Resolved PowerBook G4 A1106 will not install OS

[waspinator]

Hi,

Just found an old PowerBook G4 A1106 that was having trouble booting consistently. Thought it was a software issue so trying to reinstall 10.4 Tiger. But looks to be hardware.

It boots from the install DVD and I can prepare the HD and start the install process but it always stops somewhere randomly before finishing. Each time I try to install, the installer pauses at a different place. The Install media integrity check passes and the Mac doesn’t crash, the installer just stops going on. I can still move the mouse and cancel the install. But the installer will just stop going forward and the estimated time will grow. Left it overnight and went from 10 minutes remaining to more than 20 hours.

Switched between several hard drives, moved the two 512 memory chips around, tried only the bottom memory slot or just the top, cleared PRAM. Same issue.

Any ideas?

 

[Amethyst1]

Switched between several hard drives, moved the two 512 memory chips around, tried only the bottom memory slot or just the top, cleared PRAM. Same issue.

Is the installation DVD itself a known good one? What about the optical drive?

 

[skinniezinho]

Maybe just download and run the ASD on it, so you will know if hardware is ok or not

All Apple Hardware Test (AHT) & Apple Service Diagnostic (ASD) disks - Macintosh Repository

Apple Service Diagnostic (ASD) is Apple's bootable hardware testing console that lets you run extensive technical test routines on your...

www.macintoshrepository.org

Maybe HDD issue?

 

[micahgartman]

Verify the time and date are set correctly.

 

[waspinator]

I read somewhere while searching for issues with the PowerBook G4 that there's a known issues with thermals getting to high. I didn't have any screen glitches or crashes, or even errors in the installer log. It would just stop. But I thought it wouldn't hurt to try installing outside. Left it sitting outside for about an hour, close to freezing here now so it got pretty cold. It worked! I'll have to see about adding new solder paste or a copper shim to the heat sink so I can play around with it in doors. Hope this helps someone figure it out faster.