[Solved basically] iMac wont boot off the CDROM(G4 desklamp)

jcpunk · n00b Joined: 22 Jul 2003 Posts: 37

I just got two iMac's and was going to put linux on them. The one box booted perfectly off of my disk - no problems, no fuss.

The other boots fine off of the OSX Tiger install DVD, but doesn't even want to read my gentoo cd. Currently MacOS is installed. When I put the CD in it wont even read it.

What gives?

It reads the Tiger DVD just fine so it doesn't seem like it could be a drive problem. The other identical mac boots off of the CD so it shouldn't be a CD problem....

Ideas?

nixnut · Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 5:06 pm Post subject:

Did you burn the iso image to a cdr or a cdrw? Some older drives have problems reading cdr/cdrw media because of the lower reflection rate of these discs.
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IQgryn · l33t Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Posts: 764 Location: WI, USA

Probably the drive and the disc are each just bad enough that they combine to not work. You could try reburning the disc, or you could install with the less-finicky computer and switch the hard drives. (I don't know how easy or hard that is with an iMac--I'm a poor college student who can only afford to build his own machines.

)

EDIT: nixnut has a good point, too.

jcpunk · n00b Joined: 22 Jul 2003 Posts: 37

nixnut is probably right, but due to only having the same type of CDRs (off of the same spindle no less!), I will be listening to IQgryn... I was hoping there was just some sort of open firmware level deal going on...

Eh thanks for the help