Upgrading an iBook G4 from 10.3.9 to 10.4.4

Joined
Aug 13, 2009
Messages
13
Reaction score
0
Points
1
I have an iBook G4 933MHz 256MB DDR RAM with OS X 10.3.9 installed.

I wish to upgrade it to 10.4.4 using an upgrade disk. The disk requires the firmware update 4.1.7 to be applied.

I have established that the FW update will only run on OS 9.1 or higher, but not on OS X. It will not run on the OS 9 Classic which is installed within the 10.3.9 installation.

Neither will the hardware boot from the OS 9 Classic installation.

My only option is to aquire an OS 9 installation disk for this hardware, downgrade, install the firmware, and then upgrade to 10.4.4, then update to 10.4.11.

Can anybody reccomend a good place to look for a good OS 9 installation disk?
 
Joined
Aug 18, 2007
Messages
715
Reaction score
30
Points
28
Location
Wilmington, NY
Your Mac's Specs
15" Unibody MBP (2009), White MB (2009), iMac G4
You shouldn't need to do a firmware update on that machine, it should install without any issues. The reason you can't boot to OS 9 is because that machine is too new to boot to a classic OS and can only boot to OS X. Just put in your 10.4 disk and install, there is no need to update anything else. Only much earlier Macs that did not come with OS X installed need firmware updates.
 
OP
C
Joined
Aug 13, 2009
Messages
13
Reaction score
0
Points
1
The message I get from every 10.4.x disk I have tried is:

Alert
This software cannot be installed on this computer


I might have misread the information on the following link:
Mac OS X: Available firmware updates

I'll read it again.

Would resetting the PRAM help, or would it make things worse?
 
Joined
Jul 2, 2006
Messages
4,554
Reaction score
146
Points
63
Location
Crawley, England
Your Mac's Specs
20" Intel iMac 2.4 Ghz/3G Ram/320HD, Snow Leopard. PBook G4, 1.5Ghz/1.5 Ram/250 HD, Leopard 10.5.6.
You need a generic Tiger dvd, with a black face and big sliver X on it for it to work, unless you are lucky enough to get the discs specifically for your exact spec Mac.
Discs are machine specific which is why you get that message. You can't use upgrade discs.
 
OP
C
Joined
Aug 13, 2009
Messages
13
Reaction score
0
Points
1
I have a disc labelled:

iBook G4
Mac OS X Install Disk 1


This is the disc which returns the above message. All others result in a kernel panic during installation attempts.

I also have a black Tiger disc, but it is for a server.

The HDD capacity is 37GB, CPU frequency is 933MHz with 256MB DDR RAM.

I will attempt to create an OS 9 installation on a removable disk.
 

dtravis7


Retired Staff
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
30,133
Reaction score
703
Points
113
Location
Modesto, Ca.
Your Mac's Specs
MacMini M-1 MacOS Monterey, iMac 2010 27"Quad I7 , MBPLate2011, iPad Pro10.5", iPhoneSE
I hope this does not sound mean, but people have told you and somehow you are not understanding. You do not need to update your firmware to install 10.4 Tiger. OS9 will NOT even boot on your 933Mhz G4 iBook. Here is a URL right from Apple. Check the iBook G4's at the bottom. OS9 will not boot.

Mac OS 8 and 9 compatibility with Macintosh computers

You do not need new firmware on that machine for tiger or even Leopard 10.5. That 10.4.4 CD is a Machine Specific CD. There are many iBook G4's and it's made for a different model than the one you have there. You need a Black Tiger DVD that will install on any Power PC Mac with a DVD drive and Firewire ports. Do NOT try and install OS9 as it will never boot and you do not need to update anything.
 
OP
C
Joined
Aug 13, 2009
Messages
13
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Thanks, you've saved me from making the problem worse.

I'll have a look around for a 10.4.x disk specific to this model, or the generic black disc.

[edit]
I have checked the iBook G4 revisions list - it looks like the hardware is from late 2003, while the disc is from 2006.
The black disk may be the only option, if I can find it.
 
Joined
Jul 2, 2006
Messages
4,554
Reaction score
146
Points
63
Location
Crawley, England
Your Mac's Specs
20" Intel iMac 2.4 Ghz/3G Ram/320HD, Snow Leopard. PBook G4, 1.5Ghz/1.5 Ram/250 HD, Leopard 10.5.6.
Thanks, you've saved me from making the problem worse.

I'll have a look around for a 10.4.x disk specific to this model, or the generic black disc.

[edit]
I have checked the iBook G4 revisions list - it looks like the hardware is from late 2003, while the disc is from 2006.
The black disk may be the only option, if I can find it.

Lots on eBay, but still sells for good money (wish I'd known, sold mine with my old iMac!)
 
Joined
Nov 28, 2007
Messages
25,564
Reaction score
486
Points
83
Location
Blue Mountains NSW Australia
Your Mac's Specs
Silver M1 iMac 512/16/8/8 macOS 11.6
The black disc is often sold as the full retail install version. Don't bother with the silver grey discs as they are model specific, and sometimes the same model will use different discs, depending on the release dates so it is very much a matter of individual restore discs tied to individual machines.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top