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?
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!
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.
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.