Having trouble installing an OS. Please Help!

I have an old Beige G3 All-in-one that was running OSX 10.2.8. I had installed a 40GB HD an partitioned it so that OSX would run. I wanted to reinstall from the ground up so i put an OS 9 CD in and booted from it. I got done will that and everything seemed to install finebut when i restarted the computer it would not boot into OS 9. I tried to boot from a CD but the computer refuses to boot from it.

While i would like to get the computer working again it is not imparative that it be fixed. I have been begging my parents to get a new computer for a while now and i think this may finally do it.

My dad was looking at the macmall magazine and he picked out the high end iMac so i pretty much gave up on fixing the old G3

I would appreciate any help fixing the G3 mostly because i want to take it to college and use it as a server or something of that sort.

Thanks for any help!

An update to my problem

Well i got the computer to boot into OS 9. When i attempted to install OS X 10.2 it wanted to restart from the CD so i hit the restart botton and i get an error message that says the computer was unable to select the CD to boot from. The OS CD is not a copy and does not appear to be damaged/stratched/ or anything like that.

I am re-installing OS 9 right now to see if that changes anything.

When i try to held down "c" on startup i get a screen that says(at the very top) "can't open, can't open..."

It boots from the OS 9 CD just fine. What the heck is going on?

I would really like to install OSX again seeing as OS 9 is worthless to me.

Thanks

Did you install OS9 on the second partition ? I know that OSX has to be in the first 7 Gigs I always use to then put OS9 on the second partition. It sound like the computer is having trouble finding the startup disk. Have you got any diagnostic software like tech tool pro or Disk utility, something that could check to see if the harddrive is doing what it should be doing?

Ok, everything in OS 9 is wokring now but i am still not able to install OS X 10.2.x which is supported. When i put the OS X 10.2 disc in and double click on the install icon then press restart an error message comes up that says something like "Startup Disk cannot select Mac OS X install Disc 1 and startup drive" (or something close to that).

If i attempt to hold down the "c" key while the disc is in i get a lot (an i mean a lot) of "can't open, can't open, can't open"s going across the screen and then it boots into OS 9 again.

I have the drive partitioned into 7.5 and 30 GB sections and i know they are right so that is not the problem.

Thanks for the seggestions. I think i am going to try XPostFacto to install 10.3. If that doesn't work then Oh well, i guess my dad wil have to shell out some money for a new one. I have only been harpiong at him for a new one for about 2 years.

Right now i am using the G3 to post this as i got it to run OS 9 and got it hooked up to the internet but i can't get OS X installed and i refuse to use OS 9.

If anyone has used XPostFacto to install 10.3 on a G3 (266Mhz) i would appreciate your input. Everything is stock on the machine, but i have put in a maxtor 40GB HD (which is partitioned), zip 100 drive, CDRW drive and the memory is maxed out at 768MB. I also have a PCI card with USB and Firewire on it that i would like to install if i can get this running OSX.

If everything fails and i end up with a new computer i will probably have some pieces from a G3 that i will put on the Buy, Sell, Trade Forum in a week or two.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

First, please don't give up on, or part out, the AIO unless you really have no other option. I really love these machines (I own 2) and so it would be great if you could find a way to keep it in use.

Installing Panther is a great idea, and it was one of the best things I've done to mine. I could certainly help you out with the process, but it's really very straightforward.

First though, I'm wondering about your HD. Was OS X ever working on this drive, or did the problems with installation begin when you put in the new hard drive? I think what I would do would be to try eliminating one potential problem at a time. If you're certain the jumper settings are correct on the HD and it's been formatted correctly, the next thing I might look at would be the CD-R drive that you installed. Perhaps for some reason it's causing problems, and you might want to swap back to the original temporarily to see if that resolves anything.

As far as installing Panther via XPostFacto, as I mentioned it's a very easy process. Once OS 9 is successfully installed on the second partition, you'll download XPostFacto. Then insert the Panther installation CD, launch XPF, select the first partition (where you'll be installing OS X) in the XPF screen, and click on "Install OS X". Everything should then take care of itself. Again though, if you run into any problems, feel free to send me a PM. And if for whatever reason you decide not to keep the machine, let me know so I might "adopt" it rather than see it parted out.

It's Alive

Ok, everything is running good under 10.3. I am running software update and it should be done soon.

Thanks Padawan for the help. It was mainly your post about when you install 10.3 on your that helped me the most. I learned that you tried to install over OS 10.2.x and had problems. I attempted to do the same thing and that was what caused all my problems in the first place.

Everythng seems to be fine. There are a couple of things i have notice the zip 100 drive does not show up right now, so i think i might have to find a driver for that. I have a PCI card that has 3 USB and 3 firewire on it, the 3 USB show up but, from what i can see, only 1 firewire port shows up. the PCI card is IOGEAR if i remember right so if anyone, and especially Padawan (seeing as he has done this before), has some suggestions let me know.

The only other thing that i think i want to do is somehow upgrade the video card and/or VRAM. I remember reading somewhere that AIO's came stock with 2MB VRAM (i think), and that that can be upgraded to 6MB's. Are there any suggestions as to what video card to get and where to get it?

I know the computer is pretty much at its limits, but when i go away to college i will be getting a new PB and this computer has to work for my parents.

Padawan, if you can lead me in the right direction i would appreciate your help. Thanks

P.S. This AIO i got from my school for free and now there are some more that may be thrown away soon, and the way this install of 10.3 went i think i may have to grab those machines. And they will be free, one of the perks of being the Student aid for the Technology Admin.

I highly suggest installing 10.3 on any AIO or G3 in general. XPostFacto makes it very simple and almost idiot proof.

Hopefully I can help out with some of your other questions:

prostuff1 said:

There are a couple of things i have notice the zip 100 drive does not show up right now, so i think i might have to find a driver for that.

Unfortunately, to the best of my knowledge the ZIP won't function under OS X, nor will the floppy drive.

I have a PCI card that has 3 USB and 3 firewire on it, the 3 USB show up but, from what i can see, only 1 firewire port shows up. the PCI card is IOGEAR if i remember right

This seems a bit strange, but again, it could just be one of the quirks of running OS X on this machine and installing much newer hardware into it. I actually plan to install a USB/Firewire card on my machine soon, so I'll let you know what the results are.

The only other thing that i think i want to do is somehow upgrade the video card and/or VRAM. I remember reading somewhere that AIO's came stock with 2MB VRAM (i think), and that that can be upgraded to 6MB's. Are there any suggestions as to what video card to get and where to get it?

If you want to retain the built-in monitor, you'll need to keep the factory video card or do a fair bit of wire hacking with a replacement card (I'll try to find the link that explains the process if that's what you decide to do). I simply chose to upgrade the factory card to 6 MB of VRAM. The upgrade VRAM chips can be found on eBay, which is where I purchased both of mine, or at certain online Mac specialists. They're normally less than $15, and I actually think I only paid about $10 shipped for mine.

P.S. This AIO i got from my school for free and now there are some more that may be thrown away soon, and the way this install of 10.3 went i think i may have to grab those machines. And they will be free, one of the perks of being the Student aid for the Technology Admin.

If I had that opportunity, my basement would be filled with as many AIO's as they'd let me take. Did I mention that I love these machines?

Click to expand...

10.3.8 is running great

I got 10.3.8 running great. I think i am going to go the route of upgrading the VRAM to 6MB. Probably will get that from eBay.

I might also try to overclock this machine to see if i can get it to run just a little better. Padawan, if you can give me any tips i would appreciate it. I am going to try it on one of the machines at school first then i will probably attempt it on mine at home.

I was thinking of just upgrading the ZIF but am really unsure what that would entale and how hard that might be. If anyone has a suggestion on what brand of ZIF and the speed, post a link so i can look at it.

Padawan, I did have the ZIP working when the machine was running 10.2.8, so i am pretty sure that that is just a driver problem. I am just going to have to pull the tray out so i can find the name of the manufacturer so i can look for a driver.

Thanks