Need Help!! iMac G3 Rev A CD drive not working

[MicrosoftApple]

Hi there

First post here after a LOOOOOOOOOOONG while

So recently I rescued a Rev A iMac G3, running Mac 0S 8.6 and the problem I have at the moment is, my optical drive doesn't work and finding a second unit to be used as a spare is a bit troublesome as in the country i'm from (Bangladesh) these are very very rare to come by
So I was wondering if there are any alternatives I can use so transfer files such as games or software and maybe an os update in the machine
Thank you

 

[velocityg4]

Hi there

First post here after a LOOOOOOOOOOONG while

So recently I rescued a Rev A iMac G3, running Mac 0S 8.6 and the problem I have at the moment is, my optical drive doesn't work and finding a second unit to be used as a spare is a bit troublesome as in the country i'm from (Bangladesh) these are very very rare to come by
So I was wondering if there are any alternatives I can use so transfer files such as games or software and maybe an os update in the machine
Thank you

Any external USB CD/DVD drive should work. Also a USB hard drive in HFS or HFS+ (Mac OS Extended). You may also use Zip drives. I'm pretty sure it can also read FAT32 formatted disks at least with the right options chosen when the OS was installed. Not sure about Flash drives.

 

[davisdelo]

Any external USB CD/DVD drive should work. Also a USB hard drive in HFS or HFS+ (Mac OS Extended). You may also use Zip drives. I'm pretty sure it can also read FAT32 formatted disks at least with the right options chosen when the OS was installed. Not sure about Flash drives.

I think 8.6 has built in support for mass storage (usb flash). Fat32 might bring resource fork issues with it, depending on the file.

 

[Amethyst1]

I think 8.6 has built in support for mass storage (usb flash)

It doesn't. You need this update:

https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/usb-mass-storage-135

 

[MicrosoftApple]

Any external USB CD/DVD drive should work. Also a USB hard drive in HFS or HFS+ (Mac OS Extended). You may also use Zip drives. I'm pretty sure it can also read FAT32 formatted disks at least with the right options chosen when the OS was installed. Not sure about Flash drives.

Tried a USB DVD Drive but sadly the machine doesn't recognize it
As for a USB Flash drive, it did read the drive but however everytime I try to transfer a Stuffit file, I keep getting an error saying something about the expandable being extracted by a PC so it won't work here
Sorry about my terrible memory but i'll try posting a picture regarding it here

 

[velocityg4]

Tried a USB DVD Drive but sadly the machine doesn't recognize it
As for a USB Flash drive, it did read the drive but however everytime I try to transfer a Stuffit file, I keep getting an error saying something about the expandable being extracted by a PC so it won't work here
Sorry about my terrible memory but i'll try posting a picture regarding it here

Was the flash drive formatted for HFS+?

 

[MicrosoftApple]

Was the flash drive formatted for HFS+?

It was formatted via Fat32
Can you format anything via Windows in HFS+?

 

[MicrosoftApple]

Apologies for the noobie questions
Back when I had a slot load Indigo, transferring files were a breeze considering the cd drive worked and all i needed to do was burn everything via iso's in the cd's

 

[velocityg4]

You might be able to with a trial version of Transmac. I'm just assuming FAT32 is causing an issue as @davisdelo alluded to.

Are you trying to unstuff the file on the Flash drive or moving it to the Macintosh HD first?

 

[MicrosoftApple]

You might be able to with a trial version of Transmac. I'm just assuming FAT32 is causing an issue as @davisdelo alluded to.

Are you trying to unstuff the file on the Flash drive or moving it to the Macintosh HD first?

I'm moving the files from the usb to the Mac's HD then trying to unstuff them

 

[MicrosoftApple]

So good news is, I can finally have a pen drive to transfer files
Bad news is, the files I want to install aren't working and are giving me this error
Even unpacked one of the stuffit files to see if it would run but I was wrong

 

[MicrosoftApple]

Bump!

Still need help regarding this !!

 

[micahgartman]

If you can find one, try running a CD-ROM drive-cleaning disk through the drive. For example:

Maxell – Pro 190048 CD-340 Laser Lens Cleaner - Safe & Effective CD Player & Game Station Compact Disc Cleaner - Microfiber Brushes Eliminates Static & Dust - Easy to Use with No Chemicals

Maxell – Pro 190048 CD-340 Laser Lens Cleaner - Safe & Effective CD Player & Game Station Compact Disc Cleaner - Microfiber Brushes Eliminates Static & Dust - Easy to Use with No Chemicals

www.amazon.com

A 25 year old computer probably has a ton of dust, debris and other schmutz that could prevent the drive's head from reading a disc.

 

[MicrosoftApple]

If you can find one, try running a CD-ROM drive-cleaning disk through the drive. For example:

Maxell – Pro 190048 CD-340 Laser Lens Cleaner - Safe & Effective CD Player & Game Station Compact Disc Cleaner - Microfiber Brushes Eliminates Static & Dust - Easy to Use with No Chemicals

Maxell – Pro 190048 CD-340 Laser Lens Cleaner - Safe & Effective CD Player & Game Station Compact Disc Cleaner - Microfiber Brushes Eliminates Static & Dust - Easy to Use with No Chemicals

www.amazon.com

A 25 year old computer probably has a ton of dust, debris and other schmutz that could prevent the drive's head from reading a disc.

will try doing that

i'll keep this thread updated especially those who will be facing these problems with a Revision A G3

 

[Project Alice]

View attachment 1751032View attachment 1751031View attachment 1751030

So good news is, I can finally have a pen drive to transfer files
Bad news is, the files I want to install aren't working and are giving me this error
Even unpacked one of the stuffit files to see if it would run but I was wrong

I have read about problems with resource forks and non HFS volumes. I've never run into the issue myself, especially if it is properly compressed. I'm not sure what else would be causing that error.
Have you tried moving the compressed stuffit files to your iMac's HDD and then uncompressing them?

Do you have any other Macs or just this one? Where did you get the files you are trying to open? I am certain DoomLegacy is available on the macintosh garden if yours has become corrupt.