help installing macOS 7.5.3 to get gentoo booting

crazyzed · Apprentice Joined: 26 Mar 2004 Posts: 154

now my oldworld mac is without ANY OS

and I don't know how to get it running again.
I want to install gentoo and understand that I first have to install macOS again, sad thing is that I don't own any copy of macOS!
I have downloaded a free version: 7.5.3, but don't know how to get it to boot?
I tried donwloading 'Network_Access_Disk_7.5.sea.bin' I have no idea of what it is, but I read somewhere that is was a bootable disk?
Anyway, I have NO access to any other Mac-computer so I would have to prepare all disks from windows.

Where do I go from now? When I have macOS 7.5.3 on 19 .bin files and 'Network_Access_Disk_7.5.sea.bin' laying on a windows machine???
I tried using TransMac to prepare a disk with 'Network_Access_Disk_7.5' but didn't get it to boot!

I really know nothing about Mac :oops:

llywelyn · n00b Joined: 30 Sep 2004 Posts: 45

If your old-world Mac is a PowerPC (most likely), then this 7.5.3 probably won't work on it. (As far as I know, this version of 7.5 is for 68k machines only.)

If your mac is a REALLY old-world Mac with an 68k processor, then these disks will work, though it isn't exacty easy to get them on the machine. However, if your Mac is an 68k, gentoo will not run on it -- you're better off with something like OpenBSD

Incedently, those disk images are in some sort of stuffit format, you'll need Stuff It Expander to decompress the actual images. Having de-compressed them, you will need something like rawwrite (on windows) to write the images to disk.
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crazyzed · Apprentice Joined: 26 Mar 2004 Posts: 154

ok, thanx for your answer!
Yes this is a PowerPC, so between what versions of MacOS can I use with this machine then? Not osX huh? It's a shame this old machine can't boot linux from a CD.....

hmm it's far more tricky to install linux on a ppc then x86 machines I tell you :roll:

Evinyatar · n00b Joined: 15 Feb 2003 Posts: 70

Actually, every MacOS since a special PPC version of 7.1 is PPC compatible. So 7.5.3 should work if it's not too old for your machine. However, I'm not aware of any free (legal) bootable MacOS disk images for PowerMacs. You could try putting one together on a PC using an emulator like Basilisk however, and transferring that to a real hard disk. Even though Basilisk only emulates 68k, if you do a Universal Install it will install binaries that support both 68k and PowerPC so it should run in your system.
You can get information on how to get Basilisk up and running here: http://os-emulation.net/basiliskII/system753_tutorial/

llywelyn · n00b Joined: 30 Sep 2004 Posts: 45

Oh, are they universal? My bad ...

Well, if you want it, I have a fully installed, bootable, the-works hard-disk image made from those free 7.5.3 floppies which I could upload and let you have a copy. (It was orignally used under BasiliskII emulator.)

I don't know how you'd get the contents of the disk image onto your Mac's hard drive though ... especially on window$ ...
This might help, though I've never used it.

Don't think that Macs are difficult to work with ... you're working with ancient hardware using free software (7.5.3) which was inteded for another archetecture ... ;-)

_________________
Estoy apesadumbrado para mi Español ... estoy practicando ...
iBook Dual-USB G3/800MHz 640 MB RAM
OS 10.4 / Gentoo 2005.0 / NetBSD 2.1

lostdave · Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2005 2:44 pm Post subject:

My advice would be to spend a few (local currency units) on a copy of os8/os9 on cd from ebay.

crazyzed · Apprentice Joined: 26 Mar 2004 Posts: 154

I actually have os9.1 laying as an iso image, but I don't know if that will help me? I still can't boot cd-roms from my oldworld mac :S so ho would I get into the installation program? I got the 'Networks Access Disk 7.5' to boot but he told me that my mac was not supported by this disk?

by the way, I have a Motorola Starmax 4000

thanx llywelyn, but since 'Networks Access Disk 7.5' told me it didn't support my hardware maybe I should focus on getting os9.1 up and running instead of 7.5?

llywelyn · n00b Joined: 30 Sep 2004 Posts: 45

Are you SURE that it won't boot a CD?

I've got a Performa 6400/180 which was made at almost exactly the same time, and it will boot from a CD ... an OS 8.5 CD anyway ...
Runs linux just fine ...
_________________
Estoy apesadumbrado para mi Español ... estoy practicando ...
iBook Dual-USB G3/800MHz 640 MB RAM
OS 10.4 / Gentoo 2005.0 / NetBSD 2.1

crazyzed · Apprentice Joined: 26 Mar 2004 Posts: 154

hmm no I'm not sure actually...I have understood it's what they call an oldworld mac, and I think I read somewhere that oldworld macs can't boot from a CDs?? maybe I'm way off here :oops:

anyway, it can't boot my gentoo-linux CD but maybe that has nothing to do with booting a mac CD?

I'll try buring out my 9.1 iso image and see if booting from it works!

lostdave · Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2005 9:57 pm Post subject:

It won't boot the gentoo cd, but it should boot the os9 one. You may need to hold down the "c" key. There may also be difficulties relating to the way the image is burned. Old world macs are "tempermental" to say the least

crazyzed · Apprentice Joined: 26 Mar 2004 Posts: 154

I burned the 9.1.dmg using TransMac and everyting went well, but I't doesn't boot in my Mac. I tried holding down the c key too (what does that do?).
What can I do now when it can't boot 7.5 disks and not 9.1 CDs, it would be sad to have to put it away (or put to sleep)

llywelyn · n00b Joined: 30 Sep 2004 Posts: 45

Just making sure ...

You're holding down the "c" key just after you hear the chimes, until it either boots the CD or does something else?
_________________
Estoy apesadumbrado para mi Español ... estoy practicando ...
iBook Dual-USB G3/800MHz 640 MB RAM
OS 10.4 / Gentoo 2005.0 / NetBSD 2.1

JoseJX · Retired Dev Joined: 28 Apr 2002 Posts: 2774

You could try booting off of the debian floppies, I haven't had time to finish OW boot floppies for Gentoo yet. :p
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Gentoo PPC FAQ: http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/gentoo-ppc-faq.xml

thepustule · Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2005 5:09 pm Post subject:

I have an old-world PowerBook, which boots CDs just fine. When you turn it on, IMMEDIATELY hold down the C until you see something on the screen.

You hold down the C because, simply, C stands for CDROM.

You'll need to get MacOS running and then install BootX. Once it is in the proper place, it interrupts the MacOS boot early in the process and lets you choose to run Linux.

crazyzed · Apprentice Joined: 26 Mar 2004 Posts: 154

ohh happiness

I burned out the OS 8 image and got it to boot, I'm installing the OS right now...there must have been something wrong with the 9.1 image I guess? Yea now I'll just wait for the installation to complete so I can install BootX and get into to Linux installation

btw. I didn't have to hold down c key, it booted anyway!
thanx guys!