Grey System Restore Discs are system specific. They only work for the exact machine they were designed for.

[quote|matthewfrey]Grey System Restore Discs are system specific. They only work for the exact machine they were designed for.[/quote]

Swapping out a hard drive from a ibook is a massive job, it involves taking the bottom section off; then taking the top off as well; i'd not recommend you try it. Instead i'd suggest a fire wire transfer of your operating system from your imac to the ibook. There are free cloning software tools available online and it should take a couple of hours.

Hope this helps

[quote|elli]Swapping out a hard drive from a ibook is a massive job, it involves taking the bottom section off; then taking the top off as well; i'd not recommend you try it. Instead i'd suggest a fire wire transfer of your operating system from your imac to the ibook. There are free cloning software tools available online and it should take a couple of hours. Hope this helps[/quote]

Like sunrisetech says; grey disc are system specific. What I would recommend is that you try to start up from an install disc such as TechTool, or from a retail OS install disc. Then you will be able to access Disc Utility and reformat your drive. If your drive is mountable you should be able to repair or reformat it.

[quote|jebec3]Like sunrisetech says; grey disc are system specific. What I would recommend is that you try to start up from an install disc such as TechTool, or from a retail OS install disc. Then you will be able to access Disc Utility and reformat your drive. If your drive is mountable you should be able to repair or reformat it.[/quote]

Is it a Panther or Tiger install disc? (The one that came with your 1.2GHz iBook) I don't have experience with Panther, so I'll give instructions for Tiger (may/may not work with Panther)

1. Boot from the Install DVD but leave it one screen before the "This software cannot be installed..." screen.

2. Format your internal HD in Disk Utility as normal.

3. Quit DU, go to Terminal, and type (without quotes) "/Applications/Installer.app/Contents/MacOS/Installer /System/Library/Installation/Packages/OSInstall.mpkg" at the # prompt.

4. You'll see another Installer window pop up with the normal Mac OS X install screen. Install as normal.

5. When install completes, go back to the Terminal window, hit Control-C and type "halt" at the prompt.

6. Your Mac will shutdown. When it reboots, your mac will boot to the normal OS X Setup Assistant screen. Set up as normal.

7. When you get to the Desktop, you'll notice that a fair bit of Applications are missing... no worries, hit Shift-Command-G, and type "/Volumes/Mac\ OS\ X\ Install\ DVD/System/Installation/Packages" and press enter. Among the jumble of packages would be things like AdditionalFonts.pkg, iTunes.pkg. Their names should be pretty self-explanatory, and they correspond to choices found under 'Customize' in the normal Mac OS X Installer. Double-click each of the packages you want to install them. When done, reboot and you should now have a 'normal' Mac OS X install on your iBook.

[quote|Rain]Is it a Panther or Tiger install disc? (The one that came with your 1.2GHz iBook) I don't have experience with Panther, so I'll give instructions for Tiger (may/may not work with Panther) 1. Boot from the Install DVD but leave it one screen before the "This software cannot be installed..." screen. 2. Format your internal HD in Disk Utility as normal. 3. Quit DU, go to Terminal, and type (without quotes) "/Applications/Installer.app/Contents/MacOS/Installer /System/Library/Installation/Packages/OSInstall.mpkg" at the # prompt. 4. You'll see another Installer window pop up with the normal Mac OS X install screen. Install as normal. 5. When install completes, go back to the Terminal window, hit Control-C and type "halt" at the prompt. 6. Your Mac will shutdown. When it reboots, your mac will boot to the normal OS X Setup Assistant screen. Set up as normal. 7. When you get to the Desktop, you'll notice that a fair bit of Applications are missing... no worries, hit Shift-Command-G, and type "/Volumes/Mac\ OS\ X\ Install\ DVD/System/Installation/Packages" and press enter. Among the jumble of packages would be things like AdditionalFonts.pkg, iTunes.pkg. Their names should be pretty self-explanatory, and they correspond to choices found under 'Customize' in the normal Mac OS X Installer. Double-click each of the packages you want to install them. When done, reboot and you should now have a 'normal' Mac OS X install on your iBook.[/quote]

Sunrisetech: Thanks, I figured an iBook is an iBook so no sweat. oops

.

Elli: Cheese Louise it's not that bad, you're going to scare people talking like that.

I was in and out of the 1.2 a couple of times using the tutorials.

I swapped it out in half an hour.

.

Jebec3: I had tried that, I didn't seem to have the option to reformat the HD.

I started from the install disk, but the reformat option isn't in that menu and I couldn't find it anywhere else.

The 1.2 is dead. I salvaged the keypad screen memory etc but trashed the rest. I'd have to buy an enclosure to mount the HD.

.

Rain: Thanks very much for the detailed post.

I'm hoping to install 10.4. That's what the 1.2 came with and it suits me just fine.

As I mentioned to Jebec3, I don't seem to have the option to reformat the HD in the DU menu that comes up when I start from the install disk. I can check again when I get home Monday, but I looked pretty closely and didn't find it.

It would be in the pull-down on the Disk Utility menu wouldn't it?

This may be a non issue, I figured I needed to reformat the HD when I got the "can not install" message.

The 1.2 HD runs fine in the 1.3 computer, but the 1.3 HD has twice the memory so it would be nice if I could put it back in.

.

Thanks again

.

M

[quote|marcucco]Sunrisetech: Thanks, I figured an iBook is an iBook so no sweat. oops . Elli: Cheese Louise it's not that bad, you're going to scare people talking like that. I was in and out of the 1.2 a couple of times using the tutorials. I swapped it out in half an hour. . Jebec3: I had tried that, I didn't seem to have the option to reformat the HD. I started from the install disk, but the reformat option isn't in that menu and I couldn't find it anywhere else. The 1.2 is dead. I salvaged the keypad screen memory etc but trashed the rest. I'd have to buy an enclosure to mount the HD. . Rain: Thanks very much for the detailed post. I'm hoping to install 10.4. That's what the 1.2 came with and it suits me just fine. As I mentioned to Jebec3, I don't seem to have the option to reformat the HD in the DU menu that comes up when I start from the install disk. I can check again when I get home Monday, but I looked pretty closely and didn't find it. It would be in the pull-down on the Disk Utility menu wouldn't it? This may be a non issue, I figured I needed to reformat the HD when I got the "can not install" message. The 1.2 HD runs fine in the 1.3 computer, but the 1.3 HD has twice the memory so it would be nice if I could put it back in. . Thanks again . M[/quote]

marcucco: You can't format the HD, but can you get into Terminal from the Utilities pulldown menu?

P.S. Do you have another PowerPC Mac lying around and a firewire cable?

[quote|Rain]marcucco: You can't format the HD, but can you get into Terminal from the Utilities pulldown menu? P.S. Do you have another PowerPC Mac lying around and a firewire cable?[/quote]

I do have a firewire cable, but my main computer is an intel iMac.

[quote|marcucco]I do have a firewire cable, but my main computer is an intel iMac.[/quote]

Check your 'Hey Rain' thread.

[quote|Rain]Check your 'Hey Rain' thread.[/quote]

marcucco, your powerPC Mac will boot to your intel iMac in Target Disc mode. see article: 58583 http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661

It sounds like you have swapped out the drives and are operating fine on the 1.2 drive, however if you wish to swap back you may just want to get that enclosure so you can reformat before going back in. You can get one at OWC for about $20 and they work great for putting that extra HD to use.

However if you simply need to reformat the drive this should work for you:

1) start up from your install disc

2) when the installer starts and the menu becomes available at the top of the screen; navigate to DU

3) in DU be sure to select your HD and not a volume on the drive. (This would typically be the first item in the list if the drive you want to format is internal).

4) select PARTITION from the list to the right.

5) under VOLUME SCHEME select 1 PARTITION from the drop down menu

6) name your volume

7) format: from the drop down menu choose MAC OS Extended (Journaled)

8) select PARTITION

You should now be able to install your OS on the drive.

[quote|jebec3]marcucco, your powerPC Mac will boot to your intel iMac in Target Disc mode. see article: 58583 http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661 It sounds like you have swapped out the drives and are operating fine on the 1.2 drive, however if you wish to swap back you may just want to get that enclosure so you can reformat before going back in. You can get one at OWC for about $20 and they work great for putting that extra HD to use. However if you simply need to reformat the drive this should work for you: 1) start up from your install disc 2) when the installer starts and the menu becomes available at the top of the screen; navigate to DU 3) in DU be sure to select your HD and not a volume on the drive. (This would typically be the first item in the list if the drive you want to format is internal). 4) select PARTITION from the list to the right. 5) under VOLUME SCHEME select 1 PARTITION from the drop down menu 6) name your volume 7) format: from the drop down menu choose MAC OS Extended (Journaled) 8) select PARTITION You should now be able to install your OS on the drive.[/quote]

Thanks jebec

I did put the HD from the 1.2 (HDD2182) into the iBook (and the memory stick) and it ran just fine,

The software and files from the old computer were still there.

BUT I lost the extra 40 Gig of memory the original HD from the 1.3Ghz (HDD2190) had.

I put the HDD2190 back in the iBook to try the terminal command thing.

I got the HDD2190 reformatted, but I still get the message:

"This software cannot be installed on this computer"

when I start the iBook from the disk that came with my 1.2GHz.

I've got nothing to lose so I'm going to try and load the software onto the HDD2190 using the iMac.

Mostly because I'm sick of taking this thing apart.

Between trying to get the 1.2 running ( :http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Discuss/thre... )

and swapping parts back and forth in the 1.3, I've spent more time inside then on the keypad.

The next used computer I buy's gonna have zippers in stead of screws

[quote|marcucco]Thanks jebec I did put the HD from the 1.2 (HDD2182) into the iBook (and the memory stick) and it ran just fine, The software and files from the old computer were still there. BUT I lost the extra 40 Gig of memory the original HD from the 1.3Ghz (HDD2190) had. I put the HDD2190 back in the iBook to try the terminal command thing. I got the HDD2190 reformatted, but I still get the message: "This software cannot be installed on this computer" when I start the iBook from the disk that came with my 1.2GHz. I've got nothing to lose so I'm going to try and load the software onto the HDD2190 using the iMac. Mostly because I'm sick of taking this thing apart. Between trying to get the 1.2 running ( :http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Discuss/thread/4245 ) and swapping parts back and forth in the 1.3, I've spent more time inside then on the keypad. The next used computer I buy's gonna have zippers in stead of screws[/quote]