imac g3 (tray, revision A) os install help

Question

Level 1

4 points

imac g3 (tray, revision A) os install help

recently i bought an imac g3 (tray model, 1998 revision A) second hand from a reseller website. unfortunately they not only wiped the info on it but the os as well, and no install cds were provided. upon booting up it will load into the apple firmware console. i went out and bought blank cd-r discs to write an iso to some cds and install mac os 9 onto it (and eventually upgrade to OS X), but theres an issue. i dont have a mac with a cd/dvd drive, my only other mac is a MBAir M2 and i dont have any external drives. my only option is to use my windows 10 pc with a built in optical drive (i cant stand windows). but every iso ive trie has an error saying "this ISO is invalid" or something like that, which is supposedly a format error. so i got a third-party app to format it as ISO-9660+Joliet+UDF, which is recognized by windows so i can write the iso. but when i boot into the cd on the imac g3 the disc cant be used by it because its too old. does anybody know of a step-by-step way to write the os iso to a cd on windows AND still be usable on the imac or should i just get an external ODD for my macbook?

Earlier Mac models

Posted on Sep 4, 2023 5:44 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

Jan Hedlund

Level 7

22,327 points

Sep 5, 2023 9:19 AM in response to Scribble_png

Hi,

The normal recommendation in a case like this would be to look for an original (authentic) Apple system CD, perhaps via an online auction site. Either a model-specific disc for your exact machine or a later retail CD. Do not buy any copies.

http://manuals.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Manuals/imac/imacemergencyhbk.PDF

Reply

Answer 2

Jeff

Level 6

12,070 points

Sep 6, 2023 11:08 PM in response to Scribble_png

You're dealing with multiple issues when attempting to burn a bootable installer disk for a 25-year old Mac. Not all manufacturers' blank CD-R disks are compatible in terms of being recognized by older 24x CD-ROM drives. In the early-2000s, I had better luck using Verbatim's disks that had a bluish/turquoise color on the recording surface, compared to disks having a mirror-like appearance. Rather than attempting to create your own disk and end up with more coasters, I'd check ebay for an OS 8.5 universal installer (retail boxed version) disk, like the one here. Auctions are time-sensitive and this one will close in another day or so. You have to keep checking to find a good deal, but as I discovered when looking, sellers are pricing them like they're gold-plated. The retail boxed versions have universal compatibility, unlike model-specific Restore disks that many sellers claim will install the software on a variety of models. Once you have the OS installed, you can run the Apple System Profiler and verify that the computer had the necessary firmware updates installed at some point. Hopefully, the original 4 GB hard drive has been replaced with something having greater capacity. If you plan on installing OS X, the final version of Panther (10.3.9) is as far as you can go, but Panther was produced on a DVD. That will be the next problem to deal with, because using "Target Disk Mode" to install from another compatible Mac requires a FireWire port, which your iMac doesn't have.

Reply

imac g3 (tray, revision A) os install help

Similar questions