reinstalling OS 9.0.4 on G3 450ghz from ubuntu 5.10

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reinstalling OS 9.0.4 on G3 450ghz from ubuntu 5.10

Hi,
I have an old iMac G3 (i think it's a 450) that I bought in 2000 in Italy. the operating system that came with it was 9.0.4 in italian. After moving to australia the HD crashed, i got it serviced at Apple who installed 9.2 in english for me. Everything was working fine. For the past year or so it has been working very slowly (too much crap on it, I think), so I decided to reinstall everything and start from fresh again (however, i only have the 9.0.4 italian install discs).
Now here's the crunch. A Linux fanatic friend of mine persuaded me to try installing Ubuntu for Mac. We tried the install, and couldn't get it to work, so I thought I'd just reinstall OS9. Now I've tried both the install and restore discs, it seems to be working up to one point and then jsut stops. I get the happy Mac face with System start load bar (if that's what it is called??it's all in italian now!) with the CD background, but then it jsut stops.

Any clues?
Cheers
Manuel

iMac G5 Mac OS X (10.4.5) also have (G3 OS 9.0.4.)

PS. i thought I'd clarify that we did install ubuntu but that we couldn't get it to work, the GUI (???) wasn't responding, was my freinds explanation.

Posted on Mar 17, 2006 3:08 PM

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Answer 1

Mar 17, 2006 4:18 PM in response to CMNG Panzera

Hi, Manuel -

Welcome to Apple's Discussions.

Assuming there is nothing on the drive you wish to save, you should probably deep-wipe it - re-initialize and reformat it.

To do that, boot to the OS 9 Install CD. Run Drive Setup from the Utilities folder on the CD. Select your hard drive in the list, select low-level or zero-all-data from the Initialization Options item in the Functions menu, then click the Initialize button. When asked, choose Mac OS Extended as the format.

If there are things on the drive you wish to save, copy them to an external disk before wiping the drive.

Using Drive Setup

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Answer 2

CMNG Panzera Author

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Mar 17, 2006 5:06 PM in response to Don Archibald

Thanks Don.
If to boot from the Install CD I have to press the 'C' key while starting the computer, that's what I'm already doing and it won't go past the screen I described.
Cheers
Manuel

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Answer 3

Mar 17, 2006 10:14 PM in response to CMNG Panzera

Hi, Manuel -

If to boot from the Install CD I have to press the 'C' key while starting the computer,...

Yes.

...that's what I'm already doing and it won't go past the screen I described.

Ah - I thought the problem was that the installer would not work fully.

Okay. Make sure nothing is attached to the iMac G3 except keyboard and mouse. Then try zapping (resetting) the PRAM as you start it up -
Article #2238 - How to Reset PRAM and NVRAM

Be sure you are using the CDs that came with that machine, or later version retail ones.

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Answer 4

CMNG Panzera Author

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Mar 18, 2006 12:31 AM in response to Don Archibald

HI Don,

I had tried resetting the PRAM but still nothing. Since my last post I've tried to see if my Tiger Install disc works and it did to a point. As my old iMac doesn't meet the the requirements of Tiger it won't let it me install it, but I did manage to boot it and erase the disk from Disk Utility. I've now tried to install OS9 again but it still seems to stop at the same place during installation. I've looked at the CD and there is a small scratch (it actual feels as if the surface as a bump to it), so it might be that the CD is damaged. It is the original that came with the iMac. To put things straight it is a 400ghz iMac DV with 128mb ram (I add another 64 after the HD died). I've found a new install disk on ebay for $25. Same OS 9 version (9.0.4). Before I order this, could there be any other reason for it still not installing?

thanks for your help, much appreciated
Cheers
Manuel

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Answer 5

Mar 18, 2006 5:50 AM in response to CMNG Panzera

Hi, Manuel -

Re the OS 9.0.4 Install CD on eBay, make sure it is a model-specific one for your machine. A retail OS 9.0.4 Install CD, or one from a different model Mac, may not work.

By the way, if your 400MHz machine originally came with OS 9.0.4, Apple designates it as an iMac (Summer 2000) model.

Article #25114 - Mac OS 8, 9: Compatibility With Macs - your machine is one which is marked with footnote (3).

If it were my machine, I'd consider getting a retail OS 9.1 (or 9.2.1) Install CD. The retail OS 9 Install CDs have a white label with a large gold 9 on them, and they contain a universal installer. The CDs which shipped with a machine (grey or blue-grey label) do not contain a universal installer.

Among other things, the OS 9.1 and later install CDs contain current versions of Disk First Aid and Drive Setup; and their version of Drive Setup does not have the flaw that earlier ones did, where the drive could be left vulnerable to getting a wrapper error.

The only other things I can think of that might preclude your machine from booting to an appropriate OS 9 Install CD are -

• Weak internal battery. However, that wouold also have prevented it from booting to an OSX Install disk.

• Non-Apple keyboard or mouse. Most 3rd-party keyboards and mouses default to basic operation if their extra software is not available, but a few have not behaved well with CDs.

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Answer 6

CMNG Panzera Author

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Mar 18, 2006 4:45 PM in response to Don Archibald

Hi Don,

Thanks for your help.

I'm not to sure what model of iMac this is, I bought it in Feb 2000 (would that still be the summer model?).

I a bit confused as you say "A retail OS 9.0.4 Install CD, or one from a different model Mac, may not work.", but then you add "If it were my machine, I'd consider getting a retail OS 9.1 (or 9.2.1) Install CD"

You're right about the CD, it's not a retail, it's a grey CD and the details on the ad are:
P/N: 691-2706-A
- SSW Install Version: Mac OS 9.0.4
- CD Version: 1.1
but from the image I actually think it say CD version: 2.0 (I can definitely see that the restore disc is version 2.1, but the last digit on the install disc looks like a 0 to me).
I'll try to clarify with the vendor.

My install discs arelike the one on ebay but orange instead adn without the big 9. Both my discs say for iMac DV models. What's the difference between the install and the restore CDs?

By using my OSX install CD and rebooting the old iMac I can get to the system profiler and I've got this info:
Model: PowerMac 2,1
CPU type: PowerPC 750 (2.2)

Does this help?

Cheers for everything
regards,
Manuel

PS. A thought just came to me: Does Apple have a policy of swapping damaged OS discs with new one or at a nimonal cost, given the I've alreayd paid for the software?

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Answer 7

Mar 18, 2006 5:47 PM in response to CMNG Panzera

Hi, Manuel -

There is some contradictory info in the machine info you posted; it is important to know which model you have.

How big is your hard drive? What color is the machine?

iMac DV (Slot-Loading) - original OS = OS 8.6
Drive - 6, 10, or 13GB
Color - Blueberry, Grape, Strawberry, Tangerine, Lime, Graphite

iMac (Summer 2000) - original OS = OS 9.0.4
Drive - 7, 10, 20, or 30GB
Color - Indigo, Ruby, Sage, Snow, Graphite

Perhaps that will identify it.

If you have the serial number available, you can find out (for sure) by clicking the Support tab at the top of this page; on the new page, scroll down until you see the section "About Your Support Coverage" in the right hand column. In that section is an entry box - enter your serial number, then click the Go button. In a few moments basic info about your machine will be displayed.

Does Apple have a policy of swapping damaged OS discs with new one or at a nimonal cost, given the I've alreayd paid for the software?

Not as such. Depending on whether they still have it available, they will sell replacent original CDs at a cost less than the cost of a retail CD. This possibility can be accessed via Apple's Customer Support - the phone number for that (and other Apple numbers) is on this page -
http://www.apple.com/contact/phone_contacts.html
You will need to have your serial number available.

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Answer 8

CMNG Panzera Author

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Mar 19, 2006 12:07 AM in response to Don Archibald

Hi Don,

Now I can't even get it to boot from the OSX install disc anymore. I get a flashing folder icon with alternating 'mac face' and '?' and it spits the CD out . So I don't know what the serial number is. Would it have it on the box? I've still got it in the loft. 🙂

Could it be the battery, as the clock had stopped working? I believe I have to take it to Apple support just to change the clock battery, don't I?

It's definitely the iMac DV, but it came with OS 9.0.4
It's 400ghz, came with 10GB (but I upgrade to 20 GB when I had to replace the HD), and the color is Grape.

If I have to spend the money to get a new OS I guess I'm better off adding some extra RAM and buying Tiger?

Cheers
Manuel

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Answer 9

Mar 19, 2006 5:43 AM in response to CMNG Panzera

Hi, Manuel -

The serial number is often on the box; it should also be on a sticker on the machine itself. I think on iMacs it's on the bottom.

Re installing OSX pn a slot-lpading iMac - it is very important that the firmware be updated to v. 4.1.9 before doing that, as indicated in the first paragraph of this Apple KBase article -
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=75430

The firmware updater installs only when the machine is booted to OS 9.1 or OS 9.2.x from the hard drive. It may be that the firmware was updated previously, but there's no way to verify that without booting the machine to its hard drive or an OS 9 Install CD.

It is possible, too, that a series of things have gone wrong, including the CD drive - a dirty lens in the drive would make it behave the same way (kicking out the disk). Or, it could be the battery as you suspect. Yes, battery replacement in some models of iMacs is a service tech item rather than a user item; I'm not familiar enough with iMacs to know which models are not user-friendly in that regard.

If I have to spend the money to get a new OS I guess I'm better off adding some extra RAM and buying Tiger?

Can't answer that - but unless you plan on also replacing all your programs with OSX-native versions, you will still need to have OS 9.1 or 9.2.x on the machine for use as Classic in order to use OS 9 programs.

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