I've tried three manufacturer's external USB DVD - drives in order to install Leopard on my iMac G5 PPC .
As I power on the computer the drive reads the disc, so I know the drive is getting power from the USB port.
But when I press and hold option key before the startup chime no boot choices pop up .
The iMac has an empty SATA - drive inside .
I'm using external drive, c'os the original internal drive is "dead" .
Earlier Mac models
Wait and press the Option key or "C" key immediately after you hear the startup chime (usually have a couple seconds to respond). I've had Macs over the years where the startup keys will not register if they are held before the startup chime occurs. Plus make sure to use a wired keyboard.
If the computer has no bootable internal drive, then the Mac should automatically boot from the CD assuming you have a compatible boot CD for that exact model Mac and the CD is in good condition.
What is the model of the USB optical drive? Maybe it is not backwards compatible with such an old computer.
Wait and press the Option key or "C" key immediately after you hear the startup chime (usually have a couple seconds to respond). I've had Macs over the years where the startup keys will not register if they are held before the startup chime occurs. Plus make sure to use a wired keyboard.
If the computer has no bootable internal drive, then the Mac should automatically boot from the CD assuming you have a compatible boot CD for that exact model Mac and the CD is in good condition.
What is the model of the USB optical drive? Maybe it is not backwards compatible with such an old computer.
Is the Leopard disk an original Apple DVD or a burned copy. Burned installer copies almost never worked on PowerPC Macs like yours.
If an original Apple pressed installer disk, it may be worth trying a drive cleaning disk in the internal optical drive. Slot-load drives get filthy. The cleaning disk I bought for about US$12 has fully restored the slot-load drives in three early MacBook Pros that whose optical drives were pronounced "dead and required replacement for US$150" by Apple Authorized Service Providers.
PPC Macs could boot OS9 from USB, but not OSX from USB, the workaround I posted should do it.:)
Oh, yeah, that's right. They were external FireWire or in-built devices only, weren't they? 👍🏽
Hi there, Boot PPC Nac from USB…
Instead of pressing the Option key at startup, you might try pressing the "C" key.
IIRC that was the option to boot from a CD/DVD.
Yep, way back when! :)👍
...🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙...
Booting G5 from external USB CD - / DVD - Drive
