Run DiskWarrior 3.0.1 on a G5 from an older Mac

Feb 05, '04 10:06:00AM

Contributed by: dtrevas

Alsoft just released an update to DiskWarrior that is compatible with Panther. The bad news is that if you have a Mac that was released after August 2003 (like a G5), they want another $20 for an update CD, while owners of previous Macs get a free download. Having spent $80 on DW 3.0 in September 2003, I felt like investigating a workaround before I shelled out even more money.

I came up with this solution last night. For your purposes, substitute your pre-August 2003 Mac where I say iBook, and your post-August 2003 Mac where I say G5.

  1. Install DiskWarrior 3.0.1 on the iBook.
  2. Shut down iBook
  3. Start up G5, if it is not already on.
  4. Connect iBook to G5 with a FireWire cable.
  5. Holding down the 'T' key, start up the iBook (in Target Disk Mode)
  6. After seeing the iBook's HD appear on the G5's desktop (or in the G5's Finder), restart the G5 and hold down the Option key.
  7. From the system picker, choose to start up from the iBook's HD.
  8. Run DiskWarrior 3.0.1 (from the Utilities folder in the Application folder of the iBook HD)
  9. After DW finishes, restart the G5 normally.
  10. Drag iBook HD image into G5's Trash bin to dismount that drive.
  11. Shut off the iBook and disconnect the FireWire cable.
I hope that works for you as well as it did for me.

[robg adds: I believe you need to order the CD for the newer machines as DW 3.0 was never able to boot them; the older machines just need a minor update and burn to be able to boot under Panther. I haven't tested this hint, so proceed with caution (as with any hint of an experimental nature here!).]

Comments (5)


Mac OS X Hints
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20040130122341514