Install PowerPC Mac OS X Faster!

[Alex]

I came across this video which is just excellent, it covers the ASR command line tool first introduced in Jaguar. The video also introduces Firewire Target Disk Mode and using it to install software.

The video celebrates these technologies with a focus on vintage computing.

HISTORY
Apple Software Restore got its start as a field service restoration tool used to reconfigure computers' software to 'factory' state. It later became a more general software restore mechanism and software installation helper application for various Apple computer products. ASR has been used in manufacturing processes and in shipping computers' System Software Installers.

For macOS, asr was rewritten as a command line tool for manufacturing and professional customers.
asr is the backend for the macOS Software Restore application that shipped on Macintosh computers as well as the Scan and Restore functionality in Disk Utility.

Multicast support was added to allow multiple clients to erase restore an image from a multicast net-work network
work stream. Per its history, most functionality in asr is limited to HFS+ volumes.

 

[Kaa]

I used to use Target disk mode quite a bit back in the day. I would but a machine in target disk mode then use my iBook G4 installer disk from my iBook to put 10.5 on the target machine. At the time the iBook installer was the only copy of 10.5 I had and would only work in the iBook. I didn't want to fork out $130 for a retail version. Target disk mode to the rescue! Using that I could put 10.5 on any machine that would run it.

Interesting to know about about ARS but not surprising as other utilities are accessible from the terminal as well. This is common in *nix systems. Think GParted in Debian systems and the like.