- 10.4 Tiger Install Dvd (ppc) Download
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Jun 10, 2009 Apple sold several versions of Tiger at retail, culminating with a 10.4.6 full install DVD. These discs will work on all supported models of PowerPC Macs and are the best ones to have or try to find via resellers. Is this some sort of bootleg effort to install without the actual OS X Tiger DVD. (I'm assuming it is not, but if it is, follks on these forums generally don't support such efforts.) If you have a working DVD drive or CD drive for your PPC, you can purchase from various private sellers the Tiger install DVD or Tiger install CD's. QEMU PowerPC G4 OS X Tiger (10.4) setup. Here are some notes on how I set up an installation of OS X Tiger (10.4) on an emulated PowerPC G4 using QEMU, on a modern x8664 Mac. This setup was performed using QEMU 5.0.0 (obtained via brew install qemu). The Retail DVD is still being sold on eBay or other market. Mac OS X Tiger (version 10.4) is the fifth major release of Mac OS X (now named macOS), Apple’s desktop and server operating system for Mac computers. Tiger was released to the public on April 29, 2005. Is this some sort of bootleg effort to install without the actual OS X Tiger DVD.
Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger uses less memory than Leopard, supports Classic Mode on PowerPC Macs, and, unlike Leopard, is supported on G3 Macs, so there are good reasons to install or reinstall it on your old Macs.
Why Tiger Instead of Leopard?
As Apple refines Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and moves closer to the release of 10.6 Snow Leopard, the 10.4 Tiger version of OS X seems destined to fade into computing history. However there are many compelling and unique features in Tiger that make it an ideal or necessary OS on some Macs.
On PowerPC machines, Tiger is the last version of OS X that supports Classic mode, the built-in virtualizer for Mac OS 9 applications. Using Classic mode on a Power Mac G3 or better, it is still possible to run many applications compiled for the original 680×0-based Macs as far back as the 1980s. Some older software or peripherals will only run under OS 9, and Classic mode extends their lifetime. Often a Tiger-based Mac will be a secondary machine repurposed just for this task.
On Intel-based Macs, there are people who stick with Tiger for several reasons. This may be a budgetary decision, since upgrading to Leopard requires obtaining an installer, possibly some application updates, and often adding more RAM. Leopard’s minimum RAM footprint is about twice what Tiger requires. I recommend 1 GB minimum for Leopard on PowerPC Macs and 2 GB minimum on Intel systems – these are twice Apple’s minimum recommendations.
Also (not infrequently), some people just dislike the newer OS in favor of the older version.
On an original Intel-based Mac with a 2 GB RAM limit or a PowerPC G4-based Mac with a limit below 2 GB, the system will perform better under Tiger than with Leopard if you’re running RAM-hungry apps like Final Cut Pro or the Adobe CS suite, because 10.4 leaves more RAM available to applications.
Obtaining an Installer
The ability to install, reinstall, or upgrade to Tiger remains important, but it is increasingly difficult. Mac OS X 10.4 install discs have been discontinued by Apple and are no longer sold at retail. Finding an installer requires buying a new or used copy from a reseller – or borrowing a copy from a friend, consultant, or other Mac user.*
To increase the challenge, there are different versions of the Tiger installer for PowerPC and Intel Macs. Apple never released a Universal Binary of the full installer, instead releasing separate PowerPC and Intel versions. Some later updates were available as Universal Binaries, but not the full OS installers.
Every Mac sold during the Tiger era came bundled with a grey Mac OS X installer DVD. These discs will reinstall the OS on that model of Macintosh, but they may not work with other Macs using the same processor. There is (I’m sure) an underlying consistency to what discs will work with what models based on system architecture, but these relations are often not user discernible. On practical level, it’s usually a trial-and-error process if you don’t have the right disc.
On the PowerPC side, the situation is easier. Apple sold several versions of Tiger at retail, culminating with a 10.4.6 full install DVD. These discs will work on all supported models of PowerPC Macs and are the best ones to have or try to find via resellers. The bundled install discs that came with G4 and G5 Macs do not work across the board on all models – again trial-and-error.
Upgrade Discs
Some PowerPC systems sold during the Mac OS X 10.3 Panther to Tiger transition included a Tiger Upgrade Installer for Macs with Panther already installed on the hard drive. These upgrade discs work with a wider range of Power Macs, but they require an existing Panther install to be present on the system before use. They also usually don’t offer the Full Install or Archive & Install options, just the Upgrade option.
In many cases upgrading (versus replacing) isn’t the ideal method to use, particularly if the older system is cranky and not performing correctly. For more info on this process, see Maintaining Your Macintosh: The Benefits and Possible Pitfalls of Software Updates.
Intel Macs
All Intel Macs came with their own (grey colored) Tiger install DVDs. Apple never sold a Full Installer for Tiger that was Intel-compatible. No need – if you were buying an Intel Mac, you automatically got Tiger, and if you had a PowerPC Mac, you wouldn’t need an Intel-compatible installer (nor could you use it).
This makes sense – until you need to reinstall Tiger on an Intel-based Mac. The original Intel iMac, MacBook, MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, and Mac mini models, which came with Tiger from the factory, all use different custom install DVDs. Most systems require their own discs, again hit-or-miss will apply.
I have had luck using the 10.4.10 installer that came with my Mac Pro to reinstall Tiger onto an early MacBook, but a MacBook Pro installer from the same era didn’t work. You do need the original discs – just at the moment (of course) when you can’t find those little envelopes that came bundled with the snazzy Apple cleaning cloth and window stickers you safely saved for future use.
Yes, you know they’re around somewhere….
DVD Copies and CD-Only Macs
Once you find (or borrow) the right installer disc(s), it’s a good idea to make a safety copy for future needs. Note that Apple does not use single-layer DVDs for these discs but rather dual-layer replicated discs, which require a dual-layer DVD-R or DVD+R recorder. Fortunately these drives and media are now commonplace (this was not true in Tiger’s early days). I’ve had good luck duplicating Tiger install DVDs using Apple dual-layer-compatible SuperDrives onto DVD+R DL media via the Copy mode in Roxio Toast software.
Another challenge: Many older G4 and G3 systems are Tiger compatible but only have internal CD-ROM or CD-RW drives. Apple did make CD copies of the Tiger installer available on a trade-in basis for a short time, but these are now very hard to find. The easiest method of (re)installing Tiger on a DVD-less Mac is to boot a DVD-equipped Mac into FireWire Target Disk Mode, connect the two systems via a FireWire cable, then insert the DVD into the newer Mac. The DVD will show up on the older Mac’s desktop, and you can proceed with the install.
As a consultant, I’ve used my laptop in the field many times in this fashion to help upgrade older systems. It’s a fantastically useful feature.
Update: A reader suggested an alternate solution to the DVD-less Mac install dilemma: Using Disk Utility on a DVD equipped Mac, he created a .dmg file of the Tiger install disk. He then restored this image across the network onto a small hard disk partition on the target Mac, selected this Installer Partition as the startup disk, and rebooted. In his own words: “Boom! It worked, and I had a functioning emergency boot partition acting as an OS X Tiger Install DVD. The speed differences were so noticeable, it was astounding!”
This is a clever solution. Restoring to an external FireWire drive would also work, from which you could boot up and install.
Install and Update
Once you have acquired the correct install disc for your model of Macintosh, go ahead and do a Full Install or (if you want to keep your old data) an Archive & Install. Once Tiger is installed onto the Mac, boot off the hard drive and then use Software Update under the Apple Menu or the Apple Software Downloads page to grab the remaining updates to get your system as current as possible. The last release is 10.4.11; you will want this update along with any QuickTime and Security updates and all or most Java and application updates. Typically I just get everything available. Several passes and interim reboots will be required to get all patches – keep checking Software Update until there’s nothing left to grab.
Eventually you will arrive at your Big Cat Destination. At the end of the process (and during), a glass or two of beer or wine may be helpful!
* If you are borrowing the install disc, we are assuming you are legally entitled to have Mac OS X 10.4 on your hardware but don’t have or can’t locate your original installer. Low End Mac does not condone software piracy.
This article was originally published on Adam’s Oakbog website. It has been adapted and reprinted here with his permission.
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Blog 2020/5/7
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Here are some notes on how I set up an installation of OS X Tiger (10.4)on an emulated PowerPC G4 using QEMU,on a modern x86_64 Mac.
This setup was performed using QEMU 5.0.0 (obtained via brew install qemu).
Note: at some point during this process -cdrom /dev/cdrom seems to have stopped working, but -cdrom /dev/disk2 works.
Step 1: Initial installation
In this step we will format the disk and perform the initial OS X installation.
Download a copy of the2Z691-5305-A OS X Tiger installation DVDand burn it to a physical DVD.
Note: for some reason qemu does not seem to be able to boot .iso files of the OS X installation DVD (using -cdrom tiger.iso),but if you burn that .iso to a physical DVD and then use -cdrom /dev/disk2, it works.
Boot the DVD to verify it works:
If you see the grey Apple logo, the DVD is working correctly with QEMU:
Quit QEMU and create a 127GB QEMU disk:
Boot the install DVD with the disk attached and being the installation. QEMU will exit when the installer reboots.
When the installer reaches the disk selection screen, there will be no disks to choose from, because the disk has not been partitioned yet:
Start up Disk Utility:
'Erase' the disk to partition and format it:
Quit Disk Utility and the installer should now see the newly formatted partition:
10.4 Tiger Install Dvd (ppc) Download
The install will take quite some time (over an hour). When it completes, it will reboot, which will cause QEMU to exit (due to the -no-reboot flag).
At this point you may (physically) eject the installation DVD (from your host Mac).
Mark the disk as read-only to prevent any accidental writes to it (which would cause any snapshots based on this disk to become corrupt):
Step 2: User account creation, system updates
In this step we will create a user account and install all of the system updates.
Create a snapshot of the disk (think of this as forking the hard drive):
The system updates can either be installed using the Software Update utility (iteratively repeated across many reboots),or you can download and install them manually.
The manual route is quicker because some of the updates are bundled, and you don't have to wait on Software Update to detect which updates have / haven't been installed yet.
To install the updates manually,download (on your host Mac) item #29 (Tiger_Updates.dmg_.zip)from the 'Mac OS X for PPC' pageof macintoshgarden.org.
Unzip that file and convert the dmg to a DVD image:
We can now use tiger-updates.cdr as a virtual DVD with QEMU.
Boot the G4 and create a user account:
Note: if you plan on using Software Update rather than tiger-updates.cdr, you man omit the -cdrom tiger-updates.cdr line from the above command.
Note: this boot may take several minutes to get started.
This install was set up with user macuser and password macuser:
This installation was set up with the Central timezone:
Disable the screen saver and power-saving features:
Open up System Preferences and:
- Display & Screen Saver -> Screensaver -> Start screen saver -> Never
- Energy Saver
- Put the computer to sleep when it is inactive for -> Never
- Put the display to sleep when the computer is inactive for -> Never
If you did not use Software Update, open up the Tiger_Updates 'DVD' and install all of the updates:
If you go with the updates DVD route, make sure you run Software Update at the end just to be sure you've covered everything.
Mark the snapshot read-only to prevent accidental writes to it:
Step 3: Web browser, video player, text editor
In this step we will install TenFourFox, VLC and TextWrangler.
Create a snapshot of the disk:
TenFourFox is a fork of the Firefox web browser which is currently supported on Tiger/PPC.Their website links to the latest version,FPR22.
The latest version of VLCfor Tiger/PPC is 0.9.10,which is still available from their downloads page.
The latest version of TextWranglerfor Tiger/PPC is 3.1,available via Bare Bonesor macintoshgarden.org.
Strangely, no combination of using Disk Utility and hdiutil to create .dmg or .cdr images of TenFourFox.app seemed to work with Tiger:
Note: in retrospect, perhaps this was an APFS vs. HFS+ issue?
I resorted to burning TenFourFox, VLC, and TextWrangler to a physical DVD and passing it through to QEMU.
Note: even burning to a physical CD-ROM didn't work -- it had to be a DVD.
Mac Os X 10.4 Tiger Install Dvd (ppc)
Drag the applications into /Applications.
Shutdown the G4 and mark the disk read-only:
Step 4: Xcode, Tigerbrew
In this step we will set up a development environment for building modern Unix software.
Create a snapshot of the disk:
The latest version of Xcode Tools for Tiger/PPC is 2.5,which is still available via Apple (search for 'xcode 2.5' at https://developer.apple.com/download/more/, requires login),or via macintoshgarden.orgfrom their Xcode page.
Again, I had to burn this to a physical DVD in order to use it with QEMU.
Boot the G4 and install the Xcode Tools:
Tigerbrewis a fork of Homebrewfor PowerPC Macs running Tiger or Leopard.
Open up a terminal on the emulated G4 and use the following commands to install Tigerbrew:
Also, change Terminal.app to spawn a 'login' bash shell:
- Terminal -> Preferences -> Execute this command ->
/bin/bash -l
Don't forget to mark the disk image read-only:
10.4 Tiger Install Dvd (ppc) Software
Using these QEMU hard drive images
At this point we've created a series of four chained hard drive images:
We can squash these images into a single, combined, stand-alone hard drive image:
Install Dvd Decoder
We can then boot using that combined image directly, without the use of any snapshots.This is analogous to having a real Mac with a physical hard drive:
Or, we could treat combined.qcow2 as a 'golden master'and create snapshots based off of it, perhaps to try out some experimental tigerbrew packages:
Perhaps in experiment-1.qcow2 we try out gcc-7, and in experiment-2.qcow2 we try out llvm, etc.
Each of these snapshots can be used with the above command line as the -hda argument:
qemu-system-ppc ... -hda experiment-2.qcow2
We could even create further branches off of e.g. experiment-2.qcow2:
Perhaps we decide that experiment-2B.qcow2 was the keeper and the rest can be gotten rid of?
combined.qcow2 now contains the changes from experiment-2.qcow2 and experiment-2B.qcow2.
Thus far we've been branching off of the 'tip',but we could just as easily branch off several points in the snapshot tree.For example, if we hadn't merged the images into combined.qcow2,we could make a 'daily driver' snapshot for web browsing based off of 3-browser.qcow2,and a 'dev box' for doing development work based off of 4-tigerbrew.qcow2:
Let's say we accidentally hosed our dev box with a careless rm -rf /. Starting over with a new dev box is trivial:
Etc :)