[SOLVED] install Mac OS x 5.4 on ibook g4 laptop

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webmaster1776

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I recently purchased an ibook g4 laptop with OS x 4 installed But when realized it was no longer supported I tried Ubuntu 10.04 for PPC and worked a little better in that it seems to have a bit more support but I read that OS X 5 would work on the ibook so I purchased a used OS x 5.4 disk set and tryed to install it but when I did it said it was not compatable with that computer. I would appreciate any sugestions.
 
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Ijack
You are wrong. OS X disks supplied with computers are specific to the model and won't work on other models. You either need the exact disk set or a retail disk.

Personally, I wouldn't bother with 10.5 on a G4, especially with only 512MB - it's a dog. I reverted my Mac Mini back to 10.4 because it was almost unusable with 10.5.
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CaedenV

CaedenV

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OSX is a tricky thing. 10.5 should work on a G4, but depending on your system you may need to trick the system into taking it.

Firstly, you need to have at least 1GB of ram in the system, preferably 2GB... and back in the G4 days 512MB was popular still, so you may need to upgrade that.
2nd is that Apple is fond of ditching support for computers after 3-4 generations... and PPC G4 is very far out of favor. I am admitedly BSing a bit here as I have not ever done this myself, but my understanding is that the OS installer will scan the firmware/EFI/UEFI for information which is required before allowing the installation. Sometimes this EFI information needs to be edited in order to allow older low-end macs to run the newer OSs. I am not sure if this would be the case for your mac, and I am certainly unsure how to go about it. I have only heard about it being a problem by my mac friends, especially on older G3 and G4 systems.

Sorry this may not be a lot of help, but maybe it will be able to point you in the right direction.
 
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webmaster1776

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Question: Would it make a difference wether the disk I use is retail or a restore disk from anouther laptop? The Os X disk I tried Was the restore disk for anouther laptop so I ordered the retail verstion of ebay. When it arrives I'll try it. As for the requirements for OS x 5 I found this: http://support.apple.com/kb/sp517 The article says it only requires 512MB of memory which is what I have.
 
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CaedenV

CaedenV

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I may be ignorat, but I don't think Macs ever had modified restore discs, just a normal install disc that came with the machine. They joy of a closed ecosystem is that you can just make one disc, and have it work for just about anything.

But then again I could be wrong... but I am pretty sure that OSX discs are just OS discs across the board.
 
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Ijack

Ijack

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You are wrong. OS X disks supplied with computers are specific to the model and won't work on other models. You either need the exact disk set or a retail disk.

Personally, I wouldn't bother with 10.5 on a G4, especially with only 512MB - it's a dog. I reverted my Mac Mini back to 10.4 because it was almost unusable with 10.5.
 
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webmaster1776

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Thanks for the info. Ill try the 10.5 when it arrives but if its slow I can upgrade to 1g ram I already priced it, its not to expensive. The reason I wanted vers 10.5 is because alot of my favorite free apps require a Os X 10.5 min requirement to run. Thanks again.
 
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CaedenV

CaedenV

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Learn something every day :D
 
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