iBook G3 will not properly install OS X

Question

iBook G3 will not properly install OS X

I am currently fixing a Snow iBook G3 (fairly certain it's the 800MHz model) for a friend but have encountered a problem. Unfortunately, when booting up from the Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar Install CD, the entire screen switches into a 640x480 4-color grayscale mode. At times I have managed to get it to start up in 640x480 with color (however I have no idea how). After installing OS X, the screen will remain in a 640x480 color mode. After going into the system preferences, I see that it is stuck on 640x480 and the sections for colors is blank. It will not allow me to change the resolution, it doesn't have any other options available. In case this is relevant, I have disable the Additional Asian Fonts, Localized Files, and Printer Drivers.

Thanks in advance!

iBook, Mac OS X (10.2.x)

Posted on Apr 18, 2016 7:25 PM

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Answer 1

Apr 18, 2016 7:46 PM in response to Noodles Brainguy

Is the Jaguar installation disc a retail disc, sold separately for use with all compatible Mac models? If it's a grey-colored disc that comes with a particular Mac, it needs to be the one that came with that Mac model; a disc from a different Mac model may not work properly.

If the disc IS retail and it's Jaguar, that can still be a problem for an 800 Mhz iBook G3. According to

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/ibook/index-ibook.html

an iBook G3 at 800 MHz came pre-installed with Mac OS X 10.2.1 or 10.2.4. If the version of Jaguar on your disc is earlier than the pre-installed version (like the original "10.2" Jaguar release), it may not have the necessary drivers for that iBook model. That would explain the odd graphics.

If you can get Panther (10.3) or Tiger (10.4), it would be better. Then, any retail disc version would fully support that iBook (assuming it meets RAM requirements). Also 10.3.x is better optimized, and 10.4.11 is more compatible with today's world, thanks in large part to the TenFourFox web browser.

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