Can't install OS X 10.4 (Tiger)

Those can be tricky to get a supported installer and original OS X to work.

According to details in reference, if yours is a Late 2004, it must be 14-inch.

Original OS Mac OS X 10.3.5 (7P216)

Later OS Mac OS X 10.3.7 (7T52) or 10.4 (8A428)

(Last supported, Mac OS X 10.5(.8)

Hardware Test AHT (iBook) 2.2.1, 2.5

memory:

1 - PC-2100 DDR266 200-pin SO-DIMM

(PC-2700 supported; however it will run at only 266 MHz)

Because these shipped with a grey-label version system install disc,

they would tend to need one newer than that; in retail form. ~ Some

times the optical drive may be dusty; or the installer balks.

An upgrade to add one 1024MB RAM chip under keyboard in memory

slot, should be helpful. -- Because the initial memory is affixed to logic

board (256MB) the total would be 1.25GB. Another huge upgrade may

be to get an SSD (see OWC Mercury Legacy Pro ATA/IDE) & then run

Leopard 10.5.8. ~ I've been considering this a few years; as my 12-inch

Mid 2005 iBook G4 (1.33GHz) still has its original 40GB rotational HDD.

And 1.5GB RAM did help, but not enough. Needs more umph.

When I reverted to Tiger from original media, there were a few issues.

Because I had additional archival software, I was able to restore it fully.

(Note there is a newer iTunes application for Tiger than on installers;

9.2.1 is the last supported iTunes for Tiger; w/ this internet radio works.)

Hopefully you can get the Tiger installer to function.

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

.-.-.-.-.

PS: sorry to interrupt, Kappy.

When you partitioned the drive are you sure that you set the partition scheme to APM and NOT GUID?

Otherwise, my guess is still disk failure despite passing the Disk Utility stuff. You might try running the hardware test: This is a little old for me so I hope I got this right. If not then see Using Apple Hardware Test - Apple Support.

How to run Apple Hardware Test on Intel Macs

To check your hardware use the hardware diagnostics. Boot from the OS X Installer Disc One that originally came with your computer. After the chime press and hold down the "D" key until the diagnostic screen appears. Run the extended diagnostics repeatedly over the course of an hour or so to allow possible errors to be detected. If you receive any error messages note them down. You will need that information if you take the computer in for service.

Drive Erase for Snow Leopard and Earlier

1. Boot from your OS X Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities' menu. If you are preparing an external or a non-startup drive, then open Disk Utility from the Utilities' folder.
2. After Disk Utility loads select the volume (indented entry, usually Macintosh HD) you wish to format from the left side list. Set the partition type to APM. Click on the Erase tab in Disk Utility's main window.
3. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Erase button and wait until the process has completed.

After you have formatted the drive quit Disk Utility. You can now complete the installation.

May mean the drive is failing. Or, the Tiger installer you have won't work on your model. The only "universal" Tiger installers would be retail copies from Apple. Otherwise, they are usually model-specific.

Are you able to partition and format the drive via Disk Utility when you boot from the Tiger DVD?