outside of your iBook.

Also, have you tried switching USB drives? There are some that just will not work as bootable drives - those with hidden security volumes (used for encryption) for example. To be honest, at this stage I would have entertained visiting a Euro shop and just getting some cheap blank disc media.

 

[casperes1996]

Also, have you tried switching USB drives? There are some that just will not work as bootable drives - those with hidden security volumes (used for encryption) for example. To be honest, at this stage I would have entertained visiting a Euro shop and just getting some cheap blank disc media.

I have, but at this point I just give up. I put the iBook in my closet for now, and it's not coming out again until I get some CDs. It was fun for a while messing with this stuff, but it's gone on to just be frustrating and making me angry, so it's not worth the hassle.
I'll get some CDs and hopefully the story ends there

 

[AphoticD]

That sounds like a plan. A pack of CD-R's should only cost a few dollars. Burn a disc, hold the C-key and install. It will be much easier than all the USB messing around and/or removing the HDD from the iBook. Plus you'll have a chance to burn the 3 disc set and store them for use at a later date.

From my own experiences, I would put it down to the USB media being incompatible. I have witnessed non-bootable USB 3.0 drives on my PowerBooks and iBooks. It is likely just a shortcoming in the backwards compatibility of the drive when mixed with Open Firmware's built-in device drivers which were only designed with USB 1.1 or 2.0 compatibility. This is why the more recent drivers/kexts in Mac OS X might be completely cool with the drive and everything appears to work fine in the Finder, but you just can't boot from it, no matter what you try.

 

[casperes1996]

That sounds like a plan. A pack of CD-R's should only cost a few dollars. Burn a disc, hold the C-key and install. It will be much easier than all the USB messing around and/or removing the HDD from the iBook. Plus you'll have a chance to burn the 3 disc set and store them for use at a later date.

From my own experiences, I would put it down to the USB media being incompatible. I have witnessed non-bootable USB 3.0 drives on my PowerBooks and iBooks. It is likely just a shortcoming in the backwards compatibility of the drive when mixed with Open Firmware's built-in device drivers which were only designed with USB 1.1 or 2.0 compatibility. This is why the more recent drivers/kexts in Mac OS X might be completely cool with the drive and everything appears to work fine in the Finder, but you just can't boot from it, no matter what you try.

I got CDs!!!


And it doesn't bloody work!!!

I think the CD drive is actually broken. At first I figured I must had just burnt it wrong, but I decided to try a normal CD (music CD that is) and it spits it out immediately as well, no matter if it's within the OS, the Option boot picker or Open Firmware. Any CD is immediately ejected the moment it is inserted. I'm bonged out of luck here

 

[bunnspecial]

As a side note, any AGP-based PPC Mac should be able to USB boot.

As a general rule, AGP based computers with USB 1.1 will have the bootable drive show up in boot picker. USB 2.0 Macs often(but not always) require going into OF to boot off USB.