Can't get OS X installed on this ancient, formatted eMac Many years ago I was bequeathed an eMac. I believe it's a 1 GHz G4. It's been sitting around doing nothing for a long time, but now I need to install realMYST Mac edition, from 2002, and it's my best bet.

I was given three OS X install discs with the eMac: A 10.0 disc, an eMac Software Restore disc (that says it has Panther on it), and also a set of Panther upgrade discs. Unfortunately, the eMac refuses to boot from either the 10.0 disc or the Restore disc. It will boot from the Panther Upgrade disc, but I can't install it because the hard drive is blank and doesn't have a previous version of OS X on it!

Is there some file on the disc I could delete, some plist I could change or something, to make this installer not do the upgrade check? Or does anyone have any ideas on how to get it to boot from the restore disc?

EDIT to clarify:

The discs that the eMac won't boot from are in perfect condition and entirely readable by other Macs; the eMac simply won't boot from them. But it boots perfectly every single time from the Panther Upgrade disc. And the Panther Upgrade disc is way more scratched up (to the naked eye, anyway) than the others.

Apparently this eMac shipped with OS X 10.3 Panther. The restore discs claim to have Panther on them. But the eMac won't boot from the restore disc, even though it boots from the Panther Upgrade disc.
You are in a bit of a pickle, but not one you can't escape. :)


If you have another ancient Mac, you could use probably use target disk mode (hold T when booting) to install a version of Mac OS X on it.
If you don't have another Mac, take the 10.3 Restore disc to a local video store and pay a few dollars for it to be resurfaced. You'd be surprised how bad a CD can look before and still work after. I recommend this over the other approaches, because the Restore CD probably contains software you won't be able to get any other way. (Of course, don't read this as a guarantee that the 10.3 CD will work when resurfaced, but I think it's a good bet.)
Failing that, you should try to get a Retail 10.3 or 10.4 (Tiger) CD. I think you'd want to upgrade to Tiger anyway on this system.


A few more notes, assuming your eMac is really 1GHz (it's definitely a G4, they all are):


Your eMac requires a special build of 10.2. You should be able to use a 10.3 or 10.4 retail CD, but you're not going to be able to use a 10.2 retail CD. That 10.0 CD? I don't think any eMac will boot off a 10.0 CD.
If the eMac is faster than 1GHz, it may require a special build of 10.3 and you won't be able to use a retail 10.3 CD.


Personally, I found 10.4 the best version of Mac OS X for running Classic Mac apps. So if you can't get the restore CD to work (or even if you can), it's worth keeping an eye open for a 10.4 Retail CD.

See also:


Wikipedia: eMac Specifications