Ask Different (Apple)
Q&A for power users of Apple hardware and software
Latest Questions
2
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1
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245
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How do I get this Mac G5 up and running ? (boot to OS)
A local Goodwill sells Apple hardware at ridiculously low prices, great for a tinkerer like me. I'd missed the Mac mini on sale so I grabbed this Mac Pro looking device thinking it would be an intel running unit. The $25 price tag and wire tie kept me from opening. the cover to confirm and they don'...
A local Goodwill sells Apple hardware at ridiculously low prices, great for a tinkerer like me. I'd missed the Mac mini on sale so I grabbed this Mac Pro looking device thinking it would be an intel running unit. The $25 price tag and wire tie kept me from opening. the cover to confirm and they don''t offer refunds.
When I opened it at home the plastic cover inside had the great big G5 on it and my heart sank. No hard drive or memory. The little sticker started off showing it as a single 1.6. DDR3 or DDR2 or DDr4 memory didn't seem to fit, but I did shoehorn two sticks of 2gb into two slots. There is a 500gb drive attached inside without rails. Both are to test. There is what seems to be t he optical drive still in the front bay.
I haven't figured how to open the 'apparent' optical drive else I'd searched for an old Apple Mac OS dvd to try. Also I'd have. thought I'd get other than a black screen when turning it on.
What do I need to do to just get it booting into an OS ?
James Walker
(69 rep)
Aug 2, 2020, 12:33 AM
• Last activity: Apr 9, 2025, 02:08 PM
0
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0
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49
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OS 9 showing OS 8 desktop folder
I've installed OS X 10.4 Tiger, OS 8.6 and OS 9.2 on three different partitions on a G3 iMac. All clean installs from CD. If I place an alias on the desktop while in OS 8, it shows when I boot into OS 9. The same with OS 9 aliases showing in OS 8. From Tiger I can see that the aliases are in the cor...
I've installed OS X 10.4 Tiger, OS 8.6 and OS 9.2 on three different partitions on a G3 iMac. All clean installs from CD. If I place an alias on the desktop while in OS 8, it shows when I boot into OS 9. The same with OS 9 aliases showing in OS 8. From Tiger I can see that the aliases are in the correct Desktop Folders on the OS 8 and 9 partitions.
Can anyone explain what I'm seeing, and is there a way to disable it so OS 8 and OS 9 function independently?
jetboy
(101 rep)
Dec 2, 2023, 04:31 PM
• Last activity: Feb 18, 2025, 10:54 AM
4
votes
4
answers
2952
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Any way to update OSX 10.4's Bash version?
I'm running Bash version 2.05b.0(1)-release (powerpc-apple-darwin8.0) on a PowerMac (non-Intel) G5. I often connect to the internet, but not as a server and I believe my version of Bash is vulnerable to the Shellshock exploit. Upgrading the OS past 10.4.11 Tiger is not an option as this computer can...
I'm running Bash version 2.05b.0(1)-release (powerpc-apple-darwin8.0) on a PowerMac (non-Intel) G5. I often connect to the internet, but not as a server and I believe my version of Bash is vulnerable to the Shellshock exploit.
Upgrading the OS past 10.4.11 Tiger is not an option as this computer can't be upgraded for reasons.
Can I recompile bash for my system or are there any users who may have devised a patch?
Poor Old PPC
(41 rep)
Sep 26, 2014, 08:33 PM
• Last activity: Nov 16, 2024, 02:57 PM
1
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2
answers
293
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I would like to prompt Mac OS X 10.6.8 to download Rosetta by running a dedicated PPC application
Does anyone know where I can download a **dedicated PPC** application to try? I would like to find one to attempt to run in my install of OS X 10.6.8 Snow Leopard so it will either prompt me to install Rosetta, or open and thus confirm that Rosetta's already installed and fully functional, which I b...
Does anyone know where I can download a **dedicated PPC** application to try?
I would like to find one to attempt to run in my install of OS X 10.6.8 Snow Leopard so it will either prompt me to install Rosetta, or open and thus confirm that Rosetta's already installed and fully functional, which I believe it is not. For example, within System Profiler under Software -> Applications, "Rosetta" is nowhere to be found.
The ultimate goal here for me is to get Rosetta fully installed. (And no, unfortunately I don't have the original install DVD.) So any comments helping me in that direction would be greatly appreciated!
GhostsonAcid
(31 rep)
Nov 15, 2023, 10:26 PM
• Last activity: Sep 15, 2024, 07:03 PM
3
votes
1
answers
118
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How to video chat with a PowerBook G4
I have a PowerBook G4 (1.33Ghz, 1.5 GB ram) and would like to use it to video chat with my mom, who has newer apple products (FaceTime and the like). I don’t know if iChat is a viable option or if a different application can bridge the years in hardware and OS to have a family video chat?
I have a PowerBook G4 (1.33Ghz, 1.5 GB ram) and would like to use it to video chat with my mom, who has newer apple products (FaceTime and the like).
I don’t know if iChat is a viable option or if a different application can bridge the years in hardware and OS to have a family video chat?
mkfoote
(51 rep)
Aug 21, 2022, 01:37 PM
• Last activity: Jun 12, 2024, 04:02 AM
3
votes
1
answers
1691
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PowerBook G4, dead screen and beeps
I've a PowerBook G4, it should be the "PowerBook G4 (Gigabit Ethernet)" [named here](http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3065). It was on the table where I work to gather dust. The screen is dead, but I clearly hear the boot up sound followed by a noise and 3 beeps. I've tried to connect the computer thou...
I've a PowerBook G4, it should be the "PowerBook G4 (Gigabit Ethernet)" [named here](http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3065) . It was on the table where I work to gather dust.
The screen is dead, but I clearly hear the boot up sound followed by a noise and 3 beeps. I've tried to connect the computer though the DVI port without success, the screen doesn't show anything. Is there any hope to get it working?
Infrid
(131 rep)
Oct 17, 2011, 03:15 PM
• Last activity: May 9, 2024, 08:57 AM
3
votes
2
answers
470
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Running a PPC App on Apple Silicon
Can anyone tell me if I can run [JaxoDraw][1], an application for PowerPC, on a Mac with Apple Silicon? To test, I would use the [binary disc image][2], as this sounds the most convenient variant to install from the [list of possible options][3], do you agree? Thanks in advance! [1]: https://jaxodra...
Can anyone tell me if I can run JaxoDraw , an application for PowerPC, on a Mac with Apple Silicon? To test, I would use the binary disc image , as this sounds the most convenient variant to install from the list of possible options , do you agree? Thanks in advance!
Le_Petit_Prince
(57 rep)
Mar 2, 2024, 03:06 PM
• Last activity: Mar 4, 2024, 12:14 PM
1
votes
1
answers
1473
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How to Reset the PMU on a PowerBook G4 15" A1095 5, 4 laptop?
I have been refurbishing 3 PowerBook G4 15" A1095s and 1 PowerBook G4 15" A1106 and need help with battery issues. All of them have been able to charge a battery. I have attempted to and rebuilt 1 A1078 battery with excellent results and have failed on another. I have learned how to reset the Pram b...
I have been refurbishing 3 PowerBook G4 15" A1095s and 1 PowerBook G4 15" A1106 and need help with battery issues. All of them have been able to charge a battery. I have attempted to and rebuilt 1 A1078 battery with excellent results and have failed on another. I have learned how to reset the Pram but do not know how to reset the PMU or if that will even make a difference. Also I am wondering if removing the Pram battery has an effect on the charging system as I have one time experienced the single flashing green light on an A1078 battery and managed to get it to charge by putting it in a G4 A1095 that I had just reassembled and had previously removed the pram battery. I need to know this because the A1078 battery rebuild I failed on will not charge on 2 machines that will charge other batteries. I have an A1148 battery that I rebuilt that has never charged beyond 88% and now has dropped to 66%. I assume that I either used some bad cells or damaged the controller within the battery. Any useful information will help.
Novice
(11 rep)
Feb 8, 2023, 12:29 AM
• Last activity: Jul 8, 2023, 03:08 AM
1
votes
1
answers
128
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I have an iBook G3 running Mac OS 9.2. I moved Finder and now it won't boot. How can I fix this?
I'm unfamiliar with classic Mac OS, and I wanted to make Finder easier to reach, so I moved it to the desktop. I didn't realize that this would make Finder inaccessible to the system! Since then, my computer won't boot into Mac OS. Instead, it shows the Finder logo and a question mark, which makes s...
I'm unfamiliar with classic Mac OS, and I wanted to make Finder easier to reach, so I moved it to the desktop. I didn't realize that this would make Finder inaccessible to the system! Since then, my computer won't boot into Mac OS. Instead, it shows the Finder logo and a question mark, which makes sense considering.
What's the best way to move finder back where it belongs so I can boot into Mac OS?
I had the idea that I could try to boot to a Mac OS 9 install image and access my hard drive that way. I have a MacBook Pro from 2020 and a USB stick, but I don't have a CD burner. I haven't had any luck trying to boot from the live USB.
iotaphora
(11 rep)
Aug 4, 2022, 07:31 PM
• Last activity: May 2, 2023, 06:03 PM
1
votes
1
answers
201
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Where are the files for the Aqua UI located for OS X 10.4 Tiger?
I am wanting to compile the raw files for UI elements (traffic lights, buttons, scroll bars, text boxes, etc.) for several versions throughout the history of OS X, and I have been able to find the files for Yosemite and Snow Leopard, but I cannot find the files for Tiger. Is there some list of paths...
I am wanting to compile the raw files for UI elements (traffic lights, buttons, scroll bars, text boxes, etc.) for several versions throughout the history of OS X, and I have been able to find the files for Yosemite and Snow Leopard, but I cannot find the files for Tiger. Is there some list of paths for the UI elements of OS X versions that I am not googling precisely enough for? I have tried basically every combination of "os x tiger ui images location".
Finxx
(13 rep)
Dec 25, 2022, 12:03 AM
• Last activity: Apr 9, 2023, 03:03 PM
0
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0
answers
60
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How can I image an iBook G4 drive?
I have an iBook G4 (identified as a PowerBook6,7 with 1GB of RAM) with Japanese OS. I want to make a backup of it. I downloaded an old Ubuntu 6 ISO and booted it. First problem is that the battery is dead, so the clock resets to 1980, and on booting most of the apps crash. After quitting them all an...
I have an iBook G4 (identified as a PowerBook6,7 with 1GB of RAM) with Japanese OS. I want to make a backup of it.
I downloaded an old Ubuntu 6 ISO and booted it. First problem is that the battery is dead, so the clock resets to 1980, and on booting most of the apps crash. After quitting them all and opening a terminal, I tried to image the drive with the following command:
sudo dd if=/dev/hda conv=sync,noerror bs=128k | split -b 2000m - /media/usbdrive/image.dd.
I was able to make backup images to a FAT32 formatted USB stick, but there is always filesystem corruption. I tried two different sticks and an SSD, all failed with the same issue. I have one complete image but I don't know if it's good or corrupt.
In an attempt to determine if it was good, I used md5sum with dd. The value from dd if=/dev/hda conv=sync,noerror bs=128k | md5sum was different to all the images I made, corrupt or otherwise.
I tried Lubuntu 16.04, but it won't boot. It gets to the desktop and hangs. Is Ubuntu Server 16.04 worth trying?
Is there some free Mac software that can do this? Basically I just need to create a drive image that I can restore later if needs be. I don't want to take the drive out because it's a real pain on these iBooks. Bonus points if the imaging solution can show a progress bar.
user
(101 rep)
Mar 16, 2023, 02:10 PM
0
votes
2
answers
1062
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Is there any valid reason to install Tigerbrew (Homebrew) on a modern Mac OS?
Perhaps you may be thinking that I'm asking why one *should* install Tigerbrew on their older PowerPC/Intel mac machine running Tiger or Leopard operating systems. But I'm actually wondering if there's any reason to install it onto a modern Intel mac machine. I'm running a Macbook Pro 2012 with El C...
Perhaps you may be thinking that I'm asking why one *should* install Tigerbrew on their older PowerPC/Intel mac machine running Tiger or Leopard operating systems.
But I'm actually wondering if there's any reason to install it onto a modern Intel mac machine.
I'm running a Macbook Pro 2012 with El Capitan 10.11.6, and for some reason which I do not understand, when I type the command
man brew in Terminal.app, I find the following:
Tigerbrew is the easiest and most flexible way to install the UNIX
tools Apple didn't include with OS X.I'm more inclined to think that I was just curious and had no reason, rather than something less likely, like I was hacked...somehow?
Oatmeal
(313 rep)
Aug 28, 2021, 12:15 AM
• Last activity: Aug 29, 2021, 03:03 AM
0
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2
answers
467
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Can I run a disc image of a cloned Tiger or Leopard PPC drive on a modern Intel Mac via virtualization software?
I have a PowerMac G5 PPC running Tiger and an old, white, Santa Rosa MacBook running Leopard. If I create cloned disc images of these OS drives, will I be able to run them in VMWare Fusion/Parallels/etc. on a modern Intel Mac? If I were to create bootable clones of these drives, would these need to...
I have a PowerMac G5 PPC running Tiger and an old, white, Santa Rosa MacBook running Leopard.
If I create cloned disc images of these OS drives, will I be able to run them in VMWare Fusion/Parallels/etc. on a modern Intel Mac?
If I were to create bootable clones of these drives, would these need to be formatted as APM on FireWire drives that would only be accessible from the G5 &/or SR MacBook as opposed to bootable clones formatted as GUID on USB drives accessible from any modern Mac?
Is there any reason I would want to clone the drives via Target Disk Mode, hooked up to an Intel Mac, as opposed to cloning them directly from their own interfaces or from an Intel Mac with access to them via ethernet LAN?
Thank you
Kerlix
(1480 rep)
Mar 20, 2015, 04:29 PM
• Last activity: Aug 13, 2021, 01:29 PM
2
votes
2
answers
241
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Q: Can I access the drive on a Power Macintosh 7200/75 as an external drive?
I was recently given an older Power Macintosh 7200/75 that was owned by a family member, with the task of trying to access it to see what is on the hard drive. It's just the base machine, no keyboard, mouse or monitor. Is it possible for me to somehow connect this to my MacBook Air and then open the...
I was recently given an older Power Macintosh 7200/75 that was owned by a family member, with the task of trying to access it to see what is on the hard drive. It's just the base machine, no keyboard, mouse or monitor.
Is it possible for me to somehow connect this to my MacBook Air and then open the drive like it’s an external drive? If so, how?
Bill
(21 rep)
Aug 9, 2021, 04:04 PM
• Last activity: Aug 9, 2021, 05:16 PM
2
votes
0
answers
419
views
Cannot install Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5) on PowerPC Mac
I have an old Power Mac running Tiger (Mac OS X 10.4.11). It is a Dual 2.3 GHz Power-PC G5 with 8 GB RAM. I have it running Tiger since that is the last OS that supports Classic (OS 9) (via Rosetta) and the kids had many Classic programs and games that they like. As far as I know, Leopard (Mac OS X...
I have an old Power Mac running Tiger (Mac OS X 10.4.11). It is a Dual 2.3 GHz Power-PC G5 with 8 GB RAM. I have it running Tiger since that is the last OS that supports Classic (OS 9) (via Rosetta) and the kids had many Classic programs and games that they like.
As far as I know, Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5) is the last OS that can be run on this machine. As it has 2 internal HD slots, I installed a 2 TB SSD in the empty one in order to install Leopard on it. The SSD is partitioned into 2 discs, 1 TB each, and formatted according to the Apple Partition Map (not GUID).
When trying to install Leopard OS from an original DVD, and choosing one of the SSD drives, the installation starts and stalls after a few seconds. The whole machine freezes, and I have to do a hard reset.
I also have an original Mac OS X 10.5.6 disc (© Apple 2009) and when I try to install from it, I get a window saying "This Operating System cannot be installed in this Mac" (!!!).
I then created a bootable USB flash memory with the iso image of Mac OS X 10.5.6 downloaded from the Internet. My Mac does not see it, even if I boot while pressing the Option key.
So I have not been able to install Leopard on a machine which is supposed to be able to run Leopard. Any help will be appreciated.
eduardo
(21 rep)
Jul 3, 2021, 07:19 PM
• Last activity: Jul 4, 2021, 09:21 AM
1
votes
0
answers
188
views
G5 running Mac OS X 10.3.5 won't update the OS
I have a Power Mac G5 running OS X Panther. If I open Finder and click 'Software Updates', the progress bar gets about half way across and then quits with the message "an error occurred while checking for updates". The machine has a working Internet connection. What could be the problem and how migh...
I have a Power Mac G5 running OS X Panther. If I open Finder and click 'Software Updates', the progress bar gets about half way across and then quits with the message "an error occurred while checking for updates". The machine has a working Internet connection.
What could be the problem and how might I fix it? Thanks.
Phil
(11 rep)
Jun 29, 2021, 10:49 PM
3
votes
3
answers
1175
views
What is the best Homebrew version for an iBook running Tiger?
I have an old iBook running Mac OS Tiger, and I want to install the [Homebrew][1] package manager on it. Which [branch][2] should I choose ? * The [Tiger][3] one? * The [PPC][4] one? * Another one? [1]: https://brew.sh/ [2]: https://github.com/Homebrew/legacy-homebrew [3]: https://web.archive.org/we...
Riduidel
(197 rep)
Jun 1, 2011, 08:12 AM
• Last activity: Jun 28, 2021, 11:46 AM
2
votes
1
answers
87
views
Crazy battery numbers
I'm getting crazy battery numbers in my ancient (but fully operational) PowerBook G4 2005 running Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.11. The battery is very nearly shot. The numbers reported by coconutBattery also reported by System Profiler. How can I reset those crazy Maximum Battery Charge and Current Battery C...
I'm getting crazy battery numbers in my ancient (but fully operational) PowerBook G4 2005 running Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.11. The battery is very nearly shot. The numbers reported by coconutBattery also reported by System Profiler.
How can I reset those crazy Maximum Battery Charge and Current Battery Capacity to actual numbers?
I've removed the battery and done a SMC reset with no change.
lhf
(7570 rep)
Sep 5, 2020, 07:06 PM
• Last activity: Jun 2, 2021, 10:08 PM
2
votes
2
answers
4797
views
How can I run command line software with Rosetta 1?
At the request of some PPC users, I'm trying to create a PPC-compatible installer package of some open source software. Naturally, this requires compiling a PPC binary. I have a Leopard Virtual Machine set up on my Intel Mac, but I don't have access to any actual PPC hardware. MacPorts does not offe...
At the request of some PPC users, I'm trying to create a PPC-compatible installer package of some open source software. Naturally, this requires compiling a PPC binary. I have a Leopard Virtual Machine set up on my Intel Mac, but I don't have access to any actual PPC hardware.
MacPorts does not offer any C++11 compilers which can cross-compile PPC binaries on Intel, but I'd thought I'd be able to work around this by running the whole of MacPorts under Rosetta. With Rosetta 2, this would be easy —I'd just set the Terminal app to "Open using Rosetta", and everything the Terminal runs would *also* use Rosetta. This was a commonly recommended way to run Homebrew on M1 Macs, before Homebrew finally added native Apple Silicon support a few weeks ago.
Unfortunately, Rosetta 1 does not appear to be this intelligent. I can set the Terminal app to "Open using Rosetta," but this causes only the literal Terminal app to use Rosetta. Bash, MacPorts, etc are still running as Intel processes, according to Activity Monitor.
Is there an alternate way to run command line programs—and preferably all of MacPorts—under Rosetta?
Wowfunhappy
(7856 rep)
Mar 7, 2021, 04:43 AM
• Last activity: May 17, 2021, 04:07 AM
2
votes
0
answers
46
views
Old owner deleted all applications including install.app and now I cant do anything
I can't open any .pkg files because install.app is gone and I dont have any install media because it wasnt originally my Mac. Pls help I just want to get 10.5.8 running iMac6,3
I can't open any .pkg files because install.app is gone and I dont have any install media because it wasnt originally my Mac. Pls help I just want to get 10.5.8 running
iMac6,3
LanerJ
(21 rep)
May 17, 2021, 03:42 AM
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