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I have an old 366 MHz clamshell Indigo iBook, and it's got OS 10.3.9 on it. There's a Firewire port on this clamshell, but no DVD, so to try and put OS 10.4 on it I wanted to use Target Mode, which seems to be pretty straight forward, and use a second computer's DVD drive.

But so far I haven't been able to get the source computer's hard drive icon (I tried a white square G3 iBook and a Quicksilver G4, both running 10.4.4) to appear on the desktop of the destination computer, the clamshell.
I zapped the PRAM before doing this, and along with other instructions on the procedure, found this to be the clearest:

I can get the source computer to be in Target Mode no problem, and I'm using a new Firewire cable, although new doesn't mean functional. I have no other cable to try. The clamshell has had all the updates you can download for 10.3.9.

So far, I can't get the other computer's icons to come up on the clamshell.
Any ideas where I'm screwing up?
Thanks

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A concise expert note tied to ’s thread: the workflow (start the source Mac in Target Disk Mode, connect it to the clamshell with a direct cable, run the installer on the other Mac and pick the clamshell’s disk) is the standard method Apple documents; when the target volume does not appear the cause is almost always a connection/compatibility issue rather than the installer. (support.apple.com)

Practical checks that often save time: confirm the physical cable and connector type (FireWire 4‑pin, 6‑pin or FireWire 800/9‑pin) match the ports on both machines — a 4‑pin connector carries data only and will not provide power, so the wrong cable or a damaged cable will fail silently. Try a short, known‑good cable and avoid long or flaky leads; also verify the connectors seat properly (some cables use latches). For modern Macs, the required cable type is different (Thunderbolt / USB‑C). (cablestogo.com)

If the host Mac does not show the target disk, open Disk Utility and choose “Show All Devices” to see a grayed‑out volume; try Mount from there. Encrypted volumes (FileVault) require the password before mounting. Also check filesystem compatibility: very new formats (APFS) are not readable by much older macOS versions, so an OS mismatch can prevent a mount even when the cable is fine. If Disk Utility shows nothing, test the same cable/ports between other machines to isolate the fault. (isitzen.com)

Final reminders: hold T at startup on Intel Macs to enter Target Disk Mode, avoid installing to the wrong disk (double‑check the target in the installer), and if Target Disk Mode continues to fail, use an alternate installer path (external DVD/USB) or borrow a different cable — hardware faults are common and quick to rule out. (appletoolbox.com)

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I ended up borrowing another Firewire cable and that worked.
So the culprit ended up being a defective brand new cable.

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