Install OSX without DVD over Firewire

Goal is to install OS 10.4 Tiger from DVD on an older apple laptop that lacks a dvd drive. We don’t have an external firewire DVD enclosure. However, all macs with firewire can emulate an external harddrive enclosure, so we’ll install to that. We just need someone else’s dvd-equipped macmini to do the install.

Firstly, connect the two apple machines together with 6-pin firewire cable. Boot the macmini normally. Boot the elderly laptop while holding down the ‘t’ key on keyboard, starting the laptop in Firewire Target Disk mode.

The laptop’s display will show a large floating orange firewire logo. Observe that the iBook’s harddisk is mounted on the macmini’s desktop, and you should have full access to read or write any files needed. (Now would be a good time to backup anything still needed.)

Note that if the drive doesn’t appear, there’s something wrong with the firewire cable or one of the two machines. You should stop now and fix that before continuing.

Insert the Tiger install DVD in the macmini. Reboot, holding down ‘c’ to boot from the install disc.

We want to do a clean install of Tiger. So before starting the actual install, use the built-in Disk Tools (from Utilities menu) to either repartition or erase the firewire-attached disk.

Select the firewire-attached drive as the installation target, and start the installation as per a normal install. Several questions and lots of file copy later, the install will finish. The macmini will reboot. The laptop continues to bear the floating orange firewire logo.

The first stages of install are done, and we no longer require the Tiger DVD. Unplug the firewire cable from both machines, severing the umblical relationship between them. Eject the Tiger DVD, and start the macmini normally. Press the laptop’s power button to shut it down completely, then again to start it, booting off the newly-blessed harddisk.

Follow the wizard and finalize the installation like normal.

Summary:

1. Connect both machines with firewire cable.
2. Hold ‘t’ to boot target machine in firewire target mode.
3. Verify that the firewire drive is visible on source machine.
4. Optionally backup any important information.
5. Reboot, holding ‘c’ to boot source machine from the install DVD.
6. Optionally repartition or erase the target’s harddrive using Disk Tools.
7. Select the firewire drive as the installation target.
8. Let the installer copy the required files.
9. Reboot both machines from harddrive(s), remove firewire cable.
10. Finalize installation via wizard.