IBook G4 Install disks?

Hello, I have an iBook G4 12" 1.0 GHZ with 256MB RAM and I need the original install disks. Does anyone know where I can get them for relatively cheap or if Apple will be able to sell me some? Thanks in advance!

Call Apple to get discs > http://support.apple.com/kb/HE57 As your iBook is an old Macintosh, maybe Apple hasn't got DVDs

Similar Messages

  • I think my ibook g4 install disk might be curupted

    when i insert disk 1 of the ibook g4 install disk it takes forever for the drive to read the disk than when the window opens and i try to run the installer it does not work. i am trying to reinstall quicken that came with my ibook(late 2004 model)if i just try to run the bundeled installer it doesn't even open the installer at all the conputer just frezzes.

    .dfmbldfmbkl;dfmb;dkbmdflkbm

  • Where can I get a Ibook g4 install disk

    Looking to find a reinstall disk for my Ibook G4 Where can I get this or do I have to buy a os x disk?

    Hello,
    Your best to buy the retails version of Mac OS X 10.4 or 10.5 Leopard.
    If your iBook is above 800Mhz processor and the memory is above 512MB, hen Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard is what I'd be buying.
    You can obtain these disks from Amazon, eBay or other online Mac parts vendors.
    Be wanted, these disks can be expensive to buy.
    If your looking for the original system installation disks (they are grey disks) then your best place to look is at a specialist Apple stockist or eBay.
    Best of luck.

  • Uncooperative iBook G4 install

    To make a long story short, I bought a refurb iBook G$ that came with no install disks, and no Admin password. Not (then) knowing how to change the Admin password, I elected to buy the 2-DVD Replacement iBook G4 install disks directly from Apple Care. When I tried to install, everything went fine until the iBook ejected the first disc and asked for the second. EVERY time I tried inserting the 2nd disc, I would immediately get an error message telling me I had to try the install from square one. Did that five times, with various buttons pushed and much cursing, with no joy. I asked some questions in the iBook G4 Discussion forum, got some good information but not quite enough. Now I have a System Install dilemma. Please read on/
    I found this Apple Support document (http://support.apple.com/kb/TA24615) entitled:
    << Mac OS X 10.4: Repeatedly asked to insert Install DVD Disc 2 during installation...
    cutting out a lot of unnecessary verbiage, here are the important points:
    If the issue persists, use another Disc 2. If another Disc 2 is not available, you can complete the installation of Mac OS X with just Disc 1; follow these steps:
    1. Hold your Mac's power button until it turns off.
    2. With Disc 1 in hand, press the power button and immediately insert it and hold the C key until you see the Apple logo. Your Mac should start from Disc 1.
    3. Once started from Disc 1, start the installation process again.
    4. When the "Easy Install on 'Macintosh HD'" window appears, click the Customize button. (If your destination volume is not named "Macintosh HD", a different name will appear.)
    5. Uncheck (deselect) the item "Bundled Software". You may need to click it twice to deselect it.
    6. Click the "Install" or "Upgrade" button to begin the installation. Disc 2, which contains additional bundled software, should not be needed for this installation. At the end of the installation you will have a functional Mac to use.
    I also unchecked the "Language Translations," "Printer Drivers," and "Additional Fonts" . I should have been smart enough to uncheck "Bundled Software" in the first place.
    At any rate, I went ahead with the install, and everything went as it should have done -- almost. When I got to the "Setup Assistant" pane, I started up my PBG4 in Target mode, had a slight glitch when the iBook didn't recognize the connection, reseated the FireWire plugs at both ends, tried again, and it started to transfer info (I unchecked "user accounts" and "files and folders," hoping to transfer just network and other settings, and applications, since my one-disk install didn't include iTunes, etc.). The Setup Assistant pane SEEMED to be OK, and started tranferring information, but the thermometer bar has been stuck at "about 30 minutes to go" for 2 hours now. So I'm still not out of the woods.
    So HERE'S the problem: if this Setup Assitant information transfer is still stuck at "30 minutes to go" a couple hours from now, I'm going to need to shut it down, but as there's no "Back" or "Stop" button on the Setup Assistant pane, I don't know how to do it safely. Can someone tell me how to do this or direct me to a pertinent Apple document?
    If anyone has any hot tips in the meantime -- like, does anyone think it would help to just get the basic "One-Disc Install" System up, forget the "Setup Assistant," let the system open to the finder and then get all the updates, and THEN do Migration Assistant instead of Setup Assistant? -- I'd be most appreciative for any help
    Hot tip: don't buy refurb Apple computers from Computer Surplus, no matter HOW good the price looks.
    Thanks for your time!
    Bart Brown

    By my usual process of throwing enough manure against the wall, I have somehow backed into grabbing victory from the jaws of defeat.
    To make a long story as short as I can, I have followed many of the suggestions here and on the OS X 10.4 Discussion Installation & Setup forum, and I've apparently succeeded in producing a stable, fully functional iBook G4:
    After having the problem with disc 2, I let the iBook stew all Saturday night running a 35-pass security erase, which REALLY erased the disk, and the successful completion of which yesterday morning gave what I hoped was a pretty good indication that the drive read/write heads and other HD mechanisms were working without problem.
    I ran a non-"bundled software" install, which required only the first disk. When I got to Setup Assistant, I put one of my PBG4s into FireWire Target Mode, and connected the other end of the FW cable to the iBook.
    As previously related: "The Setup Assistant pane SEEMED to be OK, and started tranferring information, but the thermometer bar has been stuck at "about 30 minutes to go" for 2 hours now..."
    After a total of 5 hours of Setup Assistant still reading "transferring information," and the thermometer bar STILL stuck at "about 30 minutes to go," and no answer if there was a safe way to shut down the process, I said what the **** and shut down the Target Mode PBG4, disconnected the FireWire cable, and worked my way through the rest of the Install steps to completion and restart.
    Upon restart, I opened the iBook's drive and read the Setup Assistant's error log: it turned out that Setup Assistant migration had transferred absolutely everything I specified except some RealPlayer components, which hardly broke my heart.
    Since Install Disc DVD 1 was still in the iBook's optical drive, I option-booted to the Apple Hardware test and ran the extended version -- no problems encountered.
    After I re-started from that, I ran Software Update, and wandered off to contemplate my navel while the quite large updates slowly (Comcast on a Sunday night) worked their way onto my HD.
    Finished updates, ran Maintenance (permissions, etc.), which I do as a totemic warding off of evil spirits after every major update. Restarted, in a fit of OCD, booting into Apple Hardware Test, ran extended test again. No problems.
    Set up my wife's account, put in the Airport network password, and it hooked up immediately, as did Safari (anyone who still runs a PC should see just this operation alone -- connecting immediately to the net, and not worrying if you have enough virus protection to protect your system for the first 11 nanoseconds you're online -- it would create more converts than a thousand Apple Guy - PC Guy ads)
    Ran full maintenance suite from ICE Clean! v2.5 for OS X 10.4 ("...a powerful System Maintenance and Optimization Tool using only UNIX built-in System Tasks," says the blurb). I also use Titanium's "Maintenance" and "Onyx," because I'm anal-retentive.
    After all that rannygazoo, I sat down and ran some apps, went online and dug around in my usual haunts (including here).
    Bottom Line: Everything works so far. I can't find any glitches (yet), and the iBook has passed every test I've run on it.
    My sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to solving this problem. Without the help here, the iBook would be sitting on the bottom of the pond across the street.
    BTW, there seems to be some confusion about where I acquired this iBook. eBay was in no way involved. I bought it directly from Surplus Computer online. When I got it I found they had provided NO Admin password and NO install disks. To rectify that situation requires (according to their tech support) that you return the iBook to them, and they supposedly "change" and give you the new Admin password, charging a $25.00 tech fee to do so, and send the iBook back to you, ALL postage both ways at customer expense. Does that sound like a scam to anyone else? BBBOnline of San Jose, CA thinks so, and I'll be sending the details of this transaction to them posthaste.
    On the other hand, now that I know how (and have the install discs) to get past this deceitful practice, $329 for a working (eventually!) 12" iBook G4 isn't a bad deal. Working on my 27" iMac, I thought the 12" iBook would require an electron microscope, but it's not a bad size at all, and definitely compact.
    Anyway, thanks again.
    Here's a greenie!

  • Can I upgrade to Tiger on my iBook G4 with a PowerMac G4 Install Disk?

    I am currently running Mac OSX 10.3.9 Panther on my iBook G4 and I want to upgrade to Tiger OSX 10.4. I could possibly upgrade to Leopard, but it may be too much for my system according to Apple's website.
    My father purchased a used copy of Mac OS 10.4 Tiger from eBay and the person told him that it was an original base version of Tiger and would run on any Mac. But when the disk arrived it says that it is for a "PowerMac G4 Software Install and Restore Disk 1 of 1". So I am not sure if this is only designed for the PowerMac desktop computer, or if it can be used safely and 100% compatible on my iBook G4 laptop.
    I took my laptop to the Apple Store and asked the Genius Bar techs who told me that the "firmware" is different on the PowerMac than on my iBook and the disk that I was sent was only for the PowerMac.
    When I read the "read-me" file on the disk, it did not indicate that it was only for a PowerMac only or whether it would work fine on any Mac computer or laptop. So my main question is this: Will this disk work and be compatible with my iBook G4, or was it designed only for the PowerMac?
    Has anyone had any problems with compatibility on an iBook if they used a different computer's OSX 10.4 Tiger install disk?
    If there are problems, where can I find a generic in-the-box version of Tiger or an iBook specific version of Tiger?
    If I install a "used" original version of Tiger am I still eligible for all of the software updates from Apple for OSX 10.4, just like I have been with my current OSX 10.3 Panther?
    Thank you for your help!

    Aaron:
    Welcome to Apple Discussions.
    Computer specific install disks are optimized for the computer to which they are specific and even if you manage to install it without incident, you may end up having issues post installation.
    To install Tiger your computer will need to meet the minimum system requirements for Tiger.
    You will need to purchase the Full Retail version of Tiger.
    Tiger can be purchased from the Apple Store or, on CDs, from AllMac or FastMac. You can also purchase Tiger on eBay if you know what you are looking for. Read all documentation carefully, ask questions of the seller to be sure that you are getting the Full Retail Version. Here are some current offerings on eBay.
    Good luck.
    cornelius

  • Refurbished iBook...no install disks???

    My husband just bought a refurbished 12-inch iBook. Of course, it has all of the standard software loaded on it, but he tells me that he no CDs or any materials with the iBook. Should he have? I'm thinking, so what happens when he has a huge meltdown with his hard drive or an application and needs to reinstall the OS or the apps? Can someone enlighten me? (Perhaps these standard installs are available free via the Internet??)
    Thanks!!
    Diane Wordsmith

    Thanks, Cornelius. I will give that a try. Thanks also dreed2 for your responses. I called the store where it was purchased and asked about this. I also asked our Mac tech support guy here at work. Apparently, you don't receive these when you purchase a refurb. When they refurbish the computer, they upgrade it and install the most recent OS available (in this case, Tiger). So, they aren't even using the install disks that came with the computer. (So where do they do get the disks to install? And why can't the customer have that one?)
    Anyway...that seems to be the way things are. If anyone knows better, please post back. In the meantime, I guess it wouldn't hurt to contact Apple and make the request, as you suggested, Cornelius. Otherwise...if hubby's hard drive dies or requires a new install, I guess we'll be loading Panther on it using the install disks from my (non-refurbed) iBook.
    Diane Wordsmith

  • Ibook g4 won't boot from install disks

    Got an ibook g4 1.33 ghz combo drive from original owner w/install disks. I want to reinstall original system but it won't boot from install disk 1. Tried starting holding down c but ignores disk. Holding down option just gives me the HD. Install disk shows up on desktop and opens. Tried disk utility from install disk but it doesn't allow me to erase the hd. Is there anything else I can do? Thanks.

    OK, so let us suppose that you have the correct disk, the possibilities are:
    • the optical drive is not functioning properly. However, since the disk shows up on the desktop the drive is apparently reading it.
    • the disk itself is the issue. It could the wrong disk, but let us assume it is not. It could be damaged so that it is no longer bootable, or it could dirty. I would begin by giving the disk a good buffing and see if that will encourage it to boot the computer.
    Good luck.
    cornelius

  • IBook G4 won't boot using Install Disk

    My iBook g4 won't boot from its original Mac OS X Install Disk (10.4.2).
    When I try to start by holding down the 'C' key, the drive starts to spin up the disk, but then starts up from the hard drive.
    When using the System Preferences to select the install disk as the start up drive, it shows in the preference pane, I can select it, but when it restarts, I get a flashing question mark before the computer continues by booting up from the hard drive.
    I've also tried holding down the 'Option' key to run the Apple Hardware Test on the disk, but my internal hard drive is my only option when trying this.
    I find it odd that the drive would work normally for all other purposes (reading/writing CD and DVD's), but will not start up from it.
    Thanks in advance for any thoughts or suggestions!

    An update:
    I tested the startup disk using an external FireWire DVD drive and received the exact same results as when attempting to boot from my iBook's internal drive.
    Since it's definitely not the drive, I'd have to agree with you that my install disk is bad (although I'm still at a loss as how an undamaged install disk goes bad).
    You mentioned that Apple Support would replace the disks for a fee. I went through the Apple Support page and which led me to a page informing me that I had to pay $50 to talk to them once about this issue. I'm hesitant to spend $50 on a call where they'll tell me I can purchase new 10.4 install disks for the discounted fee of $50+shipping for a total investment that's almost the cost of simply upgrading to 10.5.
    Has anyone actually purchased replacement install disks from Apple? I'd be interested in knowing what you were charged.
    Or is there another method of contacting Apple regarding this issue that won't cost me $50?

  • Using iBook install disks with Titanium

    Greetings,
    The hard drive on my Titanium died and I'm replacing it. I can't find my set of install disks. Can I use a set for an iBook. They are early 10.2. After I got the OS installed, I planned to use my Tiger update and download the various updates. Will this work. If not, are there other suggestions?
    Thanks,
    Steve
    Dual Processor G4 & G5   Mac OS X (10.4.6)  

    Hello Steve.
    Generally, the install package that ships with a Mac purchase is model and build specific and cannot be used on a different Mac model. You can try and if successful, it may not work correctly.
    When you say use a Tiger update, do you have a Tiger retail install package? If so, you can use the Tiger retail install package to install Tiger on the TiBook but it won't include all software that shipped with the TiBook.
    If you have a Tiger retail install package (non-family pack) that is currently installed and being used on another Mac, technically using this install package on your TiBook is a violation of the single use license agreement so something to keep in mind.

  • Pismo won't boot from install disks

    Hi! I've looked to find the answer elsewhere, but no luck... apologies if this has already been answered.
    I have a Powerbook G3 Pismo which I now need to use to run Hypercard. (Yes!)
    It has been sitting unused for over a year.
    It didn't start up.
    I found an article that explained how to remove the PRAM battery. I did so. It starts up fine when connected to power.
    I have ordered a new PRAM battery, but it hasn't arrived yet. I decided to go ahead and try to get it to boot.
    When I powered up, I got the alternating icon saying it couldn't find an installed system.
    I guessed that the hard drive had become corrupt, so I rebooted into Target Disk mode. It worked!
    I connected it via FireWire to a MacBook Pro. The Pismo did show up as an external firewire hard drive. Good!
    Using OS X Disk Utility, I erased the Pismo drive.
    I couldn't decide whether to use OS X Extended, or OS X Extended (Journaled).
    I didn't know about any options to install drivers for OS 9, so I probably did the wrong thing. (Pismo can boot into either OS 9 or OS X, I think.)
    I tried to fix this later (see below).
    I disconnected the Firewire and shut down.
    I finally got the Pismo to boot up from a MacWarrior CD (a 3rd-party disk utility that fixes directory problems). I used it to fix the directory.
    It still wouldn't boot from the original disks that came with the Pismo. The optical reader whirred away, I got a blank gray screen, it whirred again, I got another blank gray screen, but the cursor never showed up in the upper left corner. After half an hour, it had made no progress.
    I reconnected the Pismo to the Macbook Pro using Firewire.
    I tried to install Tiger on the Pismo using my officially purchased, large-box Tiger software. The Macbook Pro mounted the disk, but when I ran the installer, it told me I couldn't install Tiger on this machine (the Macbook Pro, duh!) and only gave me the option to quit.I thought that I could use an all-model install disk to install OS X on ANY external hard drive! What gives???!???
    I tried to boot from the AppleCare Protection Plan's TechTool Deluxe.
    It seemed to be booting fine into 9.1. Yippee!
    It halted with a System Error (address error) telling me to restart holding down the Shift key.
    I do so. It seemed to be booting fine into 9.1 again, Extensions Off.
    But it halted with the same System Error.
    I read about OS 9 drivers and went back into Disk Utility using the Macbook Pro.
    Using Firewire to access my Pismo hard drive, I re-erased everything and made the partition have an Apple Partition Map.
    I did not see any option to check or uncheck that mentioned installing OS 9 drivers. Did I miss it? Was it not there because I'm using a recent version of Disk Utility?
    Same problems. Can't boot from the original Pismo "Software Restore" or "Software Install" disks, nor the TechTool Deluxe...
    VERY FRUSTRATING! Have I tried everything? Has the hard drive gone bad?
    Any help would be appreciated.

    My new PRAM battery has been installed. I reset PRAM by doing a command-option-P-R.
    The problem remains, but it's getting more consistent, which I guess is progress. With the Pismo connected to AC power (all my batteries are, of course, dead by now), the following has happened:
    When I start up with the Tiger installation disk, everything goes smoothly, the gray Apple logo appears, and then, suddenly, a flurry of white text on an irregular black background floods the screen. Darwin says there's a kernel panic and they're in a loop ("we are hanging here").
    When I start up with the original Software Restore disk, the blank gray screen blinks, turns a different shade of gray, the cursor arrow shows up in the upper left-hand corner, and it hangs. The cursor arrow doesn't respond to the trackpad; it's frozen.
    When I start with the original Software Install disk, the same sequence takes place, but there is no cursor arrow that shows up. It just has the gray screen, a blink with a slightly different shade of gray, then it hangs.
    The behavior is exactly the same for all 3 disks (respectively) when I use the MacBook Pro to start up:
    Insert Pismo or Tiger disk into MacBook Pro (counterintuitively).
    Start up the Pro in Target mode. Connect to Pismo using Firewire cable.
    Start up Pismo. Pismo takes awhile to notice the Firewire disk, but eventually does.
    Then it tries to use the disk in the Pro, but ends up acting case-by-case as it did when each disk was in the Pismo's drive (kernel panic hanging, gray screen with arrow, gray screen without arrow).
    Helllllp!
    My last chance will be to take a hard drive from a defunct ice iBook (dual USB) and use it to replace the factory-supplied Pismo drive. That iBook was a G4; the Pismo is a G3 (I believe). If there has developed a deep, difficult problem with the Pismo's hard drive, hopefully this will solve it:
    I will try to boot from the iBook-drive-in-the-Pismo. I doubt this will work. If it does, great! If not...
    I will try to boot from the Tiger installation disk, and if that works, try to install the Tiger software on it.
    If that doesn't work, I will try to boot from the Software Restore and the Software Install disks.
    If that doesn't work, I give up!!!! Unless someone here has a better idea.

  • Error when trying to start from install disk OS X 10.4

    Hi,
    I have an iBook G4 with the 1.42 GHz model, 60 GB, 512 RAM. I am running OSX 10.4.11. I would like to get it to run better. I installed TenFourFox as my new browser, that seemed to help, but it's still pretty slow. So then I freed up some more space on the hard drive. Then I started it up in Safe Mode, then I ran the disk utility and repaired the disk permissions. I ran the disk verify and found errors, and I then ran fsck - y at the command line. That seemed to get rid of the errors, but I am thinking I should format the hard drive and do a clean install.
    Will doing a clean install help the computer run better/ faster? How can I do it? I am running into errors...
    I lost the install disks, but luckily a friend of mine had a copy.
    I insert the disk, power down, and restart.
    I get the a really long error message, below are snippets:
    panic(cpu 0 caller 0x002E0BF4): Unable to find driver for this platform: "PowerBook6,7"
    Latest stack backtrace for cpu 0:
    Backtrace 0x00099EA4 0x0009A860 0x00027A28 0x002E)B4.....
    No debugger configured - dumping debug information...
    panic: We are hanging here.
    Is there something wrong with my computer? Or are the install disks not compatible? Maybe they were install disks for a powerbook and not an iBook (not sure if that matters).
    I am also considering installing RAM. Will that help a lot with the speed (i.e. 50% faster?) or just a little?
    Thanks a lot for any input!

    Wrong install Disc, that one is machine specific, & doubtful a reinstall will help all that much.
    More RAM will likely help, but not awfully likely it'll be 50%.
    To tell, ehen it gets slow, Open Activity Monitor, Show:>All Processes, sort on CPU%, see if anything using too much CPU% when this happens, click on Memory tab, do you have many Pageouts?

  • Problems booting from install disk

    Somehow, my hard disk has been corrupted, or something. First symptom I noticed - when booting up, I get stuck on that blank blue screen for, oh, 5 minutes or so, before flashing back to the grey Apple logo screen, then finally getting to the desktop. I tried repairing permissions via Disk Utility; it spun for 10 minutes without doing anything, so I stopped the process. The "Repair Disk" function in Disk Utility was not available for some reason, so I tried "Verify Disk." This failed. I forget the exact wording of the error message, but it said, in essence, that the disk was corrupted and I should run Disk Utility from the system install disk.
    Here it gets interesting. I have an MBA SuperDrive, so I first tried booting from there. I'd forgotten about holding down "c" I just held Option, selected the disk, and tried to boot from it. I got a grey screen with the grey Apple logo and a spinning gear; then the Apple logo was replaced by a grey circle with a diagonal line through it (like, from a "no smoking" sign or something) and a spinning gear... this persisted for another 10 minutes or so without going anywhere, so I forced a shutdown.
    Thinking the problem might be the SuperDrive, I tried to do the same procedure via Remote Disk (from an iBook G4 running 10.5.5). I followed the instructions, connected the MBA to my wireless network, it found the remote disk, tried to boot from it - but I got the same behavior. Grey Apple screen giving way to grey circle with a diagonal line through it, and an endlessly spinning gear underneath.
    What in the world is going on here?

    Hi,
    Sounds like your hard drive might be the problem here, sometimes when a hard drive is faulty, it can prevent a system from booting, even to the CD. Unfortunately, with the macbook air, you can't remove the hard drive to test this, and in any case, I would certainly take it in to have it looked at.

  • Problems booting from install disk with MacBook Air

    (I'm posting this here b/c it's been three days since I posted this in the /MacBook Air/Networking section and no one's touched it...)
    Somehow, the hard disk in my MBA has been corrupted, or something. First symptom I noticed - when booting up, I get stuck on that blank blue screen for, oh, 5 minutes or so, before flashing back to the grey Apple logo screen, then finally getting to the desktop. I tried repairing permissions via Disk Utility; it spun for 10 minutes without doing anything, so I stopped the process. The "Repair Disk" function in Disk Utility was not available for some reason, so I tried "Verify Disk." This failed. I forget the exact wording of the error message, but it said, in essence, that the disk was corrupted and I should run Disk Utility from the system install disk.
    Here it gets interesting. I have an MBA SuperDrive, so I first tried booting from there. I'd forgotten about holding down "c" I just held Option, selected the disk, and tried to boot from it. I got a grey screen with the grey Apple logo and a spinning gear; then the Apple logo was replaced by a grey circle with a diagonal line through it (like, from a "no smoking" sign or something) and a spinning gear... this persisted for another 10 minutes or so without going anywhere, so I forced a shutdown.
    Thinking the problem might be the SuperDrive, I tried to do the same procedure via Remote Disk (from an iBook G4 running 10.5.5). I followed the instructions, connected the MBA to my wireless network, it found the remote disk, tried to boot from it - but I got the same behavior. Grey Apple screen giving way to grey circle with a diagonal line through it, and an endlessly spinning gear underneath.
    What in the world is going on here?
    Message was edited by: Jonathan Kussmaul

    You seem to have a lot of problems, the last being a kernel panic. This is often attributed to a hardware failure including the possibility of defective RAM.
    They are not easy to track down but here are some suggestions to assist you.
    What is a Kernel panic?
    Resolving Kernel Panic's by Dr Smoke
    However, try once again to boot from the install DVD and perform Repair Disk, otherwise, start on the troubleshooting.

  • Reinstall OS hangup: Install disk can't find hard drive

    Hi all,
    I'm trying to reinstall OS X.3 on my daughter's iBook G4. I had it running ok but Safari wasn't working so I decided to do a clean install of the OS.
    Somewhere along the line the internal HD disappeared from the install disk's radar, so to speak. If you're familiar with the install sequence, I can pin-point where things go wrong. Right after the window concerning software agreement--where you check "I agree"--the next window instantly opens asking where to install the software. The problem is the window does not show any drive to select. It's all just white space.
    The reason I have to keep trying to reinstall the OS is that if I allow the computer to boot itself, it will display the prohibitory sign (circle with diagonal line) and that's as far as it goes. I have tried using the original install CD, another Panther disk, a Tiger disk and TechTool Pro 4. I've also been able to bring up Apple's own Disk Utility but it can't repair the disk--something is wrong with the allocation section of the volume structure, it reports.
    Here's another clue: The battery will no longer hold a charge. This created a bad situation during my first attempt to reinstall the OS, because the power cable accidentally got pulled out and there was apparently no power in the battery so everything grounded to a halt. I haven't been able to get the computer to boot up since.
    I realize I may have to erase her drive in order to get up and going again, but, failing to heed Daddy's past warnings to Backup! Backup! Backup! she has no way to restore her data. This is, of course, tragic.
    Any ideas? Any lifelines to throw out?
    Thanks for reading this rather lengthy post. Help, as always would be most appreciated.
    Ddale53
    Powerbook G4   Mac OS X (10.4)  
    Powerbook G3 Pismo FW   Mac OS X (10.3)  
    Powerbook G3 Pismo FW   Mac OS X (10.3)  

    You need to reformat the drive before reinstalling the OS or do an Archive install. It wont let you install the OS because there is a newer version installed (is it upgraded to 10.3.9?).
    From the sounds of things you'll want to do an archive install. Go down to options (it will show up on the bottom of the installer window where the drives show up). Then click on it and select archive install and away you go.

  • Second Panther Install Disk not recognized

    I am trying to reinstall OS 10.3 from the original, full retail version CDs, doing a complete clean install.
    I have successfully installed disk one, but then when prompted to insert disk 2, I do so and nothing happens.
    I don't think it is a problem with my CD or the drive because:
    1. The CD is clean.
    2. My G4 reads it fine.
    3. The other CDs have worked, including the first install disk.
    So I chose to cancel the rest of the installation.
    The computer boots up all right as is, but then it won't eject the second install CD. So I restarted and pushed the eject button on the keyboard during restart to get it out.
    Once the computer is restarted again, I put disk 2 back in, to see if I can install that way. Same problem, but now it not only won't read the disk (although the CD drive is making plenty of noise trying to), but it also slows everything else down to a grinding halt. The finder takes MINUTES to open and close windows. But again, the CD won't eject, so I have to push the eject button during another restart. Once the CD is out, the OS runs smoothly again.
    My questions are:
    1. What is going on?
    2. How do I get my computer to recognize this disk?
    3. Can I work around this problem by copying the installer package files from my G4 (which CAN read the CD) to the iBook (which gags on the CD)?
    4. Are there any other suggestions?
    Help!

    I tried creating a disk image to copy the second install disk as you suggested, but about halfway through the process, I got this error message:
    "Stop. Input/Output Error"
    Does this confirm that the disk itself is corrupt? I followed the step-by-step instructions on the Apple support pages, just to be sure I did everything right.
    Sooo, if the CD has some problem with it, and yet my G4 can read it (but apparently cannot copy it), I have another question:
    Will I be able to run the installer on my G4 while using the iBook as my Target Disk ? I can't figure out how that would work. (I already have a firewire connection between the two computers.)
    Thanks for your help.

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