Grey instal disks

[Christopher]

When I got my 20" AL iMac, the 1st grey disk says "For Mac Computers" While I was able to get my iBook G4 to boot it, it did say that it cannot install on this machine, probably because it had 256MB instead of the required 512MB. But still, what does this "For Mac Computers" disk mean?

 

[QuadSix50]

This was mentioned in another thread, but I'll reiterate it here.

The gray discs that come with their respective Macs only work for the systems they ship with. So while you could use that installation disc with an infinite amount of 20" AL iMacs (licensing issues aside), that's all you can install them on. They will not work on other Macs, even if they are Intel based like the AL iMac. Only the retail versions of OS X can be installed on any Macintosh, PPC or Intel.

 

[Christopher]

Yes I know that, but how can an install disk that should be intel only be able to boot on a powerpc mac? I am so puzzled by this. And "For Mac Computers", What the H*** is that?

 

[Quadraman]

Yes I know that, but how can an install disk that should be intel only be able to boot on a powerpc mac? I am so puzzled by this. And "For Mac Computers", What the H*** is that?

Hmmm....that presents an interesting prospect. There is obviously PPC code on the disc or it wouldn't boot from the disc at all. I would look into the installer files and see if there is anything there that tells the installer which Macs it is allowed to install to. Like if it says something like 'If PowerPC then No", change it to 'If PowerPC then Yes' and see what happens. The same if it specifies a minimum CPU speed. Change it to whatever speed your CPU happens to be or to some value less than that.

 

[Christopher]

So, I would look into the installer(app) itself?

 

[Christopher]

Hmm, Didn't see anything on PPC but I did look under the English.Iproj. Probably not useful

"NOT_ON_CD_TITLE" = "The application \"Install Mac OS X\" cannot be used from this volume.";
"NOT_ON_CD_MESSAGE" = "To install Mac OS X, please use the application provided on the Mac OS X installation disc.";

"STARTUPDISK_ERROR_TITLE" = "\"%@\" could not be used as a startup volume.";
"STARTUPDISK_ERROR_MESSAGE" = "Please make sure the Mac OS X installation disc is in the drive.";

"CANCEL" = "Cancel";
"QUIT" = "Quit";

"CANNOT_INSTALL_ON_THIS_MACHINE" = "Mac OS X 10.5 cannot be installed on this computer.";
"PLEASE_CHECK_SUPPORTED_LIST" = "Please consult the documentation for the list of supported computers.";

This is when I click on CodeResources

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>



files

Resources/English.lproj/InfoPlist.strings

hash

		BN+KAuCSyFdrHDaQS0wqo87cqqY=

optional


Resources/English.lproj/Localizable.strings

hash

		LOXStAp0cMDH1hjQ1bKeiNN6J20=

optional


Resources/English.lproj/MainMenu.nib/classes.nib

hash

		UAu7HdzsOBBzsmJPoAV40ynI/TQ=

optional


Resources/English.lproj/MainMenu.nib/info.nib

hash

		82IATwuXJBZuflG2w64Lo0MAx6s=

optional


Resources/English.lproj/MainMenu.nib/objects.nib

hash

		TNBITxw1sBkOlDDnipFdI7WsodI=

optional


Resources/Install Mac OS X.icns

	LtejPvPznSAaVpItcW4mDIhKO7I=

Resources/background.png

	zNnrLaMmtqZ55sO7tzBI6dyLKgU=

Resources/minibless

	i08VXALD19LD0NPO0GFGTHBUi8o=

version.plist

	BnYoeCFAjJChX+cVssQiBShPIQ4=


rules

^Resources/

^Resources/.*\.lproj/

omit

weight
10

^Resources/.*\.lproj/locversion.plist$

omit

weight
30

^Resources/.*\.nib/classes\.nib$

optional

weight
20

^Resources/.*\.nib/data\.dependency$

optional

weight
20

^Resources/.*\.nib/info\.nib$

optional

weight
20

^Resources/English\.lproj/

optional

weight
20

^version.plist$

Anything I can modify there?

This is when I clicked on and showed the Package contents of Install Mac OS X and Bundled Software.

 

[Quadraman]

Where you should look is in the places where people are posting how they got Leopard to run on slow G4 machines. The places where the variables you should be looking for are stored should be found in the same places as in those instructions.

 

[Christopher]

On the slow G4's people used the firmware hack. But I can search around and report back.

 

[Scott Baret]

I think this has also been mentioned on here somewhere, but what you have is an OEM license. That disc is licensed for use only on the machine it came with. In other words, you can only use it on that particular 20" iMac and on no other computer.

 

[Quadraman]

I think this has also been mentioned on here somewhere, but what you have is an OEM license. That disc is licensed for use only on the machine it came with. In other words, you can only use it on that particular 20" iMac and on no other computer.

You're not paying attention. He said it came packed with an Intel Mac but boots on a G4. If there is PPC code on there and it boots, there may be a way to trick the installer into putting it on the hard drive. The big question is, why did Apple put PPC code on an install disc that shouldn't support PPC code at all?

As for the Leopard install on slow G4's, I never heard of a firmware hack. The way I read about involves finding the CPU speed checker and changing it to a slower speed to fool the installer into thinking it is a supported machine. Why would you screw around with the firmware when all you have to do is change a few bytes on the install disc?

 

[~tl]

You're not paying attention. He said it came packed with an Intel Mac but boots on a G4. If there is PPC code on there and it boots, there may be a way to trick the installer into putting it on the hard drive. The big question is, why did Apple put PPC code on an install disc that shouldn't support PPC code at all?

As a guess, either:

A) They include minimal PPC code in the installer so just in case somebody sticks it in their old PPC Mac and tries to install it. Showing a nice message is a lot more user friendly than just spitting the disk back out.

B) It's more economic just to have one installer, bundle PPC and Intel code on every disk and control what machine it installs on with a check against a file on the disk.

I've got no idea which one (if either) it is though [)] ]'>

As for the Leopard install on slow G4's, I never heard of a firmware hack. The way I read about involves finding the CPU speed checker and changing it to a slower speed to fool the installer into thinking it is a supported machine. Why would you screw around with the firmware when all you have to do is change a few bytes on the install disc?

http://68kmla.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3122

Basically, it's much easier to type a couple of Open Firmware commands rather than ripping, editing and re-burning an installer disk [] ]'>

 

[iMac600]

The firmware change is only NVRAM settings that can be restored via a PRAM reset. The time and effort required to edit the install disc, about an hour or so, vs the minute or two required to edit the NVRAM settings temporarily... well it's not too hard to see why.

 

[Christopher]

Well I found this. http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=371302

Going to try it.

 

[Quadraman]

Let's remember what happened with the early OS X upgrade discs that allowed a full install with the use of a little trickery. I have also heard of grey discs that will install to computers other than the one they were made for. This may be one of those. Apple does mess up with these things once in a while.

 

[Christopher]

Well I cannot open the OSInstall.mpkg for some reason. Would PackageMaker open it or, is it just an app that makes packages?

 

[Scott Baret]

I think this has also been mentioned on here somewhere, but what you have is an OEM license. That disc is licensed for use only on the machine it came with. In other words, you can only use it on that particular 20" iMac and on no other computer.

You're not paying attention. He said it came packed with an Intel Mac but boots on a G4. If there is PPC code on there and it boots, there may be a way to trick the installer into putting it on the hard drive. The big question is, why did Apple put PPC code on an install disc that shouldn't support PPC code at all?

The issue here isn't code on the disc, it's the legality of this. You are licensed to use the disc only on the computer it is tied with if you've got an OEM license. The Intel Mac CD is licensed only for use on that Intel Mac.

As for why the code is on that disc, I'm thinking it may just be a mistake. Perhaps Apple didn't change everything on this particular disc when they updated it for a newer model. It's sort of like how 6.0.8 can boot a PowerBook 100, I guess.

 

[Christopher]

I wonder if that G4 iBook had the required memory. Would it have installed.

 

[~tl]

Hmm, I've just realised something. Is this a Leopard install disk or a Tiger one?

My (Aluminium) iMac came with Tiger disks, and they have "iMac" printed on them. If the newer disks have "For Mac Computers" printed on them, it makes me wonder whether for Leopard Apple have decided to just have one set of install disks that work for all their machines, rather than having specific ones for each machine. "For Mac Computers" seems awfully ambiguous if it's just for one specific machine...

Hmm...

 

[Christopher]

It is Leopard.