Trying to install 7.5 on a 7100/80

[bigmessowires]

Help! I think I'm a system enabler short of a dollar here. I'm trying to install System 7.5 (vanilla, not 7.5.x) on a hard drive that will then be put inside a Power Mac 7100/80. According to the specs, it should support 7.1.2 through 7.5.1. I can't do the installation on the PowerMac itself though, as it doesn't have any previous OS on it from which I can run the 7.5 installer, and the OS on all my other machines' hard drives are too old to work on the PowerMac.

I mounted the drive on a IIsi (which is running 7.1 on a separate drive), and ran the installer to put 7.5 on the new drive. I chose custom install, system software for any macintosh. But when it finished and I put the new drive into the PowerMac, I got an error on boot-up saying "this startup disk will not work on this Macintosh model. Use the latest installer to update this disk for this product."

How can I make a boot volume that actually works on the Power Mac 7100, without creating that volume on the 7100?

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

Dunno if it pertains to your particular need for a vanilla 7.5 install, but I've found some interesting discrepancies in the System compatibility tables on different sites for the X100 series.

http://68kmla.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=14973#p182428

I'm assuming that the 7100, 8100 and 81/110 had the same or similar OS foibles. That's the info I've tabulated posted so it's handy anyway.

Why 7.5.0?

Got a PowerBook and kit required to use it in SCSI Disk Mode to boot the 7100 for the install? :?:

 

[bigmessowires]

OK, I figured it out: I had to download Power PC Enabler 1.1.1 from Apple, and use the IIsi to copy it to the System Folder on the new drive where I previously installed 7.5.0. Then I was able to boot the Power Mac 7100 from the drive. Boy, this machine is loud.

List of system enablers required for various Macs: http://support.apple.com/kb/TA28948

Apple download page to get the system enablers: http://www.info.apple.com/support/oldersoftwarelist.html#system

Why 7.5.0?

7.5.x would be fine, but I have to install 7.5.0 first before I can apply any updates, right? Or maybe there's a direct path I missed. Anyway, it works now. Just need earplugs when working in the same room as this machine.

Good catch about the discrepancies, by the way. According to Apple, the 7100/80 actually requires 7.5.0 or newer, even though the 7100/66 works with 7.1.2.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

I forget which System it was (7.5.3 or 7.5.5 maybe) that Apple released as freely distributable for quite a while. I'm pretty sure it was a discrete installer with no updating necessary to get there.

Good job fixing it and thanks for the new links. That .TXT needs to be backed up somewhere. }

 

[dougg3]

Glad you got it working!

Yeah, for future reference, Apple distributed 7.5.3 as a free standalone installer:

http://www.info.apple.com/support/oldersoftwarelist.html#system

Scrolling down a bit you should see:

Macintosh/System/Older_System/System_7.5_Version_7.5.3/System_7.5.3_01of19.smi.bin

through

Macintosh/System/Older_System/System_7.5_Version_7.5.3/System_7.5.3_19of19.part.bin

Those 19 parts will give you the full 7.5.3 installer, although it looks like it will just mount as one huge .smi rather than creating separate install disks, so I'm not sure if it would have helped you in this situation.

 

[volvo242gt]

IIRC, the installer does give you the option to create floppies. 19 of them...

Hmmm, didn't find my old 7100/80 to be very loud. Seemed to be about the same as a IIci.

-J

 

[bigmessowires]

I think it's actually the new hard drive in the 7100 that's loud. OK it's not "new" of course, but newly formatted and installed with OS. It's a Seagate Barracuda, sounds like a small jet engine preparing for takeoff.

 

[volvo242gt]

That would do it. I remember the 9.1GB Seagate 'cuda I had in my 9600 being quite loud. As was the Micropolis 1000MB drive that I had in the 7100 after I upgraded to 8.1 from 7.5.5.

-J

 

[techknight]

Call me old fashoned, but i like my systems kinda loud. Within reason of course. I miss the old days of the loud spindle bearings and head clicking. Something you dont have nowadays. Superquiet is all the rage today, 0 DB fans, almost no HDD noise, or SDD. Eh.

 

[volvo242gt]

lol, so you'd probably like to have a MDD G4? Just kidding...

 

[CC_333]

Call me old fashoned, but i like my systems kinda loud.

Yeah, I know what you mean.
For older machines, I particularly like all the noises the old hard drives make (especially some of those old 5 1/4 inch ones).

Specifically, the old 20 MB drives in in the SE (when they work), and the HD20 mechanism, are really neat sounding (I like how they gradually spin up to full speed, and make that distinctive ker-clunk, ker-clunk, ker-clunk sound.)

As for more modern machines making noise, well, I'm sorta mixed. A bit of fan noise is OK, but too much can get kind of annoying (especially with fans that have bad bearings, which make more of a buzzing or whining sound; the MDD definitely counts as a machine which is slightly too loud, with the QS coming up as second).

c

 

[uniserver]

for anyone with a MacPro(or any intel mac) you can get SMC FAN CONTROL, and make it sound like a jet engine, and will drop your temps dramatically as well

 

[Bunsen]

IMO, if you're running 7.5.x on a PPC, you're going to have a bad time. Crashes galore. I'd look for a 7.6.1 install CD on the 'bay if I was in your shoes.

 

[volvo242gt]

IMO, if you're running 7.5.x on a PPC, you're going to have a bad time. Crashes galore. I'd look for a 7.6.1 install CD on the 'bay if I was in your shoes.

Or, go up to some version of 8... My old 7100/80 was very stable with 8.6...

-J