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Create own 4400 install CD?

Hellion

Member
Cheers,

I got hold of a PM4400 recently and since it was missing the HDD, I installed a SD card adapter instead. I partitioned the drive to eight partitions and wanted to install different systems on them, but then I ran in to the problems with this machines compatibility.

I have an install CD for the computer with system 7.5.3 that works, in english. I also have install CDs for system 7.5.3 that does not work, in my language. Since english is not my first language, and I'd rather like the system to be.

Is there a way to "compile" a CD of my own, with let's say the system from the 7.5.3 CD, or rather 7.6 or any above, and the System Enabler 827 (witch I believe is required for the 4400) as well as other components, and make a bootable CD of it? If so, any advice on what files are specifically designed for the 4400 that I have to keep and witch can be replaced?

Or is this just too much wishful thinking?

Regards,
 

chelseayr

Well-known member
@Hellion did you want to use 7.x specifically or does it not really matter?
if not I will just mention that 8.5 did away with requiring enablers (I don't know if 8.1 had needed any enabler for pre-g3 systems mind you)
 

Phipli

Well-known member
Cheers,

I got hold of a PM4400 recently and since it was missing the HDD, I installed a SD card adapter instead. I partitioned the drive to eight partitions and wanted to install different systems on them, but then I ran in to the problems with this machines compatibility.

I have an install CD for the computer with system 7.5.3 that works, in english. I also have install CDs for system 7.5.3 that does not work, in my language. Since english is not my first language, and I'd rather like the system to be.

Is there a way to "compile" a CD of my own, with let's say the system from the 7.5.3 CD, or rather 7.6 or any above, and the System Enabler 827 (witch I believe is required for the 4400) as well as other components, and make a bootable CD of it? If so, any advice on what files are specifically designed for the 4400 that I have to keep and witch can be replaced?

Or is this just too much wishful thinking?

Regards,
Morning. What you want to do is install the english version that works, then boot from it. Load the Swedish version into your drive, and without booting from it, run the installer and install it onto a second drive or partition. If it won't let you run it, tell me and I'll detail a way around.

Once it has installed, don't restart until you copy the "System Enabler" file in the System Folder from the English verstion to the new Swedish install. Go to Startup Disk in Control Panels and select the disk/partition with the Sweedish version and restart.

Then you can delete the English version if you want.

Let me know if it works out. If there isvtrouble, describe it / get photos and there are ways around.
 

Phipli

Well-known member
You can also make your own bootable CD although at times it can be tricky if you haven't done it before.

Technically a bootable CD just needs a System Folder (in your case, the the Swedish version with the enabler added) and then the install files from the Swedish Installer CD with the "bootable" flag set when written. It... won't automatically add the Enabler to an installed, but you can do that manually while booted from the CD.
 

Hellion

Member
@Hellion did you want to use 7.x specifically or does it not really matter?
if not I will just mention that 8.5 did away with requiring enablers (I don't know if 8.1 had needed any enabler for pre-g3 systems mind you)
My plan was different systems on the partitions. 7.5.3 since it's my "childhood system", 7.6.1 since it's the most evolved of the 7 series, and 8.6 to get the latest system that I was interested in (perhaps 9.1 as well but I have very little relations to it.)

I realized this, that 8.5 does not need them. So I installed that and the .6 upgrade and it worked well! Thanks!
 

Hellion

Member
Morning. What you want to do is install the english version that works, then boot from it. Load the Swedish version into your drive, and without booting from it, run the installer and install it onto a second drive or partition. If it won't let you run it, tell me and I'll detail a way around.

Once it has installed, don't restart until you copy the "System Enabler" file in the System Folder from the English verstion to the new Swedish install. Go to Startup Disk in Control Panels and select the disk/partition with the Sweedish version and restart.

Then you can delete the English version if you want.

Let me know if it works out. If there isvtrouble, describe it / get photos and there are ways around.
I did this with System 7.6 and it worked great! I tried this earlier and then the system would not even try to install, but I guess I might have used a bad CD or something like that. Many thanks!

The only thing that seems to be an issue, is this little square of noise that appears around the cursor! It does not follow the cursor, it stays in its place, but relocates itself to the cursors position when I click the mouse button. Something that seems familiar?
Again, many thanks for the advices. I did not think it would be this (relatively) straight forward!
 

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Phipli

Well-known member
I did this with System 7.6 and it worked great! I tried this earlier and then the system would not even try to install, but I guess I might have used a bad CD or something like that. Many thanks!

The only thing that seems to be an issue, is this little square of noise that appears around the cursor! It does not follow the cursor, it stays in its place, but relocates itself to the cursors position when I click the mouse button. Something that seems familiar?
Again, many thanks for the advices. I did not think it would be this (relatively) straight forward!
Interesting. Not sure why it is doing that. Thats usually a sign of bad video drivers. Does it do it when booted from a CD?
 

Hellion

Member
Interesting. Not sure why it is doing that. Thats usually a sign of bad video drivers. Does it do it when booted from a CD?
It does not, and not when booting from the partition with the english System 7.5.3 or the one with swedish 8.6 either. It only does it when booting this "modified" version of 7.6. I'm currently trying to get the 7.6.1 update on there to see if it changes something!
 

jessenator

Well-known member
for 7.6.1 I would recommend either the Motorola StarMax CD or the 7.6 (+7.6.1 update) images on either the Apple Legacy Recovery disc or the Apple Anthology

I haven't tried this with a 4400 specifically, but since both it and the StarMax series share the same board design it should work just fine. If you don't want it saying "Motorola StarMax" in the "About this Computer" dialog, just delete the "MacOS Licensing Extension" in the extensions folder.
 

Hellion

Member
for 7.6.1 I would recommend either the Motorola StarMax CD or the 7.6 (+7.6.1 update) images on either the Apple Legacy Recovery disc or the Apple Anthology

I haven't tried this with a 4400 specifically, but since both it and the StarMax series share the same board design it should work just fine. If you don't want it saying "Motorola StarMax" in the "About this Computer" dialog, just delete the "MacOS Licensing Extension" in the extensions folder.
That would probably work on this computer, however that CD contains an english system and my goal here is to get the swedish systems on the computer. I managed to get 7.6 there, but I need the swedish 7.6.1 update as well as updating it with an english version will screw up the system folder. I will look into this more tomorrow!
 

Phipli

Well-known member
That would probably work on this computer, however that CD contains an english system and my goal here is to get the swedish systems on the computer. I managed to get 7.6 there, but I need the swedish 7.6.1 update as well as updating it with an english version will screw up the system folder. I will look into this more tomorrow!
 

Hellion

Member
I had that one laying around, I just struggled with getting it from my Win10 machine to the 4400. I do this for fun from time to time, so I do forget in between all the steps that are required to do such things. :)

Anyway, I finally managed to get the update over to the 4400 and install it, and now it seems to work great and that issue with the cursor disappeared with the update. Many thanks!
 

Hellion

Member
Heya, 7.6 worked fine on mine, but is officially unsupported - you want 7.6.1. Maybe that explains the corruption?

The April 1997 Developer CD System Software Edition contains not only 7.5.3 (Worldwide) for the 4400 but also 7.6 worldwide, if you don't have it, i think it's on archive.org: https://archive.org/details/Apple_Developer_Discs_1989-2009 .
Yep it seems like it, after a bit of struggle I got the right update file over to the 4400 and now it seems to work as it should! Will be interesting to see what hickups I will run into with this, as you say, not actually supported setup.
Thanks!
 

Phipli

Well-known member
I had that one laying around, I just struggled with getting it from my Win10 machine to the 4400. I do this for fun from time to time, so I do forget in between all the steps that are required to do such things. :)
I swear it gets more difficult with time. I have a CD with Stuffit 4, Stuffit 5, macZip, ShrinkWrap, Toast, Fetch and Transporter on it so I can move files over FTP and decompress them, generally whatever they are.
Anyway, I finally managed to get the update over to the 4400 and install it, and now it seems to work great and that issue with the cursor disappeared with the update. Many thanks!
Glad it is sorted :)
 
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