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Problem with Tiger install on G4 using Target Disc Mode

M

MedStudent

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 1, 2010
11
0
I'm attempting to install Tiger on older G4 without a DVD. I'm using an eMac in Target Disc Mode -- with the Tiger install disc in DVD drive -- to do the installation. However, I'm running into a problem.

I can set up the eMac in TDM without a problem. The G4 sees the eMac and Tiger install disc. Contents for each volume are visible in the G4. However, when I attempt to reboot the G4, the computer boots from the internal drive. I've tried option boot...no luck. In the 'Start Up' option in the G4 control panel, the eMac and Tiger volumes are listed, but they are grayed out. I cannot select them.

The G4 is a PCI graphics model running OS 9.2.2. I've checked firmware on each computer. Each is up-to-date.

Any help here would be greatly appreciated.
 
Are you using machine-specific grey install discs? That might be the problem.

Another option is to network the two computers with an ethernet cable and try a network install. I seem to recall doing this several years ago when I had problems with Target Disk Mode on one of my computers. It worked, but I can't recall exactly what I did.
 
No, the discs are black. I purchased them separately after I bought computer.

Ethernet option sounds interesting. I'll have to research it...unless you have link on instructiuons.
 
Reverse the process. Startup the eMac from the Tiger DVD with the G4 in TDM. The installer will let you choose to install it on the G4's hard drive.

Let us know if that helps!

jW
 
MedStudent said:
G4 will not start up in target disc mode.
Click to expand...

:confused: That's... odd. Try resetting the PRAM (hold :apple:-option-P-R at startup until you've heard the chime 3-4 times), then try again. You can also reset the Open Firmware on both machines. Hold down :apple:-option-O-F at startup, then when presented with the command prompt, enter "reset-all" (without the quotes, of course), and hit enter. The computer will restart, and you can immediately try target mode from there.

Also, does it allow you to boot into target mode from the Startup Disk pane in System Preferences? (There should be a button under the drive list to boot into Target Disk Mode, though I forget when that was added.)

jW
 
MedStudent said:
I'll try your suggestions. However, the G4 PCI is not listed by Apple as a model that can be used as target computer -- http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661.

Also, I don't recall seeing a target disc mode option in Startup Disk window.
Click to expand...

Ah, interesting. Haven't dealt with that issue on a computer of that age. If it doesn't support target mode, and won't recognize the disk from the other computer which does, you may not be able to do this outside of (potentially) the ethernet solution listed above. I've never used that method though, so you'll have to refer to spice weasel for instructions.

jW

EDIT: Actually, just had another thought. You said that Startup Disk had the other disks greyed out, and you couldn't select them. Did you try booting the computer with the option key held down? I believe that model should support that (it's a function of the Open Firmware).
 
Another possible option:

Connect an external firewire (USB won't work for this) hard drive to the eMac, install Tiger on it, check to see if it's bootable on the eMac. Disconnect drive and move to PowerMac, boot PowerMac from external drive, use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone the external drive to the PowerMac's internal drive.
 
Thanks.

I've tried the option boot...no luck. Computer just boots from internal drive.

Question regarding external firewire drive option...Is there something specifically that I need to do to make the external drive bootable, or is it simply a case of transferring all the Tiger Install disc files to drive and then selecting that drive in Startup control panel?

I'm actually at the end of the line attempting a resolution to this. Wondering if it is worth the effort, or if this problem is just sign of more difficult problems ahead if I ever do get the install to work correctly. If external fw drive option doesn't work, I may try to swap out the cd drive for a dvd drive.
 
Use Disk Utility's "Restore" tab to copy the install disk onto the FireWire drive. It will leave the OS intact during the copy. If you try to just drag-and-drop, it won't be bootable.

jW
 
What I had in mind, was formatting the external hard drive and then installing Tiger on it from the install DVD, using the eMac. I believe that this would result in a bootable firewire hard drive with the full install of Tiger on it. That external could then be used to boot the G4 and then use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone the full Tiger install from the external to the G4's internal hard drive.
 
Ah, yes, that would work fine as well. Probably an easier tactic in the end, plus you have the bootable drive until you repurpose it, so you can boot from it if anything goes wrong.

jW
 
Mal said:
:confused: That's... odd. Try resetting the PRAM (hold :apple:-option-P-R at startup until you've heard the chime 3-4 times), then try again. You can also reset the Open Firmware on both machines. Hold down :apple:-option-O-F at startup, then when presented with the command prompt, enter "reset-all" (without the quotes, of course), and hit enter. The computer will restart, and you can immediately try target mode from there.

Also, does it allow you to boot into target mode from the Startup Disk pane in System Preferences? (There should be a button under the drive list to boot into Target Disk Mode, though I forget when that was added.)

jW
Click to expand...

If this is an old G4 Sawtooth, they can't go into target disk mode.

EDIT: Sorry, just noticed that someone else posted this above.
 
Is Carbon Copy Cloner more efficient than Disc Utility in creating a startup disc?
 
MedStudent said:
Is Carbon Copy Cloner more efficient than Disc Utility in creating a startup disc?
Click to expand...

Actually, you would use Disk Utility to erase/format the hard drive in the G4 and then use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone the external to the G4s internal. I don't believe that Carbon Copy Cloner does disk formatting and such, so you'd have to use Disk Utility any way. Carbon Copy Cloner is a good piece of software and it's donationware, so, if you only used it once or twice I suppose you could use it for free if need be.
 
MedStudent said:
Is Carbon Copy Cloner more efficient than Disc Utility in creating a startup disc?
Click to expand...
CCC does a good job with any kind of Mac. Just make sure the drive you're booting from is formatted and partitioned correctly (i.e. Apple Partition Map for PPC Macs, GUID Partition Table for Intel Macs, Mac OS Extended format) before you go ahead.
 
MedStudent said:
Is Carbon Copy Cloner more efficient than Disc Utility in creating a startup disc?
Click to expand...

I've found that it's usually faster, and the quality should be the same (since both create exact copies), so yeah, that would make it more efficient. I'd go with it over Disk Utility for that part of the process.

jW
 
Thanks for all who contributed with help in this thread. CCC worked perfectly on a tested computer. Unfortunately, it did not work on my G4 PCI. I've since discovered that the G4 PCI is non-bootable from an external firewire drive. It can only be booted from internal drive. Thanks again.
 
MedStudent said:
Thanks for all who contributed with help in this thread. CCC worked perfectly on a tested computer. Unfortunately, it did not work on my G4 PCI. I've since discovered that the G4 PCI is non-bootable from an external firewire drive. It can only be booted from internal drive. Thanks again.
Click to expand...

I did not know that. Sorry to hear that you've reached a dead end as far as the external goes.
 
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