Installing Mac OS version 10.0.4 for a Power Mac G4

Question

Wondering if anyone can help me, I spent all day trying to reinstall the Mac OS version 10.0.4 software that came with the computer in the first place. Decided we needed to restore our Power Mac G4 to its original state. I know, its 8 years old! LOL. I erased the HD and used all 4 restoring CD's. Came up at the end saying that the restore couldn't be completed cause it could not restore a "restricted-image". We ignored that and just moved on and installed the Mac OS 9.2 software- which seems to work. Then when we tried to install the Mac OS 10.0.4 software installer CD, the small little happy face computer came up on screen and so did that darn spinning ball! Then the ball froze and stopped spinning and we couldn't install the Mac OS 10.0.4 software CD at all. I don't know how many times we tried it. But it did it every time! So I tried to skip that and go directly to installing the Mac OS X 10.4. But the computer kept ejecting it every single time! It just wouldn't take it.
Someone please help! I'm going crazy with this thing!
Sincerely frustrated!

Answer 1

Be sure the computer shipped with those discs, & before attempting again
to install anything, use the disk tools in OS 9 and have then erase the
whole hard disk drive, and then reformat it. Nothing should be on the drive.
Then use the OS 9 installer, be sure to install OS 9 Drivers as part of the
installation, so you will have a running system. If there are any options,
in directing the installer to add extras, maybe due to the vintage of the
computer, you should be sure they are all installed.
(If the computer required OS X to be installed first, then you have a
different vintage issue on your hands. Some were that way.)
If one of the discs has a scratch or smudge, or if they aren't all for
the computer in question, the issue may be due to those details.
When you have OS 9 running on the computer, you could try going on-
line and running the OS 9 software update to see if there are some odd
updates to add to the running system. You may have to rebuild the
desktop and other routines for OS 9 to work, and continue to do so, as
a part of the install and update process.
If you have any proper OS 9 vintage disk utilities, you may wish to see
if any of them were decidedly good to use, and if not, discard them. A
few were great, and some were OK. Later on, some of the OS9 names
were making stuff for OS X; and a few were bad at it. Be advised.
OS 10.0 is hardly considered an operating system and nothing available
after that required it to be on the computer before hand; so it may be a
good deal to not install OS X 10.0.0 ~ 10.2.8 versions at all. Panther 10.3
was the first really ready OS X version for general purposes & it did well;
however, there are no new browser or much of anything current for it,
and no security updates, either.
If you do go into OS X, you may need to see if there is a suitable Firmware
Update required for that computer, to run OS X 10.2 or later (or any) and
if the Boot ROM or other indicator of a firmware version appears in the OS9
System Profiler, note what it is. The firmware should be updated and the
download from Apple Support for those older computer updates is free.
Since it is a G4 (you say) it may not need a firmware update. Check.
{If you had a retail installer for Panther 10.3 and went through the steps to
include the disc set and what not with the computer, or installed it (by so
doing, that beings a process of personalizing the installation; a new owner
may have to change the password to use it, but whatever name is used
to set up the new OS X system will remain in the computer.) They may not
like having your name in their computer; or having to reinstall & update it.}
A working OS 9.2.2 in a clean machine, without issues, with installer discs
to support the license agreement behind the system within the computer, is
set for use or sale; to install a very old OS X system is no advantage. To
include a vintage and basic OS X 10.3 retail installer disc set would leave
the window of opportunity for the machine to run a practical old OS X.
Note:
+Some computers shipped with installer discs which required a certain+
+and specific install path to get OS 9.0.x or 9.1, or 9.2 installed first,+
+and then the option sometimes was OS X 10.0 or 10.1, etc. Later on,+
+some of the dual-boot computers had to have a correct OS X 10.+
+installed first and then an OS 9.2 installed from a special OS 9 disc.+
If you are curious about your computer's exact identity, you could
try matching it by model number and build date era either from the
database at Apple Support (see products listing in scroll sidebar)
or see if you can use the information in the free download of the
handy database from MacTracker from: http://mactracker.ca
While I could probably spend some more time on this, and find
most of the details, I don't have the computer sitting here. You do.
Good luck & happy computing!