How do I install Tiger to my slotload G3??
 

Hi. I have the following:

iMac Core 2 Duo 20" (I shall refer to this as Intel-iMac)

iMac G3 400mhz slot loader (I shall refer to this as PPC-iMac)

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I wish to put my Tiger DVD into my Intel-iMac, shut it down, then connect via firewire to PPC-iMac. I shall then start Intel-iMac in target-disk-mode *first*, and then start PPC-iMac, and hopefully see the Tiger DVD on the desktop, from which I shall install Tiger to the G3?.

Someone I spoke to, mentioned that it is not possible to interconnect PPC and Intel Macs, via target-disk-mode... is this true??.

Also - ram types
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I have some PC100 and PC133 SDRAM laying about - are there any particular types I should NOT use; EG: Not use single-sided sticks??. Any and every bit of information and help would be appreciated greatly. Many thanks guys!!!

I believe your G3 is unsupported by Tiger. Creating a clone via FW target disk mode has worked for me in the past, but I'm not sure if this is advisable for Intel to PPC transfers of the OS since the OS files are not exactly the same.

However, as I learned from a tip on this forum, the easy way to do it is to install xpostfacto http://www.opendarwin.org/projects/XPostFacto/ on the G3 and then install Tiger normally. Worked just fine on my G3 clamshell ibook (333mhz, 3GB hd).

Sorry, trythis, there's lots of inaccurate info, and bad guesses on these support sites.
If you are connecting two Macs together, then both must have FireWire, which is one of the relevant items needed to determine Tiger support.
My question would be: Where did you get the Tiger disk? If you want to install Tiger from the restore disk that came with the Intel Mac, then that won't work. Not only becuase it's not the same system, but that the Intel version won't boot the older iMac. That will need the standard PPC commercial Tiger installer. I don't know if you can install cross-platform like you are asking. I do lots of target-mode installs of Tiger, but I don't think I have ever tried that combination.

The DVD I am using, is the PPC version: a *FULL RETAIL* copy of OS X Tiger 10.4.6, not my Intel restore DVDs.

My G3 is supported - it is a 400MHZ slot loader (could be 450MHZ - haven't picked it up from the seller, yet!) all I remember is that he said it was at least 400MHZ PPC. I'm using a full retail Tiger DVD folks, NOT my restore DVD!!.

First of all, let's discuss whether or not the iMac G3/ 400 MHz is compatible with Tiger.

As DeltaMac says correctly above, the determining factor is whether or not it has FireWire.

There are a total of five different models of iMac G3/ 400 MHz slot-loading. Of those, all are compatible with Tiger.

iMac DV G3 Slot Loading (October 1999)
iMac DV Special Edition G3 Slot Loading (October 1999)
iMac DV G3 (Summer 2000)
iMac DV+ G3 (Summer 2000)
iMac 2001 G3 400 MHz (February 2001)

So, XPostFacto is not necessary.

It will be very necessary for you to properly update the iMac's firmware before installing Tiger. Do NOT fail to perform this step if the firmware hasn't already been updated. Failing to update the firmware will result in a computer whose screen is black. Fixing this problem is very very hard, and I believe involves removing the hard drive and mounting it in another computer. So, update the firmware. This is not optional.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86117

Next, let's discuss what you need to update the iMac G3 to Tiger. As DeltaMac also says correctly above, you cannot use your disc from your Intel Mac. Not only will it not work for several reasons, it is also a violation of the license. Buy a Tiger Install disc. If your iMac has a CD drive that will not read the DVD that Tiger typically comes on, you can get Tiger Install CDs for a small additional fee from Apple. OR, you can connect an external FireWire DVD drive. OR, you can put another Mac, such as your iMac Core Duo, into FireWire Target Disk Mode, so that the Core Duo has a bouncing FireWire logo on it's screen, then use the Core Duo iMac's DVD drive as an external drive for the iMac G3. Don't do this in the other direction, with the iMac G3 in FireWire Target Disk Mode, since then you will install the wrong version of the OS on the iMac G3's hard drive.

This is completely false. You can even put a Mac into FireWire Target Disk Mode and connect it to a PC, as long as the PC can understand HFS+, for example if it is running MacDrive.

What FireWire Target Disk Mode does is make the computer in that mode act as a FireWire Mass Storage Device. It turns the computer into a very expensive external hard drive. So you can connect it to anything that can communicate with FireWire, including PCs and Linux boxes. However, since the internal drive on most Macs is formatted in HFS+, the connected computer would need to be able to understand HFS+ for this to be useful. Of course, other Macs do understand HFS+, whether they are Intel Macs or PPC Macs, and so you can connect PPC and Intel Macs in FireWire Target Disk Mode with no problems.

As mentioned, there are five different iMac G3 /400 MHz models that use slot loading drives. They all have two PC100 SDRAM (3.3 V, 64-bit, 168-pin, 100 MHz) slots.

Trevor

@ trevor - wow, you really know your Apple!!. It is indeed, a F/wire model, as I have seen jpegs of it (but erased the email! :() But 110% F/wire iMac, slot loader. Regarding firmware 4.1.9 - I knew this is vital, and thankyou for reiterating this to myself, and anyone else browsing this thread :). I am going to do this slowly and carefully. One thing - will the G3 see the dvd mounted on the desktop, when i put the intel into FTDM??.

I can not tell you enough how important it is to have updated firmware on older macs before loading any version of OS X 10.2 or higher. If you don't apply the firmware update you can make your system pretty much worthless.

Yup - agreed!. This is one lesson I don't wanna learn, the wrong way!!. I'm a very thorough guy.

If they are connected by a FireWire cable with the iMac Core Duo in FTDM, then yes. It's identical to connecting an external FireWire DVD drive.

Trevor

Ahh excellent - I'd sure like to know why the so-called Mac "expert" I spoke to earlier, told me this was impossible LOL!! :confused: . I guess it all comes down to personal experience, and a healthy does of lateral thinking. I was panicking that I would have a useless machine on my hands, stuck with OS9 on it forever more.

Possibly, the Mac 'expert' was warning you against doing it the other way--putting the iMac G3 into FTDM and doing the install while booted to the iMac Core Duo, except onto the iMac G3's hard drive. That would not work.

Trevor

Nope, you're wrong - the "expert" actually *TOLD* me, that if it were possible, I were to start the G3 in FTDM, and install from the Intel iMac, *ONTO* the G3 drive. This is why computing gets confusing sometimes - differing opinions, based upon guesswork and not experience. I trust *you* however, due to the extremely long reply you posted to me, and the detail into which you have gone, and the time taken to assist me. I appreciate this a great deal!. Thankyou!.

Sorry, unlokia - I was mistaken about Tiger support on your machine. And in answer to your question, I have the Tiger CD set which is what allowed me to install it on my ibook G3 (which has neither FW nor a DVD drive). ;)

Cool - no problem my friend!. I cannot wait to get my hands on this little beauty, and upgrade her to Tigerrrrrr :D

Oh wow it worked!!! :D. I upgraded the HDD to a 40GB Seagate, and the ram to 384mb SDRAM.

Next question - is it viable or possible to dual boot os 9.2 and Tiger??

On the iMac G3? Sure, no problem since you've installed a new hard drive with more space. Just put in the OS 9.2 Install CD and install onto the same hard drive. With your computer, no special steps are necessary.

Personally, I would recommend NOT partitioning your drive (a word that means dividing it up into smaller volumes), since people who do that almost invariably regret their choice in partition sizes later.

Trevor

Ok lets start at the beginning. This is what I got:

* I backed up the 9.2 hdd to a DMG using FTDM *before* I upgraded the HDD and put in Tiger (forward planning ;))- so I have a DMG of 9.2, but what filesystem etc etc do i format the HDD to, if I wish to restore 9.2 back, and wipe out Tiger?. Can i format the PPC hdd properly, from my Intel Mac? (I dont have the 9.2 CD :()

* If I wanted to dual-boot 9.2 and Tiger, using what I have (a DMG of a fully installed and working 9.2 and the RETAIL dvd of Tiger) how would I accomplish this??

:D Thanks Trevor - you're a great chap!!. Oh, and for £19 (bargain!) I bagged myself a new Apple Keyboard for the occasion of getting this machine for £30!!!! MINT CONDITION!!!

<{UPDATE}> Decided to dual-boot Panther and Tiger - working a treat!. Panther slightly faster.

If you really wanted to wipe out Tiger, you would still leave the filesystem as HFS+. Although Tiger uses (or can use) HFS+ Journalled, it is fine to use OS 9 on the same drive.

But why wipe out Tiger? Restore the files from .dmg onto the hard drive without wiping. OS 9 and OS X are designed to be able to coexist happily.

(One note: when restoring from .dmg, be careful to not replace existing things. For example, if memory serves [which it may not--it's been a long time since I've used a computer with only OS 9 on it] OS 9 had an Applications folder at the root of the hard drive. If you simply replace everything, your OS 9 Applications folder will wipe out your OS X Applications folder. So, rename the OS 9 Applications folder to Applications (OS 9) before restoring it.)

Trevor

The standard Applications folder with 9.1 and later will be named "Applications (Mac OS 9)".
Anything else with the name Applications would need a little checking to make sure you are not transferring redundant and unnecessary stuff (not to be repetitive, but you should browse through your folders a little bit, looking for that kind of thing)

Ok guys - currently running Tiger & Panther on two partitions. Going to be putting OS 9.2 on another partition later, so a triple-boot situation can show off the machines potential, in various scenarios.

Call it a history lesson for the fun of it all, and an introduction/demo of Mac for all my PEECEE buddies (brainwashed).

:D

You could also install OS 9 to either OS X partition. That's how all Macs came, on one partition, until they no longer had OS 9 booting capability.

Each partition can have just one OS X install, but you could have multiple installs of OS 9 on the same partition.
Some users did this to provide different setups for OS 9 as a clean install.