My PowerMac G4 has a balky CD/DVD drive. With a couple tries, I booted it off the Tiger install CD and security-erased the hard drive. But I can't complete the Tiger install.
I also have a PowerBook Pismo/FireWire. Can I connect them via ethernet or FireWire, boot the PowerBook in target mode, and install Tiger on the PowerMac using the Pismo's CD/DVD drive?
Thanks, Peter
It can be done, but the sequence of setup for installation is important:
Installing 10.4/10.5 on a Mac with a broken/or incompatible optical drive
It can be done, but the sequence of setup for installation is important:
Installing 10.4/10.5 on a Mac with a broken/or incompatible optical drive
You seem to be the authority on this subject. I have a "universal" Tiger install CD set, not model-specific. I used it to install Tiger on my PowerBook Pismo (aka "FireWire").
I FireWired my Pismo (working optical drive) to my PowerMac Digital Audio (erratic optical drive). I put the Tiger install CD #1 into the Pismo and booted it into target mode. Then I booted the PowerMac into startup-manager (Option key down). The PowerMac sees its own hard drive and the Pismo's hard drive, but not the Tiger install disc #1 in the Pismo's optical drive. I can even boot the PowerMac from the Pismo's hard drive, and see the Pismo's desktop.
How do I get the PowerMac in startup-manager mode to see the Tiger install CD #1 in the target-mode Pismo's optical drive? Many thanks.
How to use FireWire target disk mode - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661 - includes description of hardware and software requirements.
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.
My Pismo (good optical drive) boots up just fine in FireWire target mode. My PowerMac Digital Audio (bad optical drive) boots up just fine into startup-manager mode (Option key down). But the PowerMac in startup-manager mode only sees the hard drive on my Pismo in target mode. It doesn't see the Tiger install CD #1 in the target Pismo's optical drive as a boot source.
Note: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=75414, has moved tp http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1987
To find more old knowledgebase articles and where they moved to, use my tip:
Knowledgebase links of the info.apple.com format no longer work
In your DOC-1020, the fourth install method didn't specify identical machines, and it seemed to indicate that the target's optical drive would be visible in the host's startup manager.
But a note in HT1661 says that target mode "will not connect" to an ATAPI drive. My Pismo's optical drive is ATAPI.
So it looks like the PowerMac's startup manager will never see the optical drive in the target Pismo. Is that correct? Or is there something I'm missing? Or another method?
If Apple's article says what it does, then there is probably good reason for it to say it. You may need a different optical drive. You can always add a Firewire optical drive to your Pismo. That would likely work better.
I would though seriously consider seeing if the PRAM battery on the Pismo can be replaced. Firewire ports may be flaky without a younger than 4 year old PRAM battery (that's different from the battery that swaps into the Powerbook's bays.
Remote Tiger install?
