OS X Tiger Install Disc that works with Mac mini G4 Silent Upgrade

[MisterAndrew]

This may be common knowledge on the PowerPC forum, but if you're like me and recently acquired a late 2005 "silent upgrade" Mac mini G4 (with a 1.33 GHz or 1.5 GHz CPU) without the original restore discs then you might be scratching your head trying to find an OS X Tiger install disc that works.

You can download the 10.4.2 restore disc images from Macintosh Repository, but they require dual-layer DVDs. So what if you don't have any DVD-R DLs laying around?

Mac OS X 10.4.2 (8D40) for Mac Mini G4 1.33ghz and 1.5ghz - Macintosh Repository

This is the restore DVD set for both the Mac Mini G4 1.33ghz and 1.5ghz models from late 2005 and it includes Mac OS X 10.4.2 (8D40). Product...

www.macintoshrepository.org

The Tiger restore disc 1 for the early 2005 Mac mini fits on a single-layer DVD, but it's 10.4, and while it boots, the display is unreadable like in post #13 of this thread: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...-issues-w-dell-monitors.2258581/post-29204841

Well then the solution is a 10.4.3 or higher retail DVD. I found the 10.4.3 retail disc image here and it fits onto a single-layer DVD-R. It works!

Mac OS X 10.4.3 Retail Multilingual - PowerPC G3, G4, G5 - Install DVD : Apple : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Mac OS X 10.4.3 Retail Multilingual - PowerPC G3, G4, G5 - Install DVD.2Z691-5599-A.

archive.org

There's also a 10.4.6 retail DVD image on the Internet Archive, but if you download it you'll find it's actually a hacked x86 version. So it will not boot on the PowerPC Mac mini.

 

[MisterAndrew]

I was able to find restore disc sets for both the early 2005 with 10.4 and the late 2005 with 10.4.2 on eBay. The part numbers listed on Macintosh Repository for the 10.4.2 set are correct. I bought the early set too because I have both Mac minis and I don’t know if the Apple Hardware Test software on the late disc works on the early model.