More OSX woes...

Off Topic
1

Will this never end…

With great self control I persevered with OSX…and realised that to get a required degree of ‘utility’ from it I needed to upgrade from 10.2 (Jaguar) to 10.4 Tiger. (all sorts of utility programmes only work with 10.4 etc. etc…) So I got myself a Tiger install DVD.

When i slip this into the DVD drive it soon enough shows up on the desktop with the ‘Install OSX’ icon shining brightly. Double clicking this brings up the install dialogue, requesting me to restart my mac. OK, will do.

Several minutes later I am back on my desktop, having signed in with my usual Jaguar password credentials etc. And there’s the DVD with the ‘Install OSX’ icon winking at me again…

So I double-click and get the install dialogue which asks me to restart…and so I do…and so several minutes later I end up back at square one on the desktop again, with the Install OSX icon smiling away at me…

Really, I’m getting a bit tired of this charade called OSX…

Hugh

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2

At 20:39 -0500 14/2/08, hugh wrote:

Will this never end…

With great self control I persevered with OSX…and realised that to
get a required degree of ‘utility’ from it I needed to upgrade from
10.2 (Jaguar) to 10.4 Tiger. (all sorts of utility programmes only
work with 10.4 etc. etc…) So I got myself a Tiger install DVD.

When i slip this into the DVD drive it soon enough shows up on the
desktop with the ‘Install OSX’ icon shining brightly. Double
clicking this brings up the install dialogue, requesting me to
restart my mac. OK, will do.

Several minutes later I am back on my desktop, having signed in with
my usual Jaguar password credentials etc. And there’s the DVD with
the ‘Install OSX’ icon winking at me again…

So I double-click and get the install dialogue which asks me to
restart…and so I do…and so several minutes later I end up back
at square one on the desktop again, with the Install OSX icon
smiling away at me…

When it restarts it’s supposed to restart from the DVD not the main
disc. Next time when it reboots, try holding down the ‘C’ key. Your
machine probably has a PRAM problem that’s preventing the DVD
initiated instruction to reboot from DVD from sticking.

Really, I’m getting a bit tired of this charade called OSX…

Millions havn’t found it so. Your problem will have been shared by a
few others no doubt, but it’s not an OSX problem.

David

–
David Ledger - Freelance Unix Sysadmin in the UK.
HP-UX specialist of hpUG technical user group (www.hpug.org.uk)
email@hidden
www.ivdcs.co.uk

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3

If something plays up I don’t know how to fix then I generally find
this a good place to start:

Hope this helps.

On Feb 15, 2008, at 2:39 AM, hugh wrote:

Will this never end…

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4

Is the DVD old? Is the Machine you are installing on old? Combination of both (scratched DVD / dirty DVD lens or damaged Lens tracking) can stop your Mac from Booting up from this DVD.

Try holding down the ‘C’ key and re-starting with the DVD in, if it does not start up using the DVD, its probably one of the above.

Then try;

  1. Cleaning the DVD - carefully
  2. Try a lens cleaning DVD in a tray loading DVD - does that work on a slot loading DVD?
  3. Try the DVD on another mac to isolate the above problems

On 15 Feb 2008, at 01:39, hugh wrote:

So I got myself a Tiger install DVD.

David Owen
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http://www.printlineadvertising.co.uk/freeway
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5

Dear Hugh

You are right that either 10.3 or 10.4 is a much better system - even on
older Macs. I didn’t rate 10.2 well at all. I wouldn’t recommend using it
for anything.

If your installer DVD isn’t mounting as the boot disk you must address that
issue.

If you choose to be a passive victim you will experience as if you actually
are such a victim.

You can choose to believe it but you cant make it the truth.

When we try to blame externals we attempt to put our unwanted thoughts onto
something other. This may seem to bring some relief but now the one thing
that needs to be seen differently is fixed as an idea outside of your self.
It is merely playing out a script.

Desire is the basis of our thinking. If you want to suffer but not be to
blame you can continue as you are. But the suffering itself is hardly joy.

If you want to abandon blame as a game altogether then a fresh start is
always right here.

You have been reluctant to embrace the change to Mac OSX. Many of us have
felt this to some degree. But amidst change there is no value in looking
back as if change were not being embraced or you will make it so and will
not accept it.

And will be out of accord by default.

If you cant get the DVD to boot, try holding alt while restarting and wait
(a while) for all bootable systems to show up and then choose the DVD.

Clean the DVD? Borrow a known good DVD?
Use firewire target disk mode to connect with another Mac that can boot from
the DVD.

There are lots af folk here willing to help if you ask, give enough info and
are willing to let it in.

all the best

Brian

hugh said recently:

Will this never end…

With great self control I persevered with OSX…and realised that to get a
required degree of ‘utility’ from it I needed to upgrade from 10.2 (Jaguar) to
10.4 Tiger. (all sorts of utility programmes only work with 10.4 etc. etc…)
So I got myself a Tiger install DVD.

When i slip this into the DVD drive it soon enough shows up on the desktop
with the ‘Install OSX’ icon shining brightly. Double clicking this brings up
the install dialogue, requesting me to restart my mac. OK, will do.

Several minutes later I am back on my desktop, having signed in with my usual
Jaguar password credentials etc. And there’s the DVD with the ‘Install OSX’
icon winking at me again…

So I double-click and get the install dialogue which asks me to restart…and
so I do…and so several minutes later I end up back at square one on the
desktop again, with the Install OSX icon smiling away at me…

Really, I’m getting a bit tired of this charade called OSX…

Hugh

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6

Nice one Brian/Bin-Ra - are you sure you’re in the right Forum?

K.

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On 16 Feb. 2008, 9:17 pm, Kryten wrote:

Nice one Brian/Bin-Ra - are you sure you’re in the right Forum?

Off topic? Yeah, I’d say so! :wink:

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Hi Kryten
I wouldn’t have offered what I did except as to someone altogether worthy of
my attention and consideration. This I say straight up.
This forum has always been a good place for support.
Freeway has attracted many generous hearted users over the years.
If something persistently doesn’t work, it is better to address it at root
than to keep suffering is it not?

I feel for Hugh and his frustrations but I don’t share his ongoing
resistance to change. (In particular respect of Mac OSX). But I do know
resistance to change in me in other matters and see the same patterns arise,
so I gave myself something to ponder also.

Offtopic does have some leeway in its scope.
And no one need read anything that is irrelevant to their day.

Apparently the term nice started out as an engineering term - as in nice
fit.
I don’t know if that is true - its anecdotal.

all the best
Brian

Kryten said recently:

Nice one Brian/Bin-Ra - are you sure you’re in the right Forum?

K.

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9

Thank you Bin-Ra for the philosophic musing, which I know is well intended…and, in fact, well taken.

Yes, I must persevere. Sometimes, though, it’s just so time consuming going nowhere that it feels like you’re going backwards.

To everyone, thanks for the tips. I have tried booting with the C key held down but still get the normal startup routine and disk - so it obviously won’t boot from the DVD.

I can’t see why the machine should not be able to read the DVD or boot from it - it does open, I can see the files and it even starts the installer.

I think David mentioned a PRAM problem?..just what problem might that be?

regards to all
Hugh

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10

I believe all the installer does when simply mounted as a volume on the
Desktop is reset the startup disk preference pane to the DVD and initiate a
restart.
The Special boot system on the DVD then opens you inside the installer from
which one normally proceeds as instructed (but there are some other options
from the installer DVD in the top menu such as reset password and running
DiskUtility).

But if alt (option) key held when restarting with the DVD in doesn’t ‘see’
the system on the DVD and give you the opportunity to choose it to Boot from
then I wonder if your DVD is in fact good - or if your optical drive is
adequate to see it.

Apart from examining and cleaning DVD and the optical drive I don’t know
much else to offer.

To reset the p-ram hold apple alt p and r keys immediately after the chime
and hold until you hear another chime (some hold for two more chimes).
This will reset the screen resolution and mouse setting to defaults but
nothing onerous to put back.

If I was local I would gladly assist.

If you have a friend with a Mac that will boot from the DVD and your Macs
are firewire enabled to do so, then you can set your Mac up as a firewire
target disk and install from the DVD via their Mac. (All recent Macs).

You could do a similar thing if installing onto an external firewire
partition and then cloning - from that to yours - but then you have to back
everything up for sure and erase install and manually transfer your data
back. This would be a faff and not a first resort!

But I think the experience of Mac OSX on Panther and Tiger is significantly
better than Jaguar. At least I found it markedly so.
And reports are that both run better even on older Macs than Jaguar in
almost all cases.

Computers remain capable of branching into any and every distraction and
frustration. Mac or Pc, old or new. Starting on a good footing is perhaps
the ultimate philosophical offering to close with. Because from a false or
unrealised mistake - all of the rest MUST fail.
Therefore there are times to pause, release and rest and become freshly
inspired.

with all good wishes
Brian

hugh said recently:

Thank you Bin-Ra for the philosophic musing, which I know is well
intended…and, in fact, well taken.

Yes, I must persevere. Sometimes, though, it’s just so time consuming going
nowhere that it feels like you’re going backwards.

To everyone, thanks for the tips. I have tried booting with the C key held
down but still get the normal startup routine and disk - so it obviously won’t
boot from the DVD.

I can’t see why the machine should not be able to read the DVD or boot from it

  • it does open, I can see the files and it even starts the installer.

I think David mentioned a PRAM problem?..just what problem might that be?

regards to all
Hugh

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11

At 07:31 -0500 17/2/08, hugh wrote:

Thank you Bin-Ra for the philosophic musing, which I know is well
intended…and, in fact, well taken.

Yes, I must persevere. Sometimes, though, it’s just so time
consuming going nowhere that it feels like you’re going backwards.

To everyone, thanks for the tips. I have tried booting with the C
key held down but still get the normal startup routine and disk - so
it obviously won’t boot from the DVD.

I can’t see why the machine should not be able to read the DVD or
boot from it - it does open, I can see the files and it even starts
the installer.

I think David mentioned a PRAM problem?..just what problem might that be?

Zapping the PRAM has just been explained.

If that doesn’t work, what colour is the label on the DVD? You just
say you ‘got’ one.
According to those on a Mac list, black labels are generic and should
work with any Mac for which the OS is approved. Grey labeled DVDs are
model specific, and are those supplied with a new Mac. They may well
not work with other models. Neither should it offer to do the
reboot and install, but some combinations may slip through that check.

David

–
David Ledger - Freelance Unix Sysadmin in the UK.
HP-UX specialist of hpUG technical user group (www.hpug.org.uk)
email@hidden
www.ivdcs.co.uk

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