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Up to Discussions in Mac OS X
14 Replies Last post: Apr 12, 2005 6:07 AM by griffman  
Click to view nnager's profile Member
nnager
517 posts since
Feb 15, 2002
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Apr 9, 2005 1:58 PM

Can OS X be installed from an external DVD drive?

My G4 QuickSilver (2001) came with only a CD-RW drive. Can one install OS X on a DVD from an external DVD drive? I have a LaCi8x d2 DVDRW Double Layer external drive. I

Respectfully, Norm
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Click to view albloom's profile Old Hand
albloom
2,173 posts since
Apr 21, 2004
1. Apr 10, 2005 4:11 AM in response to: nnager
Re: Can OS X be installed from an external DVD dri
Norm, it probably can, if the DVD drive can boot your
machine, but I think OSX commercial only comes on
a set of CDs. If it's a DVD, it might well be for a
machine other than the one you have, which'd be a
tad problematic to actually use.
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Click to view macnuke's profile Old Hand
macnuke
6,655 posts since
Mar 5, 2004
2. Apr 10, 2005 7:33 AM in response to: nnager
Re: Can OS X be installed from an external DVD drive?
what albloom said.

also, can you boot from that external? that being 1st on the list of whether you can or can't.
EDIT... I don't belive USB is bootable.

m
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Click to view DPG4450Guy's profile Enthusiast
DPG4450Guy
1,856 posts since
Sep 14, 2003
3. Apr 10, 2005 8:17 AM in response to: nnager
Re: Can OS X be installed from an external DVD dri
Yes.
You can.

One can also copy the DVD to an external FW hard drive and install from there -
but those are Restore DVD's designed for a particular Apple model or set of models.
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Click to view nnager's profile Member
nnager
517 posts since
Feb 15, 2002
4. Apr 10, 2005 12:50 PM in response to: DPG4450Guy
Re: Can OS X be installed from an external DVD dri
My interest is in being able to install Tiger when 10.4 goes into public release, should it only come in DVD. I had not thought about the possibility of copying the DVD to one of the two internal hard drives. I was concerned that my QuickSilver G4 with its external DVD drive might have problems.

Respectfully, Norm
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Click to view nnager's profile Member
nnager
517 posts since
Feb 15, 2002
5. Apr 10, 2005 4:37 PM in response to: DPG4450Guy
Re: Can OS X be installed from an external DVD dri
In reply to:<hr />
Yes. You can. One can also copy the DVD to an external FW hard drive and install from there -
but those are Restore DVD's designed for a particular Apple model or set of models.

<hr />
When you say "restore DVDs", when it comes time for me to order Tiger, would that come in more than one flavor for different models? (When I bought 10.3.0 a million years ago, I do not recall specifying my G4 QuickSilver (2001) model)
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Click to view macnuke's profile Old Hand
macnuke
6,655 posts since
Mar 5, 2004
6. Apr 10, 2005 4:43 PM in response to: nnager
Re: Can OS X be installed from an external DVD dri
Retail Version is for any model Mac that the particular OS was made for.
in other words, you buy retail version... you can stick it in your G4 tower.. G4 PB, iMac,G5 or whatever etc.. it will work in any of them.

the DVDs that are enclosed with a new Macintosh computer are specific to that MODEL..
those are Restore DVDs
my DVDs work on my G5 Powermac, but I cannot use them in my G5 iMac. and vice versa.


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Click to view nnager's profile Member
nnager
517 posts since
Feb 15, 2002
7. Apr 10, 2005 4:59 PM in response to: macnuke
Re: Can OS X be installed from an external DVD dri
Thanks very much for the interpretative explanation of the difference between what Apple ships with a Mac and what you buy as a retail version, MacNuke. Norm
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Click to view nnager's profile Member
nnager
517 posts since
Feb 15, 2002
8. Apr 10, 2005 7:13 PM in response to: macnuke
Uh, oh! Can't even boot CD from ext. DVD drive
In reply to:<hr />
MacNuke: . . . . can you boot from that external? that being 1st on the list of whether you can or can't.

<hr />


Uh, oh! I can't even boot the Panther installer CD (let alone a DVD) from the LaCie DVD external FireWire drive. I tried by pressing the "c" key on re-start and I tried by setting System Preferences/Startup Disk. I ended up with the G4 booting into 10.3.8 on one of my hard drives, ignoring the selected CD in the DVD drive.

I don't need to use the DVD external FW for installing Panther: I did that with the internal CD-RW drive.

My concern is in being able to install the public release of Tiger or any other software that comes on DVDs in the future.

I can Toast to DVDs and use Retrospect 6 to backup to DVDs with LaCie's 8x d2 DVDRW Double Layer FireWire drive. And I can work with DVDs otherwise, just not boot to either a DVD or CD in that drive.

I also tested the booting capability with a Jaguar-vintage OS CD via the LaCie DVD drive. It didn't work there either, although I'm able to copy from DVDs or CDs when I'm booted into the hard drive's OS X.

1. Is this something that I can fix? If so, how?

2. If not, can copying a DVD that I purchase retail to one of my 10.3.8 hard drives give me the capability to install a DVD, such as iLife or Tiger?

Respectfully, Norm

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Click to view macnuke's profile Old Hand
macnuke
6,655 posts since
Mar 5, 2004
9. Apr 10, 2005 7:31 PM in response to: nnager
Re: Uh, oh! Can't even boot CD from ext. DVD drive
ouch
as it is all speculation until apple actually releases it.

if and i say IF first release is on DVD, then you will have to wait. personally, i feel that Apple will sell Retail on CD, if not first release, then shortly afterwards.

and when they do, you will have the advantage of reading about any bugs/probs that crop up with a spanking new OS.

i'll give em a month or so before i up to Tiger.. call me chicken, but so be it.

EDIT.....
perchance you can add a second hard drive specifically to install Tiger..
with nothing on it, you may be able to copy it over there and then boot from the second drive with the tiger installer on it.

m
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Click to view DPG4450Guy's profile Enthusiast
DPG4450Guy
1,856 posts since
Sep 14, 2003
10. Apr 10, 2005 8:18 PM in response to: macnuke
Re: Uh, oh! Can't even boot CD from ext. DVD dri
There's no way Apple is going to issue Tiger on DVD only ....
think of the upgrade sales they'd sacrifice.
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Click to view Nobody's profile New Member
Nobody
58,347 posts since
Oct 18, 2007
11. Apr 10, 2005 8:29 PM in response to: nnager
Re: Uh, oh! Can't even boot CD from ext. DVD drive
Norm,

Some brands of external FW optical drives do not respond to C-booting, but it is entirely possible that if you were to select the DVD vial System Preference-->Startup Disk, you may have better results.

The other option to consider is to add the drive description via a freeware called "PatchBurn". Doing so will change the status of your unsupported optical drive to "vendor supported" if you were to look up in the System Profiler. This may allow automatic booting from DVD that follows after entering the administrative password prior to installation of OS.

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Click to view nnager's profile Member
nnager
517 posts since
Feb 15, 2002
12. Apr 10, 2005 9:14 PM in response to: nnager
Re: Can OS X be installed from an external DVD dri
Thanks very much DPG4450Guy, Alam and MacNuke. It's time to breathe a sigh of relief after reading your most recent messages.

One change since I last posted: I went on the LaCie website and found that on March 11, 2005, they had come out with a new firmware update for my model. That's good. What's disappointing is when a company gets you to give them detailed registration information for a product, including email address, that they never both to alert you to an important update.

I updated with the DVD drive connected to my G4 QuickSilver and, voila', while pressing the "c" key on startup I was able to boot the Panther Installer CD.

I don't yet have any bootable DVDs, but I would hope that if the DVD FW external drive can boot a CD, it "should" be able to boot a DVD. "Hope" and "should" won't necessarily make it so, but the fact that the firmware update allowed me to boot a CD in the DVD drive was a good sign.

I pushed my luck and tried to see whether the updated DVD drive also could be booted from my Beige G3 (rev A). No joy, even when using System Preferences/Startup or selecting the DVD with XPostFacto, which allowed me to install Panther on my pre-builtin-USB-era Mac and to switch from 10.3.8 volume to 10.3.8 volume on another hard drive, and even to boot into an external FW hard drive's 10.3.8 volume. But I have not figure out how to get the Beige to boot a DVD.


In reply to:<hr />
Alam wrote: The other option to consider is to add the drive description via a freeware called "PatchBurn". Doing so will change the status of your unsupported optical drive to "vendor supported" if you were to look up in the System Profiler. This may allow automatic booting from DVD that follows after entering the administrative password prior to installation of OS.

<hr />


Does PatchBurn change something in the DVD drive or does it operate by affecting the Operating System of a specific Mac? I'm now happy with my external DVD FW on my G4. Would it affect the G4's assignment of status to the DVD drive or just particular model on which I install PatchBurn (meaning the old Beige G3)?

Thanks everybody.

Respectfully, Norm

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Click to view nnager's profile Member
nnager
517 posts since
Feb 15, 2002
13. Apr 11, 2005 10:40 PM in response to: nnager
Re: Can OS X be installed from an external DVD dri
Alright! With firmware on the external FireWire LaCie DVD drive updated and a bit of maintenance of my Beige G3's directory structure, I can boot a CD in that DVD drive just as easily as I can in my G4. The Beige, however, requires XPostFacto software to enable installation of Panther and certainly will require an upgrade of XPF to enable installation of Tiger after its public release.

After a good conversation with LaCie TechSupport, I think the chances are excellent that future firmware updates for their drives will be communicated to those of us who registered and gave them our email addresses.

Respectfully, Norm
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Click to view griffman's profile Macworld Editorial
griffman
8,041 posts since
Jan 9, 2001
14. Apr 12, 2005 6:07 AM in response to: DPG4450Guy
Re: Uh, oh! Can't even boot CD from ext. DVD dri
Well, it's official now, from the Tiger upgrade page at Apple:

In reply to:<hr />
Media Exchange Program

Tiger ships on a DVD, but if your Mac doesnt have a built-in DVD-ROM player, youll need CD media. When you buy Mac OS X Tiger, you qualify to purchase Tiger CDs for only $9.95.


<hr />
You can't order this version online, either; you have to download an order form...

-rob.
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