Can't install OS on PowerBook G4 15" 1,67GHz

[ejej]

Hi everyone, long time listener first time caller here. I've encountered a problem that I cannot find a solution for, or come up with one myself.

I recently purchased a 1,67GHz 15" PowerBook G4 (PowerBook 5,8, A1138). It had 10.4.11 already on it, but it was really bloated and had processes run on startup that would use 70% of the CPU. I've never used OS X 10.5, so I decided that I would try to get it installed. The computer however would not start from the install discs. It would recognise them and open a prompt to restart when it was running in 10.4.11, but after a restart it would show the Apple logo with the spinning circle under it, which after a while changed to a crossed out symbol. I've tried 3 different discs from Macintosh Repository burned with my MacBook Pro, and every one of them gave the same result.

This would suggest that it's the discs or the G4's drive fault, but I doubt it for two reasons:
1. The MacBook Pro which I used to burn them launched the installer from them no problem,
2. When I connected a 17" G4 to the problematic 15" G4 with FireWire and used the 15" in target disk mode, the 17" launched the installer as well - the disc was being read by the 15" G4, since my 17" can't read DL DVDs.

I then had the idea to install 10.5 through target disk mode, with the 17" G4 reading the disc from the 15" G4's drive and installing it back to its hard drive (wild, I know). This seemed to work, the system was installed and the 17" booted into it through target disk mode. When I wanted to boot the 15" into it, it unfortunately acted the same way as it does with the DVDs - Apple logo and then the crossed out one. At this point I've also lost that original 10.4.11 install it came with, since I formatted the drive.

I gave up on 10.5 and tried to install 10.4.6 from a disc I know works, since I've used it on multiple machines. This also failed, but in a slightly different way - upon booting from the DVD, the Apple logo would just stay there with the spinning circle underneath it, as if it was frozen (the animation on the circle was still going though).

As a last ditch effort, I cloned the hard drive from the 17" G4, which has 10.4.11 on it. This sort of worked - the 15" can boot from it, but the USB ports are not working. I'm not sure if they were working before all of this, or if it could even be a problem with the system and not the hardware. I have a PCMCIA USB adapter, and USB works fine through that.

I've also reset the PRAM, but this made no difference.

So, my questions is: what can be blocking this PowerBook from booting from install DVDs? Is there anything else I can try? Any tips will be greatly appreciated.

 

[3922434]

Are you burning them to +R DL or -r DL? Leopard will not boot if you burned it to +R DL. This isn’t the place for this and I won’t go to far into it but in my hackintosh days leopard and snow leopard use the have issues booting from +R media because there technically data only type media. They need to be -R DL or you can get the leopard image to fit on a single layer dvd. Just search Leopard Single layer and I think there’s an image on the Macintosh garden and I know there’s one on the internet archive as well. But again it has to be -R alternatively the late generation PowerBook G4 had an open firmware that let will let yoy simply create a leopard usb and boot by pressing option at startup. There’s instructions on the garden for that as well and actionretro on YouTube also has a tutorial if you prefer watching a tutorial

 

[eyoungren]

Is it possible that the hard drive on the 15" PB is bad or going bad?

What happens if you use the 17" to install Tiger or Leopard to a known good hard drive (would have to be PATA) and then try to boot the 15" from that?

 

[ejej]

I've made some new discoveries. I have tried your suggestions, however neither trying -R DL discs or a new hard drive with an install made any difference. I had the idea to run the Apple Service Diagnostic tests, and all of them passed. After that I went into open firmware and set everything back to defaults, but this also made no difference.

Then I had the idea to try booting it in verbose mode, and I found something interesting. Back when I first received the computer with its original 10.4.11 install, I wanted to change some settings but couldn't because of the admin password. I booted it in safe mode to change the password. This message kept popping up in the terminal: "USBF: EHCI Connect change bit not clearing. Retrying". It was appearing every couple seconds, but since my inputs were being accepted normally I didn't think much of it. When I now boot the computer in verbose mode, regardless if it's from an install disc or the hard drive, this message keeps appearing in the output, and nothing else happens. I suspect that this is why it has problems booting, and also why the USB ports weren't working when I did manage to boot it into that cloned system.

I'm not really sure what that message means. Visually, both on the inside and outside the USB ports look fine, the diagnostic tests of USB also passed. Could it be that something was plugged in and it's now looking for it? Is there a way to disable USB and try booting without it? I will try poking around open firmware, maybe I'll be able to find something.

 

[for this]

Leopard will not boot if you burned it to +R DL.

But I have a different experience. This DVD+R DL 10.5.0 install disc is bootable. I've been using it to install 10.5.0 to my MDD Mac and for troubleshooting since 2007.

 

[ojfd]

Is it possible that the hard drive on the 15" PB is bad or going bad?

I've bought several G4 PowerBooks during past year that behaved similary to OP's PB because of bad drives.