Backup of Tiger won't boot from install DVD

[kira-chan]

My old post got deleted because I failed to mention I bought my dad's copy of Tiger, and copies of legally obtained software for backup use are not copyright violations.

I've got an old iBook G4 that was still running Panther. It still runs fine, but I can't really do anything on it since not many new programs run on it. I had my dad make a copy of his Tiger disc to send to me online. I got it in .dmg format, converted it to .iso on a PC (no DVD burner on the iBook) and burned it with Roxio.

The DVD loads perfectly fine in the iBook, but it refuses to boot. Is there a step I missed when converting and burning it? The part I understand the least is when I open the Startup Disk preferences pane, the install disc shows up, but when I try and boot from it, all I get is the missing OS icon. Then it gives up and boots normally.

 

[robbieduncan]

If you bought your dads copy why are you not using the original DVD? If your dads copy was shipped with a new Mac it is only licensed for that machine. Legally and technically it is locked to that class of Mac only.

 

[kira-chan]

It did not come with a machine, and my dad lives in another state.

 

[robbieduncan]

Then I would suggest that however the DVD was copied it did not include the required files/structure to make it bootable. Have your father mail you the original, retail DVD.

 

[kira-chan]

Yes, this is the simplest solution, but it still doesn't tell me what I need to do to make the copy bootable, which would be useful to know if I lose my disc and have to burn another one from the backup. :/

 

[robbieduncan]

Yes, this is the simplest solution, but it still doesn't tell me what I need to do to make the copy bootable, which would be useful to know if I lose my disc and have to burn another one from the backup. :/

You cannot make the copy you have now bootable. I would suggest that Google could tell you the answer of how to make a bootable image (which you would, of course, destroy if you sell the original DVD). This "Image install OSX Install DVD bootable" gave me results.

 

[kira-chan]

I've done a number of searches, but I only found a bunch of people basically asking the same question and no answers. I still have the image file on the PC and plenty of DVDs, so I can burn another copy. I only need to know what to do with Roxio to make the DVD bootable.

 

[robbieduncan]

I've done a number of searches, but I only found a bunch of people basically asking the same question and no answers. I still have the image file on the PC and plenty of DVDs, so I can burn another copy. I only need to know what to do with Roxio to make the DVD bootable.

The way that the image is created is important. The very first link in the search I suggested tells you exactly what you need to do.

 

[kira-chan]

The dmg was created properly. I found those same instructions myself. Is it possible that the iso is not bootable then? If so, should I convert the dmg to an iso in Disk Copy instead of on the PC?