Trying to install OS X 10.4.6 on iBook G4

My girlfriend's iBook stopped accepting her password (or she just forgot it). I tried a bunch of stuff and eventually settled on trying to start over (not with her, with the computer). I'm trying to start it with an OS X 10.4.6 disc. I'm holding the "c" button after the chime and getting this:



I don't have any idea what this is and am clearly in over my head here. How do I get back to the way things were when we were happy together and everything just seemed to work right (not me and the girlfriend, me and the computer)?

sef650 said:

I'm trying to start it with an OS X 10.4.6 disc. I'm holding the "c" button after the chime and getting this:

Click to expand...

That's a "kernel panic". If you're trying to use a "gray" colored OS disk…and it didn't come with the computer originally…it won't work with the computer. The gray disks are model specific…and only work with the computer model they shipped with.

- Nick

p.s. BTW…please be careful with the inappropriate language/inappropriate acronyms. Thanks.

Thanks. The disc is in fact from another computer, so that explains that. And sorry about the naughty language.

I ran fsck a couple of times. The first time there was some kind of repair. The second time it said everything was ok.

Then I tried to reboot from the disc (which didn't work of course), and from the hard drive, which didn't work either. It's the same thing that was happening before I ran fsck. It starts going through the Welcome to OS 10.4 Tiger setup, I get to "Select a Wireless Service" and then I just get stuck with the beach ball. Or, I tell it that "My computer does not connect to the Internet." and I still get the same beach ball.

Is there something else I can try? Do I need to get the right disc?

sef650 said:

Is there something else I can try? Do I need to get the right disc?

Click to expand...

If this computer was working fine previously…then yes…getting the correct OS install disk is the way to go!

Unfortunately…OS disks are not cheap & sometimes older versions can be hard to find. Depending on what model iBook this is…you would probably want to install OS 10.4 "Tiger" (the OS it had on it)…or maybe OS 10.5 "Leopard" (depending on the iBook model).

Two things:

1. If you want to purchase 10.4 disks (probably $50-$75). These came in both a 4 CD disk set & on a single DVD.
2. If you want to install OS 10.5…these will cost $80-$100 on e-Bay. DO NOT purchase a 10.5 "Drop in Disk". These require a previous OS version be present on the HD before installing.

And just a heads up. This iBook probably isn't worth much more than $100-$125 (depending on the model)…so these OS install disks can be a significant proportion of the total value of the computer being "repaired".

- Nick

Well, soda crackers...

Thanks for the diagnosis doc. Now I have to figure out whether I want to fork over the $ or just take her out behind the shed and... tell my girlfriend that the computer now lives on a nice farm out in the country.

But like I said, thanks all the same.

Before all this happened when it was not accepting the password, if you had the OSX DVD that came with the ibook you have booted into the installer and changed the password without reinstalling. That is why it's important to keep the discs that come with a Mac.

...and we're back.

So I now have discs, but when I turn the computer on all I get is a little file in the center of the screen that flashes a finder icon and a question mark in tandem. I've tried starting it up with recovery disc #1 in the drive while holding down the "c" button a couple of times. Nothing.

Suggestions?

P.S. If I try to start it with the iBook G4 Install Disc 1 in it, it gives me a mac logo and then goes to a circle slash symbol. I'm guessing that the circle slash symbol is a more polite version of the finger. Is that right?