Frenchy Damien
Level 1 (25 points)

Q: How to install mac os (PPC) on an external hard drive, through a mac mini (intel) ?

Hi all,

 

Let me explain:

-  my iMac G5 iSight has a dead HDD and dead superdrive: No way to get it to run

- I have the installation disc of Tiger (PPC)

- I have an external HDD in FW

- I have a mac mini (Intel)

 

How to install the Mac OS PPC on the external HDD with the mac mini (Intel)  ?

iMac

Posted on Dec 25, 2014 12:17 PM

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Frenchy Damien

Q: How to install mac os (PPC) on an external hard drive, through a mac mini (intel) ?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by BDAqua,

    BDAqua BDAqua Dec 25, 2014 12:24 PM in response to Frenchy Damien
    Level 10 (123,860 points)
    Dec 25, 2014 12:24 PM in response to Frenchy Damien

    Hello,

     

    You must use the Intel iMac as a Firewire Optical drive.

     

    How to use FireWire target disk mode...

     

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661

     

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_Disk_Mode

     

    Put the PPC Install Disc in the Intel iMac.

     

    Put the Intel iMac into FireWire target disk mode...

     

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661

     

    Boot the G5 iMac holding the Option/alt key, & see if the Install Disc in the Intel iMac shows up as a boot choice.

  • by Frenchy Damien,

    Frenchy Damien Frenchy Damien Dec 25, 2014 1:07 PM in response to BDAqua
    Level 1 (25 points)
    Dec 25, 2014 1:07 PM in response to BDAqua

    Thanks BDAqua, that is an elegant way to solve this. Yet, I forgot to mention that my superdrive is also dead on my mac mini intel. I have a external optical drive on USB 2 that is not recognized in the process you offered.. Any idea ?

     

    I went on looking and found something: using Pacifist to install the OS X PPC on the external HDD with the mac mini. Do you think that would work ?

     

    Thanks again and cheers

    Damien

  • by BDAqua,

    BDAqua BDAqua Dec 25, 2014 2:40 PM in response to Frenchy Damien
    Level 10 (123,860 points)
    Dec 25, 2014 2:40 PM in response to Frenchy Damien

    Good find, Pacifist should work to install it to an external drive, but if the external drive is USB, of note, most PPC Macs cannot boot from USB, only FW, exception being my 3 eMacs can boot from USB, & my PPC Minis can be coerced into booting from USB with Single User commands...

     

    But perhaps once you use Pacifist to Install it to the external drive, you could but the iMac G5 in Target mode & use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone the external to the G5 iMacs internal drive!

     

    Oh wait, if you have the Install Diac as a .dmg, the FWTDM could use Pacifist to install directly to rhe G5 iMac.

  • by Frenchy Damien,

    Frenchy Damien Frenchy Damien Dec 26, 2014 8:29 AM in response to BDAqua
    Level 1 (25 points)
    Dec 26, 2014 8:29 AM in response to BDAqua

    So here is the fix I got, finally.

    I had the os X image installed on a firewire HDD, thanks to disk utility, then restore function. This is a usable copy of the installation program by my iMac.

     

    I found another firewire HDD I had in spare, and plugged it to the iMac.

    I started with alt pressed, and was given the possibility to boot from the first HDD. I selected the second FX HDD as the disk of installation of Tiger. Voilà !

    I hope the speed will not be too disastrous..

     

    Thanks for the help !

    Cheers

    Damien

     

    PS: tried the Pacifist solution but got a lot of flags by Pacifist for some of the elements to be installed.

  • by BDAqua,

    BDAqua BDAqua Dec 27, 2014 10:19 AM in response to Frenchy Damien
    Level 10 (123,860 points)
    Dec 27, 2014 10:19 AM in response to Frenchy Damien

    Good work, great to hear, thanks for the report!