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Ummm, stupid question....

Mike Aimer

Mike Aimer

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 22, 2008
15
0
Chicago
...but I'm just learning.

Bought a used G4 with Jaguar on it.
Over the years, upgraded to Panther via a multiple upgrade that my boss had purchased. He gave me one, he's a good guy!
So far, legal as far as I know.
One day (recently) my hard drive crashes.
I install a new drive and install OS X with install disc from when I bought the computer off suck-bay.
I now have a G4 running 10.1.5.
Do I really have to buy Jaguar AND Panther to get back to where I was?!!
What are the odds I can grab the OS from the bad disc? I already spent $100 on Disk Warrior. I didn't anticipate this situation.
 
let this be a lesson to always back up! that is key.
also you don't have to buy both, you can just get a retail version of Panther and install it, tiger might even work depending on the specs. i'm sure you can find a used copy on ebay or something.
 
If the drive crashed, you probably cant recover the OS from it.

You don't need to buy both - you can go straight to Panther.
 
Back up?
I use the G4 for Pro Tools. I back up my sessions on DVDs, but I'm not hip to backing up an entire operating system. Do tell.
 
PlaceofDis said:
you can just get a retail version of Panther and install it, tiger might even work depending on the specs. i'm sure you can find a used copy on ebay or something.
Click to expand...

Just highlighting part of what PoD said... RETAIL DISC. Make sure you're getting a retail disc either by looking for an ad that shows you the retail box or by looking to verify that the discs are black DVDs with a big stylized X on them. The grey discs are system restore CDs or DVDs and they only work with the model and generation with which they were shipped.
 
Mike Aimer said:
Back up?
I use the G4 for Pro Tools. I back up my sessions on DVDs, but I'm not hip to backing up an entire operating system. Do tell.
Click to expand...

It's wise to back up everything for just such an occasion, but at least you have backups of the important stuff.
 
Mike Aimer said:
Back up?
I use the G4 for Pro Tools. I back up my sessions on DVDs, but I'm not hip to backing up an entire operating system. Do tell.
Click to expand...

What many Mac users do is use CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper (I use the latter) and a USB or Firewire (again, I use the latter) external HD. They're not super expensive, and they're so good for peace of mind....
 
mkrishnan said:
Just highlighting part of what PoD said... RETAIL DISC. Make sure you're getting a retail disc either by looking for an ad that shows you the retail box or by looking to verify that the discs are black DVDs with a big stylized X on them. The grey discs are system restore CDs or DVDs and they only work with the model and generation with which they were shipped.
Click to expand...
To take that one step further, if you find something and are not sure, just post it here, and we'll check it out for you and give our opinion.
 
redwarrior said:
To take that one step further, if you find something and are not sure, just post it here, and we'll check it out for you and give our opinion.
Click to expand...

Definitely -- good recommendation. Just as long as you're not asking whether you should get a white MacBook or a black MacBook. Cuz, you know, I doesn't care about that. :eek:
 
O.K. the plot thickens (more stupid questions).
The drive that crashed was partitioned to run both X and 9. It was the 9 side that wouldn't mount on the desktop. The X side would boot up and I was even able to pull stuff from using the Disk Warrior. Can I put the drive in and try one last time to grab the OS?
 
Mike Aimer said:
O.K. the plot thickens (more stupid questions).
The drive that crashed was partitioned to run both X and 9. It was the 9 side that wouldn't mount on the desktop. The X side would boot up and I was even able to pull stuff from using the Disk Warrior. Can I put the drive in and try one last time to grab the OS?
Click to expand...

Hmmm... if the drive can be booted up off one OS on it and not the other, the "crash" is probably a logical problem (meaning the disk format or partition integrity or something is off) and not a physical one (a broken drive should pretty much just not be working at all).

Can you try to recover? Sure, why not? You can probably even try just reformatting it after that and see if it doesn't just continue to be a completely usable drive....
 
Sometimes OS X desktop will just boot, other times, I have to boot up with system disk or Option. Disk Warrior can access OS X but not OS 9.
I'm out of my area of expertise. I'm trying to play it safe and research, but I'm also on a time constraint to get back up and running.
 
While you have the chance, you should grab a clone of that OS X partition. You'll need an external drive with Firewire to be able to boot a G4 off the clone. If I were you I'd make that a priority for tomorrow.
 
plinden said:
While you have the chance, you should grab a clone of that OS X partition. You'll need an external drive with Firewire to be able to boot a G4 off the clone. If I were you I'd make that a priority for tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Right! I've got a 1TB firewire drive! How do I make a clone? Just drag and drop? Perhaps the Apple menu? I'm stupid here, so make it real specific!
Thanks!
 
You'll want a bootable clone so you need extra software. Get Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper. I've used both - either is fine. Just follow the instructions - you also want to partition the external drive to avoid overwriting what data you have on it. Do that from Disk Utility - make it the same size as your current OS X partition. Make sure that when you choose the destination for the cloning process, you choose the right partition.

Yes, I've cloned to the wrong partition myself. Luckily I have two copies of everything.
 
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