Mac Forum / General / Hardware / October 2004

Hi. Thank you, in advance, for your response to this post.

I have an iMac (350 mhz, 20 gb hdd, 256 mb ram) which is missing an
optical disc drive :o(

I was wondering if anyone knows if it is possible to network the iMac,
which is running OS 9.2.2, to another Mac (probably a G4, running
Panther) in order to format, partition, and install both 9.2.2 &
Panther (on the iMac).

Is it impossible to format a drive which is being shared; would it
just do a clean install? And, providing I am able to wipe the drive,
and partition it, and install Panther, would the 9.2.2 install CD be
able to install itself onto one of those OS X-formatted partitions?

Also, does the computer being used as the host optical drive have to
be running Classic, natively (thereby, not being a newer G4)?

And, if this wacky idea is possible, what ports/wires would I network
with: ethernet, or USB? (I'd love to be able to do it via FireWire,
but Apple left that capability off the iMac 350 :o(

I have an inkling this might work, as I once installed OS 8.1 on a PB
540c using AppleTalk and a PBG3 Wallstreet as the host optical drive.
But, I am also aware this whole convoluted idea may not fly, since
Panther is an entirely different animal than OS 8 ever was.

Thanks, again for any/all help you can provide. You guys rock!

heather