Reinstall OSX Tiger on G5 PowerPC options

[Bondai]

Hello
I'm at my wits end trying to wipe clean and reinstall OSX Tiger on my G5 Power Mac and need some help.

I have an issue with the CD/DVD drive and so cannot reinstall from the installation disc directly.

So I bought an external disc drive only to find that it wont work with older Macs, at least I cannot get it to work on my old Mac. it works on my newer IMac fine.

This is it here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07Z77FVQC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

i'm thinking of x2 options as a solution but I do not know how to do it:

1)
Connect the G5 to my iMac on a network so that I can use the disc drive plugged into my IMac to reinstall the OS on my G5 from disc ?

2)
Connect the G5 to my IMac in Target disc mode and then install the OS from the disc some how ? I'm unsure if that is even possible.

I have searched around on the internet for a few days now and am about to give up as I cannot seem to find specific answers for my needs so thought maybe I could get some definitive advice from some experts before I do.

What cable do I need if I wanted to connect my G5 to my IMac and read the external disc drive from that ?

I tried a few times to copy the contents of the OS installation disc to try and make a digital installation file but no joy as the contents of the disc are encrypted and trying to make a copy using some advice picked up on the internet was just a real complicated knightmare.

Any advice appreciated.

Thank you
Gary

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

Sorry for the delayed response.

• Which exact model is the Power Mac G5?
• Which exact model is the iMac?
• Which version of OS X/macOS is the iMac running?

C

 

[Bondai]

Hello Cory, thanks for your reply.


Power Mac G5
Machine Model: PowerMac7,2

I have attached a screen grab from the profile. Do you need more info for the G5 ?

iMac
Model ID : iMac17,1

I have attached a screen grab from the profile. Do you need more info for the iMac ?

Thanks if you can offer some advice.

 

[TonyAguila]

Hello
I'm at my wits end trying to wipe clean and reinstall OSX Tiger on my G5 Power Mac and need some help.

I have an issue with the CD/DVD drive and so cannot reinstall from the installation disc directly.

So I bought an external disc drive only to find that it wont work with older Macs, at least I cannot get it to work on my old Mac. it works on my newer IMac fine.

This is it here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07Z77FVQC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

i'm thinking of x2 options as a solution but I do not know how to do it:

1)
Connect the G5 to my iMac on a network so that I can use the disc drive plugged into my IMac to reinstall the OS on my G5 from disc ?

2)
Connect the G5 to my IMac in Target disc mode and then install the OS from the disc some how ? I'm unsure if that is even possible.

I have searched around on the internet for a few days now and am about to give up as I cannot seem to find specific answers for my needs so thought maybe I could get some definitive advice from some experts before I do.

What cable do I need if I wanted to connect my G5 to my IMac and read the external disc drive from that ?

I tried a few times to copy the contents of the OS installation disc to try and make a digital installation file but no joy as the contents of the disc are encrypted and trying to make a copy using some advice picked up on the internet was just a real complicated knightmare.

Any advice appreciated.

Thank you
Gary

Option #1 sounds easy, but it might be too slow. If you can connect both to wifi, enable File Sharing (from System Preferences) on the iMac and load the installer CD. The G5 should be able to see the drive. With luck and patience, you might be able to perform the installation.

Option #2, dubious. The only connectors you have in common is USB. Load the installer CD in the iMac and reboot while holding down the T key. It will come up in target disk mode. Connect the two with a USB cable. The iMac should appear to the G5 as an external drive, but I’m not sure if the CD will show up as well. If you don’t see it, try ejecting and reloading the CD a couple of times, while keeping your fingers crossed. Good luck!

By the way, your G5 can run up to Mac OS X 10.5.8 Leopard.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hi,

Thanks for the additional information.

You are actually in a tough position, due to the hardware limitations of the G5. From memory, it can only be used with target disk mode via FireWire unfortunately. Officially, external optical drives need to be FireWire as well, which is why the USB drive you purchased isn't recognized. There are a few unofficial workarounds to startup from USB, but they require dealing with Open Firmware and don't work 100% of the time. Here is a thread on Apple Discussions about it:

Can powermac g5 boot from USB?

You could also try finding a used OEM G5 replacement optical drive on eBay, as it is a pretty easy swap.

Hope that helps,

C

 

[Bondai]

Thank you both, very kind of you to put your minds to this.

The G5 isn't wifi enabled. I think I need to buy a dongle or something for that so I can only connect it via ethernet. I'll try your recommended routes though. First I think will be connecting both on a USB and see if the G5 can see the disc while the iMac is in target mode. Second easiest route I think will be the replacement of the optical drive on the G5. I'll feedback to let you know.

Both options involve me having to buy something which I wanted to avoid but needs be.

Thanks again.

 

[TonyAguila]

Thank you both, very kind of you to put your minds to this.

The G5 isn't wifi enabled. I think I need to buy a dongle or something for that so I can only connect it via ethernet. I'll try your recommended routes though. First I think will be connecting both on a USB and see if the G5 can see the disc while the iMac is in target mode. Second easiest route I think will be the replacement of the optical drive on the G5. I'll feedback to let you know.

Both options involve me having to buy something which I wanted to avoid but needs be.

Thanks again.

Gary, in my case, I have a couple of Apple Airport Extremes that I use to extend my wifi signal in my location. When the wifi card in my MacPro5,1 went out, I simply connected it by ethernet (RJ-45) to one of the AEs and instantly I had wifi again. If you happen to have an Airport or Airport Extreme, the G5 should be able to connect to wifi.

 

[Bondai]

Hi guys
Happy New Year
Can I trouble you again please. Sorry.

Would this Optical Drive work in my G5 ?

Apple branded iMac G4/PowerMac/Mac Pro ATA Superdrive (16x) 661-3736

www.thebookyard.com

I'm struggling to find an exact match for the replacement. I figured by the way that it would be better to fix the Mac by way of replacing the optical drive.

Thanks. Such a headache.
Gary

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hi,

No trouble at all. Yes, that seems to be the correct part, and their description says it is compatible with your G5. I agree it is better to just replace the failed optical drive as that will be path of least resistance and have the best compatibility in the long run.

C

 

[Bondai]

Thank you Cory. You're a star

 

[Cory Cooper]

No worries....let us know how it goes.

C

 

[Bondai]

Hello

Update


I bought the CD drive replacement, the one I posted a link to in earlier posts. As follows:

Apple branded iMac G4/PowerMac/Mac Pro ATA Superdrive (16x) 661-3736

www.thebookyard.com

It works a treat.


Took 5 minutes to take out the old and put in the new. Two plugs to disconnect and then reconnect to the new drive.

Just trying to reset the Mac to factory settings/wipe it for clean reinstall now.

Sorry I took so long to get the drive and post an update. I thank you again for your support on here.

By the way, the company that sold the replacement drive packaged it up really well and it arrived in a couple of days with standard postage. It was a little bit more than I thought appropriate but your paying for the honesty and minimal hassle too right. So in that sense, I recommend them.

 

[Nurgle2024]

if you new hard works on you new computer, but does not work on the old computer that may be because you have formatted it in the New apfs file format. if you reformat it as HFS format on the old computer it will be compatible with both, but slower on the new computer.
regards, Sandy