PPC G5 quad-core causing problems

[Ulsterapple]

I bought a G5 quad-core last month by accident (very cheap on eBay!!) and as it wasn't quite what I require I want to sell it again the same way. I've been having problems in that I want to erase the hard drive and reload the OS to erase my documents and personal data. I got no installation DVD with it, and the last owner loaded OSX 10.5 onto it as a clean install before I received it.
I bought a set of PPC G5 installation DVDs off eBay but on trying to restart from the DVD I get a total system freeze at the grey Apple-symbol loading screen and have to restart. I then tried a stand-alone copy of Tiger which causes a kernel panic; as does my copy of Panther, and my G4 installation DVD.
So: I can't reload any of my operating systems. Can anyone advise why, and help???

 

[pigoo3]

I bought a set of PPC G5 installation DVDs off eBay but on trying to restart from the DVD I get a total system freeze at the grey Apple-symbol loading screen and have to restart.

If these are gray/silver discs...they most likely are not working because these disks are model specific.

I then tried a stand-alone copy of Tiger which causes a kernel panic...

Is this "Tiger Disc" a black retail disc with a big "X" on it? Does it say "upgrade" or "drop-in" on it? Or is this a gray/silver disc?

...as does my copy of Panther...

Panther is too old for this computer.

...and my G4 installation DVD.

Again...if this is a gray/silver disk...it won't work for the same reason stated above.

HTH,

- Nick

 

[MacDude121]

As Nick said, if these are grey/silver disks, most likely they are not for your specific model and will not work. You'd be better off picking up a retail copy of Leopard, as Tiger IMO doesn't really do this machine justice.

Also, since the clean install is only a month old, and if you feel comfortable enough with it, you can just delete everything using the secure empty trash method and sell it as it is. Mac OS X 10.4 Help: Removing files from your computer

 

[harryb2448]

They sure aren't as Dual Cores came with OS X.4.2 to OS X.4.4.

 

[Ulsterapple]

Yes they're all silver discs EXCEPT for the Tiger copy which is black and boxed. I've tried the 'erase free space' option before, and am still running it - for the reason that the time has increased from 4 hours... to six hours... to one day eight hours... and is now showing 4 days 19 hours and has been running since 9pm last night, twelve hours now. This is a 232.8 Gb drive with 217 Gb available running the 7-times erasure, so there's definitely something wrong.

 

[pigoo3]

Yes they're all silver discs EXCEPT for the Tiger copy which is black and boxed. I've tried the 'erase free space' option before, and am still running it - for the reason that the time has increased from 4 hours... to six hours... to one day eight hours... and is now showing 4 days 19 hours and has been running since 9pm last night, twelve hours now. This is a 232.8 Gb drive with 217 Gb available running the 7-times erasure, so there's definitely something wrong.

Three thoughts:

1. Why the heck are you running the 7x erasure pass?...are you the Department of Defense! Sure it's "better"...but a 1-pass or 3-pass would be just fine. The 7-pass takes forever.

2. As far as the other problems. What is the EXACT version of that Tiger disk (need all the decimal places...10.4.?).

3. It is always possible that the hard drive is no good.

- Nick

 

[Ulsterapple]

My Tiger disc is 10.4, no decimal points.
I managed to wait until the erase was finished then restarted and ran the repair permissions option before finishing off with a one-pass erase which took 45 minutes, although it gave me the 'disk is almost full' message.
Am I right that if the erase is interrupted, it can leave large temporary files in your drive?

 

[Zeke_D]

You could always just resell it with the drive blanked. If I were to get a G5 I would just use my tiger or leopard discs to get it up an running. out of curiosity, how much did you buy it for?

 

[harryb2448]

Well if it is a Mac OS X.4 disc with no points, then it will not install on your machine if it is a Dual Core as they will run OS X.4.4 or later.

 

[Ulsterapple]

That explains why!! Thanks guys, excellent help.
Zeke: I bought if for around £300, and will be selling it on eBay for around the same amount, probably listing it this evening so I'll see how it sells by the end of the week. My G4 Quicksilver has just gone to a recording studio where even though it's obsolete it's still miles faster than the PC that was in use there. I think that if the G5 doesn't sell I'll donate it as well.

 

[dtravis7]

What are you going to replace the G5 with when you sell it. Just curious.

All those erase issues make me think bad hard drive. Harry is correct on the Tiger DVD.

 

[Ulsterapple]

Already bought a quad-core thunderbolt G5 off eBay, looks great and running very very fast. It takes up less room than the last few so I can now put my feet out under the desk without pulling out half a dozen cables...

 

[harryb2448]

Three hundred quid? Wow that was miles too much and a G5 thunderbolt? What next?

 

[Ulsterapple]

Three hundred quid? Wow that was miles too much and a G5 thunderbolt? What next?

They're still selling for up to £500 on eBay; I checked the average prices for sales there before bidding on the one I got.
As for what next? Nothing... this new one needs to last me for a few years...