Installing Jaguar Should've Been Easy, But..., UNIX - a brave new world...? Options

[Teiwaz]

UNIX (Mac OS X Jaguar 10.2) has been nothing but a nightmare to install on my dual 1 gig mac...




I'm still struggling to get it on a separate 10 gig partition on my ata barracuda...I have never before experienced such a f***ed up install scenario...it kept me up till 4am last night...should've bin straightforward...



The installer craps out after getting past the "select language" stage...hmm. I thought it was a dodgy install disc, but it worked fine on a titanium laptop...I feel there is WAY more than meets the eye with this UNIX based beast...mmm...




I think UNIX is (once we all have accumulated knowledge of how it actually BEHAVES) a (very?) stable platform...but as for it leaving residual "invisible to OS9" files lying around on one's HD after lobbing everything visible that was OSX beta into the trashcan (I did this with beta OSX a while back when I first bought the dual 1 gig - I didn't want it on the same drive as my tried & trusted OS9) it has the ability to really mess with your computer's data in a real PHANTOM kind of a way when you try to do a fresh install of Jaguar (on a separate HD) simply because OSX beta used to be on the boot drive...aaargh! This appears to be the problem I'm having...



Personally, I feel that it was not the best move by Jobs & Co to actually have OSX (Beta) pre-installed alongside OS9 on the new G4's out of the box...we customers should've been given the option ourselves; ie: OS9 OR OSX ONLY on the boot drive to start with, ta very much, but no, TWO completely (alien to each other in terms of their kernels, source code etc) residing on the same drive...?! I guess that's what happens when one wants to sell truckloads of computers to people with a promise of "stability", "backwards" compatibility (er..) and a nice "windows style front end" presentation to attract the PC crowd...but what about existing mac people like myself? I should have been given the option to have either one or the other OS on the machine I bought...hmm..trying to please everybody can backfire on the existing mac customer, it would appear...



My only hope is that by backing up all of my s**t from my OS9 boot drive, and then doing a low level format to it(ugh...all those registrations and serial numbers that have to be reactivated...arg) will hopefully get rid of anything that is invisible beta UNIX off my damned boot drive!!

Then, maybe, I will be able to install Jaguar without a problem....thanks, Apple.

If all that doesn't work, I shall get myself a psychiatrist and send the bill to Steve Jobs...



end of bitter rant...

Anyone else experienced such outlandish install behaviour on their desktop G4's as a result of previously lobbing everything "visible" that was OSX off their boot drive when they first bought their desktop G4?

Any hard earned advice to offer...?

[Teiwaz]

Well, after all, it turns out that my G4's internal (or is that infernal?) superdrive had some dust on the laser's guide runners!

So much for it being a UNIX file error...



Who would have guessed? After the 'informed authorized Apple personel' at my local mac shop failing to solve the OSX Jaguar install disaster on my dual gig G4, I came to the conclusion that I actually instinctively knew better than to take their advice as to where to look for the fault.



I was told by my Apple store's repair department that my dual gig G4 had a faulty processor card, and so (stupidly) I let them replace it. That meant my studio was dysfunctional for 2 days.




When I first told them of the problem, I informed them that I had a sneaking suspicion there was something wrong with either the Jaguar install disc, or the G4's superdrive. "That isn't your problem", he said. "I'm ABSOLUTELY certain that your G4 has a faulty processor card. I'm all too familiar with this type of malfunction when attempting to install Jaguar on a dual processor Quicksilver G4" he said, with a certain know-it-all smile. "That is what's wrong here" he said again as he ended his incorrect fault assessment...famous last words!




When I got the G4 back home it behaved exactly the same way with the new processor card. My hunch was confirmed when I took it upon myself to "dissect" my G4's superdrive. Yeah, f**k the warranty. I have music to complete, and a job to do on OSX. I must get my G4 working with Jaguar, and so, I will take matters into my own hands.




After taking my G4's superdrive to bits, I then discovered that the two silver metal runners that house and guide the laser mechanics had dirt on them. 90% of the time when a CD-Rom drive (or superdrive) fails to read a CD or DVD, you can be sure that these runners need a good clean with a Q Tip. Also, clean the eye of the laser too, VERY gently with a Q-Tip immersed in Isopropyl Alcohol. By the way, only attempt to dissect your G4's superdrive if you are "tech savvy."




What happens is that the dirt on the steel runners stops the laser's housing from moving freely along the data portion of the CD/DVD. It literally gets stuck and then can't get access to a certain portion of the CD/DVD, usually near the edge of the disc. This is what happened to me while I was trying to install Jaguar. Such a small insignificant bit of f**king dirt can create such a nightmare scenario!!



The repair department at my Apple store wanted me to take my G4 in for a THIRD time, and therefore trash my entire week "diagnosing" the fault in my computer. They never listened up in the first place when I told them to "check the superdrive".

They did have me totally convinced at one point that my computer actually had a faulty processor card...



Motto: If you want something done quickly (and in this case, properly) do it yourself.



Tools used: a handful of various phillips screwdrivers, 2 Q-Tips, a bottle of Isopropyl Alcohol, and a steady hand...

PS: DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME UNLESS YOU KNOW HOW TO TAKE APART YOUR COMPUTER'S HARDWARE, AND THEN PUT IT BACK TOGETHER (not that I know that much, but still...I fixed the damned thing.)



End of thread...?