Installed new HD, but funny sign now on screen-never seen it before!

Question

Hi people.
I have an iBook G4 that I bought and it needed some repairs. It came with The old HD had a fatal error, so I bought a SATA 120Gb Western Digital Scorpio drive.
I've put the unit back together, all the cables etc are intact etc. I've booted the computer up with the 10.3.5 install disc 1, and held down the 'C' key. The Apple logo comes up on screen, the spinning gear is spinning quite happily at the bottom, but after about 2 minutes, a new icon appears on the screen (see the link to my Photobucket account for the image):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/DanThe440Man/Random%20Stuff/Snapshot185.j pg
It's like the 'Delete' icon, but in grey. Does anybody know what this means? I have a theory, but not sure if it's right? My iBook is 12" 1.2gHz and was shipped in late '04. When I bought the iBook, the old HD was running 10.4.3, which the guy said was a fresh install. As the original discs were not supplied, amongst the spare parts I bought to fix the computer, I also bought a set of 10.3.5 install discs. When trying to boot up with the install disc 1, thats when I get the funny icon. I also have a black purchased OSX Tiger DVD. When I try and boot up holding the 'C' key with this, it does exactly the same thing.
Is it possible that I need the original (grey) 10.4 discs and not 10.3? Or, does anybody know what the icon means?
Dan

Answer 1

I really think we are zeroing in on what the problem is.
If your iBook originally shipped with Panther 10.3.5, then you would expect the original 10.3.5 Panther disc AND the 10.4 Tiger retail disc to work.
If your iBook originally shipped with Panther 10.3.7, then you would NOT expect the 10.3.5 Panther disc to work since it would be an earlier OS. But you would expect the 10.4 Tiger disc to work.
Since neither disc that you have works, I suspect that you actually have the iBook that shipped with Tiger 10.4. You can confirm this, as Cornelius correctly points out, by calling Apple with the serial number and asking.
I looked at my Tiger retail disc, and it is version 10.4, and it says on it, 2Z691-5305-A. However, I believe that not all Tiger retail discs are identical, but that as later versions of the OS became available, the retail discs incorporated the software updates. So it may well be that the seller had a retail disc that was actually Tiger 10.4.3. That may have been what was installed, and since it actually is a later version of the OS, it may have been backwards compatible and worked. If you have the same Tiger retail disc that I do--10.4, and the iBook actually shipped with 10.4, then I think maybe it does not like the retail disc version, and may not see it as a later version of the OS. I'm not sure I know what the conflict would be, but I'm thinking that there is one, and that is why you are getting the prohibitory sign with the Tiger retail disc.
This is pure speculation on my part--software is basically a great mystery to me. Cornelius is far more experienced and knowledgeable than I am, and I am hoping that he will review this wild theory and weigh in with whether it is nonsense or a possible explanation of why neither disc will work.
In the meantime, do call Apple with the serial number and find out for certain which version of the OS originally shipped on your iBook. That will remove a great deal of uncertainty. You can also order the correct set of discs, as Cornelius points out.
Do you happen to have access to an Apple Store? If so, you might be able to make an appointment at the genius bar and see if they can boot the iBook successfully from a version of the OS that is known to work. If they can, then you know that the iBook and new drive are just fine, and all that you need are the right discs.
Good luck!