Q: Installing Tiger on Powerbook G4's new hard drive

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bob.c

Level 1 (1 points)

iPhone

Q: Installing Tiger on Powerbook G4's new hard drive

The hard drive in my G4 PB (bought 2nd hand, without start up disks) died recently and I got a used replacement HD with same volume and speed. Physical replacement and partition went ok, now to install the Tiger 10.4. However the black Tiger disk seems to be defective, as I get a failure due to fingerprints or scratches; the software will not install after cleaning and polishing the disk. Fortunately, I have an iMac Snowball running 10.4.11 and hooked it up by Firewire. The Apple website has a "MacOSXUpdateCombo10.4.11PPC.dmg" which is sitting on my desktop. (I accidently tried to open it and it screwed up my System Preferences Start up Disk choice, giving me the flashing earth in a square on a grey screen error. That took some detours but is fixed.)

So, it seems logical that I could take the .pkg update and drop it into the Target Disk Hard Drive showing up on the desktop. Or, maybe open the hard drive symbol and drop the update into it. After searching the Support Communities all day today, I cannot find a discussion along these lines, so here I am. Can anyone help on this?

PowerBook, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Jan 11, 2015 8:00 PM

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Q: Installing Tiger on Powerbook G4's new hard drive

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by Niel,

Niel Jan 11, 2015 8:01 PM in response to bob.c
Level 10 (314,422 points)

Mac OS X

Jan 11, 2015 8:01 PM in response to bob.c

Doing that won’t install an OS. Use cloning software such as an older version of Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper to clone the iMac’s system to the PowerBook.

(120037)
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by bob.c,

bob.c Jan 11, 2015 10:07 PM in response to Niel
Level 1 (1 points)

iPhone

Jan 11, 2015 10:07 PM in response to Niel

Thanks, Niel, I think I have a copy of Carbon Copy on the working iMac. I did use a Seagate hard disk to back up the PB G4 on a regular basis, but it is a usb drve, not firewire. Also I found a firewire drive stashed away under the desk; could I back up the iMac to the drive and then move it to the PB G4?
A question about the Mac OSX 10.4.11 Update: is this meant as a one shot update to whatever Tiger o.s. you may have? Not a complete install of 10.4.11? Thanks for your help. bob.c
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by Niel,

Niel Jan 11, 2015 10:08 PM in response to bob.c
Level 10 (314,422 points)

Mac OS X

Jan 11, 2015 10:08 PM in response to bob.c

1. You can use the FireWire drive or target disk mode.
2. Yes, it is.

(120050)
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by Limnos,

Limnos Jan 12, 2015 9:04 AM in response to bob.c
Level 9 (54,621 points)

Mac OS X

Jan 12, 2015 9:04 AM in response to bob.c

2) If you look at the updater you will see it is likely only a few tens if maybe 100 MB, a full Tiger OS is several GB (it originally came on multiples CDs).

1) I'm not 100% clear on your resources. If your USB backup was created by cloning you could start the PB in Target mode so it appears on your iMac as an external hard drive, then clone the USB to the PB. Here's some information:

How To: Installing Tiger Using FireWire Target Disk Mode - http://www.applelinks.com/index.php/more/os_x_odyssey_752_how_to_installing_tige r_using_firewire_target_disk_mode/

How to use FireWire target disk mode - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661 - includes description of hardware and software requirements.

Target Disk Mode - Mac OS X 10.6 Help: Transferring files between two computers using FireWire - http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.6/en/8443.html

What to do if your Mac doesn't enter FireWire Target Disk Mode - http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=75414, also read about [Open Firmware Password Protection|http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/openfirmwarepassword.html] which can disable Target Disk Mode.
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Q: Installing Tiger on Powerbook G4's new hard drive

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by Niel,

by bob.c,

by Niel,

by Limnos,

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