I have a PPC iMac running 10.4.11 that is having issues. Onyx tells me that the HD needs fixing but the iMac will not recognize the OS CD that came with the computer. Any ideas how I can run Disc Utility when I cannot load the system CD?
thanks
As a test of the optical drive, to make sure it's working, if you put some other CD in there (like the CD for some other program), is it recognized?
Also, what model PowerPC iMac is it? You can select About This Mac from the Apple Menu to get that info.
You are holding down the C key while starting the computer so it loads from CD?
Sorry, more info: It's a 1.25GZ iMac and other CDs seem to work fine, just the OS one that doesn't. Holding down the C key when I start up results in the CD being spat out some way into the boot up process.
A 1.25 GHz iMac would have to be the last of the iMac G4 models, either 17 or 20 inch. According to
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/specs/imac_1.25_17_fp.html
it originally came with Mac OS X 10.2.3. If that is your "OS CD that came with the computer," and your iMac currently has 10.4.11, you should not use the 10.2 version of Disk Utility on your iMac's installed system. So, that does not explain why the disc is not recognized, but it would not have helped.
OTOH, if that disc is a Tiger (10.4) installation disc, then it is not the original disc for that iMac model. If it's a gray-colored (not retail) disc for Tiger, that may(?) explain why it is not useable. Many of the Tiger installation discs that came with a specific Mac model were for Intel-based Macs. (I have a (?) after "may" because you'd think it would still mount to the Desktop.)
Do you have the Tiger installation disc that was used to perform the current installation? That is what you need to use to run Disk Utility and do a Repair Disk.
If you have a FireWire external drive that is not being used, you could clone your current internal drive (which would also serve as a data backup in case there is a non-repairable data corruption problem). Then, start up from the clone and run Disk Utility from there (on the internal drive).
It's a 17" and I'm thinking that it actually came with 10.3, that was the OS CD I was trying to use. Having said that, the 10.3 I have is a set of 3 black CDs, don't the computers come with gray systems discs? If so then I don't know what happened to the original CDs.
I also bought the OS10.4 CD a while ago and I did in fact manage to get the Mac to load that one and I could run Disc Utility /Repair from it. It told me that the HD had issues and I needed to load the OS CD that came with the computer so that wasn't much help!
I do have an external Firewire drive, how much space would cloning take up and how would I go about that?
Thanks for the help
If it's the one indicated by Kenichi Watanabe then it came with OSX 10.2 Either the 10.3 (which from your description sounds like a retail version) or the 10.4 should boot the computer. If you have 10.4 on the drive you should not use 10.3 or earlier to repair the drive. If you have 10.3 on the drive you can use the 10.3 or 10.4 disc to repair the drive.
Only use Mac OS X 10.4-compatible disk utilities with Mac OS X 10.4 volumes - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2648
You can use Disk Utility in Mac OS X 10.3.9—and only Mac OS X 10.3.9—to check or repair a Mac OS X 10.4 volume (Disk Utility version 10.4.4 v145.7). Don't use an earlier version of Disk Utility, such as when started from a Mac OS X 10.3.0 disc.
I would try starting the computer in Safe Mode by holding down the shift key. This runs a repair feature similar to disk utility and also puts the computer into a reduced function mode. Then use Disk Utility to verify the drive. You may find that the issue is gone because either Safe Mode booting has cured it or because there were too many other things running when you did you other verify and a spurious error from an active drive was seen as a directory error.
Mac OS X: Starting up in Safe Mode - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1455
What is Safe Boot, Safe Mode? (Mac OS X) - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1564
Safe Boot takes longer than normal startup - http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1884
Mac OS X 10.4, 10.5 - Computer shuts down during Safe Boot - http://support.apple.com/kb/TA24054
Safe boot mode runs a directory check command similar to that used by Disk Utility's repair. In OSX 10.4 and later it ignores some stored information (cache) that is normally read that speeds up the boot process, and it moves some caches to the trash. It also uses only System fonts and disables all Startup Items, third party items, and any Login Items. Networking and some video components may also be disabled.
=Cloning And Backup Tools=
A bootable clone is an exact copy of your drive which is capable of booting your computer. Making a copy of your computer which is capable of actually starting the computer requires special copying procedures which simply dragging files in Finder won't achieve. Some people just back up data files but if you have problems you have to reinstall all your operating system and all your applications. With a bootable clone you just start up from the backup drive and clone back everything. Note, PPC generation Macs require Firewire connections to boot from an external drive.
To clone one hard drive to another hard drive you can use:
CarbonCopy Cloner - http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html (donationware)
SuperDuper - http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html (shareware)
IBackup - http://www.grapefruit.ch/iBackup/index.html (free)
The Restore function of Disk Utility included in OS X. Kappy's directions - http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=8799711
Tri-Backup (commercial) - http://www.tri-edre.com/english/tribackup.html(commercial)
Silverkeeper - http://www.lacie.com/silverkeeper/ (free) - version 2 has some issues (references: http://www.macintouch.com/readerreports/backup/index.html#d12jan2009, and http://www.macintouch.com/readerreports/backup/index.html#d13jan2009) and it is recommended Tiger users stick with 1.1.4. Silverkeeper is no longer supported starting with OSX 10.7
Kappy's Backup Software Recommendations - http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=9065665 and https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3236992?answerId=15838096022#15838096022
Overview of Mac OS X Backup Programs - http://8help.osu.edu/1247.html
I also bought the OS10.4 CD a while ago and I did in fact manage to get the Mac to load that one and I could run Disc Utility /Repair from it. It told me that the HD had issues and I needed to load the OS CD
Then, starting up from the original installation disc that came with the iMac, and running Disk Utility would not have provided you with any additional benefit. Cloning the internal drive and running Disk Utility after starting up from the clone... same thing, except that the clone would serve as a backup of your data. You may need to do a reinstallation of Tiger, after erasing (reformatting) the internal drive, to get rid of the data corruption error.
Alternately, there are third-party utilities that can do repairs beyond the capabilities of Disk Utility; they are not always successful. Two that support 10.4 (Tiger), based on looking at their system requirements, are Disk Warrior (by Alsoft) and Tech Tool Pro (by Micromat). Tech Tool Pro does more different things, but for an older PowerPC Mac running Tiger, Disk Warrior may be more successful at this particular type of problem. I use Tech Tool Pro these days, but Disk Warrior saved me a few times back in my Mac OS 9 and earlier Mac OS X days.
If you want to do a reinstall of Tiger, that external drive just needs to have enough free space to hold your personal data files (usually things from your user home folder unless you saved data files elsewhere). You can copy your personal data files and folders to the external drive, using Finder.
Then, start up from the Tiger installation disc. Run Disk Utility. With the internal DRIVE (NOT the volume indented under the drive) selected in the sidebar, go to the Erase tab. Erase the drive; this will re-partition and reformat the drive. This should get rid of the data corruption error (unless there is an underlying hardware problem on the drive).
After the drive is erased, quit Disk Utility to go back to Installer. Run a standard installation. The new system will not be the latest 10.4.11, so you'll need to download the Combo Update for 10.4.11 (and other updates from Apple). You will also need to reinstall your third-party applications (the ones you still use). Once the OS and apps are installed and updated, you can restore your personal data from the external drive.
So I eventually managed to get the iMac to accept the 10.3 CD w/o spitting it out. I backed up all important data and did a clean reinstall so I now have 10.3 on it and will try again to get the 10.4 CD accepted, perhaps it will now, if not then at least it's a lot faster now.
Thanks for all the advice, very helpful.
Is the 10.4 disc some type of upgrade-only disc? If it's a regular retail full installation disc, it seems like you could have installed 10.4 directly, without first installing 10.3.
> if not then at least it's a lot faster now.
Yeah, it helps to do a clean install sometimes...
Can't load 10.4 CD
