cant install os

[englishrose]

hi i have a i mac 4 i am trying to install OS but keep getting no valid packages and error code (-9997). don't know what i have done wrong also when it asks what volume i want to use it comes up blank. i got help after i had a panic kernel and a lovely man sent me the disc and it all installed great. i had a problem after updates and formatted the drive then had this install problem i be grateful for some ideas, xx

 

[harryb2448]

G'day and welcome to the forums.

What model iMac? The 4.1 and 4.2 models are 800MHz and will only install up to Tiger OS X.4. What OS are you trying to install, and what type of DVD is this, a black retail install, or silver/grey model specific discs?

 

[englishrose]

hi it is a g4 mac . the OS is panther 10.3 which is cds . they are not the original but some one who deals with mac sent them to me as i kernel panic everything worked great until updates came down and pc kept freezing so i thought i would format how have the error as stated above.regards lyn

 

[pigoo3]

hi it is a g4 mac . the OS is panther 10.3 which is cds . they are not the original but some one who deals with mac sent them to me ...

If those CD's are gray/silver...they most likely won't work. They are model specific.

- Nick

 

[englishrose]

hi the disc i have are copy's they were sent to me by some one who worked for mac the are panther os 10.3 cd 1 and 2 i brought mac of a friend who had no disks when they brought as i said i got rid of kernal panic with the disks i got sent to me. can you tell me what program in windows would you use to burn mac disks on. regards lyn

 

[pigoo3]

hi the disc i have are copy's they were sent to me by some one who worked for mac...

Yeah...we don't discuss this sort of thing!

- Nick

 

[harryb2448]

It is called piracy and we do not go in for that.

 

[englishrose]

ok sorry . but was in need of help. i cant find a legal copy otherwise i would buy them also i never knew what os was needed. alli am asking help in is how to sort out package error.

 

[pigoo3]

ok sorry . but was in need of help. i cant find a legal copy otherwise i would buy them also i never knew what os was needed. alli am asking help in is how to sort out package error.

If what you have is an iMac G4...I'm sure the OS CD's you need are available on e-Bay.

- Nick

 

[Lavenderlady]

harryb2448,
Reading your signature Hang on to those original install discs like grim death! got me to thinking. I bought a MacBook Pro 13' in early September from The ON Store (there are no Apple stores anywhere near me....I actually thought it was an Apple store at first as most of the products were Apple items.) It was new in the box factory sealed and all, but there were no discs included. The box says: Preinstalled Mac OS X and iLife

Should I have gotten discs? Is there a way to create them? I am a brand new mac switcher as of Sept. and am not technical at all on top of that. Every pc/laptop I ever owned had discs .....

 

[cwa107]

harryb2448,
Reading your signature Hang on to those original install discs like grim death! got me to thinking. I bought a MacBook Pro 13' in early September from The ON Store (there are no Apple stores anywhere near me....I actually thought it was an Apple store at first as most of the products were Apple items.) It was new in the box factory sealed and all, but there were no discs included. The box says: Preinstalled Mac OS X and iLife

Should I have gotten discs? Is there a way to create them? I am a brand new mac switcher as of Sept. and am not technical at all on top of that. Every pc/laptop I ever owned had discs .....

Yes, you should have gotten a pamphlet/slim box that contained a guide, Apple stickers and your discs. If you didn't, it wasn't a factory-sealed box.

 

[harryb2448]

As cwa107 states, there should have been a back box containing the manual and OS discs. Go back to them and ask for it or contact Apple and see if you can purchase a set. Have your MBP model and serial number handy together with your invoice.

 

[cwa107]

As cwa107 states, there should have been a back box containing the manual and OS discs. Go back to them and ask for it or contact Apple and see if you can purchase a set. Have your MBP model and serial number handy together with your invoice.

It was a white box with my 2011 MacBook Pro, very slim - less than half the thickness of a deck of cards. A bit different from the previous MacBook Pro models. The outside reads "Everything Else".

 

[Lavenderlady]

As cwa107 states, there should have been a back box containing the manual and OS discs. Go back to them and ask for it or contact Apple and see if you can purchase a set. Have your MBP model and serial number handy together with your invoice.

I got a slim black packet inside the box which had a manual, a warranty pamphlet, the black cleaning cloth and stickers, but no discs. The sales guy opened the box and got things set up for me, but I honestly don't remember ever seeing any discs. I'll call them tomorrow and see what is up.

Sheesh, I guess the next Apple purchase I make I will do online from them directly! Living in the sticks like I do there aren't a lot of local choices. There's a Best Buy about 50 miles away, about the same as The On Store, maybe I should have bought there! The only reason I didn't was because I actually thought the store I went to was an Apple store.

 

[dtravis7]

Did your MBP come with 10.7 Lion installed? If so, there are no Disks shipped with a mac with Lion installed.

 

[Lavenderlady]

Did your MBP come with 10.7 Lion installed? If so, there are no Disks shipped with a mac with Lion installed.

Yes! Oh good, then I am not missing them after all! So does that mean that I would never have need to reinstall the os?

 

[dtravis7]

Yes! Oh good, then I am not missing them after all! So does that mean that I would never have need to reinstall the os?

You reinstall in a few ways with lion.

This should help.

Apple - OS X Lion Recovery - Introducing Lion Recovery

 

[Lavenderlady]

You reinstall in a few ways with lion.

This should help.

Apple - OS X Lion Recovery - Introducing Lion Recovery

Thank You so much! I've bookmarked that page so I have it in case I need it some day!

 

[Ctrl-Opt-Del]

Thank You so much! I've bookmarked that page so I have it in case I need it some day!

I'd write down the address of the page if I were you, because if your OS X install does die you'll not have access to the bookmark

(Well, maybe you would've synced it via iCloud by then, but some things are still best stored on hard copy.)

 

[harryb2448]

Buy a hard drive and pop it in an external case and clone your hard drive using SuperDuper. That way you have a bootable back up with Lion and Recovery install;ed. The registered ($29) version does Smart Backup which one can run from time to time to keep the external fully up to date.