Q: How Can I Install OS X Cheetah on my iBook G4?

OS X Cheetah is not a downloadable product. You downloaded an illegal bootleg. You will have to purchase a retail copy of Cheetah, if you can find one, someplace like eBay.

You cannot. Mac OS X 10.0 is too old to boot an iBook G4.

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That’s basically not possible; it would require writing Cheetah-compatible drivers for the iBook G4’s hardware.

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The easiest way to have a computer that could run the early OS X 10.0, would be to buy one.

•Introduced    May 2001

Discontinued    October 2001

Model Identifier    PowerBook4,1

Model Number    --

Order Number    M7698LL/A (CD-ROM), M7692LL/A (DVD), M8520LL/A (Combo)

Initial Price    $1299 (CD) $1499 (DVD) $1599 (CD-RW) $1799 (Combo)

•Original OS    Mac OS 9.1

Later OS    Mac OS 9.1 and Mac OS X (4P13)

Maximum OS    Mac OS X 10.4.11

Hardware Test    AHT (iBook) 1.2, 1.2.1, 1.2.2, 1.2.3, 1.2.4

•Bundled Software    Mac OS 9.1, Mac OS X, QuickTime, iMovie 2, iTunes, AppleWorks, Microsoft

Internet Explorer, Microsoft Outlook Express, Netscape Communicator, Palm Desktop, FAXstf,

Cro-Mag Rally, Bugdom, Nanosaur, and Acrobat Reader software; Apple Hardware Test CD.

An iBook G3 (Dual USB) white polycarbonate model that looks like the later iBook G4, is

about the only model that can run OS X 10.0 Cheetah, and since the early White G3 is a

dual-boot model, these have the ability to also start the computer from original Mac OS9.1.

The included CD installers would do that.

There is no practical or possible way to be able to run a system that pre-dates the hardware

you'd hope to run it on, by so many years, & with other technical faults in the idea of doing so.

I've owned the first model iBook G3 500MHz 12" (Dual USB) also the last model iBook G4 1.33GHz 12"

and found some good characteristic of each end of that mult-facted series. Also have a PowerBook G4

12" 1.5GHz aluminum - needs logic board fixed & DC-in board; & have first-model MacBook 13" coreduo.

Other old model G3 Macintosh computers of correct build era specs, may be able to run Cheetah 10.0

but there isn't any practical software and almost no connectivity to anything, except an equally old Mac

that uses hard to get vintage/obsolete cables and ancient software. Mostly offline or local network.

For older systems, the Tiger 10.4.11 was probably the best, in the supported PPC hardware of the day;

and for later best systems, Snow Leopard 10.6.8 was best in Intel-based hardware, for several reasons.

However it is best to locate the correct hardware version computer for any of the operating systems that

could run in them, usually best if you find the computer which includes the correct vintage Mac OS discs.

Your other question, in a different topic thread, suggests you need to understand more about Mac OS &

also the more recent versions & changes across operating systems, hardware change, to modern specs.

There is a fair aggregate or compilation of information across many years  of models with corresponding

operating systems, versions that work within the specified hardware of their era, in such sources online

as http://everymac.com  and  http://lowendmac.com plus depending on your newest Mac/PC, you may be

be able to get and use the download of offline database specifications from http://mactracker.ca.

In any event... to expand your point of reference and knowledge base to get the best use of vintage Macs.

Good luck & happy computing!