Hurdles Setting Up Dream G5; Experiences?

[JackAHyde]

Got a Power Mac G5 from eBay knowing full well that it would possibly arrive with physical damage due to their size and weight. This one was no exception. After finding a way to bend the top handles back into place, I was able to open it back up again.

I managed to install Sorbet Leopard with no issues. I love using it in all honesty. However, I was shooting for a dual boot with MorphOS to make this my dream Power Mac G5, and this is starting to become an immense headache for a few reasons. For example, I think the internal Superdrive got tilted during transit and now gets stuck when trying to open itself up. (I click to eject it, I hear a click from the drive as if it's hitting some physical barrier, and then nothing happens.) Trying to use a USB drive detects on the OS, but I guess isn't able to boot. Trying to use a USB stick seems unlikely. I tried some other keyboards to boot from disc (tried Option, C, and even opening Open Firmware) to little avail.

This whole thing has given me the excuse to at least buy an A1048 keyboard to see if that helps with the startup. Wondering if any other Power Mac G5 users have had a similar experience to me, even if it's just the part about the G5 arriving with some damage. I'm also on the cusp of just opening this up and seeing if I can reseat the Superdrive, because it looks like it did get tilted at a slight angle during transit. (Also, the pinhole/paperclip thing didn't work to open it.)

EDIT: Reseating my Superdrive got it to open at least, but still no luck booting from disk. That keyboard can't get here fast enough now.

 

[joevt]

What version of Open Firmware do you have? Apple disabled automatic USB booting between April and August 2004.

I think you can use a command in Open Firmware to boot USB non-automatically.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/guide-new-method-booting-from-usb-on-powerpc-macs.2403368
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/powerbook-a1052-no-usb-boot-possible.2458076
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/powermac-g5-boot-issue.2450010/?post=33757059#post-33757059
https://www.macintoshrepository.org...powermacs-g3-g4-g5-from-a-usb-stick-or-drive-
https://idevicecollector.home.blog/...3-g4-or-g5-from-usb-using-open-firmware-mode/

 

[JackAHyde]

Thanks for a response! I should have updated earlier, but I eventually (and I do mean eventually) figured it out. My keyboard wasn't responding to any startup commands quick enough, but it only started to actually obey me if (and only if) I had my keyboard plugged into the upper-rear USB port. Anything else was a no-go.

I reseated the Superdrive as well, but I had to reinstall it at a tilted angle to ensure it would actually open. From that point, all I had to do was hold C on boot to install MorphOS, although that was a different can of worms. It feels like this project of mine is just ongoing. Now I just need to wait for the registration team to send me my registration key.

I almost felt like I bought a new A1048 keyboard for nothing, but upon rethinking it, I could really use the two extra USB ports it comes with, so it's not really a waste.

 

[JackAHyde]

A lot has happened in the past few weeks, but my G5 is a dream system now more than ever despite a few flaws.

• I have the aforementioned A1048 keyboard now, but I lubed up the sliders in it to make the typing experience a little more crisp and smooth.
• My copy of MorphOS is activated and fully usable now. I bought a license and everything.
• Upgraded my RAM from 1.5GB to 5.5 (with plans to go to 8GB in the future).
• Superdrive works more reliably now, but it requires me to wedge a screwdriver underneath it inside of the G5 in order to have it reliably open at all times. Not elegant, but it beats buying a new drive.
• Got myself a 23 inch Cinema Display. It has a few specks of dust trapped under it, but I've learned to ignore it because the resolution and support are so much nicer.
• I have a Samba share setup to my G5 from my main Arch Linux desktop, so I can easily share installers and other files to the G5 instead of having to use a flash drive like I kept doing before.
• So much more software runs on it now. I went crazy going through Macintosh Garden and other similar sites. I've made the system just as useful as it was 20+ years ago.

So far, the final big upgrade I can make to the system is to upgrade the GPU, but finding a good graphics card for this thing seems rare and expensive. Lowest price I could find on a card I'm planning to get is nearly $300, though if anybody knows a better place to find a GPU, I'm willing to look into it.