Installing Leopard on a Powerbook G4

Question

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Installing Leopard on a Powerbook G4

I had a Powerbook G4 with 867 MHz PowerPC donated to my classroom with 10.3.9 on it. I upgraded the RAM, put in a 1 GB of RAM. I have the copy of Leopard that I bought and read that it should load on to this Powerbook. Yet I can't seem to get it to load; when I select DVD the white apple comes up, and then nothing. Will the Powerbook really run Leopard?

Powerbook G4, Mac OS X (10.3.x), 867 MHz PowerPC G4 processor

Posted on Nov 25, 2008 2:50 PM

Answer 1

Kappy

Level 10

363,125 points

Nov 25, 2008 3:05 PM in response to gryphiniii

Yes. Insert the installer DVD into the optical drive and restart the computer. After the chime press and hold down the "C" key until the spinning gear appears below the dark gray Apple logo.

You must have the retail version of Leopard.

Answer 2

gryphiniii Author

Level 1

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Nov 26, 2008 6:49 AM in response to Kappy

got the retail version of leopard; restart,hold down "c" key, get the grey apple, but no spinning gear. Any guess as to what might be wrong?

Answer 3

a brody

Level 10

85,685 points

Nov 26, 2008 6:54 AM in response to gryphiniii

Sometimes the C key doesn't work. Try the Option key instead following these directions:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106178

Also be sure to use the built-in keyboard of the Mac, and not some third party keyboard.

Answer 4

Kappy

Level 10

363,125 points

Nov 26, 2008 8:02 AM in response to gryphiniii

Either there is a problem with the computer such as not meeting all the system requirements or the installer disc is defective. Other hardware concerns may be having external devices connected, defective memory, problem with the optical drive, insufficient hard drive space, etc.

I would suggest you see if the installer DVD works on another machine just to be sure it's not the installer disc.

Answer 5

Nov 26, 2008 12:54 PM in response to gryphiniii

Hello,

Your PBookG 867MHz is just barely meeting the Leopard minimum requirements, go here:
http://www.apple.com/macosx/techspecs/

Leopard requires 9GB of hard disk space. Select the MacinoshHD icon on your Desktop, press Command + I which will prompt the Get Info window. Click the black arrow next to: General so it faces down. You will see: Capacity and Available. If the available disk space is less than 10% of the capacity, then you need to transfer files to an external source in order to make have sufficient disk space to run Leopard which could be the reason for the Leopard installer not functioning as it should.

Carolyn 🙂

Answer 6

gryphiniii Author

Level 1

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Nov 26, 2008 12:58 PM in response to Kappy

thanks for your help. I tried the installer disk on my MacBook Pro, and when I went through the Option key startup, the grey apple came up with spinning gear down below, then the language menu came up, then the agreement came up. At that point I didn't want to install Leopard on my MacBook Pro as it is already running Leopard, but since it had gone further than on the Powerbook I am guessing that the DVD is ok. Not sure how I would check for defective ram, or what good it would do. There are some programs that will run on Leopard that won't run on Panther and I was hoping to access them on the Powerbook.

Answer 7

gryphiniii Author

Level 1

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Nov 26, 2008 3:32 PM in response to Carolyn Samit

As always let me start by saying thanks. There are 32.79 GB left on the hard drive. I don't think it is hard drive space. I upped the RAM to 1 GB which is the max. I don't think the optical drive is working right.

Answer 8

Nov 26, 2008 3:37 PM in response to gryphiniii

If you think the optical drive is not functioning as it should then a trip to an Apple store or an Apple reseller is advised. http://www.apple.com/retail/ At the bottom of that page is a link for "resellers' ..

Check out this thread first... might be a cleaner you a cleaning CD you can get.
http://macosg.com/group/viewtopic.php?t=7966

Happy Holidays!

Carolyn 🙂

Answer 9

Kappy

Level 10

363,125 points

Nov 26, 2008 3:45 PM in response to gryphiniii

An Apple Hardware Test disk came with your computer. You could try running the tests multiple times over a period of hours to see if any errors occur.

Memory errors can simply be spots in the memory map that don't work so when the software attempts to load into this bad area it simply dies. A worse scenario would be a kernel panic, but at least a kernel panic is more definitive.

If you can boot the MacBook then the installer disc would seem OK, so I would look at the optical drive and the RAM installed in the machine. Either of the modules could be bad.

Answer 10

gryphiniii Author

Level 1

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Nov 26, 2008 8:14 PM in response to Carolyn Samit

Thank you. Cleaned the scanner. Read the disk. Got to restart, got to grey apple, no gear. I should be able to do this. Funny that banging head against a wall feeling.

Answer 11

Nov 27, 2008 4:23 AM in response to gryphiniii

"I had a Powerbook G4 with 867 MHz PowerPC donated to my classroom with 10.3.9 on it."

Considering this is a donated computer, and now either the optical drive isn't working correctly, or the hard disk is failing, either way, it sounds like the PBook needs a trip to an Apple store or an Apple reseller for some help.

Carolyn 🙂

Answer 12

R C-R

Level 6

17,916 points

Nov 27, 2008 5:48 AM in response to gryphiniii

gryphiniii wrote:
I should be able to do this. Funny that banging head against a wall feeling.

Are you sure you are using a black retail Leopard installer disk & not (for instance) a gray one that came with your own Mac? The gray ones are not intended for use with any model besides the ones they are meant for, which could account for that banging head feeling.

Answer 13

gryphiniii Author

Level 1

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Nov 27, 2008 5:59 AM in response to R C-R

As always let me start by saying Thank you for the help, and the good suggestions. I cleaned the optical drive with a Maxell lens cleaner. Then I took my TechTool Pro vers 4 disk and tested the computer. 1, the computer booted off that disk. 2, it checked the memory and said it was good. I am using the black Leopard disk, not a grey disk. That was a much more polite way of asking if I was trying to pirate the upgrade than what I read on a similar thread on the list. Could it be that 867 MHz PowerPC G4 doesn't load Leopard? The grey apple comes up, but no spinning gear. Where is the process stopping?

Answer 14

a brody

Level 10

85,685 points

Nov 27, 2008 6:06 AM in response to gryphiniii

It could be that machine's CMOS capacitor is out of whack. You may need to take it in for service.

Answer 15

R C-R

Level 6

17,916 points

Nov 27, 2008 7:11 AM in response to gryphiniii

gryphiniii wrote:
I am using the black Leopard disk, not a grey disk. That was a much more polite way of asking if I was trying to pirate the upgrade than what I read on a similar thread on the list.

Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of your being sold a gray disk represented by the seller as being a retail one, which seems to be an all too frequent problem. But since you mentioned it, I assume you are aware that each Mac needs a license for the OS it runs, so unless this Mac is covered by a site license of some sort, it should have its own copy of the retail disk, which includes the license.

Could it be that 867 MHz PowerPC G4 doesn't load Leopard?

From your description, it sounds like the G4 won't even boot from the DVD's smaller version of Leopard that just supports the installer & a few utilities, much less the full version the DVD should be able to install on the PB's startup disk. IIRC, the TechTool disk is a CD, not a DVD. Can you boot the G4 from any bootable DVD, or if no other bootable DVD is available, can it read the contents of (for instance) a commercial movie DVD?