So close but so far

[Ih8reno]

Just picked up a free powerbook G4, was under the impression it was a 2006 machine but in fact it's 2002. No battery and no hard drive. I got it to turn on and the cd drive spins and the screen turns grey. So frustrating but I can't seem to find an ultra ata drive in my area, cheap also would be great. Cool looking Powerbook though and will look great in my collection.

 

[Hrududu]

The paint on that one looks really nice! What model is it? These late TiBooks actually perform really well with that 1MB L3 cache they have. Never had an early TiBook, but I've got a 667MHz DVI and an 867MHz model as well. The super thin screen bezel really make the thing look sharp.

 

[eyoungren]

My son has the 1.0Ghz TiBook. 1GB ram, 100GB hard drive running 10.5.8.

Doesn't look as nice as this though. However, his screen is a lower resolution because his Mac came from a business liquidator with broken hinges and a bad LCVD cable. I swapped it for the screen (with hinges) from my old dead TiBook/400.

In a sense that old TiBook is living on. That screen is 13.5 years old and still going. Backlight's still good too.

My son's Mac is pretty much a rocket.

 

[Hrududu]

My son has the 1.0Ghz TiBook. 1GB ram, 100GB hard drive running 10.5.8.

Doesn't look as nice as this though. However, his screen is a lower resolution because his Mac came from a business liquidator with broken hinges and a bad LCVD cable. I swapped it for the screen (with hinges) from my old dead TiBook/400.

In a sense that old TiBook is living on. That screen is 13.5 years old and still going. Backlight's still good too.

My son's Mac is pretty much a rocket.

I bet that thing screams! My 867 has a flaky RAM slot which makes it crash with more than a 256MB chip in the lower slot, so it will only run with 768MB, and Leopard refuses to run on it with ANY ram in the lower slot, so its stuck on Tiger. With Tiger and 768MB it runs beautifully though.

 

[eyoungren]

I bet that thing screams! My 867 has a flaky RAM slot which makes it crash with more than a 256MB chip in the lower slot, so it will only run with 768MB, and Leopard refuses to run on it with ANY ram in the lower slot, so its stuck on Tiger. With Tiger and 768MB it runs beautifully though.

Yeah, I was pretty surprised by it's performance too. Had to hold myself back from taking it as my own, LOL!

Runs really smooth. His only complaint is about compatibility issues. He wants to run certain stuff on it that you just can't because it's PowerPC.

Waiting for the OP to post back though. Looks like he got a good looking TiBook!

 

[gavinstubbs09]

Looks like the paint isn't coming off and is in little spots. Certainly clean for a 2002! No dents from the pictures, where these things are usually tore up.

I always wanted a TiBook, wouldn't serve me any real use unfortunately these days. I was close to buying one that was in damn near perfect shape for $100, but it was at a bad time for me. Someday!

 

[tom vilsack]

where is your local area...I have a old 30g ide drive I could give ya if not overseas ect....or just try asking on your local craigs for a cheap one....these are fairly easy to open and change up the harddrives....only thing is they can run real hot!

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/PowerBook+G4+Titanium+DVI+Hard+Drive+Replacement/90

 

[Cox Orange]

RE drives, why not Ebay? If you are scared you will get a worn out one, ask the seller, if he has the S.M.A.R.T info on the power on hours.

 

[Ih8reno]

Hey guys, it's a 1ghz model and while the top looks fine the guy who gave it to me did a number cracking it open to take out the hdd and removed the battery as well. As for where I am I'm located in Canada. Funny thing last night I went out to get 2 macs, this and a 512k Mac I picked up with disks and external 800k drive for $25. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to work either.

 

[Ih8reno]

Quick question, can it be booted from usb without a hdd?

 

[Intell]

Quick question, can it be booted from usb without a hdd?

Yes, very easily. But remember it will be very slow because of the Powerbook's USB 1.1 interface.

 

[Ih8reno]

Ok, well I must be doing something wrong. I used carbon copy on a USB key and copied an install of tiger onto the key. When I tried booting while pressing option nothing happens, simply grey screen. When I click c when it boots the key keeps flashing but the screen stays grey:

 

[tom vilsack]

-where in canada...im in vancouver(delta)

-even if you do get a usb stick to boot it will be veryyyyyyyyy slow

-to boot from usb try this

command option O+F (to boot to open firmware)

then depending on usb slot your using try typing this command at prompt

boot usb 0/disk@1:3,\\:tbxi

or

boot usb 1/disk@1:3,\\:tbxi

 

[Intell]

Pressing C doesn't work for USB drives and doesn't always work for optical drives. Because your machine is a USB 1.1 PowerMac, you do not need to enter OpenFirmware commands to get it to boot from a USB device. It's very likely that you didn't properly format the USB device or the USB device you're using isn't compatible.

 

[eyoungren]

I am not disagreeing with Intell, but it has been my own experience that getting a PowerPC Mac to boot from USB requires boot commands from inside Open Firmware.

Maybe I've just been doing it wrong all these years, IDK.

Anyway, what you want to do is use Disk Utility to restore your Tiger Disk to the USB stick. Using CCC won't work. You'll also want to partition the USB stick correctly, probably a 4.7GB partition or so if the disk is a DVD.

 

[Altemose]

Ok, well I must be doing something wrong. I used carbon copy on a USB key and copied an install of tiger onto the key. When I tried booting while pressing option nothing happens, simply grey screen. When I click c when it boots the key keeps flashing but the screen stays grey:Image

Pressing C tells the Mac to boot off an optical disk. Holding OPT works for some USB drives on some systems, but many times you need OpenFirmware. Since this is a 1.1 it should work with the OPT menu provided the disk is formatted properly for booting.

 

[Ih8reno]

So how do I make a bootable tiger USB key? Any instructions online

 

[reco2011]

So how do I make a bootable tiger USB key? Any instructions online

Doesn't this fall under the category of piracy?

 

[eyoungren]

So how do I make a bootable tiger USB key? Any instructions online

Have a look here. Substitute Tiger 10.4 for every mention in the link about Leopard 10.5.

 

[Ih8reno]

I have the disks as apple sent them to me for free

 

[reco2011]

I have the disks as apple sent them to me for free

If you have the discs then just use them.

 

[Ih8reno]

It has no hard drive, how can I use them

 

[eyoungren]

It has no hard drive, how can I use them

You know, I completely forgot that you mentioned it has no hard drive. Until you get one it's going to be very difficult to use this Mac.

The links I am providing just assume you're booting from the installer on USB to install to a hard drive.

I suppose that if you had two USB sticks you could boot from one (using the OF instructions linked to) and install to the other and use that as your "hard drive". It's technically feasible but I don't know if it's worth it. Every time you reboot you'd have to do it from open firmware and pull the stick out accidentally and the system will freeze.

Your best bet is to get a hard drive first and go from there.

 

[Ih8reno]

That's what I thought. I simply thought it would be possible from a USB key or an external drive with Tiger or Leopard on it. Thanks everyone I really do appreciate the help.

 

[iMacC2D]

Removed.