[G4] firmware: update needed?

[Ronald Steinke]

On 12 Mar, 2008, at 7:12 PM, James Asherman wrote:

> Straight up. Urban Myth. SYSTEM RESTORE discs need a particular  
> machine. Most install OS discs are generic (There are exceptions )

Most of the discs that come in the box with a Mac are machine  
specific, not generic, installation discs. Only the separate over-the- 
counter OS discs are multi-machine capable.

I will state from direct experience that certain installation discs  
WILL NOT install on any other machine than the model that they were  
produced for!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You may get a dialogue window with the  
statement that THIS disc will not install on THIS machine and it may  
not tell you why, just that it won't install. With other discs, it  
will tell you that your processor is too slow, you don't have the  
right type of processor, etc.

I cannot tell you exactly which discs will not work with which  
machines because of the sheer number of discs available, but I can  
state with certainty that an iMac DV install disc will not work on any  
of the G4 machines that I have dealt with (from the 400MHz to the  
866MHz models). Also, a Power PC disc will not install on any Intel  
model, etc, etc, and etc. There are dozens of discs that will not work  
with just "any" machine.

A system install disc that is "generic", that is a normal retail  
issue, will install on any machine capable of running that version of  
the OS. A machine specific disc will contain software designed  
specifically for the model it is labeled for and will not contain ALL  
the necessary software for a generic "any machine" installation.

You will run the risk of not installing necessary software if you  
attempt an installation from a disc that is clearly labeled for some  
model Mac other than the model you are installing on. I no longer make  
any attempt to use a "labeled" disc on any machine other than one of  
that specific model. I am no longer willing to waste my time trying to  
"hack" an installation.