07-02-2008, 10:55 AM

...and I have a question I bought a used Power Mac, it has dual 800MHz, 1 gig RAM, 123.5 Gig Hard drive, DVD, etc. I bought it on ebay and it had no OS so I also bought a full version of Tiger. When I boot up teh computer, all I see is the mac folder/question mark. No problem, I did an internet search and found out how to get the DVD open and put in my Tiger DVD and held down the 'C' key. I got the grey scren for a while and then the CD ejects and I get the folder again. I also wasn't getting a start-up sound so I redid the ram thing by holding down the command-alt-p-r keys. Now I got that sound. However, when I hold down the alt key (non-apple keyboard) all I get is a sceen with a refresh icon on the left side and an arrow on the right side. Nothing happens when I press the arrow. Shouldn't I see the hard drive and DVD icons between the refresh and arrow icons? If not, do you know what could be the problem? I have tried several different jumper settings on the hard drive, and even reset the mobo. Nothing. Any suggestions would be greatful. Thanks much.

07-02-2008, 10:59 AM

What does the Tiger disc look like? Is it gray in color? If so, that may be a system disc, and some system discs are specific to the model they were sold with. If it's a retail copy, it should be fine.

07-02-2008, 11:01 AM

Originally Posted by cwa107

What does the Tiger disc look like? Is it gray in color? If so, that may be a system disc, and some system discs are specific to the model they were sold with. If it's a retail copy, it should be fine.

Yes, it is a grey colored system disk. I was told that it was a full version and would work on all models. I am also wondering if I should see the hard drive and DVD icons when I press the alt key at startup. Thanks much for your help.

07-02-2008, 11:06 AM

Originally Posted by examined_life

Yes, it is a grey colored system disk. I was told that it was a full version and would work on all models. I am also wondering if I should see the hard drive and DVD icons when I press the alt key at startup. Thanks much for your help.

Unfortunately, that is not the case. It sounds like it's an Intel disc, and your machine is a PPC model. I would request a refund from the seller and purchase a retail copy instead.

When you hold the alt/option key at startup, you will be presented with a list of bootable devices only.

07-02-2008, 11:18 AM

Originally Posted by cwa107

Unfortunately, that is not the case. It sounds like it's an Intel disc, and your machine is a PPC model. I would request a refund from the seller and purchase a retail copy instead.

When you hold the alt/option key at startup, you will be presented with a list of bootable devices only.

Thanks much, I will get a retail version. BUt just to clarify, If I get a retails version, then I should see the bootable device when holding down the alt key if I have the correct version of Tiger? Again, thank and I apologize for my troublesome questions. As it is now, I don't see anything but shouldn't I see the DVD icon between the refresh and arrow icons?

07-02-2008, 01:09 PM

Originally Posted by examined_life

Thanks much, I will get a retail version. BUt just to clarify, If I get a retails version, then I should see the bootable device when holding down the alt key if I have the correct version of Tiger? Again, thank and I apologize for my troublesome questions. As it is now, I don't see anything but shouldn't I see the DVD icon between the refresh and arrow icons?

That is correct, assuming that you have a bootable disc in your drive. Again, it will only show bootable devices, so if your DVD drive doesn't have bootable media, it won't show up when holding the alt/option key. In this case, assuming that's an Intel version of Mac OS (you have PPC), the disc won't be seen as bootable, because the code that makes it bootable is compiled for Intel.

07-02-2008, 02:25 PM

Originally Posted by cwa107

That is correct, assuming that you have a bootable disc in your drive. Again, it will only show bootable devices, so if your DVD drive doesn't have bootable media, it won't show up when holding the alt/option key. In this case, assuming that's an Intel version of Mac OS (you have PPC), the disc won't be seen as bootable, because the code that makes it bootable is compiled for Intel.

Thanks for your help. I looked at the restore DVD and it says G4 on it so it is for a powerPC, but I think the issue may be that the PowerMac does not have a DVD as advertised. When I put in a regular CD, and hit the C button it tries to boot (and fails because it is a Windows CD) but if I put in a DVD, the CD fails to even spin. Or, I may have bad media; I put the Tiger DVD in my windows DVD drive and when I try to explore the DVD, nothing shows up. I am new to Mac so I am still trying to figure everything out. I will try a few more things and see if I can narrow down the problem.

07-02-2008, 02:39 PM

Originally Posted by examined_life

Thanks for your help. I looked at the restore DVD and it says G4 on it so it is for a powerPC, but I think the issue may be that the PowerMac does not have a DVD as advertised. When I put in a regular CD, and hit the C button it tries to boot (and fails because it is a Windows CD) but if I put in a DVD, the CD fails to even spin. Or, I may have bad media; I put the Tiger DVD in my windows DVD drive and when I try to explore the DVD, nothing shows up. I am new to Mac so I am still trying to figure everything out. I will try a few more things and see if I can narrow down the problem.

That's a possibility too - Tiger did ship on DVD media. So, you would need a DVD drive.