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DJ Spin Cycle

Q: B/W G3 Upgrade from 8.6 to 10.4

How do I install 10.4 on a the B/W G3 that is using 8.6 that will not recognize anything other than an audio or jpg formated CD?

Power PC G3, Mac OS 8.6 or Earlier, Blue & White G3

Posted on Dec 13, 2008 1:40 PM

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Q: B/W G3 Upgrade from 8.6 to 10.4

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  • by Niteshooter,

    Niteshooter Niteshooter Dec 18, 2008 11:56 AM in response to DJ Spin Cycle
    Level 2 (454 points)
    Dec 18, 2008 11:56 AM in response to DJ Spin Cycle
    Your best bet is by taking out your hard drive and doing the installation on a G4 with DVD drive since the bulk of Tiger installation disks were DVD's. Some CD's exist but are hard to come by especially so far after the fact.

    Installing a DVD reader in your B&W can be hit and miss for installation so I don't actually recommend this method any more.

    Message was edited by: Host
  • by WayneStewart,

    WayneStewart WayneStewart Dec 13, 2008 2:56 PM in response to DJ Spin Cycle
    Level 1 (88 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 13, 2008 2:56 PM in response to DJ Spin Cycle
    Most 10.4 disks are DVDs, does your B/W have a DVD drive?
    If it does, I'd put the disk in the drive and restart while holding down the c key and hopefully it'll boot off the installer disk.
  • by DJ Spin Cycle,

    DJ Spin Cycle DJ Spin Cycle Dec 15, 2008 7:44 AM in response to Niteshooter
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 15, 2008 7:44 AM in response to Niteshooter
    I do not have access to a G4; however, I have a MacBook. Do you have any suggestions for the B/W G3 that has a CD only drive. (Though I Put a DVD R/W the G4 will only see it as a CD drive.) Command C dosen't work but command S will. Also, I have on the way Tiger in CD format.
    Well let me ask the question like this. What is the procedure for upgrading the software in a G3 8.6 to OS 9? (There has to be a manual way to do this just like in the PC word)
  • by Grant Bennet-Alder,

    Grant Bennet-Alder Grant Bennet-Alder Dec 15, 2008 7:53 AM in response to DJ Spin Cycle
    Level 9 (60,702 points)
    Desktops
    Dec 15, 2008 7:53 AM in response to DJ Spin Cycle
    MacBooks have intel processors and will not install the right stuff for your Blue & White G3.
  • by DJ Spin Cycle,

    DJ Spin Cycle DJ Spin Cycle Dec 15, 2008 8:19 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 15, 2008 8:19 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder
    I know I am asking for help here but if you don't have the answer why waste your time and mine with answers that don't address the problem. The problem is I have a B/W G3. 512 RAM, 300MGZ Processing, 80G Hard drive, OS 8.6, CD ROM (Though I did install a DVD the G3 only see it as a CD Player), It has the last firmware update for that model. NOTE: this model has a programing button.

    So, how do I upgrade the B/W G3 from 8.6 to any OSX software?
  • by WayneStewart,

    WayneStewart WayneStewart Dec 15, 2008 9:47 AM in response to DJ Spin Cycle
    Level 1 (88 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 15, 2008 9:47 AM in response to DJ Spin Cycle
    I don't know if this will work with your Macbook but with some machines the optical drive is accessible in target disk mode. If so you may be able to use your macbooks optical drive to do the install on your G3.
  • by userremoved,Helpful

    userremoved userremoved Aug 11, 2016 2:15 AM in response to DJ Spin Cycle
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 11, 2016 2:15 AM in response to DJ Spin Cycle
    Hi, first of all be sure that your osx dvd is the FULL install version and that your B&W has firewire built-in (osx 10.4 won't be installed without firewire http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1514?viewlocale=en_US).

    Then you can try several ways, but none of them will work for sure. I had the same situation on my B&W and after many tries I've been able to do the upgrade.

    One try could be to install the dvd drive (even if it doesn't seem to work properly), reset the PRAM (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379), keep pressed the PROGRAMMER's button while booting and type CD wait for the "ok" and type CD BOOT.

    If you have an 0s 9 cd, you can try to boot with it (it's easier to work) and select the cd drive as the booting drive. Then try booting with OSX.

    The problem on your dvd drive could be that many drives have two lasers and the old macs can recognize just the cd one. I solved this by buying an LG DVD R-+ for about 30 $.

    Sorry for my english, I hope it can help.
  • by DJ Spin Cycle,

    DJ Spin Cycle DJ Spin Cycle Mar 15, 2009 7:18 PM in response to DJ Spin Cycle
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 15, 2009 7:18 PM in response to DJ Spin Cycle
    The way to upgrade a G3 to 10.4 is to hold down the C key.