Installing Tiger on 2003 emac (4,4, 800mhz, CD Drive)

[justbsharp]

Been lurking for a while now just to cover my bases and not post an identical thread.

I recently got my hands on a 2003 eMac, 4,4 800mhz. It's unfortunately got the CD drive and not the DVD drive, but the thing was $30 so 🤷‍♂️

I purchased some ram and a Mighty Mouse *cough* the best mouse *cough* and now I'm waiting for a Hard Disk/SSD to arrive in the mail.

I'm looking for some simple instructions on the best way to load Tiger onto dang thing.

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-Is it better to burn CDs with toast or should I mount the DMG's and "Restore" them to the CD itself on my M1 MBP?​

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-My understanding is that Tiger CANNOT be loaded via USB and can only be loaded with ANOTHER PPC via Firewire. Is this correct?​

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-Once I get it running and updated with Tiger, what steps do I need to take to ensure I can run the "Classic Mode" or whatever its called?​

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Ideally, this eMac is just going to serve as my "tinker-and-play-old-games-on-a-CRT-as-God-himself-intended" and eventually, when my son is old enough, his first foray into using a computer.

Any help I can get is greatly appreciated.

Can't wait to hear from y'all

 

[TheShortTimer]

Welcome, former lurker!

-My understanding is that Tiger CANNOT be loaded via USB and can only be loaded with ANOTHER PPC via Firewire. Is this correct?​

It's not correct. Many PPC Macs can install Tiger via USB with varying degrees of ease. I've done this with several different types of PPC models from laptops to desktops, including my eMac 1Ghz.

Here's the method that I've used to create a bootable USB Tiger installer. I prefer this route when I have a Mac without a DVD drive as it means I don't have to swap discs during the installation.

Be warned though that Disk Utility has been increasingly hobbled over the years with each new macOS release and you might have problems getting the method to work on your M1 computer but it's worth a go. Failing that, yes you can burn the CDs using Toast on the M1 and they'll work with the eMac.

-Once I get it running and updated with Tiger, what steps do I need to take to ensure I can run the "Classic Mode" or whatever its called?​

There's detailed instructions here which will take you through the entire process and are easy to follow but if you run into problems or have further questions, we're here to help.

 

[justbsharp]

Welcome, former lurker!



It's not correct. Many PPC Macs can install Tiger via USB with varying degrees of ease. I've done this with several different types of PPC models from laptops to desktops, including my eMac 1Ghz.

Here's the method that I've used to create a bootable USB Tiger installer. I prefer this route when I have a Mac without a DVD drive as it means I don't have to swap discs during the installation.

Be warned though that Disk Utility has been increasingly hobbled over the years with each new macOS release and you might have problems getting the method to work on your M1 computer but it's worth a go. Failing that, yes you can burn the CDs using Toast on the M1 and they'll work with the eMac.



There's detailed instructions here which will take you through the entire process and are easy to follow but if you run into problems or have further questions, we're here to help.

Thank you for all the comprehensive instructions!

As far as I can tell, my current hang-up is making a USB with Tiger. Is there another program that you know of that I might be able to use to make a Boot Drive? I've done some googling but can't really tell what's good or what's BS.

I get my HD and ram tomorrow (woohoo!) but haven't had much time lately to do the troubleshooting and see if I can get a USB drive working so I don't have to burn CD's, though its very much looking like thats the way im gonna have to go.

Edit:

My attempts have given me OSStatus Error 1 and OSStatus Error 22. From what I understand, Error 1 is that it cannot validate that its a genuine iso?

 

[TheShortTimer]

Edit:

My attempts have given me OSStatus Error 1 and OSStatus Error 22. From what I understand, Error 1 is that it cannot validate that its a genuine iso?

It appears to be an error associated with Disk Utility on more recent versions of macOS. For some reason, Apple in their infinite wisdom saw fit to undermine its functionality... Anyhow, the easiest solution that I can think of is to burn the CDs - it wouldn't take long and is pretty straightforward with Toast or the freeware program Burn.

Perhaps someone might be able to suggest a workaround that will bypass Disk Utility using Terminal instead? The methods that I know of in this respect apply to the newer macOS releases. Maybe they can be adapted?

 

[justbsharp]

Update:

This week I purchased PPC Mac, a 20" G5 iMac, pre-installed with 10.4.11, 1gb ram, blah blah blah. It was 50 bucks and only a 40min drive down the highway. The guy I got it from had a freshly restored Macintosh Portable on his dining room table. It was honestly one of the more beautiful thing's I have ever seen. I doubt I will ever see one in person (and fully functional) ever again...

I used the G5's Disk Utility to flash a USB drive with the Tiger DVD 10.4.6 from Macintosh Garden. I can get the eMac to boot from the USB but the installer freezes with the beachball when the installer reaches "Choose Destination" or whatever it's called. Too lazy to go turn it off and wait another 5min to have it freeze.

-I have removed the drive and re-formatted (with my M1 MBP) to Mac OS Extended (Journaled), put it back in and it still freezes in the same spot.

-The Beachball also appears when I try to use the Disk Utility from the Installer instead of going through the installer.

My worry is that the drive just isn't being seen at all. Will OpenFirmware mode allow me to see if the drive is visible?

The disk is an SSD Mercury 120gb drive from MacSales with the IDE/Sata adapter on it. I have it partitioned to the full volume. Im wondering if I need to partition it to a 60gb volume in case the emac just doesn't like it being so large? Regardless, I'm wondering if anyone has encountered this issue before. I must be missing some simple step and its getting frustrating.

 

[Amethyst1]

The disk is an SSD Mercury 120gb drive from MacSales with the IDE/Sata adapter on it.

Might be a compatibility issue with the IDE-SATA bridge. Basically, attempting to access the SSD freezes the system, right?

Im wondering if I need to partition it to a 60gb volume in case the emac just doesn't like it being so large?

120 GB is no problem.

I have removed the drive and re-formatted (with my M1 MBP) to Mac OS Extended (Journaled), put it back in and it still freezes in the same spot.

This has created a GUID Partition Table scheme on the drive which the eMac can’t boot from anyway. The drive needs to have the Apple Partition Map scheme — try to use the G5 to partition the SSD.