I got G4 with MacOSX 10.4.11 installed and i want to change original spinable 80 GB HDD to 256 GB SSD (already got IDE-SATA adapter).
I dont have original MacOS installation CD disk, so how would be the easiest way to install MacOS on SSD drive? My intention is to install 10.5.8 since it is the latest supported.
What type of G4 do you have? I have a Sawtooth (AGP) G4. G4's are 32 bit machines. That means that more advanced software may not run on them, such as the drive health software for an SSD. In terms of an SSD one of the best for the G4 series is the Samsung EVO 840. They are no longer made, but you should be able to pick up one in good condition used. Note: The condition of the drive will have to be checked using an newer, Intel based Mac, or a PC. As to installing an SSD, they install (physically) pretty much the same way as a regular HD (spinning type). They will need an adapter in order to go into the regular "sled" that a standard HD normally takes. There are a couple of ways to make the data connection to an SSD. You can get an SATA to IDE adapter from places such as Operator Headgap and OWC. That allows you to go from an SATA style information exchange to an IDE information exchange. That is an easy, not expensive way to do things. You will notice a good "kick" in the speed when you go to an SSD. There are a couple of downsides to going that way. You will be restricted to the smaller drives that the G4 IDE bus can handle due to logical block addressing (LBA) limitations, and you will be restricted to slightly slower speeds due to the speed of that bus. The alternative - which I have used successfully - is to get an SATA adapter card that goes into a PCI slot and accesses the PCI bus. Sonnet made some cards with one, two and four internal SATA ports. Some times you can find them, some times you can't - The OS 9 Lives forum is a good place to look -. Firmtek/Seritek does - did(?) I have not checked recently - make an excellent card with four internal ports. You will also want to get the power adapter cables for the SSD drive, from standard Molex to SSD style. If you want to continue to use your HD drive, you may want to try one of Firmtek's IDE to SATA adapter cards. On an ultra drive HD you will get faster throughput. Also, PLEASE NOTE, the PCI bus and the Firmtek SATA card, treat IDE drives as though they were SCSI drives. What that means is that the size limitation of the IDE bus does not apply. And that the only size limitation you have for either an IDE or SATA drive is the limitations imposed by a 32 bit system. The LBA limitations of the IDE bus, DO NOT APPLY. You can have a 1 Tb drive in a G4 (SATA or IDE on the PCI bus) and it will read all of it perfectly well. However, I have found that, with IDE drives, it is still wiser to partition the drive into segments of 127.8 Gb or slightly less. If the head stops at the wrong place, you can run into serious drive partition map problems. It can be solved, but it's not fun. Installing your operating system is no problem either. For 10.5.8, on a G4 the biggest difficulty is the speed of the processor. If your processor is up around 877 MHz you will probably have pretty good performance - comparable to Tiger, 10.4.11. If it is less than that, you will need a little program called Leopard assist. It makes the 10.5.8 software think it is running on a 1 GHz machine. If you have a 1 GHz or faster processor upgrade in your G4, do the following. Download the image for 10.5.6 from the Macintosh Garden. Go to the Internet, and get Coriollis Systems iPartion for 10.4.11 (oh yes, send the fellow who designed the software some money as a thank you). Use that to split your current drive into three partitions, one large enough for Leopard and data, one large enough for the current system and data, and one large enough for the disk image of Leopard (I think it will work in 80 Gb as three partitions). The reason I recommend iPartition is that it will let you partition and resize your existing drive without wiping out your data. Once that is done - and it may take quite a bit of time - use disk utility to "restore" the disk image to the smallest partition you have made. Also, if you have a slower processor, put Leopard assist on that partition. If the processor is slow, Go to Leopard assist and start the process to install 10.5.6. It should fool the Leopard install into thinking your machine is fast enough. Choose to install Leopard on the new largest partition you have made and wait until it finishes. If you have a fast enough processor 1 GHz or faster, go to Preferences, startup disk, and choose the disk image. When that comes up, then choose the new partition you have made - for Leopard and data - and install Leopard. Use the software update and update until you have completed the process of getting to 10.5.8. Now, why didn't I say to use a DVD or a USB? G4's, especially the Sawtooth G4's are twitchy beasts. Some will, most won't boot from a USB. They will boot from firewire, if you have a firewire drive. USB boot normally has to be done from the firmware command line and you have to provide the exact path to the exact USB port and hope that the computer likes what you have done. Sometimes it works, most of the time, it doesn't. The G4's are designed to boot off a DVD. If you want to do a complete system, you have to have a super drive capable of dual layer DVD's - and dual layer DVD's - and in good condition, and first you have to make the DVD and make sure it is good (unless you buy a 10.5.8 install). Sometimes they are, sometimes they aren't. The drive itself must be in very good condition. And the installation process can be very slow. You can use the single, reduced DVD option from Macintosh Garden, but I was never able to get it to work correctly. Then you will have to bring the minimized system up to what the complete system is supposed to be. Not a project for the faint of heart. The disk image on one partition and installing to another partition, is very nearly foolproof. If you want to upgrade your processor to a 1 GHz or better, you have a couple of options, you can go with a single processor, such as the one I purchased, or you can go with a dual processor. If you go with a dual processor, you must have a Uni North = 7 or better motherboard for your particular G4. You can find those from time to time. If your machine is already a dual processor machine, then you just need to decide if you want to spend in the neighborhood of $250 to $450 for one of the very nice dual processor upgrades. I've not yet had the deep pockets to do that, but I am still looking for a Newer Technologies MaxPower 7448 dual processor upgrade - supposedly the creme de la creme of processor upgrades. I have been well pleased with the results so far. Once you have done these things, you will want to get and install TenFourFox, and the updates for TenFourFox (FireFox for G4/G5 PowerPC) you will find on these boards, and TenFourBird (Email). Best wishes.
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