# Creating a PowerMac G4 startup disk



## palex71 (Mar 2, 2010)

Hello,
I have recently acquired an old PowerMac G4 (Quicksilver 2001). It does not boot... it hangs on the Mac OS X screen. Booting while holding down 'Alt' shows that the hard drive running Tiger is the only boot option.

I am guessing that Tiger needs to be reinstalled. I have nothing in the way of install disks, so I am trying to create one. I have downloaded the file here:

http://download.cnet.com/Apple-Mac-OS-X-Tiger/3000-18513_4-10203618.html

which is:
MacOSXUpdCombo10.4.11PPC.pkg

Is there a way to translate this file into a start up CD?

Thanks so much!


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## Headrush (Feb 9, 2005)

palex71 said:


> Is there a way to translate this file into a start up CD?


No.

You need to find a full OS CD/DVD.

Can you try booting while holding the *shift* key?
If that doesn't work can you boot while holding *cmd-s*?


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## palex71 (Mar 2, 2010)

Headrush -
Thanks for the reply. Yes, cmd-s during boot gives me a unix command line prompt. I'm fine with unix at a user level, but I wouldn't know how to approach the boot problem in this environment. Are there some initial things I can check?

Thanks again.


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## Headrush (Feb 9, 2005)

Type the following:

```
mount -rw /
/sbin/fsck -fy
```
If the results show that corrections where made, run /sbin/fsck -fy a second time.

Once complete, type *reboot* and see if the normal boot/log in sequence works.


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## palex71 (Mar 2, 2010)

Thanks... Here are the results:

** /dev/rdisk0s3
** Root file system
** Checking HFS Plus volume.
** Checking Extents Overflow file.
** Checking Catalog file.
Invalid key length
(4, 20028)
** Volume check failed.


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## peterh40 (Apr 15, 2007)

Looks like the disk has problems, hence the loading issues. You can use the diskutil tool to repair the disk (it is found in /Applications/Utilities)

a) Run diskutil verifyVolume /dev/rdisk0s3

b) Then run diskutil repairVolume /dev/rdisk0s3


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## palex71 (Mar 2, 2010)

Hi Peter,
Here is what I did:

cd /Applications/Utilities
diskutil verifyVolume /dev/rdisk0s3

... and it just hangs (nothing else is displayed on screen). Am I missing a syntax detail? I verified that rdisk0s3 is in the /dev directory. Thanks very much.


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## peterh40 (Apr 15, 2007)

Try using the volume name instead of the disk name e.g.
diskutil verifyVolume /Volumes/System 
(where System is the name of your bootable partition, if you don't know the name, do a 'ls /Volumes' to list them.)


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## palex71 (Mar 2, 2010)

ls /Volumes lists:

1) what appear to be a few meaningless hidden files
2) a symbolic link "Tiger" that points to the root directory
3) a directory entitled "Video Capture"

Should I be executing the following?:
diskutil verifyVolume /Volumes/Tiger

Doing so hangs the system as before.


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## peterh40 (Apr 15, 2007)

Sounds like its completely corrupted. You will need to get a new OS X disc and reformat it or replace the hard disk and install OS X on that.


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## Headrush (Feb 9, 2005)

peterh40 said:


> Sounds like its completely corrupted. You will need to get a new OS X disc and reformat it or replace the hard disk and install OS X on that.


If you can obtain a copy of Diskwarrior you can try allowing it to rebuild a new catalog structure before resorting to lose all data.


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## palex71 (Mar 2, 2010)

Thanks,
I was actually given this machine second hand, so I am fine with erasing all of the data. Since it is quite old and I was hoping to not put any real money into it, can you think of other options other than having to purchase a full OS CD? Are there any compatible old OSs for which there is no longer a charge?

Thanks again...


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## peterh40 (Apr 15, 2007)

No, System 7.5.5 was the last Os Apple give away for nothing. 

You can try and get Tiger (10.4) or Leopard (10.5) for your Mac from Ebay or try get disks from the guy who sold it to you.


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