Member Avatar for xsavier79

I have both a imac 333mhz running os9.2 and a powerbook running os10.3. Is there any way I can get my imac to boot up from the power book. The reason for this is to format the imac and reinstall the system

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Brief expert add-on for (building on and ): when an iMac "won't accept" any installer the usual causes are (1) installer media that is model-specific or damaged, (2) the iMac's optical drive failing, or (3) an installer/firmware mismatch for that exact iMac model. The boot-key checks mentioned earlier are the right first step and will help narrow those down.

Practical checks to run first: insert each installer CD into the PowerBook and attempt to boot it there (hold the C key at power-on). If a disc boots the PowerBook but not the iMac, the media itself is fine. On the iMac, reset PRAM (hold Command+Option+P+R at startup until the chime repeats), then try booting from CD again by holding C (or Option/Alt to get the boot picker). If none of the discs boot any machine, the discs are probably non-bootable or corrupted. If discs boot other Macs but not the iMac, suspect the iMac optical drive or model-specific restore discs that refuse to boot different hardware.

Workarounds when booting the iMac from CD is impossible: remove the iMac's hard drive and attach it to the PowerBook with an IDE-to-FireWire or IDE-to-USB adapter/enclosure. From the PowerBook use Disk Utility (or a cloning tool like Carbon Copy Cloner) to erase/format and install or clone a working OS. For OS X installs format as "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)"; older OS 9 installers may require "Mac OS Standard (HFS)" depending on the installer build. After the install or restore, reinstall the drive into the iMac. This route avoids the need for FireWire target-disk mode and is the most reliable hardware workaround.

If removing the drive is not an option, obtain a retail installer or the iMac's original restore discs (model-specific restore CDs often must accompany the machine), or seek a local Mac shop for a quick optical-drive or install-session service. Follow anti-static precautions and keep track of screws when opening the iMac.

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Member Avatar for gortonsfi

I'm confused, why are you needing to do it that way?

Is there a bigger issue that can maybe be solved without formatting the disk?

Member Avatar for xsavier79

The problem is that it will not except any system disk that I give it. Neither os 9 or os 10. I have tried everything that I can to get either of these systems on, however nothing seems to work. The original install disks where mislade in the last office move so I have not tried these. As it does not have firewire I can not boot system 10 from an externall source, and I do not have os X server. So I do not have netboot.

Any suggestions you have will be greatly recived and tried out asap.

Member Avatar for gortonsfi

So when you're inserting the Install CD's are you holding the C key to boot from CD or are you trying to let the hard drive load the OS and mount the CD's that way?

Member Avatar for yellow

If the iMac doesn't have firewire, you're not going to be able to use the iBook to install OS X on the iMac.

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