Can't boot from external USB 2.0 optical drive on Mac Mini 1.25GHz G4


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Hi!

I'm trying to reinstall the OS on my 1st gen Mac Mini. The problem I'm having is I can't get it to boot from my external USB 2.0 optical drive. The internal optical drive is shot, and just spits out whatever disc you insert. I don't plan on replacing the internal drive :p.

When I hold down the option key at bootup only my internal hard drive comes up as an option (tried hitting refresh a couple of times). I searched Google, and found that G4 PowerBooks seem to have the same problem...

I have booted from this external drive before w/ a Samsung NC-10 netbook.

I tested the disc on my MacBook Pro and it does boot.

Any input is greatly appreciated.

-Shad

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I found this guide:

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?sto...060301112336384

Which may be a possible solution. The poster describes booting from a USB 2.0 drive (like a hard drive) that has Mac OS already installed. Would the same procedure perhaps work for a USB 2.0 Optical installation disc?

Also, I have a firewire hard drive available. I'm pretty sure that G4 Macs can boot from Firewire w/o any problem. Is there anyway I can load the installation media onto that hard drive and install from that?

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You can use Disk Utility to "restore" the CD to the FireWire HD you have lying around. That would probably be the cleanest way to do this.

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You can use Disk Utility to "restore" the CD to the FireWire HD you have lying around. That would probably be the cleanest way to do this.

Thanks Elliott. I will give that a try.

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